New small aquaponics experiment

[Ulu]

I'm going to do a semi-enclosed business with heaters and is going to be adjacent to my brackish water sump. All together it will be enough thermal mass that I don't think I'll have a big problem keeping the temperatures.

In the winter.

Put in the summer I'm afraid that the water might get too warm. I might need to run a chiller.

 

[duanes]

Temp is problematic, both high and low.
I ran 300 gallon rubbermaids that fluctuated wildly, and had too drastic temp bounces for a number of tropical species.
I finally dug ponds into the ground, and used the dug in ponds as sumps to help outdoor tanks remain temp stable.
The Ceibal tank (the in the previous photo above), used the in ground pond as sump to keep temp down on hot days.

 

[Ulu]

There will be a small glass and aluminum greenhouse, attached to the house, which I can open or obscure. Also there will be shade from direct sunlight.

I don't worry about heating. We only have 2 mos of very mild winter. We might get below freezing for a few hours, a few nights a year at most.

People raise plecos in outdoor ponds here. We grow a bigger citrus crop than Florida.

But we usually have a whole month of hundred degree weather in July.

 

[Ulu]

Temp is problematic, both high and low.
I ran 300 gallon rubbermaids that fluctuated wildly . . .

Is this photo from Panama?

I do have the possibility of a small pond, close by. Rather small though.

 

[duanes]

Is this photo from Panama?

I do have the possibility of a small pond, close by. Rather small though.

Not Panama, that was Milwaukee.
Here's Panama, under a roof covered patio, so only indirect sun.

 

[duanes]

Beside being a lazy mans helper with water changes, the rainy season here in Panama, and its many all day showers, seems to trigger mass migrations of the abundant sexually active, winged termites that swarm in almost biblical plague numbers.

They are less than stellar pilots, and don’t bite, but bump, get caught in hair, on arms, and litter the ground. This glut provides a quick protein boon for birds, animals, and fish. Within moments of the insect rising, geckos and toads are out in the yard gorging on the bounty.

The Comojen randomly land everywhere, and seem to drop their temporary wings as soon as they do, but I like to sweep the air for more with a net and toss the stunned insects into the outdoor patio tank.

 

[Ulu]

Having lived in Duluth, and even colder places, I can only imagine why you fled to Panama.

Of course if you're really into biology it looks like the place to be.

 

[duanes]

I have now discontinued this experiment, and consider it a failure for a number of reasons, the most important being aesthetics.
The more the terrestrial plants grew, the more tannins seemed color the water, to the point the fish were no longer visible.


I also noticed the spinach growing in the tank, compared to some grown in soil next to the tank was pale green in color, in comparison, and the leaves were only about half size.
This led me to the conclusion, that I'm better off watering the plants in the garden soil daily with water from water changes.
So, over the last couple weeks, the terrestrial plants were removed, the water (still containing about half the tannins) has cleared quite a bit, enough to bring the fish back into view.
Below a photo of the tank from this morning

 

[Matteus]

Wow. That’s crazy how much it affected the water.

 

[islandguy11]

Before my X-wife divorced me, my tanks were all hidden in a corner of the basement.
They weren't the only reason she cast me out, but they were the straw.

Well if that's the case imho you weren't cast out, you were freed -- take it from a Wedding Celebrant

We get those swarms of winged termites here in SEA too -- we gotta run around the house and close all the windows doors and turn out lights to stop a mini-invasion into the house (PIA cleaning up all those wings lol).