Garage greenhouse barrelponics

[apnewb]

Im glad to be on this forum to possibly get some answers so I can move forward with my aquaponics setup. My location (Ohio) unfortunately doesn't have a yard for me to set up anything, nor does it have a basement; but it does have a garage!. The downside to that is it's not heated/cooled and gets very little light. I can put a fan in there for the summer time to keep temps in the low 80's at most, but my main problems comes with winter. The garage doesn't frequently hit freezing levels, but it is poorly insulated which I can fix.

I want to build a small garage greenhouse for a barrelponics setup (Plexi glass, plastic sheeting) but I don't know if this will work. I am wondering...
How warm should I have the greenhouse so that I can grow veggies like tomatoes and beans in the winter?
What type of water heater should I use in a plastic 55 gallon barrel?
What type of HID light should I use, i.e 400, 600, 1000 watt for 2 barrel grow beds?
Can I use dual arc bulbs, do they really work?
Will this bizarre set up actually work?

Any info would be greatly appreciated, even if it means saying this cannot work at all! Thank you for the time
apnewb

[keith_r]

what part of ohio? i'm about 30 miles east of cleveland..
over 1 pair of barrel growbeds, i have 3 pairs of t8 flourescent lights, in the mid 60's i'm growing lots of greens, but i had a couple tomatoes take over the whole gb space, and blocked all the light for the other plants..
what kind of fish are you planning? you shouldn't do to many in a 55 gallon tank, maybe start cycling with minnows, then add your fish? bluegill would be good, or yellow perch.. either will be ok in colder temps, but yp stress when the water gets into the 80's,, not much bothered my bg..

[apnewb]

I was looking at using goldfish at first or possibly blue gills. I read that goldfish can survive a wide range of temps, but i'd like to keep the temp around 70-75 deg. with the use of using some kind of heat source in a tiny greenhouse and in the fish tank. I live south of Dayton and unfortunately can't find any blue gill for sale, maybe i'll just go catch some small ones in a pond later on!

I want to build some type of enclosure for the AP system that measure 6'x6'x6'. Not too big to heat, but big enough to move around in. Of course this is plan can be, and probably will be, changed as I move forward with this project. Any ideas on final stocking densities for 55 gal. barrels and possible pumps to use?
Thanks again for the help.
apnewb