The Complete Idiot's Guide to Aquaponic Gardening

Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Contents iii......Page 5 Part 1: Creating Your System 1......Page 21 What Is an Aquaponic Garden? 3......Page 23 Creating Your Plan 4......Page 24 Strengths and Limitations 5......Page 25 Inside or Out? 6......Page 26 DIY or Kit? 7......Page 27 Plants and Fish 8......Page 28 Creating an Aquaponic Window Garden 9......Page 29 Using a Water Pump in the Fish Tank 10......Page 30 Using a Sump to Keep Your Fish Safe 11......Page 31 Sample Micro-Farms 12......Page 32 What You Need to Know About Light 15......Page 35 How Much Light Do You Need per Square Foot? 16......Page 36 Making Sure All Your Plants Get Sunlight 17......Page 37 Growing During Short Winter Days 18......Page 38 Fluorescents 19......Page 39 High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Bulbs and Ballasts 21......Page 41 Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) 22......Page 42 Basic Accessories 23......Page 43 How to Make Water Do What You Want 25......Page 45 Water Will Move to Lower Pressure 26......Page 46 Acid Water, Neutral Water, and Alkaline Water 27......Page 47 Thermal Mass 28......Page 48 Water Evaporates When Air Is Warm 29......Page 49 Dissolved Oxygen 30......Page 50 Fish Need Water to Live 31......Page 51 Plants and Water 32......Page 52 Fish Tanks 33......Page 53 Aquariums May Not Be the Best Fish Tanks 34......Page 54 Plastic Barrels 35......Page 55 Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) 36......Page 56 Stock Tanks 38......Page 58 Specialty Fiberglass and Plastic Tanks 40......Page 60 Bathtubs 41......Page 61 Liners and Sealants 42......Page 62 Depth You Need to Grow in Rocks or Water 43......Page 63 Width and Volume 44......Page 64 Grow Beds That Are Narrow or Vertical 45......Page 65 Bulkhead Fittings and Standpipes 46......Page 66 Plumbing with PVC Pipes 47......Page 67 Garden Hose 48......Page 68 Corrugated Tubing 50......Page 70 3×5-foot Grow Bed 51......Page 71 5 Making Water Move: Pumps and Standpipes 57......Page 77 Capacity 58......Page 78 Preventing Water from Getting Into Air Pumps 59......Page 79 Water Pumps 60......Page 80 Filters 61......Page 81 Fill Up with a Hose 62......Page 82 Use a Water Cooler Design 63......Page 83 Use a Float Valve to Add Water 64......Page 84 The Bottom Drain Standpipe 65......Page 85 DIY Plans for Standpipes and Overflows 66......Page 86 Inexpensive Bulkhead Fitting 67......Page 87 PVC Standpipe and Drain 68......Page 88 Solids Lifting Overflow for Drain in Bottom of Fish Tank 69......Page 89 Solids Lifting Overflow for Drain in Side of Fish Tank 70......Page 90 Part 2: Growing Options 73......Page 93 Benefits of Using Media Beds 75......Page 95 Plant Varieties 76......Page 96 Protecting Roots from Light and Solids 77......Page 97 Great for Landscaping 78......Page 98 Supporting a Rock-Filled Grow Bed 79......Page 99 pH Properties of Your Media 80......Page 100 Gravel 81......Page 101 Expanded Clay Pellets 82......Page 102 Expanded Shale 83......Page 103 Volcanic Rock 84......Page 104 Why Flood and Drain Your Media Beds? 85......Page 105 Methods for Flooding and Draining a Media Bed 86......Page 106 Timers Turn Pumps On and Off 87......Page 107 Indexing Valve to Shunt Flow Between Grow Beds 88......Page 108 Flood Tanks and Mechanical Flood Valves 89......Page 109 Auto-Siphons Have No Moving Parts 90......Page 110 Combining Flood and Drain Methods 93......Page 113 Making an Inexpensive 15-Minute Timer 94......Page 114 Making an Affnan Bell Siphon and Coanda Drain Pipe 95......Page 115 Commercial Tower Systems 97......Page 117 Making Your Own Towers 99......Page 119 Stacked Planters 100......Page 120 Designing a Stacked Grow Bed System 101......Page 121 Supporting Stacked Grow Beds 102......Page 122 Trellises 103......Page 123 Pergolas 104......Page 124 PVC Tower 105......Page 125 Pergola 107......Page 127 Benefits and Challenges of Growing in Water 111......Page 131 Net Pots and Media 112......Page 132 Containers for Nutrient Film Technique 113......Page 133 Plants Floating in Deep Water 114......Page 134 Floating Rafts 115......Page 135 Arranging Your Plants 116......Page 136 Ways to Filter Your Water 117......Page 137 Screen Solids Out of the Water 118......Page 138 NFT Tube Made from a Fence Post 119......Page 139 Swirl Filter 121......Page 141 Part 3: Nutrients and Plants 123......Page 143 Beneficial Bacteria and the Nitrogen Cycle 125......Page 145 Cycling Your Garden 127......Page 147 Fish Poison: Ammonia 128......Page 148 Oxygen-Binder: Nitrite 129......Page 149 Using Norwegian Kelp to Add Vitamins 130......Page 150 Reducing pH 131......Page 151 Measuring Your System 132......Page 152 Testing Your Water Chemistry 133......Page 153 Measuring Dissolved Oxygen 135......Page 155 Using a Planting Guide 137......Page 157 Peppers 140......Page 160 Eggplant 141......Page 161 Squash 142......Page 162 Green Beans 143......Page 163 Beets 144......Page 164 Carrots 145......Page 165 Leafy Greens 146......Page 166 Peas 147......Page 167 Spinach 148......Page 168 Flowers 149......Page 169 Wicking Beds 150......Page 170 Smartscaping with Aquaponics Water 152......Page 172 Starting from Seed 155......Page 175 Planting Seeds to Transplant 156......Page 176 Transplanting Seedlings 158......Page 178 Rinsing Roots of Transplants 159......Page 179 Propagating Plants from Cuttings 160......Page 180 Sharing Plants 161......Page 181 Saving Seeds 162......Page 182 What You Need to Save Seed 163......Page 183 Storage and Viability 164......Page 184 What Is a Pest? 165......Page 185 Other Bothersome Pests 166......Page 186 Lacewings 167......Page 187 Pest-Deterring Plants 168......Page 188 Peppermint 169......Page 189 Garlic Fire Spray 170......Page 190 Diatomaceous Earth 171......Page 191 Compost Tea 172......Page 192 Neem Oil 173......Page 193 Bug Zappers 174......Page 194 Pruning 175......Page 195 Pinching Off New Growth and Flowers 176......Page 196 Multi-Layer Gardening 178......Page 198 Effect on Nutrient Availability 179......Page 199 Treating Nutrient Deficiencies 180......Page 200 Part 4: Fish and Other Animals183......Page 203 Why Freshwater Fish? 185......Page 205 Goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) 186......Page 206 Koi (Cyprinus carpio carpio) 187......Page 207 Channel Catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus) 188......Page 208 Fathead Minnows (Pimephales promelas) 189......Page 209 Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) 190......Page 210 Hybrid Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) 191......Page 211 Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) 192......Page 212 Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss and Salmo gairdneri) 193......Page 213 Salmon 194......Page 214 Tilapia 195......Page 215 Australian Fish 197......Page 217 Jade Perch (Scortum barcoo) 199......Page 219 Sleepy Cod (Oxyeleotris lineolatus) 200......Page 220 Red Worms vs Burrowing Worms 201......Page 221 What Worms Eat 202......Page 222 How Worms Help Your Aquaponic Garden 203......Page 223 Harvesting the Larvae 204......Page 224 Attracting Black Soldier Flies 205......Page 225 Chickens, Ducks, and Quail 206......Page 226 Scuds or Gammarus 207......Page 227 Freshwater Shrimp and Crayfish 208......Page 228 The Basics of Fish Life 209......Page 229 The Birds and the Bees of Fish 210......Page 230 Feeding Baby Fish 211......Page 231 When Fish Are Sick 212......Page 232 Salt 213......Page 233 Potassium Permanganate 215......Page 235 Not Dead ... Yet 216......Page 236 What to Do with the Remains 217......Page 237 Cleaning Your System 218......Page 238 Catching Fish 219......Page 239 Cleaning Fish 220......Page 240 Filleting Fish 221......Page 241 Cooking Fish 222......Page 242 Part 5: Beyond the Basics 225......Page 245 Greenhouse Pros and Cons 227......Page 247 Greenhouses Aren’t Free 228......Page 248 Permanent Greenhouses 229......Page 249 Hobby Greenhouses 230......Page 250 Geodesic Domes 231......Page 251 High Tunnels 232......Page 252 Row Covers 233......Page 253 EMT Hoop Houses 234......Page 254 Foundation 235......Page 255 Forming Hoops 236......Page 256 Insulation Keeps Heat and Cold in Your Garden 241......Page 261 Electric Space Heaters 243......Page 263 Electric Water Heaters 244......Page 264 Water Heaters 245......Page 265 Rocket Mass Heaters 246......Page 266 Thermal Mass and Raised Beds 247......Page 267 Using Water to Cool the Air 248......Page 268 Using the Earth to Cool the Water 249......Page 269 Subterranean Systems 250......Page 270 Why Automate? 253......Page 273 Measurement Systems 254......Page 274 Fans 255......Page 275 Shades and Vents 256......Page 276 Adding Water 257......Page 277 Commercial Feeders for Large Fish Tanks 258......Page 278 Controlling Feed Rates Using Water Temperature 259......Page 279 Getting Someone Else to Do the Job 260......Page 280 21 When You Can’t Use Public Electricity or Water 263......Page 283 Rain Barrels 264......Page 284 Collecting Rain Without a Roof 265......Page 285 Solar Panels 266......Page 286 Harnessing Wind to Generate Electricity 267......Page 287 Using Batteries to Store Energy 268......Page 288 Nonelectric Water Pumps 269......Page 289 Pumping Water with Air 270......Page 290 Daily Tasks 273......Page 293 Checking Your Plants 274......Page 294 Monthly Tasks 275......Page 295 Cleaning Your System 276......Page 296 Winter 277......Page 297 Spring 278......Page 298 Summer 279......Page 299 Fall 280......Page 300 Renewing Your Grow Beds 281......Page 301 23 Integrated Aquaponic Systems 283......Page 303 Quail and Other Birds 284......Page 304 Water Tower 285......Page 305 Integrating Automation 286......Page 306 Integrating Air, Water, and Soil Gardening 287......Page 307 International Aquaponics in Yokohama 288......Page 308 “HOT STEAM Drives You MAD” 289......Page 309 A 10-Gallon System for About $100 291......Page 311 A 100-Gallon System for About $400 295......Page 315 Where to Find Other DIY Plans in This Book 299......Page 319 Online DIY Plans and More 300......Page 320 A Glossary 303......Page 323 B Resources 315......Page 335 Index 323......Page 343 The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Aquaponic Gardening is a comprehensive guide to aquaponic gardening, from choosing a setup to selecting fish and vegetables. In addition to everything one needs to know to run a healthy aquaponic garden and care for both the vegetables and fish, there are step-by step plans with photos for building different size systems. The expert author fully explains how to garden indoors and how to resize and move a garden inside or outside, depending on the season, to produce an abundant supply of edible, organically-raised vegetables and fish