Aquaponics in Hawaii

[NL Seattle Greg]

http://www.friendlyaquaponics.com/

[Jay Ryan]

From your link:

DISCLAIMER: UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IT IS UNLAWFUL TO GROW MARIJUANA IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. IN ADDITION, THESE SYSTEMS DO NOT WORK FOR GROWING MARIJUANA. We have a report from a friend of a student of ours, who had grown marijuana successfully using hydroponics for years, who tried for over a year to grow marijuana using Aquaponics systems, and never succeeded. Just so you know: When we say “food”, that is really what we mean.

Maybe it's a PH thing or something.

[Jay Ryan]

Greg,

I use bubble buckets with no substrate, except for water, air, and nutz. I think that they way they use fish is good for food, but not right for weed.

I did some research a while back on it, and found it to be not right for us. It is a great way to grow lettuce and other things, but not so much for weed.

[NL Seattle Greg]

Jay, There a more than a few people here in Hawaii looking into Aquaponics here is a different system using larger containers with substrates. The addition of the worms into the mix will add a larger nutritional base the plants can use as opposed to the raft net pot systems.

[Guest dfwi]

This is 1 off the oldest systems around it was used by the Aztecs. It is a viable system but can take many yrs to get the aquaculture right (raising aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) There is alot more to it than just throwing a few fish into a pond. Many just give up for just that reason. 1 off the main things you are alway fighting is Ammonia build up (fish poo/waste). I have a near buy farmer using this system for herbs and some other vegies with very good success, she turns over about $2000 a week just at local markets. But from my experiments with her, Jay Ryan seems to be right. All the pot i've tried to grow in her system did grow but very very slow and always looked sick and as if it was lacking nutrient. I don't think the EC levels in a traditional aquaculture set up is achievable to raise good pot. All herbs and vegies are quite happy on very very low EC. I have grow Basil and other herbs on EC's as low as .2 on flood and drain tables.

[NL Seattle Greg]

Jay Ryan, The people at Friendly Aquaponics are into growing food and the systems they have created here are using small net pots to produce mainly lettuce. For a larger plant like pepper. eggplant, or large herbs I think more substrate may be needed like a three gallon pot with a drain to waste irrigation system.

[NL Seattle Greg]

dfwi, Thank you for the response I plan on using the fish water to provide some nutrition to a substrate of 50% peat and 50% black volcanic cinders that has earthworms and Master. Cho's natural farming IMO nutrients added in a drain to waste system. I like what is going on with these new ideas here in Hawaii about using local inputs as we are in the middle of a very big ocean and due to shipping costs imported means a higher price.

[Guest dfwi]

cool Greg yes i think its great as well. A few years back i had my 267acre farm organicley certified by the goverment. I get better money for my stuff and can only use organic ferts named by them. Each bag i buy has to have it's serial number / bar code logged and my soil is subject to random tests by goverment chemists, they come and take soil samples and copy's of my logs every 3mths or so.