Aquaponic Location Question

[danh]

If I decide to setup an aquaponic system in my basement, do I need to be worried about humidity? Will I need to build a glassboard room with an exhaust fan? I don't want any water damage to the floor joists of my house.

[keith_r]

i've been running 150gallons of fishtanks in my basement since last fall.. no humidtity then, but i will see this summer (we get really humid weather in the summer anyways..)

basement has actually been drier this past winter..ymmv

[danh]

keith_r,
Are you raising tilapia or a colder water fish? What type of grow lights are you using? I'm looking at the LED lights currently. What type of grow beds are you using?

[keith_r]

i have yellow perch and bluegill (could be green sunfish, could be hybrids, not sure)
water this winter would have been way to cool for tilapia, the 25 yp i just added earlier this year are doing well, i still have about 15 of the original fish that have grown well too..
i'm using 3pairs of t8 flourescents (4 cool bulbs and 2 warm bulbs), lots of lettuce, carrots, radishes all doing well
tomatoes are coming up, a couple of zuchini have started, and one cantaloupe doing suprisingly well..one brocholi plant i keep cutting the leaves off of..(for the minnow tank)
the growbeds are just 2 halves of a 55 gallon blue barrel cut long ways, filled with mostly river gravel and "topped off" with hydroton

[danh]

I was thinking about going with yp also. Are you using the barrellponics setup?

[keith_r]

yeah, slightly modified, started with 2 pairs of growbeds last spring and a 110gallon rubbermaid stock tank..
in the basement i'm using 3 55 gallon glass tanks, trying to figure out a bigger tank now..

[keith_r]

oh, and i had 25 3" yellow perch delivered overnight for about $55, if you want contact info, let me know..

[urbanfarmer]

Devices to measure relative humidity are very inexpensive. Monitor the numbers and adjust accordingly. I HAD an indoor grow room with only about 100 gallons and grow lights (and 1 south facing window) and the room would hit 90 degrees with a very high humidity. I had the room sealed off, AC didn't pump in, and air would only move in/out the window when I manually ran a fan.

Humidity here in FL though, is normally high. You may not have this issue whatsoever. I even bought a 1000 watt dehumidifier to run in the room. I would get buckets and buckets of water, and I was very confused where it came from because I wasn't losing that much water. Probably the crappy building quality of these brand new condos... just crap... but anyway...

[danh]

keith_r,

I have a local fish farmer who sells 3-4" yp for $0.85. Not sure what he would charge for shipping? http://www.shelbyfishfarm.com

Do you use any other filtration in your system (clarifiers, mineralization, degassing) or just the growbeds?

[keith_r]

thanks for the info,, they do deliver, but for small quantities it's more expensive...
i did some work up near detroit last year and got my fish from "fin farm" in northwest ohio.. i figured with gas at 4 bucks a gallon it was cheaper to have the second batch delivered (from a different vendor)
i got bluegill and crayfish from a fish farm in northeast ohio.. highwater fish farm i think..
it's been nice finding all the farms in ohio.. when i build up my bigger basement systems (i found ibc's for 20 bucks, but gotta find out what was in them) i'll want to try a batch of trout..
i do have 2 swirl filters, based on what "Big Al" showed a great set of pictures on in his greenhouse thread, using 5 gallon buckets, scrubbie pads and mesh

[rfeiller]

moisture can not only cause hidden dryrot, but mold and mildew. which means when you go to sell your home,if you own it, you will have to disclose that. the cost for remediation is very high. of course it depends on how much water in your system. folks have a couple hundred gallons in aquariums in their living rooms and have no problem at all. when i lived in houston, tx, a 10gal tank could tip the scales! if it didn't turn green it rusted. you can get a humidity gauge fairly cheap.
in my fish rooms i wrap the room in visqueen, but then that is for several thousand gallons of water.

[urbanfarmer]

Yea, just investigate your RH before you do anything and you should be fine. Remember, mold can't grow without all the conditions it needs to grow. Google around you will find out more about it.

[danh]

Thanks for the great info guys! Nice "how to" on the swirl filter from Big Al!

Keith, what type of aeration do you use in your system? Do you use it just in the FT's or do you also use it elsewhere? What are your thoughts on the best GB's to use (NFT, media filled or raft)? What type of containers do you use for your FT? Hope you don't mind all the questions, just trying to figure out the best way to go about this, being new and all.

Anyone have any experience with the systems from Nelson & Pade? Seem REALLY, REALLY expensive.

[keith_r]

i've got one smaller air pump with 2 outlets and 4" stones going into both my swirl filters..
i've got one bigger 4 outlet pump with 4 4" stones going into the fish tanks
my growbeds drain into the ft every 15 minutes
my ups unit is in the shop getting checked out.. found some ibc's for gb's and have my fingers crossed that it won't fall through.. i think the best i can do for the ft is going to be an 8' pool.. i'll probably get one more larger air pump for that system

[urbanfarmer]

i've got one smaller air pump with 2 outlets and 4" stones going into both my swirl filters..
i've got one bigger 4 outlet pump with 4 4" stones going into the fish tanks
my growbeds drain into the ft every 15 minutes
my ups unit is in the shop getting checked out.. found some ibc's for gb's and have my fingers crossed that it won't fall through.. i think the best i can do for the ft is going to be an 8' pool.. i'll probably get one more larger air pump for that system
I thought swirl filters were supposed to serve as degassing tanks too?