Aquaponics & Mosquitoes - Lesson Learnt

credit to http://www.friendlyaquaponics.com/

from the post : Welcome to “The End of Malaria”

Are you irritated by mosquitoes in your neighborhood? Do you live in a location where malaria, elephantiasis, filariasis, dengue fever, or any of the other dangerous diseases carried by mosquitoes exist? Are you a health-care professional whose concern is these diseases and their control and eradication? If the answers to these questions interest you, please read on:

An additional benefit of farming aquaponically (that we noticed after our first system was operational for six months) was that the mosquitoes on our seven-acre farm had COMPLETELY disappeared! We live in Hawaii, where there are as many mosquitoes as any other tropical area in the world. Although we are fortunate not to have malaria, elephantiasis, filariasis, or any of the other dangerous diseases that are transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, we DO have dengue fever, which can be fatal in the young, elderly, or those with compromised immune systems.

Before we built our first aquaponics system, our farm was like any other place on the green windward coast of the Big Island: even during a drought, when the soil was dusty and dry and there was no standing water visible anywhere, there were still clouds of mosquitoes at dawn and dusk. If we left a door or window open in the house during the day, even for a few minutes, we knew that we would be tormented by the buzzing of hungry mosquitoes all night long as we tried to sleep. When we built our first aquaponics system, we knew we were creating additional habitat for mosquitoes to lay their eggs, so we introduced a few mosquito fish (gambusia affinis), and neon tetras into our system water.

They thrived and spread throughout the systems we built, and soon had become a self-sustaining population numbering in the tens of thousands. Six months later we noticed there were simply no mosquitoes around any longer. It’s easier to notice the presence of a pest than the absence of one, so we’re not certain when the number went to zero, but it was sometime during that six-month period. That was three years ago Since then, we’ve had the pleasure to live on a beautiful farm in the tropics that has NO mosquitoes! How does this work?

We live in the center of a deadly efficient mosquito trap: every female mosquito in the neighborhood can sense the roughly 50,000 gallons of water in our aquaponics systems, and comes to them to lay her eggs. Each egg hatches into a larva, which is then promptly consumed by one of the hundreds of thousands of mosquito fish in our water BEFORE it can ever develop sufficiently to hatch into an adult mosquito. That mosquito’s bequest of future generations is GONE, down the gullets of little fish who thrive on these meals and produce even MORE little fish hungry for mosquito larvae.

We don’t know what the effective radius of our mosquito eradicator is, but we’ve gone to the corners of our seven-acre property and haven’t found any mosquitoes there; we think there’s a good chance it is significantly reducing mosquito populations on the farms around us. We need help and funding to continue research into this phenomenon in order to understand it better, and to develop it to the point where it can easily be implemented in any location or culture.

This could make a huge difference in the lives of people worldwide who currently lose family members to malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases.

  

How Aquaponics Makes Food Right

Credit to http://www.thecoolist.com

Aquaponics — The farms of the future are growing today. In a valley in the Virgin Islands, in a warehouse in Chicago, on a rooftop in Florida and a greenhouse in Milwaukee, history’s newest and most sustainable form of agriculture has broken out of its seed and has began to take root. In these farms of the future, you’ll find no waste water, no eroding soil and no harsh insecticides, but a mutually-balanced ecosystem that yields fast-growing organic produce– and the freshest, toxin-free fish money can buy. This is aquaponics, a high tech farming technology where vegetables and fish are grown in concert, a next generation symbiotic system that just might change the way we grow, harvest and eat the food of tomorrow.


1. The University of the Virgin Islands: Where the science began

After decades of scientific research, the team at the University of the Virgin Islands successfully grew fish and vegetables in a closed loop system that they ultimately called “Aquaponics”. Aquaponics is a hybrid technology including “aquaculture”, the raising of fish in a controlled system, and “hydroponics”, the farming of plants in a soil-free environment. Both techniques had survived for centuries before being merged, with hydroponics reaching back all the way to the hanging gardens of Babylon, where raised troughs of nutrient-rich water fed plants that hung and cascaded to the grounds below. Aquaculture is a newer technology, most commonly known as “fish farming”, where schools of fish are raised in controlled environments both in the seas and on land.

Both aquaculture and hydroponics produce toxic waste that ultimately harms the environment. In aquaculture, fish produce natural waste that is high in ammonia, resulting in water that must be discarded to maintain the health of the fish. In hydroponics, nutrient solutions degrade in quality and the waste water must be removed from the system or else it will harm the plants. When merged, aquaculture and hydroponics cancel out each other’s waste, providing a closed-loop system where the plants live off the fish waste and the fish live in water purified by the plants. In these aquaponic systems, humans can imitate the precise balance of nature to yield tons of fresh produce and healthy fish with very little effort.


2. Will Allen’s “Growing Power” Urban Farm, Milwaukee, WI

One of the champions of this new food movement is Will Allen, owner of the Growing Power urban farm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Allen has built a series of greenhouses that use aquaponic technology to raise 10,000+ lake perch and over a 1,000,000 pounds of produce every year. By using their own compost to heat the greenhouses, Growing Power runs year round, making them what might be the most productive year-round farm in the Midwest.

The secret to Growing Power, and many other aquaponic farms, is the vertical nature of their farming practice. Using multiple raised beds that stretch toward the roofs of each greenhouse, farmers can multiply the yield that traditional farmers could expect from a flat land investment. A single pump lifts the nutrient-rich water from the fish tanks to top level growing beds. This water feeds these plants and then cycles down to lower levels before falling back into the fish troughs below.

What makes Will Allen’s achievement so remarkable is that he has grown over 1,000,000 pounds of produce and 10,000 pounds of fish in just a few acres. It is an achievement that has inspired hobbyist and commercial growers alike, and has earned Allen a myriad of awards from some of the most prestigious grant organizations in the world. Allen has received a leadership grant from the Ford Foundation, a Genius Grant from the MacArthur Foundation and another from the Kellogg Foundation. In the world of aquaponics, this humble son of sharecroppers from South Carolina has risen to the most recognizable force in the world of future farming.


3. John Edels “The Plant” Warehouse, Chicago, IL

Not far from Growing Power in Milwaukee, another eco-entrepreneur has taken to the empty warehouses of Chicago’s meat-packing district to produce a new kind of edible product. Amidst a slew of slaughterhouses in every direction, John Edel and his company, “The Plant” yield pristine produce of the vegetative kind. Edel uses advanced LED grow lights to give life to his photosynthetic friends, lettuces and herbs grown in concert with fish. As in other aquaponic systems, fish waste in ammonia form is lifted throughout a series of plant beds, where naturally-occurring bacteria transform that ammonia into nitrites and then nitrates, a rich substance that feeds his produce.

Edel’s plan is to prove that empty warehouse space in cities around the world are ripe territory for future farming. Entrepreneurs like John can occupy this space and apply new age technology to farm vast amounts of food in limited space. Even with sunlight taken out of the equation, farmers can use aquaponic technology to raise produce and protein without breaking soil or wasting the water lost in traditional agriculture.


4.  Green Sky Growers: The Future of Farming

Not far from Orlando, Florida, an organic orange farmer and a biologist with Epcot Center experience have teamed up to build the true farm of the future. On a rooftop above their city center, Green Sky Growers use aquaponics and vertical farming to grow massive yields of produce and fresh, healthy tilapia using less than 10% of the water needed for traditional farming. As much a science lab as a farm, this facility uses a software-controlled greenhouse that ventilates based on local temperature, rotating plant towers that soak up solution from fish tanks, and happy tilapia that consume plant waste to produce nutrient-rich water.

A myriad of vegetables grow in this greenhouse year-round, where lettuces, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and more grow in a hydroponic setting while aquaculture tanks complete a biological closed-loop. Every Saturday, their produce is made available at a farmer’s market on the streets below in Winter Garden, Florida, inviting interested foodies up for a tour of the facility. Technology is everywhere in this farm, but the plants it yields are as organic as can be. No pesticides, genetic modifiers or toxic waste occur in this new-aged farm. It is the perfect marriage of technology and nature, where the people who run it understand the delicate balance between sensible agriculture and sustainable business. Visitors to the Orlando area might find more inspiration and fun in this rooftop farm than they would at the area’s entertainment district, where Mickey and Minnie Mouse dominate the environment.

     

Aquaponics Discounts

 

http://www.friendlyaquaponics.com/free-diy-stuff/free-diy-systems/

Free Commercial DIY Packages and Commercial Trainings For Non-Profits and NGOs

 

We have been giving our Do-It-Myself Commercial Aquaponics Training package to accredited NGOs, churches, and bonafide non-profit groups for two years now, first for $50, then for a long time for $100. We have had SO many requests from non-profits for this “free” package that we’ve been spending up to a day and a half per week just answering emails, corresponding with people, printing and mailing the manuals. We’re not getting to spend that time on the farm, and we’re ALREADY not spending enough time with our family. So, we’ve had to increase our price to $250 to cover our time answering emails and posting the packages. This is STILL a $750 discount over the package’s normal price.
If you feel you qualify as a discounted receiver of our DIY Commercial package for your work, then please read the following “How-To” instructions carefully and follow them to the letter. Please don’t use our generosity against us; this is $1,000 worth of aquaponics information we are giving a $750 discount on.
“How To”: Mail us proof of accreditation of Non-Governmental Organization status, non-profit status, or church status, along with a letter from your Board of Directors with your name in it and some phone numbers we can call to verify, as well as a check paying for the $250 discounted price, with the organization’s name on it; to Friendly Aquaponics, Inc., at PO Box 1196, Honokaa, Hawaii, 96727. We will immediately mail off your DIY Commercial Package.
Also, if you wish to participate in one of our live group trainings, we will give you a free Live Group Commercial Aquaponics Training for this same $250 to cover course materials, room space, and refreshments. You need to supply airfare, accommodations, and all other needs for your participant. This is normally a $1,500 course; same conditions to prove you are non-profit apply as in the previous paragraph.

Aquaponics Misconception

Mythconception #6 – Aquaponics is Easy
October 26, 2009
By gary, http://www.microponics.net.au/?p=322

There are some people who would have you believe that operating an aquaponics system is just…..easy!

The people most likely to tell you that aquaponics is easy are those who want to sell you aquaponics kits or equipment – so their interest is fairly obvious. You’re much more likely to sell something to someone if you can convince them that it requires little or no effort or learning to operate.

Others like Dr Mike Nichols (a horticultural research scientist at the College of Sciences at Massey Universtity, Palmerston North NZ) have a different view.

In the March/April 2009 issue of Practical Hydroponics and Greenhouses he reported:

“Sadly, I must report that aquaponics may be too difficult for many people. Theoretically, it should involve an equal marriage of aquaculture and hydroponics in which the two separate disciplines respond synergistically, and the nutrient waste from the fish is ‘purified’ by the bacteria and the plants and the clean water is then returned to the fish. In fact, because of the difference in the skills required for aquaculture and for hydroponics, it would appear that in many cases the synergy does not exist.

The majority of the income from aquaponics comes from the horticultural component, but as the majority of aquaponics projects evolve from aquaculture there is a distinct lack of horticultural knowledge by the participants. The result is that the aquaponics producer has to compete with the specialist hydroponics grower, but without the necessary skills base. It is my view that aquaponics (except on a very small scale) requires two specialists, an aquaculture specialist and a hydroponics specialist. Without this any large project would appear to be at risk.”

While Dr Nichols makes it clear that he’s talking about commercial aquaponics systems, I believe his contention is just as applicable to any aquaponics system – large or small.

While I acknowledge that the financial cost of incompetence may be far greater in a commercial operation, the practical outcome is the same….dead fish and plants that fail to thrive…..regardless of the size of the operation.

I guess I’m puzzled (and faintly suspicious), therefore, at how quickly many people (who have no previous experience of either aquaculture or hydroponics) develop confidence in their ability to undertake aquaponics.

Their excitement and confidence is understandable when you realise that it is the product of what they are told – that that the mere combination of these two disciplines creates something which is somehow easier to comprehend than either of the component parts.

They’re told that “the fish produce waste that the bacteria convert to plant food. The fish feed the plants and the plants clean the water for the fish.”

“It can’t be that simple” say the interested onlookers. “There must be more to it than that.”

At this point, the kit maker or their agent produces a few ”guidelines” – sage little wisdoms that are easy to remember and which still leave the novice with the illusion that aquaponics is easy to do.

The ”guidelines” include:

• True aquaponics requires that the water recirculate from the fish tank through the growing system and back into the tank. See Recirculating or Open Loop?
• That you stock the system at the rate of one fingerling per 10 litres of water (according to one kit maker). See Mythconception #1 – Stocking Density
• For each litre of water in the fish tank, you must have one litre or two (depending on the source) of grow bed volume. See Mythconception #2 – Component Ratio
• Grow beds must be 300mm deep. See Mythconception #3 – Grow Bed Depth
• That you don’t need to clean out your aquaponics system because worms will turn all of that fish poop into plant nutrients. See Mythconception #4 – Removal of Solid Wastes.

Tart these ‘guidelines’ up with a few exaggerated claims about sustainability (see Mythconception #5 – Sustainability) and productivity and our onlooker is (with pen poised over the order form) rushing headlong into a Damascus Road conversion to aquaponics.

While the symbiotic relationship between fish and plants is the essence of aquaponics, the simplistic fish/plant dialogue trotted out by some vested interests is a very long way from explaining its intricacies.

My own experience of small-scale food production spans 30 years. In that time, we’ve kept all sorts of birds and animals and attempted to grow many types of plants using a variety of production systems and achieving proficiency in aquaponics has been as big a challenge as any of them…..and it is ongoing.

Now, having spent this time attempting to convince you that aquaponics is not as easy as some people would suggest, I don’t want you to believe that it’s beyond those who are prepared to make a reasonable effort to learn.

Aquaponics will, of itself, offer a reasonable return on your investment of time and money. Like any other investment, however, aquaponics may prove risky for those who are too lazy to do some basic research.

If your interest is in small-scale aquaponics, there are several books available. My personal favourite is The Urban Aquaponics Manual – 2nd Edition. While I confess to a certain bias (I wrote it), it is also the most up-to-date publication of its type in the world.

If you’re still itching for more on recirculating aquaculture – and if you’re well-healed – I’d recommend Recirculating Aquaculture Systems by Timmons, Ebeling, Wheaton, Summerfeldt and Vinci. It even contains a 40 page section on aquaponics.

Couple that with some reading about hydroponics. I recommend:

• Hydroponic Food Production by Howard Resh
• Commercial Hydroponics by John Mason
• Hydroponic Crop Production by Joe Romer

By the time you’ve digested these books, you’ll be in the top 2 percentile (in terms of your knowledge of aquaponics) in the world.

If you’re just starting out in aquaponics, you will have a distinct advantage over those who have gone before you. Notwithstanding the hocus pocus, there’s more information out there than ever before. You’ve just got to sort the wheat from the chaff (like this little gem from another kit maker)……..

“Running an aquaponic system CAN be easy… I know of people who had no idea about fish keeping and no idea about growing plants yet with a few simple guidelines they are producing and harvesting their own produce from their systems.”

And here’s my point…..everything is easy until something goes wrong. When that something happens, the simplistic little guidelines don’t prevent the fishkill……or the subsequent anguish and the inevitable loss of confidence that occurs.

Forums like www.aquaponicshq.com/forums chronicle the trials of many people who have taken such advice and had bad experiences. But for these forums, and the technical support (and the occasional bit of group therapy) that they provide, such people would simply founder and drift away from aquaponics.

To summarise, aquaponics will provide:

• crops of plants and fish for the same amount of water that it would normally take to just grow the plants.
• clean, fresh, affordable food for you and your family.

…..but, like any worthwhile pursuit, your rewards will be commensurate with your efforts. The more you know; the more you grow!

Aquaponics Forum

The Aquaponic Gardening Community is a Ning site that was established in early February, 2010 by Sylvia Bernstein. She is assisted by an Advisory Group of 8 - 10 active members.

The vision for the site is to form a diverse community of aquaponic gardeners, both experienced and novice, that is small enough to foster intimate relationships, but large enough to offer robust discussion across a wide range of topics and aquaponic gardening styles. The Ning format was selected because it easily facilitates forum discussions and group formation by geographic location, fish type or other areas of interest. It also encourages photo and video sharing and tagging, and the announcement and coordiation of events.

The idea here is to take the notion of community between aquaponic gardeners to a whole new level of interaction and idea exchange. So much of what has been learned so far about aquaponics is due to the open discussions between the early pioneering gardeners growing with this amazing technique. There is so much still to learn in this incredible new way of gardening. Together we can change the world.

Direct Link: http://aquaponicscommunity.com/