Aquaponic Gardens - What’s In It For You?

When you first get involved in aquaponic gardening it’s a wonderful journey into plumbing, fish keeping, water chemistry and so much more but as with all things in life you need to start with a goal.  What’s your goal with your garden?  Are you wanting to grow fresh herbs for your kitchen since the store bought ones just don’t have the depth of flavour that they once did?  Are you trying to teach your children the basics of where our food comes from?  Perhaps your trying to bankrupt the evil corporations by declaring your own food independence, or just trying to have a little fun and save a few dollars along the way for other things, like paying for the roof.
Whatever it is, odds are pretty good that you've got a goal.  For example, when I first got started with aquaponics my goal was to see if this odd method of gardening really worked for people with little to no budget.  Gardening shouldn't be an expensive thing but all of the aquaponic garden systems that I saw were huge and way out of my price range.  I think I can safely say that I have achieved that goal since I've made it work in so many ways that cost so little to setup and maintain.
Now my goal has turned into a deeper desire to learn as much as I can about aquaponics in general and spread that out to the masses like a grassfire in late summer.  I honestly believe that this method of agriculture is going to be a large part of the solution and I want regular people, like you and me, to make that happen.  This is something of a larger goal but YOU can help.
What is YOUR aquaponic goal?  Write that down somewhere that you can see it often with a little box to check off when it has been achieved.  Better yet, comment below with your garden goal, aquaponic or not, and then come back to us later & reply to it when you get  to say it’s done.  That way we can all share in each others success!
I think for many of us the first goal is getting the plumbing right, or growing that first super juicy (and they are) strawberry/tomato, or tasting the amazing flavour of some fresh home grown basil picked just before use …  Whatever your garden goals may be I wish you the best of luck & many happy harvests!

John Tumbling Bear.

Assessing the Cost of my Aquaponic Greenhouse Garden as a Hobby

Wow, I can honestly say that I'm quite shocked by what this worked out to show!

There are lot’s of different hobbies that I have gotten involved in over the years and they've all been fun but most of them were eventually set aside because they were just getting to expensive to continue with.  The RC trucks for example got way out of hand, as did the paintball equipment before it.  For the most part we've gotten rid of most of the clutter from those pastimes but there are still a couple of pretty sweet RC trucks in the attic that I’ve been thinking about getting down lately …

As some of you who follow my outdoor channel & blog are aware I have recently gotten back into more ‘manly’ hobbies like fishing & hunting.  Although to be honest there are a LOT of women that are taking an interest in these activities now as well so … sweet.  Anyway, equipment for either or both of these hobbies is kind of costly as well but it’s different because these both provide meat for dinner.

Aquaponics falls into that same sort of ‘grey area’ of spending as a hobby because it has that same bonus.  There are costs to setting up an aquaponic garden but as it turns out they really don’t have to be that much.  Please keep in mind that prices will be different for EVERYBODY building an aquaponic garden because we all shop in different stores and have different levels of urban foraging skills but basically here we go.

What I most commonly refer to as my greenhouse is, in fact, just a poly tunnel hoop house with delusions of grandeur.  Since it’s not heated, or really environmentally controlled at all, it sadly doesn't count as a proper greenhouse.  Well, not in my thinking anyway but I want to have something more like a conservatory anyway.  Ideally.  For now, I have built this little hoop house and it cost about $60 so far.  I’m okay with that compared to say several hundred for a smaller, but premade, garden greenhouse.  DIY is fine by me and Chox doesn't seem to mind either so … perfect!

Inside my little hoop house I am currently running two separate aquaponic gardens, as I discuss in the video on YouTube Assessing the Cost of my Aquaponic Greenhouse Garden as a Hobby.  The first garden has some of the older & more expensive pieces in it so it totalled out at $244 as I recall, the second garden was built with a little more experience and I was able to put it together for $168.  So the total cost of this is some $472.  Not bad.

Now, as I already said, the price of setting up your aquaponic garden will probably be different from that.  I was brought up to salvage lumber & reuse the nails, things like that tend to lower costs somewhat.  If you look around I’m sure that you can put an aquaponic garden together for WAY less than that.

So, for less than $500 I've been able to keep myself busy in the back yard growing herbs, fruit & vegetables for my family that are clean, fresh and healthy for them to eat.  Nice.  How many wives would gladly pay more than that to keep their hubbies happy and within eyeshot?  I feel confident to say that with all of the better than organic herbs we have stored away in the house from that garden, the countless green salads we've eaten, the heaping bowls of tomatoes that have come in and that Malabar spinach that was so excellent for sandwiches that we've gotten WAY more than our money back from this little garden.  What’s even better is that it will just keep on growing more food for us, all year round, year after year … oh ya.

What do I think after assessing the cost of my aquaponic garden in the greenhouse?  I think that money was darn well spent and if I had the space I’d double my greenhouse!

3 Years into the Aquaponic Garden Experiment

After 3 years of gardening with aquaponics I am so completely beyond hooked on the idea it’s a little bit nuts.  Everything’s going to be just fine though, we know what to call it so therefore … we can find a cure!
 
Obsessive Compulsive Aquaponic Disorder, it’s real and I have it.  Okay maybe it’s not really real type real but it’s pretty real all the same.  If it holds water I will, at one time or another, ask myself how it would work for an aquaponic garden.  Is it deep enough?  Does it hold enough water?  Would the fish like it?  Oh ya, I've got O.C.A.D. and I'm proud to say it!  Have you got O.C.A.D. yet?  Go ahead, it’s just gardening … just give it a try!

Seriously though, after these last 3 years of testing theories and trying new and different foods just because they would grow in the system, I really think there is something to this aquaponics thing.  My garden is not the biggest or prettiest or fanciest or most expensive or any of that crap but you know what it is?  It’s proof that anyone who really wants to garden with aquaponics can do it with very little expense or knowledge.

From about 1 year into Aquaponic Gardens
(the fish pump was a bad idea)

When I first got involved with aquaponic gardening, about a year or so before the YouTube channel started to document everything, my system didn't even have a pump.  I had some old coffee cans with little drain hoses into a wading pool from the neighbours.  Very kind of them.  If I went into the garden area I would refill the cans and they would slowly drain back into the pool.  No pump, no power.

As primitive as that system sounds, it worked.  It worked well enough I  have spent the next 3 years finding out just how much I could grow and how little I could spend.  In that time, this little aquaponic garden has produced foods I can't even pronounce and herbs with flavour depths I'd never imagined from what I was used to.

The truth is, the experiment is over and now things are getting a little more serious.  Hard to believe from me I know but all the same I’m gonna try.  I set out to find out if it works and it does.  Simple as that really.  What now?

Now it becomes about getting other people into aquaponic gardening & spreading the word.  Now it’s about bringing back the idea of ‘Victory Gardens’ which so many of us all over the world would benefit from.  Now it’s about inspiring others to find new places to turn into aquaponic farmland when it was just industrial wasteland before.  Now things are just getting started to get growing.  Now it’s about insuring that as many families as possible start their own little aquaponic gardens and feel the freedom that growing your own food can provide.

What now for you?

Best regards,
JT Bear.

What is Aquaponics?

Here is a quick look at the introduction to aquaponics that I have in the beginning of my little eBook.  I hope to have a version I am happy to post on the FundRazr campaign as a 'perk' for peoples kind donations.  How does this look to you?  Please feel free to share any thoughts on writing style or general content.  Thanks for your time!

What is Aquaponics?

Basically, aquaponic gardens and farms are attempting to re-create the system that nature uses. In an environmentally controlled area, such as a greenhouse, these systems are used with great success to raise both fish and plants in a closed loop waterway.  As the fish live, breathe, eat and make waste their water can become quite toxic to them if left untreated.

Aquaponic gardens, however, clean and filter that water for the fish before it returns to them.  As the water is pumped through a system, it will travel through both bio-filters and plant roots, each having a very important part in keeping those fish healthy.

The biofilter, aka your happy bacterial colony in the growing media, are a two part team.  The first part converts the raw ammonias from the fish pollutants into nitrites and then the second part  finally converts those into nitrates.  Once these previously toxic elements have been naturally converted they become a healthy source of nutrients for the plants that are growing in the aquaponic garden bed.  The plant roots are eager to get any source of extra nutrients that they can find, and as such, they will rapidly deplete them from the water rushing by.

It is by taking advantage of this natural bacterial cycle that aquaponic gardens are able to do so well for food production almost regardless of the gardeners personal skill level.  It is my opinion, that aquaponic gardens might just be the much needed answer to providing food security for individuals as well as for entire communities.

When edible fish and plants are used they can provide more than enough food in return to cover the initial cost of setting it up.  If you think of your garden as an investment, it’s the best returns you can find on the market without breaking the laws.  Think about the price of a packet of seeds when compared to the price of some produce!  It’s even more when you use the price of ‘Organic’ foods for your math and I feel that aquaponic foods are probably better for you anyway.  Did you know that ‘Organic farms’ can still use fertilizers and pesticides as long as those products are ‘certified’?  Using anything like that in an aquaponic system would cause massive damage because they are designed to use technology to simulate nature.

Nature doesn’t have those type of products … just saying.

Avoid these 3 Easy to Make Aquaponic Mistakes

Believe it or not my dear readers, I've made a few mistakes along my aquaponic journey.  No, it’s true … I really have.  I'm kinda still making some of them.  Sure, I have some great growth on my plants and my SWC aquaponic garden bed is covered in lush green growth.  Sure I've been at it for almost 3 years now … oh my, I've been at this for three years?  Where does the time go … anyway, back to the topic at hand.

The easiest mistake to make with a new, or an old, aquaponic garden is over planting.  What’s that?  I hear you asking about how that can be if  one of the advantages of aquaponics is it can grow so many more plants?  Here, let me explain this thought a little better.  Plants need a few basic things besides just water and nutrients.  Light and air flow are great examples of this.  Even though you CAN grow 50 plants in 16 square feet of garden, really doesn't mean that you should.  Based on my own personal experiences, I would recommend using something similar to the square foot gardening method when it comes time to plant your aquaponic garden bed.  Yes, it’s less plants but it’s also more nutrients for each plant so think about the potential for a bumper crop of whatever you plant in there.

Over Planted Much JT?

The second super easy to make mistake is shallow garden beds.  I have two grow beds that are each only 6 inches deep and I can honestly tell you, it’s not deep enough.  Sure, I saved a few dollars buying the shallow bed and sure I saved a few more when I made the second one at that same depth.  However, it’s just not a good idea.  It may work, but it’s not a good idea.  I think that ideally an aquaponic garden bed should be at least 12 inches deep to allow for proper water flow and bacterial function.  Plus deeper beds allow for adding worms to help with any solids that might sneak past your filters.

An Excellent Example of a Bad Drain,
sadly taken in my greenhouse today.

The third and final mistake that can be made with great ease involves drains.  One can be easily tempted to use an extra piece of the irrigation pipe to make the drain for the grow bed.  DON’T DO IT!  When it comes time to build your drain think big.  Like Texas big.  Big.  As a minimum I would recommend something at least twice the size of whatever pipe is feeding water into the garden to ensure a smooth a quick drain cycle every time.  Drains, bell siphons in particular, seem to cause many fresh aquaponic gardeners a great deal of frustration that can easily be avoided by building a wider drain.  Simple as that.

So here you go, learn from my mistakes … don't repeat them.
Now go out there and get growing!

JT Bear

Growing the Aquaponic Community aka Sharing My Passion

The other day, I had a wonderfully inspiring ‘Hang Out’ chat with a man I am quite glad to say that I know, and hope I can safely call my friend.  Over the course of our discussion we talked about a great many things but one thing that really stood out, was about sharing our passions and making a positive difference.

In society today, it has become so easy to be completely disconnected with our food supply that many of us don't even know what country it came from.  That scares me a little bit.  I would have to say that my passion is getting others involved in creating their own aquaponic gardens.

Knowing that all over the world, people are starting to grow food for themselves and re-establishing that connection is what drives me forward every day!  I am delighted every time someone new asks me how to get started and I can't even pronounce the names of some of the countries ALL OVER THE WORLD where I have helped people to do just that.  My friends, that truly is a happy feeling deep down inside.

Let’s face facts.  The world today is so completely nuts that it will take something massive to make an impact at this point.  Let’s take a quick look at how aquaponic gardens are beginning to make their mark, shall we?  Every day thousands of trucks, trains, airplanes and cargo ships carry untold amounts of food, all over the world.  On the surface this seems like a wonderful thing!  We can grow food halfway around the world and still have it on our dinner plates.  Great!  Right?  In some ways, sure … it’s an amazing thing that mankind can do that now, wonderful.

How much fuel goes into transporting those crops thousands of miles around the globe?  How much time do those crops spend slowly decomposing once they have been picked?  That’s okay though because we have all kinds of chemicals we can spray on it to ‘keep it fresh’ for the journey.  Fact is, NO!  IT”S NOT OKAY!

Aside from those chemicals seeping into our food supply, building up over time in our bodies and generally taking away our sense of good health & aside from all the fuel being consumed in the process, it’s not so bad right?  Well, there is all the food that get destroyed because it doesn't ‘look’ good enough for the grocery stores once it gets there, and there is all the food that gets thrown into dumpsters because it sat too long on the shelves.  Oh, let’s not forget all the ‘amazing’ stuff they put into those foods before they hit the shelf too!  (so they can last longer…)

Why am I passionate about sharing how simple aquaponic gardening can be?  If you really need to ask that still, I suggest you reread the last couple of paragraphs.  Why aquaponics over soil gardening?  Well, that’s a whole different topic.

What I hope to do, is to help grow the global aquaponic community, so that we can all have healthier foods, grown locally.  The amount of water required for an aquaponic garden is only 2-10 percent of what it takes for soil based crops, that means fresh food for a lot of dry areas where people right now are starving.  ANYONE can grow crops with aquaponics, I know because I've made a lot of mistakes along the way and it still works!  Sure, maybe you don't have a big yard and can't grow all of your own food, so what?  I don’t grow all of what I eat yet, but when I eat what I grow … I feel pretty darn good about it!

I personally have made an aquaponic garden as small as 18 inches across by 32 inches in length and it still grows.  It’s great when we can afford the time, cash & space to build a really large and beautiful aquaponic greenhouse but don't wait until that point to get started.  Make a garden from a storage tote, make one out of from a 18 gallon water bottle, convert an old fish tank, run garden beds to filter that old koi pond out back … just get started!

If you need any advice, I’m always happy to lend a hand.  Subscribe to me on YouTube @ JT Bear and check out the video library.  If you still have any questions just send me a message or comment under one of the videos and I‘ll get back to you as soon as I can!   Blessed be & many happy harvests to you!

Are Aquaponic Gardens the Answer for Sustainable Living?

First off let me just say that anybody involved in gardening for food production gets a big ‘thumbs up!’ in my books.  Taking that first step towards producing your own food is, in my way of thinking, one of the most important steps for anyone to take on the journey towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

Now, you may life in a tiny flat or apartment and be reading this saying, ‘JT, I’d love to but I just don't have the room…’  Believe me, I feel your pain.  Not too long ago however I built a super basic aquaponic garden for a friend of mine to keep in his tiny apartment.  Sure, it’s not going to produce all the vegetables that he needs but it will save him a fortune in fresh herbs for the kitchen!

Steps towards sustainable living don't need to be huge, as long as you are making progress towards your goal it’s still progress!  So, how does aquaponics fit into all of this?  Well my friend, it’s quite simple really.  As with my friend from the last paragraph an aquaponic garden can be made to fit almost anywhere.  Every day people from all over the world are getting involved and adding their own way of doing things and solving problems.  Not only is this helping to create a friendlier global community based on helping each other to succeed, it’s also providing us with new and better ways to build our aquaponic gardens.  Ways that use even less power and water than ever before.  That’s what this is all about really.  Water.

Do you have any idea just how much fresh water goes into the growing of a single days worth of food?  It’s really quite staggering just how much is required.  It’s even more if you wish to enjoy meat in any of your meals.  With aquaponic gardening, the water use is cut down to a range of  anywhere from 2 to 10 percent of traditional farming.  That means up to 98% less freshwater could be used to produce that same amount of food!  Imagine that on a global scale … it’s truly awe inspiring.

With aquaponic gardens comes another food source as well though.  It’s not just fruit and vegetables anymore!  Once you switch to aquaponics you have the chance to begin growing your own fresh, clean & healthy freshwater fish.  I know plenty of fisherman who will only eat fish if it’s less than 10 minutes out of the lake, I think this would solve that problem!  How could you get fresher fish than from your own backyard?  Not to mention the bonus of stocking your favorite fish & being guaranteed a catch every time out!  The wild fisheries just aren't what they used to be anymore.  Our worlds lakes, rivers & oceans are getting more polluted every day and those fish are just not that safe to eat anymore.  It’s sad, but a fact all the same.  Anyway …

When you are growing your own fruits and vegetables, no matter how you garden, you are helping to reduce your overall carbon footprint as well.  How endless are the miles travelled by the vast majority of grocery foods?  How much fuel is used?  How about all that packing for shipping?  Wow, it’s disturbing how much of a mess you can see from the produce section going straight into the landfills.  Every head of lettuce you grow, every tomato you eat from your own plant, every savoury bite of fresh grown herbs … it all helps to reduce your overall carbon footprint in a pretty massive way once you think about it.

So the question again then was, ‘Are Aquaponic Gardens the Answer for Sustainable living?’  I'm just going to go ahead and say an enthusiastic YES!  Let’s summarise shall we?  Up to 98% less water used, that’s a good thing.  Aquaponic gardens can produce two sources of fresh healthy foods in your backyard, yup … that’s a good thing too!  With the added bonus of the overall reduction of fuels consumed & packaging required it seems to me that aquaponics is a clear winner!

Get started on your own aquaponic adventure today!  Come visit the YouTube channel and check out some of my assorted videos as I have learned about aquaponic gardens to keep our small family in fresh produce all year long!  Now go get growing!

JT Bear

Are Koi a Good Choice for Aquaponic Gardens?

There are really two reasons to raise fish.  The first being, obviously, for food and the second reason being for profit.  Regardless of why you are keeping them, fish are an essential part of the aquaponic garden set up.  Based on that, there are really two different types of fish that you can raise.  Edible and ornamental.

Raising edible fish is a fantastic for of insurance for your food supply.  Clean, healthy protein is always a good idea but what if you're not worried about that?  Say for example you prefer beef, or maybe you don't even eat meat but you see aquaponics as a great way to grow better than organic fruits and vegetables! What would be the point of edible fish in your garden then?

Raising ornamental fish in your aquaponic garden can be a great way to build a steady, home based, income if you go about it correctly.  For example, let’s discuss the four beautiful koi I have added to my system recently.  You can check out the quick HD video I posted to YouTube if you would like a look at them.

These four fish cost just over $70 total at their current size.  In a year or so, after they have grown 8-12 inches, each of those fish could easily be worth that and more!  Pound for pound, my research suggests that koi are one of the most valuable fish that I could fuel my garden with.  Once they are between two and three feet in length, any one of those koi could sell for enough to pay for a whole new backyard greenhouse.  In time, as they mature enough, these koi could become brood stock for my own breeding program at Clean Valley Farms!  Granted, I will be selecting from far more than just four when that time comes but they could easily be in the running with some of the qualities they possess.

We all have our aquaponic gardens for our own reasons.  Since I am lucky enough to live between two well stocked freshwater lakes, edible fish is not one of mine.  On that note, check out Talkquaponics.com for our coming online koi auction page!  The videos will be updated weekly so that bidders can see exactly how their desired koi is doing and know exactly what they are buying.  One of these four will soon be listed for bidding so be sure to check often.

Happy harvests everyone & blessed be!
JT Bear

Testing Liquid Rubber on a Cardboard Box

Well, the test is complete and I have to say that I'm impressed overall.  After six days in a greenhouse, where the water was getting to a point of almost boiling, it held up!  With zero water damage visible on the outside of the box and zero signs of any leakage on the table I’m willing to say that Liquid Rubber is quite effective as a waterproof coating!

The box itself did better with the overall pressure from the water weight than I expected as well, due I suspect in no small part to the strength of the Liquid Rubber coating.  The product will take on the color of the uncured product when it remains wet for long periods but there are coatings to deal with that.

The only down sides that I could see were a high pH level in the water, which is easy enough to deal with, and when it is in hot wet water, the product can be moved with firm enough pressure.  Since the average aquaponic fish tank should never get as hot as the water was in the box, I don't imagine this will be an issue for most aquaponic gardeners.

Based on the results so far, I have decided to build a 2ft x 3ft x 12 inch mini fish tank for the floating aquaponic garden.  The tank will be shaded most of the time so warming up the Liquid Rubber shouldn’t be a problem.  Don't worry, I'm not building it from a cardboard box … that was just an early stage test.  I'm excited to begin on this next stage of testing and will let you all know how it works out!

Is Liquid Rubber the Answer for Waterproofing Aquaponic Gardens?

Waterproof is something of a keyword when it comes to aquaponic gardening.  Waterproof the garden grow bed, waterproof the fish & sump tanks, make sure those water lines are sealed up tight … the list goes on and on.

If, like when I got started, you are happy with using storage totes for pretty much everything then this can still be helpful to you, just not as much.  I was happy with my totes for quite some time but as my garden grew, it became obvious that something larger was going to be required.  While many people seem able to find IBC tanks practically free, I am not so lucky and they are in fact, rather pricey here.  Add to that the fact that while they are very efficient and easy to set up, they aren't terribly pleasing to the eye and some building was going to be needed no matter what.

Building from wood and then finding a way to waterproof it seems like one of the best options.  Wood can be shaped into as many forms as the carpenter can imagine so it is somewhat ideal for a garden like these.  No matter what you want your garden to look like, it can be shaped with some wood and a skilled woodworker.  If your plans are simple enough, even the skilled woodworker becomes somewhat optional.  YouTube is filled with videos on how to do pretty much anything you want so …

Traditionally, waterproofing has been done with large rubber sheet liners that are cut and folded into the shapes needed with the waste tossed off to the scrap pile.  If it gets a hole, or doesn't fit, or any large number of things goes wrong … the whole thing is a write off.  Money wasted and it’s still not done.  There are some people that are using Marine fiberglass to waterproof  aquariums and such but fibre glass can be quite a pain to work with if you are inexperienced.

Liquid Rubber is the perfect combination of positive qualities in one easy to apply product.  100% VOC free and food safe (I've spoken directly to people at the company about this), Liquid Rubber is a paint on waterproofing product that almost anyone could make use of.  Depending on what way it is to be used, 1-4 coats are applied and left for 24-48 hours to cure.  Once that’s done, it’s safely water tight.  Areas that are exposed to water after curing will turn a brownish color but that has no effect on it’s ability to maintain the ‘waterproof’ status.  As an additional bonus, if a hole develops in a Liquid Rubber liner it can be dried off, have another layer painted on, left to cure and then put back into use.  No throwing away large sheets of pond or pool liner because of a small hole or being an inch too short!

For those who are concerned about color, Liquid Rubber also sells ‘Texture Coatings’ which can be applied to the surface in a few different colours to suit personal tastes.  All of these are available through their online store and they ship just about anywhere in North America!

Experimental Dirty Aquaponic Gardens

Good idea, bad idea … who knows but it’s worth looking into!

When people think about aquaponics they generally think of it as soil free, because for the most part … it is.  That being said, there are many crops that seem to simply prefer being in soil to produce the best colors and flavours they can.  I remember watching a video where sweet potatoes were growing in both the aquaponic garden and the soil nearby (they had spread a little bit on their own).  When these plants were harvested there was a noticeable difference in the color of the tubers and from what I understand there was a difference in the taste as well.

In my own experiences trying to grow carrots in the aquaponic garden I found a similar result.  There was a distinct lack of richness to the color and the flavour was lacking somewhat as well.  This struck me as quite odd, since the vast majority of what has been produced in my aquaponics has had better color and flavour than what one would normally find at market.

The goal of the experimental ‘Dirty Aquaponics’ garden is to test the controlled use of soil in my system and see if I can improve on those previous results.  There are a great many root crops that I would like to be able to grow but until this, I had been unable to do so.  As this ‘Dirty Aquaponics’ experiment continues I will try to grow a variety of things and see what comes of it!  I have some golf ball sized carrots I’m quite interested to try growing and some beets that have been around for ages as well …

Aquaponic Gardens & Cost vs. Benefit

Starting an aquaponic garden is an investment but unlike an investment in the bank, this one takes effort on your part.  Just how much effort you ask?  Well, just how much do you want back in return?
While there are many things a new aquaponic gardener will need to consider before building their system, cost is something that needs to be worked out in the beginning.  These garden systems take time, space and money to work really well.  How much of those do you have to spare?

Let’s start with time.  It will take time to setup your new garden.  It will take more time to get everything flowing ‘just right’.  It will take even more time to start producing those veggies that got you excited when you first learned about aquaponics.  All of these things take time, so for many people there is very little ‘instant gratification’.  If you have some skill with tools or plumbing, then the setup portion will not take too long at all.  The time it takes to get things flowing and draining correctly isn't terribly great either it’s just that last one.  Growing plants takes time, that’s all there is to it.  Sure, aquaponic gardens grow big plants quickly, but it still takes time.

Okay, so let’s talk about space.  An aquaponic garden doesn't need to be huge to be productive.  At the moment there are only 16 square feet of aquaponic garden in my greenhouse and I assure you, it’s using it’s space VERY well.  Unlike a traditional soil based garden, which you basically just need to dig a hole in the ground, aquaponic gardens seem to do better when provided with their own environment.  Even if that just means a cover for shade in the summer or a poly tunnel (hoop house) for some extra heat in the winter.  Plan accordingly.  Do you have enough space for what you want to build as a new garden?

The biggest issue with an aquaponic garden would be the money involved with getting started.  A good pump will cost you money, whatever you are going to use to hold your plants and fish will cost money.  It takes electricity to run fans and pumps, that costs money.  So, how do you decide how much you’re willing to spend on your garden?  Well, that’s up to you.

In setting up my garden, I probably spent far more than I would have if I had just planted into the ground … or did I?  Seeds cost the same regardless of how you are going to plant them, the same can be said for plant starts.  When I think about how much it cost me over all to get my garden up and running I would suspect that my investment of cash is somewhere around $300.  So there is the cost part, how about the benefits?
What are YOUR favorite fruits and vegetables?  How much do they cost at market?  If you run your math with an average price of even only $1 per pound of vegetables you could easily see enough harvests to get your money back in no time at all.  In the case of organic vegetables your cost to purchase at market would be MUCH higher.  What about herbs?  Where we live, fresh organic herbs cost an average of $10 per pound.  Which is a lot to spend but since these things are only purchased ¼ lb at a time, it never seems like much.  It all adds up though.

How about fruits?  At the market here ‘standard’ strawberries will sell for about $5 for 2lb in the summer months.  I can honestly say, having eaten a fresh strawberry from my aquaponic garden only minutes ago, that grocery store strawberries do not even come close to the true taste from the ones that grow in the AP gardens.  When you consider the price of fresh produce, it is hard to imagine how a reasonable aquaponic garden could be a bad investment.

If you are truly worried about the cost of getting started, use recycled materials where you can, use second hand parts but get started all the same.  The longer your garden is growing for you, the more of a return you can enjoy!

Happy harvests!

Selecting Plants for a New Aquaponic Garden

Setting up a new aquaponic garden can be a very exciting time!  After getting all of your equipment collected and taking care of putting it all together, the urge to plant in the new garden can become somewhat … overpowering.  You're all ready to go, but what to plant?

While results will be different in EVERY aquaponic garden there are some plants that will do better than others in the beginning in almost every case.  When selecting your starter plants you must think about a few different things.  How large will this plant grow?  How demanding is it for nutrients?  Will it be productive enough to be worth the space in your aquaponic garden?  Is it a fruiting plant or more of a leafy green?

From my experience, and from many other gardens that I have watched grow over the years, it is impossible to resist the temptation to plant either tomatoes or peppers into the garden bed.  I can’t even count how many times I've seen that.  These plants are wonderful, productive and beautiful BUT they require a LOT of nutrients in order to reach their maximum potential.  Often new aquaponic gardeners will plants these before their garden has matured enough to support their high demands and the end result is feeling that their garden wasn't as good, or worse yet that they themselves had failed at aquaponic gardening.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  These plants do amazingly well in established garden beds where the bacteria have really taken hold.  This can take up to a year in some gardens, longer in places where the grow bed is subjected to temperatures at or below freezing.

In that first year you can still grow a wide variety of different plants and see a very healthy return on your garden investment.  Leafy greens and kitchen herbs can be grown to surprising size quite quickly, even with a brand new #AquaponicGarden.  Spinach, kale, chard, watercress and lettuces (which variety depends on your temperature more than your garden) will show you results to keep you very happy.  Growing mint, oregano, sage, thyme, basil and more has never been easier than since I've started my little aquaponic greenhouse.  As I sit to write this, I can’t even recall the last time we had to buy any of those.  In fact there is a rather large box behind me stuffed with paper bags that are still filled with these herbs from last year!

At the end of it all, what YOU are going to plant in YOUR garden is up to you and I wish you the best of luck with your aquaponic adventure!

We need Saltwater Aquaponics

While it may seem crazy at first, I think that saltwater aquaponics is a field of study that needs to be taken seriously.  With all of the damage that has been done to our seas and oceans, something has got be done to preserve those marine species which have kept us alive for so many years..  As assorted fish struggle to survive in the ocean they will encounter: garbage floating in the water, boats out for a cruise, chemical pollutants, dwindling food supplies, extensive fisheries … that’s not even mentioning any natural predators out there.  As a double feature bonus we now have somewhat radioactive ocean waters adding to the risks they face and creating a new danger these fish now pose to us when they are harvested from the wild.  This situation is unacceptable and something must be done.

Aquaponic gardening allows us to reuse the same body of water time and again to grow fish, & plants, in a healthy environment.  The end result being: fresh fish, grown close to market, & of unequalled quality of flesh due to the reduced stress levels and lack of chemical pollutants.  As advanced as we have become, with the internet providing the knowledge of the world at our fingertips, it is almost impossible to think that anything is impossible anymore.  The worlds greatest universities have shared huge libraries of information on the required subjects.

From the world of saltwater aquariums, such as Sea World, we have learned how to maintain correct temperatures, pH, salt levels etc. for large ocean dwelling creatures.  Marine biologists have presented volumes on every stage of life for almost every species of aquatic life they can find.  So in that body of work we have any needed environmental or dietary information for the entire lifespan of the chosen species.  We have available the technology to reproduce anything they could need to live a healthy life while growing quite large.  Once again, thanks to our fine marine biologists, we also have collected quite a list of plants which grow only in ocean water.  Even if we were to grow the plants as a base for biofuel, it seems reasonable to assume that saltwater plants growing in a re-circulating water environment would filter in a similar fashion as leafy greens in a more standard freshwater aquaponic setup.

So, using our available technology and collected body of research it should not be too difficult to create the perfect environment to raise oceanic fish and plants in aquaponic style garden.  Granted, it would take HUGE facilities to even begin such an adventure but at this point, it would be unwise to not start developing this method of farming.  We are at a breaking point for the planet, either we do EVERYTHING we can to try to repair it or we face the very real risk of extinction.  No air, no water, no food … no life.  It’s that simple.

When we take our food production needs away from nature, not only do we have the chance to control what goes into our food supply but mother nature also has the opportunity to reclaim that land.  Left to it’s own devices, the planet could easily erase any trace of mankind and the damage we have caused.  Do we help now or shall we just let mother clean up after we are gone?

Selecting Fish For Your Aquaponic Garden

When selecting fish for your aquaponic garden there are a great many things you will need to consider and they will all have an effect on your overall system.

Water temperature is vital to many fish species and failure to comply with those needs will result in tragedy.  Goldfish and koi will live in much colder water than say … tilapia.  That doesn't mean that you can only raise decorative fish if you’re not in a financial position to heat a large fish tank but they do become a serious option.  Look into the species that live in the local bodies of water for ideas.  For example, trout and kokanee salmon can deal with some cooler waters and live in the lakes nearby my garden.  Perhaps someday I can use my aquaponic garden to help repopulate the dwindling sport fish numbers …

Cost of heating is however, something to think about.  The monthly costs to heat a large body of water and maintain it can be staggering.  If you don’t believe me, ask someone with a backyard hot tub what’s cheaper, buying it or running it.  My money is on running it, I've asked a few hot tub owners myself.  Sure you aren't going to need to keep your water quite that hot, but you will be heating more water and moving it around where it has many chances to shed heat that you paid for.



Edible fish will have different dietary needs than ornamental fish, so a different food source will be required depending on which you choose for your garden.  Will you be growing duckweed to supplement the diet of your fish or will you be purchasing something factory made for feed?  If you’re growing your own fish food you will need to be certain that all the nutritional needs of your fish species are met, there are a host of good websites and YouTube channels to help you with this.  If you've decided it would be better to buy premade fish feed you will need to make sure that it is food safe, if you plan on eating those fish or not!  The food that gets left in the aquaponic system will break down and begin to feed, or poison, the plants depending on how much of it there is and what it’s made of.  Even if all the food is consumed, it still needs to be food safe because when it comes back as waste … it becomes food for your plants.

How large will your fish grow and how much space will each one require to get to that size?  Different species of fish need different things.  A general recommendation for tilapia is as many as 1 per gallon, which seems crowded to me, whereas people will recommend a minimum of 10 gallons per koi.  If you’re going to put all this effort into your aquaponic garden, why not do just a little more research first?  My goldfish have somewhere around 2.5 gallons of water in the system per fish just because that’s how it worked out but they were just fine with only 1 gallon each before …

If you plan on marketing your fish, is there a market for this variety?  What will these fish be worth to you after the cost of feed, pumps and the rest of your overhead?  When you are getting involved with aquaponics on a hobby level this doesn't really matter quite as much but if you plan on making a business with aquaponics, this may make or break it.  In some regions the fresh produce will more than cover the entire running costs, however in others the really big money item will be the fresh fish.  I can’t say what’s going to be better where you are, but I will remind you to look into it before you get started.  Ah, the joys of a hobby garden … my fish are just helpful pets but if I were to sell them I suspect I would get enough to replace them with at least twice as many!

Once you've begun to establish what you require for a fish species, you can begin to design your aquaponic garden to meet those assorted needs and grow nice, healthy fish.  In the example of my garden, goldfish were selected for a few simple reasons.  First off I did not require fish that I could consume, and getting edible fish would have meant a great pile of paperwork to try that locally.  Secondly, goldfish are sturdy.  Temperature changes that would kill many decorative aquarium fish are of little concern to these hardy little goldfish.  Thirdly, even at their largest, a goldfish will only reach about 12 inches in length.  That meant I would be able to have larger numbers of fish, in a hobby sized garden, without overburdening the bio-filters or stressing out the fish.  Fourth and finally, as I have mentioned in many of my YouTube videos, goldfish are CHEAP!  I mean really cheap.  I could get one good quality koi for the same price as about 40 feeder goldfish so …  In a starter system, it still seems like a solid financial choice to go with a more affordable option.

Just a few things that you will want to bear in mind when first selecting your aquaponic fish!
Share & enjoy!
JT Bear                                                                                                        #JTBear

Here's a lovely garden set up from YouTube called - Aquaponics April

Growing Food in Aquaponics

Ah, the age old quest for food.  Primitive man learned that by planting seeds along moist river banks, gathering time could be greatly reduced.  This naturally lead to more free time for what mattered, like hunting and trying to control that ‘fire’ thing.  If you think about it, this was mankind beginning to learn about aquaponics.  We just didn't really quite understand how it worked.  All that mattered was that it did.

For the modern gardener getting involved in aquaponics the basic desire is not to different from that of our ancient gardening ancestors, we just have a wide variety of books and videos to help us along now!  Wow, is that ever true for aquaponics.  YouTube is filled with people working on developing their own aquaponic gardens and trying new ways to get even better results than before.  New filter ideas, new flow patterns, new fish and plant combinations but all aquaponics.

Aquaponic gardens offer the opportunity to grow two separate food supplies in the same balanced ecosystem.  The fish, often an edible variety such as tilapia, are kept in the tanks and produce their waste products just as they would any where else.  As the water re-circulates, these wastes are carried through bacterial colonies in the bio-filters.  The bacteria convert the waste into a readily acceptable plant food as the water moves on towards the grow beds.  In the garden beds, floating or media based, these nutrients are absorbed by the roots they rush past, thereby cleaning the water for its return to the fish tank.

Since the water is being reused in the system, rather than being drained into the soil and lost, the amount of water required to grow fresh fruit and vegetables is greatly reduced.  Some estimates place water demands of an aquaponic garden at 2-10% of what a more traditional garden would use to grow the same crops.  In addition to the produce grown, since fish are required to provide the nutrients in the water there is also the ability to raise meat in these gardens.  Tilapia, perch, trout, carp, shrimp … basically anything you can think of if it would live in freshwater.  Even that is becoming less of an issue as some aquaponic research centers are beginning to work with salmon and seaweeds to create a similar ecosystem for saltwater seafood.  Exceptionally important in these times where our ocean waters are become more soiled by our bad behaviors.

Almost anyone can grow top quality produce with ease in a simple aquaponic garden.  Look at what I've managed to do!

I started off with a kiddie pool for the fish, some coffee cans for my plants and an old Tupperware juice jug that I would water the plants with.  Granted, I've bought and made some rather huge improvements since then but the point is I started off with little more than desire and a bit of unused backyard.  From that moment on, I've been hooked on aquaponics.  Start small and go steady, while your system is developing grow things like kitchen herbs or leafy greens.  As you get more comfortable with the process, add some more garden space or a few more fish, take it slowly at first and you will be very happy with your new aquaponic garden.  After a year or so, once the bacteria have set up solid colonies and your school of fish has some nice numbers, try growing some fruiting plants like peppers or delicious fresh strawberries.

With all of the books and videos available, it never been easier to get involved with aquaponic gardening.  To see how my garden has changed and grown over the years, check out my YouTube channel JT Bear and feel free to ask any questions you may have.  I try to help when I can!  Until next time, happy harvests to you!

Spring Time Aquaponic Maintenance

Ah, spring.  Easily one of the best times of the year for any garden lover.  The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the soil is warming ... what's not to love.

For those of us who are gardening with aquaponics, spring is an excellent time to look into some basic maintenance so we can prevent HUGE problems down the road while everything is blooming or in fruit.

If your water temperature has dropped down to, or below, freezing then the odds are pretty good that your bacterial colonies are gone.  Sadly I am speaking from some painful learning experiences here.  There are a couple of easy ways to assist in re-establishing those helpful, in fact essential, bacteria in your aquaponic garden.  The simplest method would be to just let nature take it's course and they will develop on their own over time but this can be somewhat dangerous for your fish.  A large enough colony of bacteria can take quite some time to develop and a reasonable school of fish may produce too much waste for it to handle, leading to water issues and unwanted stress on the fish.  A different option, and the one I choose, is to add some form of bio-seeding product to your filtration media.  I use a product called OneFix for this.  You can get it on Amazon.com by following this link - OneFix Liquid Size: 32 oz.  The results have been quite consistent for me and I have lost very few fish since adding it to my aquaponic med kit.

Spring is also a great time to wash out your grow beds before replanting for the new season.  This could be considered an optional step in an amazingly well set up garden, but for the rest of us it's a good time to get out any 'extra' waste that's found it's way into the grow beds.  Old roots, bits of food and even small pieces of solid fish waste can slowly form blockages that will deprive some plants of a steady supply of fresh nutrients as water is diverted.  Many aquaponic gardeners skip this step for fear of harming those beneficial bacteria but with something such as OneFix that becomes less of a concern.  Don't let all that wonderful waste go to waste though, collect it in a bucket with some water and save it as a booster shot for your soil gardens.  Watch those plants grow! 
One of my favorite things about aquaponic gardening would have to be just how easy it is to rearrange and transplant.  Now would be a great time to pull up any plants that have wintered in the beds and quickly wash out their root systems.  This will help to get rid of any dead roots or other debris that have built up over time and allows you the opportunity to relocate them to a better position for the new gardening year!

If you find a great deal of fish solids or leftover fish foods in your garden bed it may be time to take a look at what you feed your aquaponic fish.  If you are growing fish for decorative purposes or for the dinner plate you still want to be sure that they are getting the healthiest food you can provide them with.  As was pointed out to me by a good friend, "If you feed your fish a garbage food, that's what they feed your plants.  Don't you eat those?"  Good point.  Once I started looking into a few different foods available for my fish, remember I raise goldfish and koi, I found a company called MicrobeLift.  These guys have a whole host of helpful products including what I feel to be my best choice for a food safe fish feed.  You can check them out on YouTube  or just pick some up on Amazon.com by clicking here - Microbe-Lift Legacy Koi Goldfish Summer Staple Food: 10 oz.  My fish are more active at meal time for this than any other dry food I've offered them and I saw a rapid improvement in their overall color and health.  As an added bonus I noticed that after I switched foods they consumed less and produced less solid waste, making it easier for a waste filter to catch it all!

One final thing I feel every aquaponic gardener should do in the spring is a quick bit of pump maintenance.  Since most of us have different pumps there is no point in going into any real detail but make sure that you clean out as much of it as you can so that it's ready to give you another year of steady performance.


May your fields be green and your crops be plentiful!
JT Bear