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  1. #1
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    Knowledge sponge from Illinois

    Hello everyone, I'm 23 years old living near Chicago, IL. It is currently freezing here and covered in snow... it's also raining... I've always felt like an old soul. I definitely don't "fit" with people my age but I found my other half who is just like me! He's soon to be 26, an army veteran, we have the same interests and ambitions for what we want out of life. I'm always interested in learning new things... okay more like using every moment of down time and in between to research anything and everything of interest. My major passion is animals, I was going to school for veterinary medicine but that is put on hold because it's just not practical with today's economy. Enough about me, let's get to the good stuff!

    I ended up at aquaponics because of my interest in one day having a more self sustaining life. Not to the extent of no electricity mind you (although the idea of solar panels is quite intriguing to me)! More to the extent of I'd rather grow and raise my food than buy things I'm not sure of at the grocery store. My ultimate goal is to move out of Illinois (the boyfriend and I have been looking at East Texas or maybe a close-by state near the South since we hate the Chicago wind and extreme snows) once the move happens (we're aiming for April 2014) we'd like to look around for a house with some acres and slowly incorporate more things to be more efficient (start with chickens and move our way on up). I've even gone to the extent of learning butchering and things like that. I wasn't joking when I said I research extensively haha anyways I ended up stumbling upon aquaponics and it sounds rather ideal since it is almost essentially a complete little (or big!) ecosystem where each thing is beneficial to the next. I really love the concept and so I figured my best bet would be to start small since we're currently in an apartment and then go bigger once moved and established in a house.

    I've already read a ton on aquaponics and am still getting any and all information, tips, tricks, etc. that I can. I stumbled upon this site from... I believe a blog. I figured instead of laying low I'd put myself out there and see what information I can soak up from all of you veterans and even the new guys :P (and gals). My ultimate goal is to end up making an in depth... I suppose blog of sorts with the steps I end up taking from the apartment to a bigger system. Pictures, the parts and steps for assembly... I'm pretty sure you all get it haha I want to have it all laid out so other people like myself can glean what they want out of it or even not make whatever mistakes I might make and/or see solutions to overcome them.

    Once we're moved and go for a bigger system, I will probably go the tilapia route. I happen to love eating fish, mainly white meat fish. My boyfriend however does not eat it (I'm pretty sure he'd eat white fish fried and smothered in ketchup though! ), although he will eat other sea food... so I've been looking around at possibly some sort of compromise or maybe two FT's so that he can get something out of it as well.

    So I will just jump on in to what I've been looking at and what I've decided or need more insight in order to decide! Any and all feed back, criticism, information, tips, etc. are welcome!


    Since I'm in an apartment until our big move... space is obviously a big factor and of course this also means it would be indoors (then again I don't think anything could survive Chicago seasons haha!). I haven't quite decided how big of a FT I want to go. I am aware that smaller ones tend to have more issues in terms of levels, etc. which is why I've been wondering just how big I can go. I guess space isn't a huge issue since the boyfriend and I are quite simplistic in our living. Neither of us care for crazy expensive/elaborate things. We'd much rather enjoy time together and then of course there's our pets. I swear we've spent more money on them than us! I'm positive they eat better than us as well Right now we currently have a whole room vacant... although there has been some talk of starting a family in the near future so I don't know if that means the room will be taken up or not (odds are that'll happen in Texas so let's ignore that factor for now)! I know that I don't want to go as big as 100 gallons, I think that would be far too extreme for an apartment. But I'm also not sure that I want to start as small as 30 gallons. I know we'll be doing an ebb & flow system. Instead of writing a million paragraphs (which I'm quite good at) I will just write bullet questions/thoughts for anyone to comment on:

    -If I want to start out by growing things like lettuce, spinach, some herbs, and maybe a cherry tomato plant or 2... how much space do you think I would roughly need for something like that (grow bed size)? I like all of those things listed whereas my boyfriend would only eat the spinach and some herbs.

    -Would 2 beds be more ideal for the things I'm interested in growing?

    -I've read that tomatoes do better in a grow bed medium other than gravel... so odds are it would have to be separate then? Or could I still put it with the rest of the bed?

    -I know people typically use gold fish or small koi for systems that aren't huge. I doubt I would have a system large enough to grow edible fish... so are there any other fun/useful options?

    -Are there options that are not fish? Or perhaps things that can co-exist with the fish and live harmoniously without poorly affecting the plant growth? Or perhaps even aiding in the system?

    -I've read that some people start growing directly in the system but have to deal with seeds washing away while other people have their nursery to start out then transfer... I feel like most people I've read about transfer to their grow beds... what is involved in the process of the plants going from a potted setting to the grow bed media?

    -I've looked around for people that grow asparagus. I've seen a couple people say they do but they haven't posted anything on how they go about it. I know asparagus in general are a bit different than just growing lettuce and other easy plants so I was wondering if anyone has knowledge of this? Or perhaps I've overlooked a post with explanations/experience?

    -What if I were interested in growing onions? Garlic?

    I'll stop here for now since I've already written a lot and I'd rather have the questions I currently have get answered instead of overlooked. If there are already posts that I haven't had the chance to read that explain any of my questions feel free to post the link or web-site instead of writing it all out! Or you can write a ton like I do

  2. #2
    Moderator urbanfarmer's Avatar
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    Re: Knowledge sponge from Illinois

    Greetings Earthling, and welcome to the addiction!

  3. #3
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    Thanks!

    I've read further and it seems like some people don't even start doing tomatoes until a year or more because tomatoes require more nitrates to grow and they'll steal it from other plants in your grow bed... so wouldn't you be able to just have one dedicated to tomatoes? Assuming you love tomatoes haha

    Also read more about different critters that can live in the FT's. I already knew about crayfish and then I saw stuff on... I believe mussels. But still curious if anyone has tried other things? Maybe shrimp or something along those lines?

    I was pleased to read that green beans apparently grow like weeds and since they grow upwards they don't take up much room :P

    Still haven't really seen anyone talk about asparagus or onions... I'm sure they're out there and I will find them haha

  4. #4
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    Re: Knowledge sponge from Illinois

    i've grown onions, garlic, leaks and chives, all did well.. asparagus takes a couple years, i may plant some in my indoor system

  5. #5
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    Re: Knowledge sponge from Illinois

    I was told that it is recommended that Asparagus not be harvested until the 3rd year after planting in soil before you harvest. This is supposedly to allow the plant to grow enough roots to withstand harvesting.
    Scott
    Jesup (S.E.), Georgia, USA

  6. #6
    Members bsfman's Avatar
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    Re: Knowledge sponge from Illinois

    A 55 gallon fish tank and two 2'X3'X8" deep mortar tubs from Home Depot might be an ideal indoor starter system. Some shop light flourescent fixtures from Home Depot along with 9 bags of pea gravel for the media, a small pump, some 1/2" PVC and fittings and you're good to go!

    Don't believe that stuff about tomatos not doing good in gravel. I just uprooted some 30 odd indeterminant tomato vines that were nearly an inch thick at the base and 12 to 15 feet long that were growing in gravel!

    By the way, welcome to the forum!

    Texas will definitely give you better outdoor options than Illinois!

  7. #7
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    Re: Knowledge sponge from Illinois

    Thanks for the responses everyone!

    Great to hear the onions, garlic, etc. grow well! I figured asparagus would be far more complex and tedious since it is when grown in dirt so why would it suddenly be quick and easy in water? Does anyone know if there's anyone on here that's had success when growing asparagus? Perhaps it's best to start them in dirt then transplant them? Or perhaps they wouldn't withstand it? I haven't really heard about many people having success with them so that just means more research for me!

    Thanks for the in depth response towards a system bsfman! I always enjoy reading your posts, they're very informative. I've been reading different things online and obviously everyone has a different way of doing things and different guidelines but I guess I was wondering about people's input/opinions on the things I've found:

    A 50 gallon tank supports 6-8 cubic feet of grow bed? I've seen one person say that it's a 1:1 ratio and I've seen people say it's a 1:2 ratio. I'm not sure if that's dependent on people who have higher stock densities in which case I know they have to add things to their system such as filtration... so if the 6-8 cubic feet is the case then you're looking at something that's 3'x2'x1' or 4'x2'x1' or something like 24"x24"x18" (I put this one in because I've also read that you want your FT at a depth of at least 18"?). I've also read various things of 1lb to 1.5lbs of fish for every 5-10 gallons of water? I guess I'm just figuring out what can I have and how much grow space I can have. Right now I'm thinking 50-60 gallon. Don't think I want to go to 75 for now. I might consider 75 if it's worth my while haha

  8. #8
    Members Roger R.'s Avatar
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    Re: Knowledge sponge from Illinois

    Why would you ever want to move out of Illinois? It's the the best place on earth!

    Central Illinois here.

  9. #9
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    Re: Knowledge sponge from Illinois

    Hahaha that's great! I'm thinking one of the reasons is because winter is the LONGEST season here. Not to mention just the other day there was already enough snow then it decided to rain... then it changed its mind and decided to snow again. Because everyone loves ice, snow, and freezing wind :-/ haha moving somewhere warm is the best bet!

  10. #10
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    Re: Knowledge sponge from Illinois

    Okay so question from a thought... if you have something like clams in your system... which are literally a filtration unit... wouldn't you be able to have a slightly higher stocking density? I'm not saying anything crazy, I just mean since they're very effective filters and all. Not to mention edible I know other people have clams and brag about how great they are. It just makes sense to me. Like I know people use crayfish to either help clean the tanks, add phosphorus to their system for the plants, and/or eat up the fish eggs to keep their female tilapias from going on hunger strikes to fatten them up faster. I don't think I'd ever want to eat a crayfish... even my boyfriend says they just taste dirty haha of course that could be that they didn't come from a cleaner water source? Because I've seen some people refer to them as "freshwater lobster." I doubt that's the case but I'm just throwing out things I've read for discussion

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