Guppyponics in an Aquarium

[jmoore714]

I have a 55 gallon aquarium with assorted cichlids, guppies and algae eaters as well as a few plants. The fish are fed flake food and earthworms from a compost. A filter with no activated charcoal sprays water from the aquarium into 3 small pots which drains into the top of the aquarium. The first pot had tomatoes, the second has thai chiles and the third has Blackberry Kush marijuana. I removed the tomato plants as i read somewhere that it contains a toxin and about 3 weeks after i put it in the pot my fish began acting strange. The Chili plant hasn't grown much at all and has had slight yellow discoloring. This might have been because of an aphid problem. Thankfully the Blackberry Kush is growing without any problems :thumbsup: . There are two 100w equiv. 6500k cfls shining into the tank and a 120w Philips Agro-Lite bulb on top shining horizontally on the Chili plant and the Cannabis.

I dropped a seed from a bag of shake into the pot and within the first 24 hours it had cracked and sprung a root. It took three days before it was an inch tall plant with 2 round leaves. It only grew about a half inch over the next week, i'm guessing this is due to it putting most of its energy towards growing a root system. By then the 1.5 inch plant had an 8 inch root with reached into the aquarium water.

The water looks very oxygenated but Im not sure if it is enough. The fish have pecked at the root but only when it barely reaches the water and makes the water raise up to cling to it. The plant is now 4 inches tall and has its first set of true leaves. It kinda looks a little stretched and the stem is curvy because i have moved the light several times. The root hangs about 3 inches in the water and has two thinner roots branching off of it. I plan on growing the plant sideways across the 4 foot tank with the 120w agro-lite bulb on the opposite end shining horizontally and the 2 cfls equally spaced apart shining down vertically above the plants and into the tank. A sheet of plexiglass or chicken wire would separate the bottom of the grow box from the top of the aquarium. Does this sound like it would work?

Does the plant look healthy? I'm still a novice grower and have only grown a few plants in soil in the past, never hydroponically or guppyponically. Im planning on building a grow box for the top of the aquarium to coneal the top and keep more light shining on the plants. Would it be hard to keep it from reeking up the room? I think I'd add small fans, like those in computers, to the grow box, one intake and one exhaust. Should i try to make a activated carbon filter for the exhaust?



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[MermaidM]

This sounds very interesting, thanks for sharing this. Id personally get an activated carbon filter for the exhaust. If you can make one, that would save you a bit of money. If you think that the water is not very oxygenated, i say its best to over oxygenate a little than being less oxygenated. Id like to read of the progress with your system. when i grew outdoor plants they absolutely loved and flourished from my aquarium water. There was a huge difference when i starting watering them this way. Be careful of the fish pecking at the roots as they may cause further damage. Can a fine net just above the water perhaps stop them doing this in any way? ..just a thought.. good luck! :)

[CanGroIt]

Light in the root zone = bad....

Good luck....

CGI::::::

[HomegrownInIdaho]

That's crazy. I never would have thought to do that. Bravo on creativity. Do you think the fish waste has anything to do with it?

[jmoore714]

Thank you all for your input. I don't think the fish pecking it will be a problem. They only pecked at it occasionally when it barely reaches the water. Now that its fully submerged they tend to ignore it.



And i know roots don't do well in light which is why my new cover will have the vertical lights on the opposite end of the tank from the roots

[attachment=o279590] :stoned:

I think the fish waste has everything to do with it. The water is full of nitrates, beneficial bacteria, and trace elements. The bottom of the aquarium has organic soil, covered in sand. I did this to help the plants in the aquarium by increasing the co2. As the organic soil is broken down by the anaerobic bacteria it releases co2. Now that i think about it maybe i shouldn't put fans in and just use a bunch of cfls (to keep the temperature down). It would then be a completely closed system. With co2 being added by the soil and the fish and used by the plants. And the O2 being added by the plants and used by the fish. This would also make it easier to contain the smell, at least as long as i don't open the cabinet doors to the grow box.

[painretreat]

First read this short after posting. Noted that a few of the master growers checked in and did not comment. So, could not post, as I felt the first post deserved comments. Guppyponics took me by surprise. I've had aquariums and it seemed I used charcoal filters in the water, but wanted to hear from the pros here! This will be interesting, at best! I personally, think, you may just end up with some very happy fish or buds that may very well taste great 'deep fried' with the fish! Good luck, will watch this interesting grow! pr

[jmoore714]

Pics :D

http://i966.photobucket.com/albums/ae141/jmoore714/IMAG0226.jpg

http://i966.photobucket.com/albums/ae141/jmoore714/IMAG0225.jpg

I turned off the filter so the roots would be easier to see.


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[painretreat]

Was easier to view with filter off. I really think the fish will win though! Be sure to feed the fish well! Hope you don't get a fish disease and have to treat them and poison your bud! pr

[Mr. Clandestine]

Man, have I really been out of the loop that long? Guppyponics? Seriously? :jointsmile:

I'd try Cichlidponics in my 75g SA cichlid tank, but I guarantee they'd eat my roots. Hell, my Oscar would probably eat the pots, soil, etc.

[williboy]

Wow! Just amazed at all the creativity. I never would have thought of that unless I was really high....say were you? Really guppies and small fish are best they dont usually eat roots, there are good aquaculture book with referrences to fish. Jmoore, You grow dude! I think it a very cool idea.

[painretreat]

I think this is called 'Aquaponics!' Old threads on it here! pr

[Remy123]

I joined just to reply to your grow! I am doing Aquaponics as well! I am having a problem now with a deficiency which is very troublesome. I think I am having my problems because I started my tank just for this purpose; growing cannabis aquaponically. So I am learning about growing herb and about fish.

Good luck!

[captainendoe]

Yea i also thought about this when i started growing too but was having problems with the fish tank and scratched the idea after reading up on the nutes. how do you plan on feeding her the minor nutes? I believe the fish water only contains N. Also the PH seems to cause an issue messing with the fish needs because from what i found they are pretty happy with 7.0 and slightly higher.

[GanjaRobPDX]

Sounds cool. until you begin fighting root rot, nute deficiencies, pH issues, ammonia problems, etc...
Until you master hydroponics, aeroponics, and find a way to prevent organic nutrients (fish waste) from creating tons of bacterial problems, this is
something I would put in the "not impossible, but really F***ing difficult" category.

If anyone on here can pull this off, serious kudos to you and your growing skills.
The idea gets a 9.5 for creativity and a 9.9 for difficulty. I would have given you a 10.0 for difficulty but for that you have to incorporate a flamethrower into the growing
process. so close though.

[kayakush]

that is so cool.....any updates????

[DrWalter]

put roots in pvc and insert aeration stone in bottom end of each pipe, Never grown weed like that but have grown plenty of aquatic plant like that

[drudown11]

Sounds cool. until you begin fighting root rot, nute deficiencies, pH issues, ammonia problems, etc...
Until you master hydroponics, aeroponics, and find a way to prevent organic nutrients (fish waste) from creating tons of bacterial problems, this is
something I would put in the "not impossible, but really F***ing difficult" category.

If anyone on here can pull this off, serious kudos to you and your growing skills.
The idea gets a 9.5 for creativity and a 9.9 for difficulty. I would have given you a 10.0 for difficulty but for that you have to incorporate a flamethrower into the growing
process. so close though.

Im afraid Rob is correct on this one. Aquaponics(what your reffering to as guppyonics) is one of the most diffucult ways to cultivate cannabis. Even if you were to get the roots established, i dont believe you have the right fish to create a balanced mixture of NPK. Your seedlings might not even be absorbing nutrients yet, they probably just got done using all of the seeds stored energy.

http://boards.cannabis.com/hydroponics/175770-aquaponics-success-story.html

This is the only successful aquaponics grow ive ever seen. Keep in mind the thread creator is damn near a hydroponics scientist. Read his thread and see what your really getting into, shit gets serious lol