aquaponics

bought a simple aquaponics. got a pet betta the other day we named Betacarotene. (s)he seems to like the roots. 42w CFL.

I like it. And that fish looks happy.

The roots are gunna get huge is that gunna be big enough?

this would be nice for display of a small plant, but seriously, i couldn't picture this growing and flowering a marijuana plant...

aquaponics is the coolest method for cultivating food and medicinals. i've been looking at them as a large scale vegetable growing/ fish growing microcosm. that is a neat little tank but like the others said, u will need a bigger tank but u r heading in the right direction.

I dig it,would like to hear more about it,looks perfect to learn,play,with.you don't have to have a large plant to get bud.
GL!

Considering the CFL is only 42 watts, the plant won't grow that large, but it's way cool....it's just that the two distinctly different life forms are sharing the same environment which may impact one or both of them

I do wonder what it will be like for the fish when the roots start to monopolizing the area.....will the nutes impact the fish, or will the fish crap help or hinder the plant...and how will you clean the fish tank?

I also notice you are showing some brown tips on the lower leaves...I would use Cal-Mag but I don't know if the fish will like that or not

keep us posted, this is an interesting concept to juggle/balance the needs of the fish and the plants

Well with aquaponics u need no nutes....that's what the fish is for...and as plant uses water u just add back phed water...no cleaning. But still I don't think that tank is gunna be big enough :/

The roots will get too big, the betta won't be able to produce enough nitrate for the plants, and the roots are getting hit by light.

Most of you people should read up on this method of growing. This setup the fish keep the roots healthy by eating of any dead stuff and there is no nutes to be added as you only use fish food. light won't hurt it because the fish like i said will eat anything keeping the roots happy. And the plants roots will not get that large. @op very nice I'll keep watching for your updates.

Yes yes I too will keep an eye on this.. For if I ever leave the Hempy method this will surely be my way!

smokegreenshlt said:

Yes yes I too will keep an eye on this.. For if I ever leave the Hempy method this will surely be my way!

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Yeah...I can't see giving up Hempy's for this yet....but I do really like this concept and may consider it as a fun project with no expectations, just a cool show piece

Yeah it definitely is a conversational piece. But combining Hempy and aqua is a good thought too...maybe have a 100 gallon tank and ur buckets on a table with run off going to waste and every two days pump a gallon per plant...I wonder how that would turn out?? Lol call it the deep sea Hempy!

this is more just like a starting version. i have a lot exp growing and not much with fish. i'm new to it so wanted to start smell. friend of mine has a 30 gal tank will will move everything to eventually. i put a new seedling inside (fruit automatic) and took the other plants out. since they dont yield much the root spacing shouldnt be much of a problem. according to the book the types of fish these are made for are usually shallow muddy areas. they're used to roots and crap all over the place. although i still plan on moving him to a bigger home. me nice to switch to a HPS but then i might need a chiller for my water. i have a 1/10hp one but i need that for my gas burning co2 gen for my main grow. one thinig i found it it's gong to be hard to feed the plants without killing the fish. cant get my PPMS too high. might have to foliar feed which i dont have much exp with.

i'm not having any real great expectations with this, it will no way be anything like the other plants i grow. just a little but side project my friend said he would maintain for me for the most part.

ooh yeah the burning on the leaves was actually heat stress. to keep warm i have it by part of my exhaust from my chiller. the plants were too close to the hot air. hard finding a good balance. i want 68-70 for my roots, but higher 70s for the fish. i need it kept simple though unless my friend feels like dong a bunch of work everyday cause i dont really have the time with the other grow going on plus my other 2 jobs.

thanks everyone for the input!

BBbubblegum said:

The roots will get too big, the betta won't be able to produce enough nitrate for the plants, and the roots are getting hit by light.

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the roots actually grow fine in the light. if i get algae an i just add an algae eater. they have stuff called nitrozome or somehting like that you add everyday to keep the levels up. even so, im not expecting a big yield, just a fun little side project. plus some experience if i decide to go bigger.

zem said:

this would be nice for display of a small plant, but seriously, i couldn't picture this growing and flowering a marijuana plant...

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actually you can grow plants quite small and have them bud. years ago at a friend we would throw all our commercial seeds outside his porch. one day between some old fall leaves, cig butts, and dirt where the dirt met the cement, a few sprouted up all on their own. we carefully transplanted them in the wood which were junk because we neglected them. we left the nice one on it's own. i swear it was only an inch or so high with a weaker stem. the mail man even seen it once and said to get rid of it lol but they didnt listen. they nevre must have reported it cause no one ever got in trouble for it. it was real hard to see im not sure how the mail man even seen it. she actually budded in the fall and dried to about a half gram. got them high but they said it wasnt very strong. these things can really grow like weeds at times.

always been interested in this...subbed and looking forward to seeing how it turns out

thanks guys. this project, growing plants and fish together is all over the net and is actually known as aquaponics for those that didnt know. i just dont know of anyone ever doing it with weed.

im afraid im not going to be able to feed enough. i dont want to hurt my fish. the plants were growing but the nodes were not very tight. the roots were looking great. unfortunately because of the stretching and slower i put them in soil. i took a better soil plant, dipped it in a dilute h2o2 mix, a flushing solution mix, water, then RO water to get rid of most of the chlorine from the tap. i dont have an ro filter system yet. i buy it by the gallon for the fish. i just use tap for my regular plants with great success i might add(check my other posts).

here is what is going on now. seems to like chillin in the roots at times. there still is a bit of peat on them from the soil but i didnt want to stress it too much for the transplant. the fish dont seem to mind. im no fish expert but i think hes normal and healthy. my nitrate and ammonia levels are a bit high though. i've been foliar feeding a little as well. water temps have been about 76-78 on average. the room its in is actually cold like 65-70F. for heating i just keep the tank near the exhaust vent for my 1/10 hp chiller which i use to cool recirculating water for a co2 generator in my regular garden.

i actually have a 30 gallon tank but dont have time atm to set it up at all. mr friend is supposed to get it all going. we might make a custom top for it for bigger plants and more fish. this way we can regulate everything much better like the water temp and add a more efficient filtration system. my problem im thinking of now though is i dont like foliar feeding, can you really do that on buds without fucking them up? im used to it getting everything from the roots. im thinking of 12/12ing the girl in about a week or so depending on how she looks.

great update radrolley....your fish sure does look happy in those roots

sorry don't have an answer for the foliar feeding, but I'm sure someone will chime in.

With aquaponics I think you need more fish. The fish waste is what feeds the plants. I am starting on as well but with veggies! I love is idea!