North Shore of Tahoe Checking In

[socsuccess]

Hello.

My wife and I currently live in a condo on the north shore of Tahoe. We've been coming up with different ways of shortening our food supply chain and had been talking about hydroponics for a while. Without a south facing window, and being at 6500 feet we have a number of small challenges.

Since we discovered aquaponics, our level of inspiration has increased significantly and were ready to make an indoor setup and love the thought of raising tilapia & lettuce/spinach & other leafy goodness to eat!

I have a couple of questions before pulling the trigger on a tank. I am looking at a 35 gallon fish tank and wonder if that is large enough to raise edible tilapia? If so, how many fish would be optimal in such a space?

Lastly, what size grow bed would you use for a 35 gallon tank?

Trying to move forward soon and we are thinking that an actual fish tank would 'look' better in our condo than a rubber-maid bin... Once we get a tank, we plan to figure out a stand and then a bed.... Then connect the dots, right?

Thanks to everyone who helps this site and forum be what it is! From those who host and administer this forum, to those who are sharing and contributing to the forum... I am truly grateful.

[Big Al]

hi sosuccess, welcome, a 2 to 1 ratio is a good place to start. meaning that 2 gallons of grow
media to 1 gallon of fish water to .25 pounds of fish at grow out weight. not saying that a 1 to 1
ratio won't work though. but starting out learn what's going on with everything first then start
to push the envelope to see what happen's. good luck Big Al

[Riverside]

Hi sosuccess,

Welcome to the forum. My rule of thumb is close to Big Al's, about 4.5 gallons per full grown fish, so I'd put about 7-8 full grown tilapia in 35 gallons. The problem with small tanks, however, is that tilapia males are very territorial, and in such a small tank the dominant male will fight with the other males (always!) and the females have little room to stay away from the dominant male, and that's a lot of action in 35 gallons. Not a problem when they're fingerlings but when they're close to a pound it's a different story.

I'd try to get a bigger tank, at least 55 gallons for a small scale system; also, until (and more than likely after) you get your growbeds set up, you'll need a decent biofilter (keep this out of the direct sunlight). A small plastic tray, like a bus box, could serve as an experimental grow bed if placed over your biofilter (depending on the type of system you design), and I'd start with the leafy veggies like spinach, etc. These will pull a bit of the nitrates out of the water, cutting down your water changes somewhat until all of the growbeds are in place.

I'm down the hill from you in Riverside, so you're welcome to stop by and check out my support system for the fish I have. I'm helping someone from Fontana set up their first fish only system (growbeds later), and I'm sure he'd let you check it out once it's in place.

Good luck!

[urbanfarmer]

Welcome socsuccess :twisted:

[davidstcldfl]

Hi socsuccess ....welcome.... :D

[socsuccess]

I'm loving the tips and the warm welcome! Thanks!

There is definitely a difference between what is possible and what works effectively together. Riverside, the tip about Tilapia is huge, thanks for that! I'll also be in touch about checking out your setup, that sounds like fun!

Maybe we'll start with a small, decorative tank (that we have room for and budget for), with gold fish or something... Then we'll scale up as our living situation scales up.

My wife and I are quite powerful manifesters, so lets see what kind of a tank we can come up with soon! Nothing quite like the fire, aim, ready method :)

[JCO]

Welcome to the show....pull up an easy chair, relax and stay awhile. New voices are always a welcome addition to our family..! Whatever questions you have on you mind, this is the place to get the answers. :mrgreen: