# Aquaponics for Vegans/Anubias Farm



## Pickled_Herring (Jul 26, 2010)

What are those timers that you are using?


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## kruzerman (May 24, 2012)

Looks great. I am curious about the sump area. Hopefully you show more of it in the video but I am having trouble viewing it right now. If could have talked my wife into letting me do something like this, I wouldn't have had to get rid of my goldfish.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## kruzerman (May 24, 2012)

DogFish said:


> Maybe this will help?


Immensely. Thanks. I like its simplicity.:thumbsup:


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## Pickled_Herring (Jul 26, 2010)

Wow those timers look like a good deal. Plants are all doing good nice setup. Are you just going to stick with ornamental fish or do you have plans to go with Tilapia or catfish?


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## BeachBum2012 (Jan 16, 2010)

Very neat idea. I like it.


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

very nice Frank!

i'm glad you got a new camera so we can finally see your setups!


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## pandacory (Apr 18, 2011)

Great work!

Took me a whole lot of messing around to get half as successful.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Nice setup. You you need to add extra ferts?


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Your aquaponic made me think of how to do it in a bigger scale. So that means no shelf and having 2 pumps pumping back and forth. I wonder if it can be done with one pump.

I have a feeling you'll need to add extra ferts or feed more to the fish. Have you checked no3 , po4?


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

mistergreen said:


> Your aquaponic made me think of how to do it in a bigger scale. So that means no shelf and having 2 pumps pumping back and forth. I wonder if it can be done with one pump.
> 
> I have a feeling you'll need to add extra ferts or feed more to the fish. Have you checked no3 , po4?


Some people dose extra Iron, epsom salt and seaweed extract.

Bigger scale: I have 2 IBC totes with the top cut off 200 gal tank for fish tank and top part as bedding. Works perfect, but I need more beds for the amount of water.


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## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

Great setup you have and nice growth!! I like how organized it is. 

I just added 3 Ikea beds to my 75 gallon Tilapia outgrow tank, will be perfect for growing low veggies as lettuce, spinach, kale,...

I have a whitefly infestation on my broccoli, all the leaves were hanging today, I already tried to treat in the last couple of days with 1/1 oil water in spray bottle and soap and water mix in spray bottle, seems like nothing helps, do you know a better treatment? I don't want to use chemicals. 

And Goldfish is just like Tilapia or catfish, the more you feed them the more poop they will produce, the more nutrients for the plants.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

diatomaceous earth work pretty well as an organic pest control.

Found this aquaponic vid from Purdue U.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26xpMCXP9bw


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## JunJunJenn (Aug 1, 2012)

Neel oil also works as an all natural pesticide. Its actually in most organic sprays.


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## pandacory (Apr 18, 2011)

Remove brocoli from tray, dunk in water, let fish eat bugs. Win win.


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## pandacory (Apr 18, 2011)

Also, increase air circulation to help with pests (think of them like algae in your tank, the more stagnant, the more algae)

Disconnect the grow bed from the tank if you are going to spray with anything. Cycle with pure water for 24hrs, then reconnect.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

Thats looking good!


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

This is awesome! i had no idea you were a Vegan. I am as well. Go figure, a bunch of plant nerds being Vegan, lol.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

I had no idea you were a vegan either....
I am so jealous of this set-up and that little nepenthe there...
My nepenthe continues to grow but I have yet to see a new pitcher. I'm hoping with the arrival of the cooler winter months.
Might also try some methods of increasing the humidity. Maybe that will help.
I dream of your veggies.... 
I'm getting sick of having to buy them.
My neighbor sprayed for bugs and all my veggies and my large collection of peppers died.
I'm crushed...
Good news in that he felt terrible and is willing to replace them all.. I'm just waiting till spring so that I can redo the soil in the bed... Plus finding all those pepper species is gonna be hard..
Might have some seeds saved...

This is really cool.
About what were you costs in building this?
I have a great love for fancy goldfish and am wondering if something like this would be feasible outdoors...
Ive got about 5 places I could stick one.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

DogFish said:


> I like the nepenthe, grow is vey slow so maybe it needs more humidity? I have two new leaves that start making pitchers.
> 
> In my opinion this set up would be better outside or best in a greenhouse. The outside wouldn't work in Chicago Land and I don't have a greenhouse.
> 
> There are dozens of ways to do this outside. Spend some time on youtube. I saw one nice pond with raised grow beds from Austraila that was really done well and rather inexpensive.


you can actually do it outside, as long as you keep your tanks heated. I saw a video on youtube, everything was covered in snow, but he still had growth.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Is that Basil too? Nice work! Are you supplementing ferts too? I am going to start a huge operation in the springtime with some Koi as the only fert source other than the food I feed them.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## izabella87 (Apr 21, 2012)

Very frikin cool setup!


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## In.a.Box (Dec 8, 2011)

how the tub holding up? Hunting down grow bed to grow pak choy


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## In.a.Box (Dec 8, 2011)

Thanks for the head up. I was planning to make the hole smaller than the fitting for a tight fit. So a 3/4 hole with a 3/4 fitting would be fine?


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## Dawn Haze (Feb 27, 2007)

Nice set up. I love the concrete tubs for grow containers I have had one in almost continous use for growing baby lettuce for 5 years. If the white flies are still a problem try yellow sticky paper.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## Exceliber (Feb 1, 2012)

This is pretty awesome! I'm looking forward to keeping an eye on this for future projects for myself!


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## ChadRamsey (Nov 3, 2011)

thats a pretty slick set up you got there. id love to do this someday.

congrats on the tomato


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hey that's fun!


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## Sake (Mar 30, 2012)

> I wasn't sure if it would pollinate indoors (no bees). I did dab around with a artist paint brush. Not sure if the plant self pollinated or I did it? But, it worked.


Is that kind of like a HJ for plants?  sorry couldn't help myself, but on a more serious note, I see you have reflectors going up the sides, do they help much? I'm thinking of starting something like this, and was debating on painting the sides with chrome paint.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

Nice tomato 

I harvested all my green tomatoes, about 100 of them, they wouldn't get red... wrong K temperature? I pickled them all. 

Also pulled out all the tomato plants and replanted with lettuces, spinach, kale, cucumbers and a whole bunch of herbs. 

I will stay away from tomatoes indoors, I will try again early spring when my aquaponics is set up outside.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## le0p (Mar 28, 2012)

Love this thread! And even more so as a fellow vegan. I am going to bookmark this so I can possibly talk my wife into something similar.

We're just excited to be moving to an new place where we can have a vegetable garden, but this is a whole other level.


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

Wow Dogfish, this is amazing! I didn't know you can do this with fish tanks. 

With you harvest your lettuce, do you pull all of it out or leave the base to regrow? What else can you grow? or can you grow almost anything?

I'm sorry for the multiple questions, but this is such a fantastic idea and I have a n empty 10 gallon that I'd like to experiment with.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

Wow! How have I missed this thread? I love the setup, the potted anubias with goldfish are a nice combo too. subbed... looking forward to seeing how your plants produce over the long haul. 

Do you know what the life expectancy is for the tomatoes and peppers? I assume you can harvest the salad a few times before replanting.

I'm really interested in hydroponics too although my first attempt will be rather small. I've ordered a 5g fish tank w/ a 5 pot planter top that I hope to use for a kitchen herb garden. Would love to grow what you're growing though. Especially the peppers as they are getting so outrageously expensive.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

Nice! So you're transplanting the tomatoes outside... is that because of having to pollinate or for more space? 

I purchased a hydroponics 5g system that comes with 5 pots and growing medium for the seeds. It doesn't ship until March. Can't wait! I'm excited to give this a go! If all goes well, I may look at doing something larger. Our growing season is so short here in Seattle that this could have more potential. I look forward to seeing how yours does. :smile:


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

That Butter Crisp is making my mouth water! 

Your ability to explore, experiment, and create is always a joy to see - your threads never fail to entertain and educate!

Since I live in a single wide mobile home, space is hard to come by (I take it all up with books and aquariums - lol) but I've wanted to do an inside garden for years - for salad greens. I won't be delving into hydroponics, but I do have one last bit of space left. I may finally start a rack of lettuces...the Butter Crisp won me over.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

ahh this is sweet.
ur making me want to grow some stuff out of a ten gallon im about have spare
that being said, i may consider a pond this summer for ultra projectness!!!

darn you and ur cool ideas!!


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

*Re: Aquaponics for Vegans*

That's a great video man.
I'm going make one now haha!

Thanks!

-Sent from my Samsung Note, a "Phablet"


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## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

Yeah, space, and electrical bill (saved me $30+ this month). I moved everything outside. 
250 sump (pond) 275 gal fish tank and 4x75 gallon 12" deep grow beds.
Its still under construction, trying to figure out the auto siphons. 

I'm learning about 2 new ways of growing veggies right now: growing in mulch and wicked beds. growing in mulch seems so easy. A friend of mine does it and he has beautiful lettuce, sprouts, Kale,... and much more growing, nights here were below freezing for 2 weeks now. He said in the morning it looks dead, but from the moment the leaves defrost, it is nice and lush again. 

Here is a video about mulch gardening: Back to Eden


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

*Re: Aquaponics for Vegans*



DogFish said:


> I think a floating system could be done pretty easily.


Yup.

They got another video using a gray container and a oxiclean container growing the same way!!!

I'm definitely going make one.

-Sent from my Samsung Note, a "Phablet"


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## Chrome (Feb 26, 2012)

When you get Tomato blooms, just make sure you shake the heck out of the plant. That is all that is needed to get good pollination. They use a "tomato shaker" in all the green houses down here in FL. Its basically just a vibrating stick that knocks the pollen loose.

I've had good success in the past with 10 gallon floating system "Deep water culture, airstone in the water" for lettuce. Not so great of success with with floating "Kratky method" No pumps, no air, no electric. It worked, but growth was slow, and harvest was also small.

With all the crap and garbage put into commercial foods today, I think everyone should be looking at various ways to produce their own foods. Aquaponics is awesome. Just keep it organic as possible.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## kris_schroder (Feb 9, 2013)

if you switch it over to a continuous flow method (rather than an ebb/flow method) how will you control the amount of water so that plants in the grow bed neither float away nor get root rot?


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

kris_schroder said:


> if you switch it over to a continuous flow method (rather than an ebb/flow method) how will you control the amount of water so that plants in the grow bed neither float away nor get root rot?


If you keep your FT and ST airated, there should be enough oxygen in the water. I had constant flood in my garage and never got root rot. Yeah actually I had root rot once, it was lavender and was bought from Home Depot...


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## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

DogFish said:


> On my system I'm starting to feel that one might not be able to reach optimum fish and plant requirements in an Ebb/Flow system. I'm think constant flow might be more appropriate.


Yes, your problem is and mine was, not enough grow beds. 
For every gallon of FT you need a gallon of GB. 
Try adding an extra GB and see what happens.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## Adam C (Feb 7, 2013)

nalu86 said:


> I have a whitefly infestation on my broccoli, all the leaves were hanging today, I already tried to treat in the last couple of days with 1/1 oil water in spray bottle and soap and water mix in spray bottle, seems like nothing helps, do you know a better treatment? I don't want to use chemicals.


I know your post was awhile ago but I thought I'd post anyways. 

When it comes to our garden, I use two routes for whiteflies. Firstly, find the yellow sticky pads. They are essentially pieces of thin cardboard with an adhesive on one side. Hang these around plants and place some pieces on substrate. These are very effective at catching any flying or hopping organisms. 

Secondly, pick up some neem oil and spray, spray, spray. These little suckers seem to stick around. I have found that it is best to spray plants when they are not in direct light. The refraction of light off the droplets can sometimes burn tissue.

The last thing that I can think of is, quite simply, ladybugs. The strategy with ladybugs is obviously keeping them on the plants. The easiest way to do this is by having the area enclosed, or to tie cheesecloth over the plant and release ladybugs inside.

~ Adam


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## shinycard255 (Sep 15, 2011)

Wow... thats a very nice collection of Anubias you got there!


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Really cool set up for the anubia species, Frank!! What a great idea!! Love the tomatoes too!


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## Saxtonhill (Dec 28, 2012)

Very interested in the anubias! Subscribed


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

your efforts and progress are inspiring. A+!


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## Saxtonhill (Dec 28, 2012)

Also very interested in your Asian art themed ceramic plant pots hardscape with the goldfish. A design idea that could be expanded on...I really like that tiered effect


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Wow! I just read this whole thread! I'm going to have to do some more research on these set ups! I have a fairly large container garden growing outside, with the goal of producing all the veggies I need for the summer & will be doing some canning, but I would love to have a greens set up growing year round!


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## Crazy-Fish-Lady (May 6, 2013)

If any of you ever saw my fish blog on tumblr, you'd know i'm obsessed with anubias. They are looking killer! And such a interesting set up too haha, defiantly was a nice read up, I hope to do setups like this for my anubias's some day (hopefully they'll grow faster...)


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

Wow frank that's some serious growth in a month!!! Nice!!!

-Sent from my Samsung Note, a "Phablet"


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

DogFish said:


> I've 1-2 new leaves on all sp. with the fastest rate on the Nana petite. There are few new plants that I bought in there too. :wink:


hahah i see!


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## newbieplanter (Jan 13, 2013)

Where u get the lava rocks for the substrate in the tray and do they sell other colors an sizes?


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## ADAtank (Jul 26, 2011)

Any new pictures? Have u tried to grow outdoors?


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## aaronbrown (Apr 13, 2010)

i have been thinking of doing something like this with my 75g turtle and oscar i figure they should produce enough waste to supply the plants with the nutrients required


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

DogFish said:


> I'll update this weekend. i plant a traditional garden outdoors. I had a thought about incorporating a growbed as a filter for a pond. Not sure if I'll have time to build it this year, too many home repair projects to do 1st.


I'm looking forward to seeing your update!


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## peachii (Jun 1, 2013)

Very, very nice to see the different kinds all together. I think this just sealed what color I am going to ask for next when my boyfriend does the plant order because that golden really stands out and is the perfect sized leaves for where i want to put it.


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## tithra (Dec 1, 2012)

very nice setup and cute goldies  please do post some updated fish close ups for me! I am subscribing to your thread.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Holy ..... 

More pictures of the Goldfish set up!!! 

You can just transfer the pictures through a memory card, or try exploring the camera's directory. Or you can even install "Virtual Box" which is free, then install Windows of your choice. 

You can try asking some "pirates" down by the "bay" if they have any windows you can look through. *ahem.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Hey Frank, hows the set up running? I ran a system like this for most of the last year and was really surprised at how easy and low maintenance it was. I used it as a viv for some frogs with local ferns and mosses and it did quite well.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Nice to hear (and nice to be back). You have the perfect experimental attitude for the crypts set up. I keep hoping someones going make some of these easier to propagate


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

I can't wait to see crypts in there!!

- Sent from a Phablet


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Agreed! I cant wiat to see some crypts in there....and see what Han has in mind for the plants he's getting.


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## Tiptop (Apr 15, 2013)

Just read through the whole thread... This is crazy cool!
What an awesome, amazing setup! I definitely want to do the same thing with my tanks in the future.


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## wateringwell (Oct 21, 2013)

*following in your footsteps*

currently putting together a similar setup.. (goldfish/110gal+sump+beds) with help from user shadetreeme ... thanks for this post, hope to post details soon.


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## shadetreeme (Sep 8, 2010)

This is such a cool project, I am glad to be part of it!
I think wateringwell will be starting a build thread, but here is a pic of the starting point:


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Frank,

How have the vegans you know reacted to using fish and (partly) animal-derived fish foods as part of this system? My brother's vegan and would frown on the use of animal-derived products in growing food. He may be on the more extreme side of it though. I'd love to know more if you have extra opinions to share.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

It's almost a shame to make that into a dome.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## prototyp3 (Dec 5, 2007)

Awesome setup! 
What kind of growth rate are the anubias petite doing? I always heard you got fast (relative to anubias) growth above water. I never got to try it properly, but it'd be a great way to grow out enough for a tank. Hmm..


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## 1987 (Jan 27, 2007)

It's funny I searched this up online a few months back. People kept saying it was a ecoli outbreak waiting to happen -_-


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Fish poop doesn't have ecoli. It's mainly from raw mammal poop.

Salmonella is a possibly but waste isn't in direct contact so it should be fine.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## 1987 (Jan 27, 2007)

In franks setup I wouldn't worry so much but this is an interesting read for those who use local fish they catch for these kinds of projects. Especially since we share the same lake, it's an interesting read. Since they say it's found in the fishs intestance. 
http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/newslet..._find_bird_and_human_e_coli_in_wild_fish.html


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## newbieplanter (Jan 13, 2013)

Don't u wash your hands after u play in your tank. I shure do!


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## bibbster (Oct 26, 2012)

Having studied aquaponics and hydroponics in school, congratulations on a job well done!

It's great to see this and revisit 'old lessons' in my head.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## 1987 (Jan 27, 2007)

DogFish said:


> Thanks it's been a fun experiment. I'm only getting fair results with using it to grow crypts. My basement is most likey too cold this year do the record winter we are having. The sump tank temp is 66-68degrees.
> 
> I intend to run the system until spring 2014 then move on to other projects.


I hear ya I've actually had to pop the heat vents open in fear of heaters in my tanks not being able to keep up in my basement:/


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

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## dubels (Jun 14, 2012)

What happened? I was using this thread as guidance.


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