Saltwater aquaponics?

[urbanfarmer]

I have done some more research as far as the plants go. There are a lot of ornamental saltwater aquarium plants you can grow that sell for quite a bit retail. I have seen some SMALL plants selling for $15 online. Also, they don't even require a medium or a raft, you can just place them IN the water! You have inspired me to build a small saltwater aquaponic setup in the next few months to try it out.

[dufflight]

Just a note on sea salt. Because it contains a lot of trace not found in soil due to leeching over the years it is added to AP, hydro and soil gardens. Even after a tsunami that floods crops lands they have found that the plants grow a lot better now. Different salts can cause problems for your plants. I put 160kgs of sea salt into my AP system and the plants have used a lot of this and it probably needs another 100kgs.

[urbanfarmer]

Just a note on sea salt. Because it contains a lot of trace not found in soil due to leeching over the years it is added to AP, hydro and soil gardens. Even after a tsunami that floods crops lands they have found that the plants grow a lot better now. Different salts can cause problems for your plants. I put 160kgs of sea salt into my AP system and the plants have used a lot of this and it probably needs another 100kgs.

Well, as you know in aquaponic systems we have trouble getting our Potassium. Interestingly enough:

Potassium deficiency can be greatly alleviated in the presence of sodium but the resulting sodium-rich plants are much more succulent than a high potassium plant. In some plants over 90% of the required potassium can be replaced with sodium without any reduction in growth.

http://4e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=t&id=289

And, since the plants take up Chloride, you are basically letting the plants eat up your sea salt (NaCl). Neat, huh?

[dufflight]

And remember the fish like the salt too.

[gosmith]

Personally, I think this is a great idea and would love to see some experimentation being done. Why should you have to live by an ocean to enjoy fresh local seafood? Flood and drain grow beds could be easily adapted with sloped gravel beds to become rocky intertidal zones to grow various shellfish and other filter-feeders, as well as to provide habitat for marine worms, ghost shrimp, and other fauna that could be fed to salt-water fish living in the tanks.

Benthic algae (bottom anchored seaweeds) grow at incredible rates when nutrients and temperatures are right and can go directly into dirt gardens as fertilizer, but can also serve as a food source for various crustaceans and fish. There are also many varieties around the world that are eaten by people, so don't think you can't grow edible plants in a salt-water system. Nori is probably the most commonly known in the west, since the roasted sheets are used to wrap sushi. It's also good in soups and salads. High in calcium, iron, phosphorous, potassium, and lots of vitamins. Dulse (Palmaria) is harvested in Europe, especially Ireland and Scandinavia, and used in soups, salads, and stir-fry. Kombu supposedly tastes like bacon when it is roasted, although I've never tried it. There's a ton of others. Some of this stuff sells for $20 or more per dried ounce. Google "edible seaweed" for info and recipes.

Dissolved nutrients can also be taken up directly by phytoplankton to become the basis of a food chain to feed various zooplankton, including shellfish and crustacean larvae spawned in the growbeds, which in turn feed the fish species you want to raise.

I do think it might take some tinkering to find all the right species to pull this off while creating a balanced system, but that is where the fun is. My guess would be that larger would be better.

Gary

[korosho]

We've got a small aquaponics setup here at home, but a little fish tank and some sprouts.
I really like the idea that the concept puts forth. I've put some time into different ideas and concepts, so it's neat to see people coming up with saltwater too.

I live near an ocean, with not a lot of good growing soil around. to be able to convert tidal pools, areas with less momentum than full ocean, but as a salt water plant hosting water source.

I see posts by people who suggest growing seaweed, and salt resistant plants, which all makes sense, but shouldn't there be an easy solution?

Can we not filter out the salt, ionically bond it to metal before it is passed to the plants?

My idea spreads from covering small ocean inlets with growing medium and catwalks. Same with small ponds and lakes, why not use ~1/3 of their surface area as a growing surface?

[JCO]

korosho, please go to your profile section and put in the city, state/country where you live. There might be members close to you.

[urbanfarmer]

I forgot to mention that if the plants uptake the Na+ ion from the water, the Cl- ions will typically find each other and off gas assuming there is more uptake of Na+ ion than Cl- otherwise if the plant grabs Cl- first it will leave the Na+ in the water. Since there would be more Na+ in the water the Cl- would not gas off as it would be playing around with the Na+ and staying very soluble.

[korosho]

I forgot to mention that if the plants uptake the Na+ ion from the water, the Cl- ions will typically find each other and off gas assuming there is more uptake of Na+ ion than Cl- otherwise if the plant grabs Cl- first it will leave the Na+ in the water. Since there would be more Na+ in the water the Cl- would not gas off as it would be playing around with the Na+ and staying very soluble.

I like it!

the introduction of seawater to plants shouldn't be so bad given the right circumstances, some companion plants that deal well with Cl gas wouldn't be a bad idea.

My idea seemed to be under the scene of a aquaponic style growing system immersed in tide pools, with controlled growing beds that can allow each bed to be electrolyzed, allowing the plants to access the pure water without necessarily needing to deal with the salinisation at all.

imagine growing plants in essentially very weak salt water batteries..

[badflash]

Just make sure your plants are salt tolerant. Many are not. Jackalope wiped out his system once treating sick fish with salt.