Biology Question

[commander]

I am aghast. You are seriously proposing that people do research on their own? You want people to actually READ! OR, horror or horrors, invest time in compiling data and actually doing quantitative analysis of the data and then, gasp, formulating their own interpretation and conclusions! Why, are you some kind of throwback? (REMOVING MY TONGUE FROM MY CHEEK AND DOING AND EXAGGERATED EYE ROLL).

[urbanfarmer]

I am aghast. You are seriously proposing that people do research on their own? You want people to actually READ! OR, horror or horrors, invest time in compiling data and actually doing quantitative analysis of the data and then, gasp, formulating their own interpretation and conclusions! Why, are you some kind of throwback? (REMOVING MY TONGUE FROM MY CHEEK AND DOING AND EXAGGERATED EYE ROLL).

(Textbooks) are excellent resources because the information presented is representative of the body of human scientific knowledge...

Well, yes.
To a certain extent.
Within the context of the era and philosophy within which they are published.
Just as the references are born of research
which ordinarily supports conclusions
congruent with the views of the funding body.

If you're looking for answers to questions that are truly important to you
there is simply no substitute for looking at the research for yourself.
Education is not so much about learning facts
as about learning how to learn!

Right! We call that process science.

[WAbedroomponics]

Ok I have used this site for a long time and as I have gotten older (a year changes a lot about you when you're only 17) I have wanted to learn more on my own about aquaponics and the biology and chemistry of the systems. Would anybody be able to suggest any good helpful books? I know and understand a lot (but yet so little) about why the different things happen and how to fix and improvise for most situations (but I am by far NO EXPERT!). I love to read just not fiction like most people… I LOVE to read textbooks and data and scientific explanations and to look at the data that backs it up and just everything about it. So anything that can start me off on the search for knowledge. It doesn’t have to be the perfect book just a book to point me in the right direction.

[foodchain]

The problem I find, is a lot of this stuff is learned by experience. The books I have, depending on age...some of which are not that old are in direct contradiction with one another. My experience with more than 20 years of messing with this...is that it's more art than science. Everything is a balancing act. When I adjust something on one end, it effects something on the other...some times this is intended and expected, other times it's a surprise. Books and data has only been able to provide me with a foundation. Nothing beats hands on in my opinion.

[keith_r]

there isn't a ton of "aquaponics research" that is published by reputable sources, and what works in one area, might not be such a good idea in another..
but there are some important basics that you can find lots of information on..
studies on different species of fish, studies on fish feed, etc
there are some places that have published some good ap specific studies.. like UVI..(In the Virgin Islands).. Dr James Rakocy is considered the "father of aquaponics" from his studies there..
i've been trying to get the book "small scale aquaculture" that has some great information in it..
then you have the whole study of plants and nutrient uptake...etc..
there's also the mechanical engineering that goes into a system.. figuring out the load of growbeds to support, plumbing, electrical backup system..
and don't forget chemistry...

[urbanfarmer]

Ok I have used this site for a long time and as I have gotten older (a year changes a lot about you when you're only 17) I have wanted to learn more on my own about aquaponics and the biology and chemistry of the systems. Would anybody be able to suggest any good helpful books? I know and understand a lot (but yet so little) about why the different things happen and how to fix and improvise for most situations (but I am by far NO EXPERT!). I love to read just not fiction like most people… I LOVE to read textbooks and data and scientific explanations and to look at the data that backs it up and just everything about it. So anything that can start me off on the search for knowledge. It doesn’t have to be the perfect book just a book to point me in the right direction.

We'll make an aquaponics expert out of you yet maggot!

Well, I'm not sure what the depth of knowledge that you seek, but you sound like me so I will give you the full monty. These are a few of the books I have read, and I feel these give you the best concise information on relevant topics:

1a) Biology & Chemistry foundation to understand advanced topics in aquaponics:
http://www.khanacademy.org/#biology
http://www.khanacademy.org/#chemistry

1b) Biology & Chemistry foundation to understand advanced topics in aquaponics (alternative to 1a):
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/biology/7-01 ... pring-2005
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/chemistry/5- ... -lectures/

2) Beginning topics on aquaponics:

Aquaculture: An Introductory Text (2nd Edition) by R. R. Stickney
ISBN-10: 1845935438
ISBN-13: 978-1845935436

Botany for Gardeners: Third Edition
ISBN-10: 160469095X
ISBN-13: 978-1604690958

3) Advanced topics in aquaponics:

Handbook of Plant Nutrition by Allen V. Barker (Editor), David J. Pilbeam (Editor)
ISBN-10: 9780824759049
ISBN-13: 978-0824759049
ASIN: 0824759044

Tilapia: Biology, Culture, And Nutrition
ISBN-10: 1560223189
ISBN-13: 978-1560223184

4) Supplemental material:

Tilapia Culture
NOTE: This is a fast read and you can read this instead of Tilapia: Biology, Culture, And Nutrition TO START, but should ultimately be read in addition to everything else.
ISBN-10: 0851990142
ISBN-13: 978-0851990149

There is a lot of published research I would add to this list, but it is on my hard drive in a giant mess of files (thousands of scientific documents that I need to organize). If you are looking for a broad education on aquaponics, the above is a GOOD STARTING PLACE. You will note I don't have any material specifically on hydroponics. I feel it would be redundant and the topic is discussed in the above literature in adequate detail for our purposes. If you want to skip step 1 above you can jump straight into step 2, but the rest of the literature will be way over your head without some basic science courses under your belt (the books in step 2 are introductory texts geared more towards the layman). The above only scratches the surface in my opinion, but in reality if you absorb all that knowledge it would make you more of an "expert" than 98% of the consultants and trainers out there charging thousands for their "expert knowledge" on the topic. Anyway, ENJOY!

[WAbedroomponics]

Thank you I will get right to reading those. This will be fun lol

[Shas]

My suggestion is similar to what the Urban Farmer gave you
but a bit less specific:
I don't have a background in aquaponics
(never heard of it a year ago)
but the basic general principles from my biology degree
allow me to make a lot of shrewd guesses
and assess a fair amount of aquaponics advice
as BS or useful.

(I hypothesised the production of piscine growth inhibiting hormones
years before the question was addressed by formal research.
It turns out I was correct, and more importantly
acting upon my speculation allowed me to earn enough money
from raising cichlids to put me through university!)

I would look up first-year biology courses
from a couple of reputable colleges/universities
and see what textbooks are being assigned.
Then I'd google a textbook exchange and buy a few of them cheaply.
I've always loved reading biology texts,
and you will in effect be able to give yourself a university course
that you will use every day of your life.

I wish I had been as wide-awake and focused at your age.
I was mostly doing manual labour and marching in peace demonstrations :=)

[WAbedroomponics]

I want to learn alot and be ready for college because I want to be a bio/chemist working in ocean acidification and similar environmental work because not enough people care to work in those areas and since I love sitting in front of a microscope counting chromosomes or alga I feel like I must do it lol and my biology and bio/chem teachers would tan my hide if I wasted my passion for bio/chemistry and the environment

[Shas]

Those are good passions.
I loved working in the lab
as well as on the beach.
The most fun courses I ever took, without exception,
were in Marine Invertebrate Biology.

Go get 'em, kid!
We need people like you
who care about more than making big bucks!