Acknowledgments.................................................................................... xi Foreword, by Tom Alexander..................................................................xv Preface................................................................................................... xix The aquaponics epiphany.................................................................. xix About this book............................................................................... xxii Section 1: An introduction to aquaponics Chapter 1: What is aquaponics?...............................................................1 Hydroponics........................................................................................3 Aquaculture.........................................................................................5 Chapter 2: The global perspective.............................................................9 The bad news.......................................................................................9 The good news...................................................................................21 Chapter 3: Home food production.........................................................27 Earth-smart gardening.......................................................................28 Convenient gardening........................................................................28 Year-round gardening.........................................................................30 Growing fish for food........................................................................31 Section 2: The plan Chapter 4: Before you start....................................................................35 The plan............................................................................................36 The hardware.....................................................................................37 The software......................................................................................38 The integrated system........................................................................38 Chapter 5: System location and environment........................................41 Climate considerations.......................................................................41 Lights................................................................................................52 Chapter 6: System design.......................................................................57 Basic flood and drain.........................................................................57 Adding a sump tank (CHIFT PIST or CHOP).................................58 Adding a second pump......................................................................60 Barrel-ponics®....................................................................................61 Hybrid system...................................................................................63 Aquaponic System Design Rules of Thumb.......................................65 Section 3: The hardware Chapter 7: Grow beds and fish tanks...........................................69 Volume relationship between grow beds and fish tanks......................70 Common grow bed and fish tank requirements.................................71 Special considerations for the grow bed..............................................72 Special considerations for the fish tank...............................................76 Commonly used products and materials............................................77 Vertical growing ................................................................................87 Aquaponic Grow Beds and Fish Tanks Rules of Thumb ....................89 Chapter 8: Plumbing .............................................................................91 The pump .........................................................................................92 The pipes ..........................................................................................94 The timing mechanism .....................................................................97 Some other thoughts about circulating water ..................................105 Aquaponic Plumbing Rules of Thumb ............................................107 Chapter 9: Grow media .......................................................................109 What is the best medium? ...............................................................111 Aquaponic Media Rules of Thumb .................................................114 Chapter 10: Water ...............................................................................117 Purity ..............................................................................................117 Temperature ...................................................................................119 Dissolved oxygen ............................................................................122 pH ..................................................................................................124 Aquaponic Water Rules of Thumb ..................................................128 Section 4: The software Chapter 11: Fish ..................................................................................133 How many fish can I grow? .............................................................134 What type of fish can I grow? ..........................................................136 Sources of fish .................................................................................142 Introducing fish into your aquaponics system .................................146 Feeding your fish ............................................................................147 Harvesting your fish ........................................................................151 Aquaponic Fish Rules of Thumb .....................................................152 Chapter 12: Plants ...............................................................................153 What plants grow best in aquaponics? .............................................153 Growing plants in aquaponics .........................................................154 How to start plants in, and for, aquaponics .....................................159 Spacing your plants .........................................................................163 Unhealthy plants .............................................................................164 pH and nutrient supplementation ..................................................164 Insect control ..................................................................................165 Aquaponic Plants Rules of Thumb ..................................................171 Chapter 13: Bacteria and worms .........................................................173 Bacteria farmers ..............................................................................173 Nitrifying bacteria ...........................................................................174 Caring for and feeding bacteria .......................................................176 Worms ............................................................................................178 Aquaponic Worms Rule of Thumb .................................................180 Section 5: The integrated system Chapter 14: Cycling ............................................................................183 What is cycling? ..............................................................................183 The importance of testing tools .......................................................184 Cycling with fish .............................................................................186 Fishless cycling ................................................................................189 x | Aquaponic Gardening The Murray Hallam cycling technique ............................................192 Speeding up the process ..................................................................193 Aquaponic Cycling Rules of Thumb ...............................................194 Chapter 15: System maintenance ........................................................197 Daily ...............................................................................................198 Weekly (after cycling) .....................................................................199 Monthly .........................................................................................200 Aquaponic System Maintenance Rules of Thumb ...........................201 In Conclusion.......................................................................................203 Appendices ..........................................................................................209 Troubleshooting ..............................................................................209 Aquaponic Gardening Rules of Thumb ...........................................215 The top 10 dumbest mistakes I’ve made in aquaponics ...................223 What to consider before plunging into commercial aquaponics ......227 Aquaponics System Maintenance Checklist ....................................233 Aquaponics System Data Tracking Sheet .........................................235 Recommended resources .................................................................237 References ............................................................................................241 Index ...................................................................................................245 About the Author.................................................................................256 |
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Aquaponic Gardening Book: Table of Contents |