Home » Home & Garden » Gardening

Build an Aquaponic Garden

Ranked #1,105 in Home & Garden, #14,853 overall

The Aquaponic Garden can Change Society

If we could grow our own vegetables at home, we would be so much more self sufficient. If we didn't have to rely on companies to truck in food from other states or even other countries, we would be able to save ourselves money while consuming fruits and vegetables that are properly ripened.

This is a basic Aquaponic System. You want to feed your plants with the water that comes from a fish tank. The waste the fish make feeds your plants. If you have a little more money, you can put the tank on the bottom and buy a pump to feed the water to your plants. This can make the whole thing automated. The only problem with making something like this automated is if you don't check on it on a regular basis, if something goes wrong the whole system can die. This means you should at least look at your system at least once per day.

Aquaponic Examples

People Like to Record Their Progress

It is amazing what people are able to do with a few tubs, a water pump and some fish. I was able to find all kinds of inforation on the web and mostly YouTube about Aquaponics. If you have any questions, you will be able to find the answer somewhere around there. Take a few minutes to see what these people did to grow successful Aquaponic Gardens.

I personally like the videos that show a sequence where you can watch the crops grow over the course of the season. It tends to show the success and determination of the gardener. There is a dedication there that is awesome.
Backyard aquaponics: DIY system to farm fish with vegetables
by kirstendirksen | video info

1,358 ratings | 133,740 views
automatically generated by YouTube

Types of Aquaponic Systems

There Are Several Different Ways You Can Do This

There are a wide range of different systems you can grow in your yard.

Deep Flow / Floating System - Easiest system you can make. Use an aquarium and a fishtank. float a peice of styrofoam with a pot of clay chips and your seed in it. The fish swim in the water and the plant gets fed. You may have to put a separator in the tank to keep the plants from eating your roots.

Ebb & Flow System - Pump on a timer that fills your pots with water. There is a drain and an overflow to keep the water within the system. when the timer shuts off, the water drains from the pots

Media Flow System - You will have a medium that will hold onto the water over time. Most people use a kind of clay balls that absorb the water, but do not desentegrate because of the water. You will use a series of pumps and drains to get the water from the fish tank into the grow bed and then back out again, back into the fish tank.

Tower or Gutter System - You can use a pump to create a continuous flow of water to run to the top of a series of pots with your plants in them, or use a gutter system that flows downward as you pump the water to the top. This can be treated as an Ebb and Flow system or a Media Flow System.
.

Cheap Aquarium System

Probably the Cheapest Way to Go

Aquarium System

All You need is an Aquarium, a piece of Styrofoam, a few mini pots, and aerator and a grow light. Fill up the Aquarium with water and fish, feed them and let your plants clean the water. If you use goldfish, they may eat your plants. You will want to put some kind of divider in the tank to keep them away from the plants.

You can use a windowsill as your light source, but feel free to have a UV light bulb shining down on your plants. I am all for making things cheap as possible. The sun is super cheap. Sometimes that is not possible though depending where your available windows might be situated.

Fish

More than Just Food

I have only seen people raise two types of fish in their Aquaponic systems. I am sure you can grow just about any fish you would like. Most people tend to use either:

Gold Fish who are great scavengers. They will eat just about anything you throw in your tank. Be careful though, they will also eat the plants you are trying to grow. You will want to separate the fish from the plants.

Tilapia are great to grow in a small amount of water. I think you can grow one for every gallon and a half you have in your tank.

You Also Need a Pump

If Your Not Using a Floating System

There has to be a way to get the water from the tank to the plants. An electric pump is the easiest way to make this happen. It does use electricity. You can either buy one that plugs into a wall or one that uses solar cells to get the job done. Each option has their pros and cons.

If you go with a solar Pump, you may find that it lacks the power you need to get the water from one tank to the next. But because it is solar, you are not drawing power from the grid. Is this really saving you money. It depends on how much you spent on the solar powered option. Will it pay for itself before it wears out. That is the question.
Loading

Books About Aquaponics

You Should Have One of These on Your Bookshelf

If you are serious about anything, you should have books on the subject. That goes for auquaponics as well. There are so many aspects to this type of gardening; so many different ways you can do it. It is great to have that information at your fingertips. It can be difficult to take your internet connection outside where your grow box is located.
Loading

Videos about Hydroponics

Some people confuse Hydroponics with Aquaponics

There are no Fish in Hydroponics. Some of the biggest growers use hydroponics to grow lettuce and several other crops. It is amazing to see how efficient these processes are. I like watching how they push each tray into the water and the previous trays move along in sequence.
Hydroponic Lettuce
by michaelfreudiger | video info

620 ratings | 564,268 views
automatically generated by YouTube

Have You Tried Aquaponics?

Tell Me About It.

  • Akasma May 5, 2012 @ 12:15 am | delete
    I have tried aquaponics and it is for sure the way to go!
  • DeniseClarke Apr 24, 2012 @ 3:07 am | delete
    I love this lens. Thanks for sharing!
  • smdobe Mar 31, 2012 @ 9:07 pm | delete
    Thank you for this info! I have a 40 gallon tank with 3 goldfish and have grown house plants in there for years. Never thought I could grow veggies tho- I will be trying this. I have some net cups and some old guppy breeding tubs, do you think they will be ok?
  • indirablu Mar 18, 2012 @ 10:21 am | delete
    looking forward to trying it in simple ways...
  • MillBucks Feb 25, 2012 @ 10:30 pm | delete
    Haven't tried it yet but its something I just started researching.
  • awesomedealz4u Feb 16, 2012 @ 11:19 pm | delete
    Very cool.
  • alpacafarm Jan 30, 2012 @ 3:58 pm | delete
    I totally agree that aquaponics could change society for the better. Aquaponics systems would not only provide a sustainable and health food source but imagine the jobs it would create. I really don't see a downside to aquaponics. Thanks for the lens!!!
  • ladykida Dec 12, 2011 @ 2:48 pm | delete
    Plants grown by floating in my fishtank? Excellent!
  • Nov 11, 2011 @ 2:23 pm | delete
    I'm actually in the process of changing my gardening habits. I enjoyed your page and brought a lot of fresh ideas my way. Thanks!
  • Jewelsofawe Sep 2, 2011 @ 8:27 pm | delete
    This sounds cool! Blessed!
  • sousababy Sep 2, 2011 @ 10:33 am | delete
    Not tried but my father used to invent shoreline protection devices, so I am aware of how important this is (and will become). I think it is so fabulous that you create these instructional lenses Robert. You have a real gift for breaking the steps down so that we feel it can be done (by even me). Congrats on yet another purple star - may there be more!
  • gypsyman27 Sep 1, 2011 @ 7:24 am | delete
    No, sound interesting however. See you around the galaxy...
  • RecipePublishing Aug 26, 2011 @ 5:27 pm | delete
    Thank you.
  • RecipePublishing Aug 26, 2011 @ 5:27 pm | delete
    Thank you.
  • teeny120 Jul 11, 2011 @ 9:12 pm | delete
    no I haven't tried it yet but I plan on it! Thanks for the information
  • zulfahmir92 Jun 28, 2011 @ 10:00 am | delete
    great information ^^
    visit me too http://www.squidoo.com/evolution-in-hydroponics
  • Jietche May 30, 2011 @ 8:24 pm | delete
    Thanks for giving us a definition about aquaponics. These kind of Practical Aquaponics for Everyone is very helpful. Keep writing like an article like this so that I can read more for the future. --Jietch--
  • Tipi May 16, 2011 @ 8:44 pm | delete
    This is an introduction to aquaponics and I'm am fascinated by this idea! We are all needing to look at ways to become more self-sufficient and this sure does make sense. Well done@
  • RenaissanceWoman2010 May 7, 2011 @ 8:32 pm | delete
    I would love to try this. Very interesting combo with the fish. I've been looking at different aquaponic systems. I think I like this one the best so far. Thanks!
  • linhah Apr 28, 2011 @ 5:29 pm | delete
    No, but I love gardening. Great lens!
  • flipflopnana Apr 1, 2011 @ 12:09 pm | delete
    No I haven't but it sounds interesting. Thanks for the great info!
  • imolaK Apr 1, 2011 @ 1:38 am | delete
    Not yet. Your lens is very informative. Blessed!
  • jackiebolen Mar 30, 2011 @ 5:19 am | delete
    No, I haven't. But I'd like to.
  • DeniseClarke Mar 29, 2011 @ 3:47 pm | delete
    Great lens ... let's spread aquaponic information and feed the world!
  • VickiSims Mar 22, 2011 @ 9:58 pm | delete
    Fascinating to see how aquaponics and hydroponics are done. I've never tried either, but certainly looks interesting.
  • Geeve Mar 14, 2011 @ 5:55 pm | delete
    Nicely collated resource, Robert. An interesting lens for our "Other Gardening" category, and a pleasure to bless.
  • darciefrench Feb 24, 2011 @ 2:13 pm | delete
    You write about some of the coolest topics! Love this idea, absolutely brilliant. Many thanks!
Show All

by

rgasperson

My Name is Robert. Please follow me on Amplify, Twitter, Facebook and Tumbler. I am a Haiku Poet, Artist, Writer, Gardener and Pretty Much a Jack of All... more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

Explore related pages

Related Tags