I have watched your video on Aquaponics several times. It is great. I will be ordering your e-book soon. I just wanted to take a minute thank you for putting this together.
One question that I do have . I am going to do a system about the same size as the one in the video. How long did it take for your system to fully cycle and build up the right chemicals so you can start adding more grow beds?
Depending on certain factors, the avg. time is 6 to 9 months. Not that you can't see results sooner, it's just the optimum will occur in that time frame.
Outstanding work. the zipties will break from sun exposure in 14 months (my experience). a cheap local alternative would be strips of car tire inner tube wrapped and tied at the joints. Most Americans don't have any concept of how poor people are in the south american countries. something as simple as this system can raise the standard of living X10 and result in children going to school and ultimately to college. everybody wins. Hats off to you.
To me, this is a perfect example for anyone to grow their food and have fish also. Brilliant, I am going to look to making the same system. Thank you I will hope to get your E, Book soon.
Awesome Timothy, thank you for your comment. You can get your copy at www.morningstaraquaponics.com. Also, you can always email me at shawn@morningstaraquaponics.com
While i applaud you for your accomplishment in Honduras the system i designed uses one pump (12 volt) with the bio filter and holding tank are 6 feet off the ground. this allows me to only turn the pump on once an hour filling holding tank to the troughs that drain into the fish tank then into the overflow sump tank. all gravity fed except for the once an hour pump. i save all kinds of money on electricity and will eventually go to solar being completely independent of the grid. even the water heaters will be solar. I have two 12 volt valve actuators, one coming out of the holding tank and one from the troughs and both are controlled by an low voltage Arduino system. this allows me to drain the troughs for 15 minutes to enrich the roots further with oxygen then the valve closes and the system process starts all over again. i to chose the 55 gallon drum setup because they are 20 bucks in Texas not 300 for a growing trough (greedy). the tote that was food grade also cost 100 buck and are perfect for a main tank and for fingerlings side by side.
Hi there. Rain water will flood the plant beds and then goes to the fish tank. Is there a problem there with the amount of water and its quality? Great video, thanks.
The grow beds can be covered with a corrugated clear roof. Obviously, everything is about economics. Yes, in heavy downpours you can dilute the nutrients in your system, but it's not going to be a major issue. Rainwater itself is one of the best resources for water in aquaponics. Now, gathering rainwater from roof tops can be an issue due to the fact that the roof may have contaminates such as bird poop.
Love your greenhouse, made with excellence as everything you make. How do you protect your vegetables from torrential rains in Copan? you have no plastic on top. thank you
Marlon Ortiz aquaponics open to the elements has been a huge discussion. This system is but I do know of many that are not. It really is a matter of preference. We haven't dealt with many issues in doing so.
I want to start with lettuces in Nicaragua, my major concern is consistency of quality in size and color. Im new in agriculture, but I guess one of the purposes of a greenhouse is protecting from droplets directly on the veggies, the others being climate and pest control, which is the biggest issues in our climate, correct?
another good one. luv the organisation of the setup very easy to work with. do you have two seperate pumps. what if they get out of sync. btw conditions there are similar to north Queensland. do you put the duckweed in a pure water tank to starch it up.
There is only one pump, nothing gets out of sync. If you choose to produce duckweed, grow it in one growbed only. I am not sure what you mean by starch it up. I use duckweed to feed the fish.
I have known that some people do shut off their pumps at night. You just need to be sure that your fish are receiving the proper amount of oxygen. Many use the spray bar to break the water surface to generate oxygen. Also, monitor your water quality as well. When you are not turning water through the system, you are not cleaning the water.
Thanks for this great video, Shawn! May I ask, do you have any problem with mosquito larvae in your duckweed growbed? In the past, I’ve had little guppies in my home built system, but they just tend to eat most of the duckweed, as well as any mosquito larvae and the food a give them , twice a day. Can you suggest a fish that will be less ravenous for my duckweed, yet still keep the mosquito larvae under control? I live in a country where Dengue and Malaria can become a big problem.
I'm sorry, the only fish I used was tilapia and it worked well for me. But I have done away with duckweed. It sucks up my nutrients for vital plants. I now suggest a how qualify fish feed or growing duckweed in a separate system.
@Shawn Paul bit of a very late response here, but you forgot a key rule here: you get what you put in. You can't grow nutrients from the waste, you can only side-grade nutrients. You need an input nutrient stream for any system. Fish convert food into meat, and aquaponics convert fish waste into produce. Black soldier flies and duckweed convert waste into nutrients for the fish. If you remove nutrients from the cycle, you need replenish them. Duckweed is fine if your goal is to side-grade protein and fats into carbohydrates for the fish's diet; duckweed is pointless if your goal is to feed your fish more nutrients than your original fish feed. Soldier Fly larva convert waste plant parts into nutrients for fish or chickens; they recycle. Duckweed converts waste nitrates into nutrients for fish; it recycles.
I am looking for about your product place leave me a message. When I post this , I am looking for more information no this . I ordered your videos and books how long would it be before I get them soon
LUIS HERNAN RIVERA WATSON Honestly, almost anything. It all comes down to the type of media you use or system you build. Material based media does better with some plants and floating rafts do better with others.
Hello Shawn. I just purchased your course material. Awesome content. I will be drilling down to it soon. How may I contact you for something private to discuss?
You need to somehow block the UV rays from shinning through the material. If you don't, the light will shine through and start growing algae. I choose to paint and use a light color so it doesn't heat up the water with something such as black or brown. Blue is just a color of choice for me.
Aquaponics definitely is a reality and it works for those that have a joy in doing so. I consider aquaponics to be two different possible levels. Home hobbyist or on a commercial level. I personally have never pursued a commercial level and have no interest in doing so. One that takes on this for a hobby would have the joy of building something and then fine tuning it over time: what grows good in their project; how to perfect the water quality; maintaining healthy fish; and so forth. The possibilities are endless when it comes to a project such as this. I have seen and heard of some that aquaponics is not a reality to them, but I find it's because they are not willing to put forth the proper effort. Hope this answers your question.
I bought the book and downloaded it, I saw a video or two and was busy with something else. When I tried to see the videos again using the same password, to my surprise I got a message that the download was expired . Can someone tell me how to watch the videos again. I can’t afford to pay again just in order to get access to the videos.
The links to the videos are on page 5 along with the password. If you didn't download the Ebook onto your computer and you are trying to download it again I will resolve it immediately. Please mail me at shawn@morningstaraquaponics.com
hi, thank you for your quick response, and tank you for sending me the link again. I was a little bit busy, that is what I did not answer as soon as you sent me the link.
can you check your link please? i click on the link for instructions and it sends me to your mission's page but i searched and searched and cannot find any instructions for aquaponics. thank you!
Would be nice if you could live off the land better food plus you know what you are getting and besides that would help saving money for kids and school just my two cents and thanks for the video's
We promote the use of red wiggler worms for our grow beds, but using black soldier flies to feed your fish are perfectly fine. Also, the production ratio of BSF larva vs. earthworms is a huge difference. The idea behind BSF larva is to be more self-sustaining. In the long run, it really comes down to your own preferences.
BSF are also not dirty, the adult flies do not even have mouth parts, they also break down way more variety of waste and much faster then worms. Most studies show that they destroy most diseases and parasites, they also drive other fly species out.
You left out that you are saving the USA billions and trillions of dollars by teaching the 'people' how to feed themselves so they won't have any excuse to go to the USA and apply for WELFARE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for reducing the national debt! You deserve a medal from the President.
