From Imperial Valley California.. SoCal desert

[belikeh2o]

Sup guys.. I've started building a basic aquaponics setup which I hope will one day process my kitchen scraps and such.. anyway here's a link to my blog tracking the progress and ideas. I'm Permaculture certified which is a system of sustainable design i will be using in combination with aquaponics to get the desired result. I'm more knowledgeable about terrestrial sustainability but that just means I SHOULD be learning about water right??

Anyway, a little more about the system, the water is being moved by an air lift pump.. It is being pumped from the bio-filter into the fish tank.. I just stuck an airstone in a piece of pvc tubing and it shoots water out of the tee. The water then cycles back into the bio-filter through a siphon. The tank will contain a mint raft for easy root trimming and goldfish because I hear they're just easy. From here I plan to add biology and tanks to perform different tasks such as an ecosystem would. This is where I should get the ability to process kitchen waste but I'm positive the system will need to build a hearty biology before I can start dumping banana peels in there.

EDITED BY JCO

check it out, pics are included there.

[keith_r]

i'm not really sure what you think you'll accomplish trying to process "scraps" in an aquaponics system..
an occasional banana peel to add potassium is one thing, but scraps?
maybe feed the scraps to worms that you can feed to the fish, and use the compost in your flower garden?

[urbanfarmer]

Greetings Earthling, and welcome to the addiction!

[belikeh2o]

http://www.livingmachines.com/

This is what I'm trying to build based on John Todd's work. I want to build a living machine specifically for composting my kitchen waste aquatically. This happens through natural processes but sped up by linking them together using individual tanks. So eventually this two tank system will be as big as it needs to be to accomplish this goal. I believe in the power of water and life forms to be able to do this. Rivers do this daily and all I'm doing is taking a small snapshot of that river and using it's abilities to get rid of kitchen scraps for two adults. I've lurked a little bit and feel like you guys could help me here and there, even though we're doing it in a slightly different way.

I actually modified it a little bit after I got off of work today. Check it out. I extended the length of the drip tube to give the water a more complete cycle through the system so it meanders through a lot better. I just need to work on getting another air pump to oxygenate the water in there, and slowly add oxygenating plants throughout the system.

[keith_r]

ok.. had a minute to peruse that web page.. looks like an interesting concept, but i don't know about using fish in that type of system.. just keep an eye on your water parameters

good luck, take lots of notes, and pics!

[belikeh2o]

Yeah I'm definitely taking lots of pics and notes. The fish wont actually enter the "stream" where waste is being treated, I plan on adding a series of "tanks" to the system to expand it's capabilities as it matures. Each one will function in a different way, like Typha will be used to purify oil, papyrus and canna for further water polishing in another tank, the fish add ammonia in their tank, shrimp and crabs may live in a settling tank.. It's the whole reason I want to major in botany, I feel like plants and biology would be a superior waste treatment because they can be sold in the end, or released to the wild if your Fish and Game service representative likes the idea. Not to mention it's really fun putting together the plant combinations and purposes in my head.. kinda like building a Ferrari, except with water and fish tanks. I definitely like tinkering and observing so I'm pretty sure this thing is going to eat up my life lol.