Hello DIYAQUA!

I did the green house thing last year as part of my Personal Greenification. This year I was going to do some more raised beds and then a friend suggested I just skip raise beds and do a raised pond. After he explained to me what Aquaponics was I just knew I had to get my feet wet! So here I am with lots of questions. If you could answer any of them I would be ever grateful.

1.) Turtles / Crayfish (fresh water prawns) / Fish? Which are easier to use? So far I'm leaning towards turtles. Apparently they are more resilient to ammonia build up and other environmental changes.

2.) Assuming I'm growing fish, what is the ideal water temperature I am wanting to grow?

3.) How many fish do I need to produce food for a plant?

4.) Does the Nitrifying bacteria grow on it's own? Or do I need to add it? Should I regularly add it?

5.) What do you feed the fish? If you feed them fish flakes and other common food for fish, doesn't that mean you are indirectly eating sunlight and fish flakes in the veggies that grow out of it?

6.) How do you check for ammonia ppm?

7.) I have read that Aquaponics is great for nitrogen heavy vegetables such as spinach and basil. What if I want to grow some food that is phosphorus heavy as well? Such as a tomato or cucumber? Is it possible to add chemical fertilizers in small quantities to the pond? How much is too much etc?

8.) If I grow fish in the pond, will they taste good? My friends tell me that they don't think the Talapia everyone is growing would taste "fresh". Any personal experiences to share?

9.) Do we allow/permit/encourage the fish to breed in the water? Will they do it on their own?

10.) How often do you run the water pump to feed the plants?

11.) Can the plants be over fertilized? I'm sure they can be under fertilized.

12.) From the guide I have read on this site, it says that heavier fish waste will sink towards the bottom of the tank/pond. It can be collected and used on a compost pile to encourage worm growth, which can then be fed back to the fish. Is there an elegant way to collect heavy fish waste? Pool vacuum or something?

13.) Is it common to have water top off systems that keep the water at the optimal level? As the water level goes down from feeding the plants and through evaporation does the ph/ppm balance go out? Does this need to be watched over?

14.) How much work is it in comparison to conventional gardening in terms of yield, renew-ability, and maintenance.

That's all the major questions I can think of off the top of my head! Thank you very much for reading! I look forward to any and all responses.