New going hungry and needing alot of help

[bsfman]

you might look into incorporating black soldier fly larva and red wiggler earthworms into the mix.

Unfortunately, Black Soldier Flies are not typically found often above USDA zone 7 (and rarely in zone 6). Even zones 6 and 7 have short seasons of just a few months in the summer when BSF can be found. Zone 5 in Iowa - sorry to say they aren't gonna be there. While I agree feeding BSF larvae is wonderful for the fish, the cost of importing sufficient quantities outside their native areas would be prohibitive.

[rfeiller]

i thought this is something he was considering doing in his basement, wouldn't it be possible to produce them there, especially if he could get ahold of the wingless strain? (i believe i read somewhere there was such a thing)

[bsfman]

i thought this is something he was considering doing in his basement, wouldn't it be possible to produce them there, especially if he could get ahold of the wingless strain? (i believe i read somewhere there was such a thing)

Nope. No wingless strain of BSF. Must be some other insect you heard about. Some people have been able to captively breed BSF in greenhouses, but again, getting a sufficient quantity to establish a breeding population is extremely prohibitive cost wise. He would be better off investigating mealworms or superworms or even breeding crickets (though I have no experience breeding any of them). I do have a lot of experience breeding BSF though, and sorry to say it just ain't an economically feasible option for somebody living in Iowa.

[Corey B]

I do appreciate all the help so far. So BSF are out. that kinda sucks. But all this info is useless unless i know for sure that I can use my upstairs or if the basement at only 6' high is enough space to do an aquaponics system. I have also been looking at aireoponics and it takes a lot less water/ weight so I know it can be used up stairs taking advantage of the space I have. but 3,600 + pounds is a lot of weight for up stairs And I do not know if it is even possible.

[bsfman]

I do appreciate all the help so far. So BSF are out. that kinda sucks. But all this info is useless unless i know for sure that I can use my upstairs or if the basement at only 6' high is enough space to do an aquaponics system. I have also been looking at aireoponics and it takes a lot less water/ weight so I know it can be used up stairs taking advantage of the space I have. but 3,600 + pounds is a lot of weight for up stairs And I do not know if it is even possible.

Your fish won't care about ceiling height in the basement. If you are less than 6' tall or if taller and you don't mind stooping to tend your fish and crops, the basement should do juft fine.

I grow outdoors, but from what I've read, plants do better with artificial light close by rather than far away. If in doubt about floor weight bearing capacity, I'd go with the basement. Gives you more living space upstairs too. Beats having a huge tank and grow beds in your living room too!

[Corey B]

Ok Off to Des Moines to do some shopping for parts What is the best pump to use. How well would a sump pump work I want to airate as well as move the water with one pump as well as have enough size to add on latter. So I was thinking close to 1,000 GPH What do you all think?

[Bioritize]

Corey,

I like the larger pump, because you can always shoot the water back into the tank then using ball valves adjust the flow rates to your grow beds.

[JCO]

Sump pumps are not meant for continous use. Check out Home Depot or Lowes....they usually put their pond pumps on sale this time of the year and are usually a pretty good deal. The bigger the better. As mentioned above, you can always divert some of the water back into the fish tank.

[Corey B]

So will a plain old sump pump from the hardware store work? Are there any problems with running a sump pump vs a pound/fountain pump. It seems you get alot more GPH per $ with a sump vs others.

[Corey B]

Sump pumps are not meant for continous use. Check out Home Depot or Lowes....they usually put their pond pumps on sale this time of the year and are usually a pretty good deal. The bigger the better. As mentioned above, you can always divert some of the water back into the fish tank.

Sorry I did not get your post tell I got home my phone is not the best for web use. I guess it is a good thing I did not go with a sump then. I did see a 3,600 GPH pound pump on sale for $95 reg $189 but it took like 320 watts so I did not know how bad that would be on the old electric bill as well as that is really over kill for the system I am wanting to start with.
I also have a question about kid pools I seen a lot of those little plastic pools for sale for under $10 I know they are a touch short but how well would one of those cheep kid pools work for a fish tank? I bet it would hold 100+ Gal.
I did get something I hope will work for grow beds Concrete mixing tubs they are about 3'X2' X 8" deep I know that the 101 says 12" but I have not been able to find anything that would work.
Let me know your thoughts. thanks