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Ok the fish eats some of the plant root then adds nuts and co2 back to the plant so it can grow longer roots not sure if the plant gives the fish back o2 .... the only imperfection is the fish requires additional organic supplements or it would eat too many roots for the plant to survive ...:jointsmile::smokin:
wonder about growin a diff kind a plant
BB
Usually in Aquaponics the fish are being raised in a seperate tank, fed fish food, and therefore creating waste that is rich in minerals that are conducive to growing plants. The key to Aquaponics is filtration and water quality. Somehow the solid waste from the fish has to be filtered out. I'm not sure what you are doing there but I am sure i'm interested. I'll follow this thread and see what happens. For plants try lettuce. Good luck!
Oh ya we need to name(male) the fish..... thinkin of Toke ..... sugestions?:thumbsup::jointsmile::joint1::S5:
BB
ey man beta fish dont eat the roots. its gonna die
it has been peckin away at the roots ...... this is not something we thought of or built .... it is a store bought thing made for this purpose .... the lady who worked in the dept where we bought it says the fish does eat some roots so all I know is what I see and we do also feed it beta food
BB
Just feed the fish some regular fish flakes. Plant roots need oxygen, not CO2. If you add a cheap air-pump and airstone the plant will benefit.
That fish can breath air if it can reach the surface and will survive in water that would kill most fish. This is why they can survive in a tiny fish bowl without an airstone.
This is a total waste of time if your goal is to grow a healthy plant.
I agree that an airstone or some type of small, cheap aquarium pump (or both) would be of help.
Perhaps a slightly larger tank?
The roots are going to need oxygen badly... Perhaps use a good bit of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) in your water to help get O2 to the roots. Just be careful not to bleach them lol!
I, too am very interested. Shore, he won't have the healthiest plant, but this is kinda stealthy, it is funny, and maybe he will get a few j's out of this experiment. I am currently doing the shot glass grow competition, and I won't get more than an 1/8th either, but it is still fun!
Good luck and keep us updated bro
Peace!
The way aquaponics works is actually simple if you do it right.
1. Create a system that has fish that live off various algaes.
2. Provide the fish with light so that algae can grow in the tank.
3. The fish eat the algae along with food you provide for them if needed and produce waste.
4. The water goes into a mixing station where it is mixed well with the water and then from there it goes through a filter to filter out large particles and then into the bubble bucket.
You will need aeration for the fish tank and the bubble bucket. The more oxygenated your bubble bucket is the better your roots will do. It may also be a good idea to set up a uv sterilizer in the mixing station to avoid any algae trespassing into the bubble bucket.
If you do it right you can grow a plant without spending that much money on nutes though the cost of upkeep of the fish and the energy for the light may offset that cost.
Aquaponics requires a lot more knowledge than sticking a Betta splendens in a bowl.
First off, you need to know fish. Bettas and their cousins the Gouramis are members of the family Anabantidae; these are fish who take in oxygen primarily through an internal organ analogous to the mammalian lung. Their gills don't bring in the bulk of the oxygen they use. They breathe out bubbles of CO2 that simply rise to the surface and dissipate.
Furthermore, both plant roots AND fish need oxygen, so you MUST have an aeration system in any setup designed to host plants. The roots do not take in CO2. That's the job of the leaves.
Fish appropriate to aquaponics are warm-water gill-'breathing' fresh-water fish such as sunfishes (crappie, bass, panfish) or relatives of the cichlid family (tilapia are common ones), which can survive the warm temperatures necessary to plant health.
Fish also need a certain level of sodium in the water- yes, even freshwater fish- for their gills to function correctly. This level is higher than the cutoff where Na ions would lock out nutrients that plants need. Fish FOOD is very salty. Custom fish food designed for aquaponics is a must if this balance is to be maintained.
Fish of different sizes and life stages produce different levels of beneficial and toxic substances. Again, you must have aeration and a way to remove excess ammonia, and a correctly designed aquaponics system has a way to adjust the mix of fresh vs fish waste water delivered to the plants based on its EC reading.
Bettas do not eat plant roots, or any other vegetable material for that matter. They eat the larvae of aquatic insects, primarily mosquitoes, but freeze-dried bloodworms are the correct commercial pet food. I don't see how you are feeding that poor fish with the rocks in there.
Oh well this is sort of an old thread anyway.