Hello from the Great White North

[jvision]

This winter, after a few consecutive days of bad snow storms, we went to the grocery store to restock the fridge. The produce section was bare b/c the delivery trucks couldn't get through! We decided that it was time to get a bit serious about AP b/c it's clear that we are at the mercy of ground transport for anything fresh.
I had a basement AP system at my last place that ran off of my aquarium fish systems (I've been keeping and breeding aquarium fish for close to 25yrs). It was a little too cold down there for the tomatoes over the winter; however, we moved into a larger house this summer and I'll be building a climate-controled fishroom and most of the tanks (14 right now) will be filtered mainly with AP.

I'd like to do a Banana tree and maybe a lime tree in our south-facing living room. A dislpay tank feeding these trees has been kyboshed b/c of space restrictions, so I am wondering if a stock tank with crayfish (Australian Red Claw, I guess?) would produce enough for them. The days can be pretty short in the winter, this far north - I'm thinking I may need some supplimental lighting in the dark months. When the time comes to set this up, I'll probably start a thread to gain some input and show the set-up progress. I haven't set up any AP yet at this new place (we moved in July), but I'll be posting as the projects come - the first will be something simple on a turtle tank (thinking a pseudo NFT).

Cheers!

[eddiemigue]

Welcome Jason!

You will definitely be fighting the elements/climate, especially if you go with tropical plantings. You may want to start with easier, cold weather greens while you learn the trade. Definitely post your plans, and folks will provide plenty of feedback.

[jvision]

The system I had in my last basement grew the tomato plants fine - they were almost 6' tall - just a little too chilly to fruit. They started to bloom about the time I decided to take it all down in preparation for the move. In my basement at this place, it will probably be around 80F, so temperatrure won't be a problem... stocking density is the concern I have once the plants start to mature.
My wife asked me to set up a little herb AP for her at the kitchen sink, so I set up a 10gal FT and ordered some fish (they max out at 2", will show pics once I get it all set up). We're still in discussion about the living room system, and I have to fix up the laundry room in the basement before I can build my fishroom. Plus, we want to garden in our yard... good thing we still have 5 months before we can start that this far north!!