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Thread: Media Question

  1. #1
    Members foodchain's Avatar
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    Media Question

    Growing power mixes compost in with coir for media. I have never heard of this, and in reading on their site the logic makes sense.
    Seems like it would be a good host for the red worms too.
    Is anyone else doing this? I would think it would tint the water and throw the chemistry all off....might have to look into this some and see if I am not missing an opportunity that I had overlooked previously. What do you all think?
    At first I left this blank...but now I believe: "It's better to keep your mouth closed, and have the world think your a fool, than open it and confirm it."

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    Re: Media Question

    i think that's the media in pots that they water with water from the ap system..
    not flow through.. at least i don't think so

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    Moderator urbanfarmer's Avatar
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    Re: Media Question

    Quote Originally Posted by foodchain
    Growing power mixes compost in with coir for media. I have never heard of this, and in reading on their site the logic makes sense.
    Seems like it would be a good host for the red worms too.
    Is anyone else doing this? I would think it would tint the water and throw the chemistry all off....might have to look into this some and see if I am not missing an opportunity that I had overlooked previously. What do you all think?
    What IS the chemistry? HOW would it throw it off?

    Just trying to provoke some thought!

  4. #4
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    Re: Media Question

    First, I would imagine you would see spikes in your nitrogen cycle...ammonia, nitrates, etc as the compost breaks down, then a drop in PH. You could be introducting pathogens as well, how much I think is debatable. As compost breaks down it produces heat, so wouldn't the heat kill off the pathogens prior to arriving in your system? Then we have the discoloring of the water. Not so much a problem, just not nice looking. Your bacteria levels would sky rocket as the surface area and food levels for that bacteria would explode seemingly in availability. Would any of this really benefit your system overall? Growing Power sais yes....I don't know...and doubt I will until I actually try it. Posting here, as someone else's efforts might save me from setting up yet another headache.

    This brings up another issue. Oilgae. This is not a current viable operation due to the high cost of operating, collection, and seperation of the lipid oils. However, since algae loves the similar environments that we produce in AP why can't the algae be produced as an alternative crop? Like our duckweed beds? Their HUGE nutritional benefits to this stuff as a feed supplement, depending on the variety you choose to grow. Utilizing the lipid oils then to produce a better biodeisel fuel as it's much more productive than current ethynol, or so I read.

    Mushrooms put off CO2, they love being wet, and in the dark....if you were to use the compost bedding, why not then grow the mushroom? Algae and duckweed love CO2, so the mushroom within reason aids the growth of the algae and duckweed, which in turn contribute to the overall balance of the system while still providing a wider range of produce/crops for the owner/operator. And the excess is readily consumed by the fish/compost pile/worm beds.

    What am I missing? Large production systems seem to falter due to being to monoculture oriented, or otherwise not able to produce year round which a stable market requires. Regardless if it's a corn farmer, beef rancher, etc if you only produce one crop you are subject to a fluctuating market. Isn't this why I was told to get a major in one area, and a minor in a completely unrelated field. So that I would always have work? Is not agriculture the same way? If the price of beef crashes, you don't lose your shirt as you have 50 acres of corn in the ground.

    So why doesn't AP or the related feilds follow suit? If you only grow lettuce or spinach, your salad is gonna be pretty crappy. If you grow only lettuce, and rely on buying the other salad fixings from the store are you not introducing the same toxins, etc you were trying to keep out of your diet by growing your own?

    Did I miss the bus on this? I am royaly confused as I seem to be going in circles on this.
    At first I left this blank...but now I believe: "It's better to keep your mouth closed, and have the world think your a fool, than open it and confirm it."

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    Re: Media Question

    I believe, and this get's to be a more stronger and stronger belief the more I read and listen. That the more diversified your operation is, the healthier, and more productive in both produce but $'s it will be/can be. Nature seems to work, by one organism complimenting another, not really a true symbiotic relationship...but just complimenting.

    So, why do we not try to follow suit with our setups and designs and our aquatic life? I have jsut scratched the surface on this in my own operation by keeping prawns and tilapia together. My yeilds are regularly about 8% higher when I do it this way vs seperate. Stronger broods, better hatch rate, and faster growth. Can't prove it's the prawns...but I think it is. It's the only variable I can sift out. What if the same concepts work on the plant side?
    At first I left this blank...but now I believe: "It's better to keep your mouth closed, and have the world think your a fool, than open it and confirm it."

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    Re: Media Question

    http://science.howstuffworks.com/enviro ... iesel3.htm

    Scroll down to see the diagram on page 3 I believe it is, use the left and right arrows about 2/3 the way down. The two diagrams lay this process out rather simply.
    At first I left this blank...but now I believe: "It's better to keep your mouth closed, and have the world think your a fool, than open it and confirm it."

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    Re: Media Question

    Why couldn't the left over biomass, which according to what I am reading still has 25% oil and sugars still in it, be dried and fed to the tilapia as a feedstock? In similar ways to silage being fed to cattle. It's not a staple, but should be high enough protein still to compensate some of the diet and reduce the overall expenses. Use the biofuel to run vehicle or heat a burner system to provide heat to green house/fish room.
    At first I left this blank...but now I believe: "It's better to keep your mouth closed, and have the world think your a fool, than open it and confirm it."

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