Inspired by reading about Travis Hughey's Barrelponics system and Will Allen's much larger scale operation (Growing Power) in Milwaukee, I decided to try to grow some of my own food by making a small home aquaponics system.
Aquaponic gardening is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponic gardening, where the waste products from fish fertilize plants, and in turn the plant roots filter the waste from the water and absord nitrates so the water is clean when recycled to the fish tank. The key to the system is bacteria that convert the ammonia from the fish waste into nitrates that are easily absorbed by the plants.
My aquaponics experiment started with an ambitious dream of a backyard pond full of perch and a greenhouse full of vegetables. That isn't what happened. Instead, I ended up with a basement laboratory (Mwa-Ha-Ha!) filled with flourescent grow lights, gurgling water, and a soil-less garden full of lettuce and peas. More after the squiggle.
Read More