WHICH FISH FOR AQUAPONICS COLD SYSTEM

[dundadundun]

have you considered asking local fisherman what it is they can catch and eat in the winter, even a little north of you? i know it might prove hard to provide the temps that a deep (ish) channel would provide but it might be easier than picking a species out of a hat.

i know it might prove to be a bit of a financial burden, but what about building a greenhouse with a low ceiling? the lower the ceiling the less you have to heat.

i am familiar with the idea of aquaponics. please forgive me though if my ideas are a bit out of reach... i am not too familiar with too many species. i would think though that not too many veggies would winter over too well if the fish are too cold also. that will pretty much blow your whole idea i would think because there would be nothing to eat up your nitrates which would climb very high in an aquaponics setup when plants are not plentiful to eat them up. plus this would leave you with whole seasons where you cannot reap the benefits of sustainability. in other words you'd have to watch what you eat from your system in the colder months for fear of having to start all over and re-invest the next year to a point.

 

[oscartank]

The system I am going with will be 4 polytunnels containing planters seeding areas and return sumps, they will be fed buy four fisherys that in turn will be fed buy 1 boiler house. The boiler house and fisherys will be housed in highly insulated cabins! The boiler will be powered by methane from cattle manure! The boiler will be set to 27 c as to keep the fisherys warm all year round. The polytunnels will be heated buy this and light can be used in winter!

 

[dundadundun]

well in that case seems you've already got it figured out. keep us updated as it progresses. pics/videos would be a delectable treat. :hang: ...opcorn:

 

[SubRosa]

27 c is totally tropical! Go with Tilapia.

 

[aznewbie]

What about using a solar heater? If used in conjunction with a solar pump I would think that you would be able to run the system VERY efficiently. I have been toying with the idea of running a similar system myself as I have a large well fed 10k tank at my ranch. I would love to see diagrams/pictures if you would be willing to share.

 

[DoctaQ]

another idea could be using a secondary feed type fish that will eat veggies and spawn prolificly and become food for your trout 0o0

 

[frigginchi]

Channel catfish will fit your bill perfectly. For every pound of feed the catfish generates up to .67 lbs of meat.

Here is my project: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2506010#post2506010

 

[koipoloi]

I believe koi were used as a food source for many centuries prior to being an ornamental fish. They like cold water, eat plant material and are prolific. So they fit several of your requirements. However I have eaten a lot of carp in my younger years and I think catfish are a lot tastier and probably faster growing. Just thought i would mention an alternative.

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

I think carp taste pretty bad for most uses, though they are ok in a few recipes. I know some people that like 'em, but not most.

People here farm channel cats due to how quickly they grow.

Sunfish taste really good, also, and bluegill grow pretty quickly, though the hybrid bluegill (green sunfish x bluegill) will grow faster and can get larger. Neither will match the growth rate of a channel cat. Personally I think sunfish taste better. I think any one of those species will taste better than tilapia though (bland, IMO).

My problem with suggestions is that I'm not sure what kind of fish you have available over there.

 

[Fishfriend1]

you do know that this thread is almost a year old, right?