A question from a fellow grower:
I wanted to do this method of growing, what types of fish would be good for a small indoor setup? What is the appropriate diet? And what is the fish to plant ratio?
I haven’t seen any of our members to date using aquaponics not to say people aren’t able to do it successfully just that it is very complex and experience in both growing cannabis and aquaponics for even lettuce would be a prerequisite in my experience. You would be adding lots of learning curves and very hard to judge where you are going wrong if things go sour without a knowledge of one system or the other preferably some on both.
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I saw this fish / plant symbiosis model while looking at my fourth million hydroponic setup on YouTube and it’s pretty amazing! I never even knew this existed until a couple days ago, good luck and would love to see pictures of your success
Hello @ClaireILGM. I hope I can shed some light on the issue for you as I chose to do both types as one system.
Small setups for aquaponics are easier than larger to build, but not maintain. Anything fish tank under 100gals or so, is a lot more wild ,as far as nutrient levels within.
If youre not going to use edible fish, I’d recommend Koi or Shubunkins, or even Goldfish, as they are very forgiving as far as toxic water. Koi & Shubunkins tend to grow very fast; like 6-8 inches in the first year.
There are many choices of fish feed. Just keep in mind that cheaper food promotes unhealthy fish. I use organic feed, from The Aquaponic Source.
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min)………… 34.000 %
Crude Fat (min)………………. 3.0 %
Crude Fiber (max)…………… 10.0 %
Lysine (min)……………………. 1.7%
Calcium (Ca) (min)…………… 1.3 %
Calcium (Ca) (max)…………… 1.8 %
Phosphorus (P) (min)………. 0.8 %
Ingredients
Organic Rice Bran, Organic Canola, Organic Flax Meal, Organic Alfalfa Meal, Organic Oat Groats, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Lactobacillus Fermentation Product, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Ferric Choline Citrate Complex, Manganese Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Sulfur, Ferric Choline Citrate Complex, Copper Sulfate, Copper Choline Citrate Complex, Cobalt Choline Citrate Complex, Potassium Citrate, Attapulgite Clay, Reed Sedge Peat, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3, Natural Source Vitamin E, Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine (HCL), Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12, Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Yeast Culture, Niacin, Biotin, Folic acid, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Sodium Selenite, Organic Dried Kelp, Organic Grape Seed Powder, Enzyme Product, Organic Lecithin, Organic Aloe Vera Juice, Calcium Hydroxide, Organic Garlic, Diatomaceous Earth, Natural Source (Mg, Fe, K), Organic Tomato Powder, Organic Sources of (Orange Peel AquaOrganic Fish FeedPowder, Cayenne Pepper, Dandelion Root Extract, Cloves, Sage, Peppermint, Fennel, Hops, Parsley, Thyme, Lemon Grass, Elder Flowers, Chamomile Flowers, Licorice, Basil, Ginger), Yucca Schidigera, Granite Dust
This is not an easy question to answer because it changes on what you garden and grow style is. In my experiences, I found you learn as you go. There’s no set number of fish per plant. In stead of the number of fish, think “plant nutrition” instead. Fish give off waste. Waste breaks down to feed plants, so your target “nitrates” level is directly related to the number of plants you can grow.
So, in the water, my target level of Nitrates is 20-30.
To find that, I keep adding fish until my target is reached. Also, the more fish you have in a small aera, the more youll need to cycle your water threw the system. I personally don’t follow the standard fish per gallon, rule of thumb.
I would not recommend Aeroponics on a small scale Aquaponics system. One of the major hurdles is clogged misters. High pressure Aero-Aqua is pretty much out of the question, which leaves low pressure. I run my pump 24/7, for the sake of the fish (plants clean fish water). I clean my misters at lease once a day. Money and space will also be an issue, as Aero-Aquaponics requires more filters.
On small scale I recommend ebb&flow flood tables with dual root zones.
Search on Youtube for basic hydroton fuller Ebb&flow systems and simply put you dirt filled pots within the table.
For nutrients I recommend organic tea. There’s a ton of videos on Youtube to show you how this is done.
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