Off-grid Aquaponics [no life support]

Dave Donley

Do not agree. ...and now the thread has gone off-grid again.

floyd

Earthbags are fantastic...unlike rammed earth (which is also great) you can incorporate very free form designs, like domes and curved walls etc...you dont need to keep it boxy...

Also, dont have the gasifier online yet, but designing a system to retrofit or rebuild our pyrolosis (biochar) ovens to be gasifiers...the gas will then be piped off to our generators

A development Im a little involved with in Sri Lanka will be using gasifiers to produce their electricity. India is a big manufacturer of gasifiers and generators. There is some great stuff out of the US lately too

bren.t

As close to off-grid as possible is where I'd like to get my systems. Mainly, I'd like to be producing my own fish feed and electricity.
As for the feed, my concern is getting a balanced diet for the fish. Duckweed would be a staple, along with worms from vermicomposting and fly larvae. But I wonder if that would cover all the vitamins and minerals my tilapia need.
Plenty of sun here in Texas. The cost of solar panels is what's prohibiting that system modification right now.
I watched a couple videos on Earthships the other day. I love the idea. It's on my list of things to work towards. I've got to get through school, first.

DanDMan

MoyaAnomalous wrote:

I was wondering if anyone successfully set up an aquaponics system that needed zero additional resources after its establishment.

There will always be inputs, be it labor, or energy form the sun. The single best solution I can give you would be a chinampa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinampa, or a very large lake, or stream. If you are referring to stocking a fish for every gallon of water and growing enough food on you'r back porch; probably not without a LOT of money.

BTW did you know that it takes so much energy from nuclear power plants to make silicone for solar power that it is questionable that they every actually give ANY power over investment.

The chinampa's however fed millions of people in mexico before the spanish came and destroyed it then forced everyone to their ways.

So, yes it is possible, but you are going to have to expand your ideas of what aquaponics is. Forest systems, also produce more calories out than you put in, but some special understanding(s) have to be in-place to recycle nutrients ect.. So in an open system (i.e. the sun), over unity is possible because its not really over unity). Oh I better stop here before I get excited and solve the worlds problems...

The aquaponics of the future is the aquaponics of the past:

Its going to take a LOT more than a tiny AP system to feed your self 100%

You are going to be walking through your system :wink:

One thing is for sure floating down your system and harvesting a boat load of food would not be hard work..You could really stack the production from root to vine in food producing trees.

werdna

DanDMan wrote:

BTW did you know that it takes so much energy from nuclear power plants to make silicone for solar power that it is questionable that they every actually give ANY power over investment.

Sorry, but your theory is from about 15 years ago.
I researched into this last year and found that after you add in transport emissions and manufacture emissions etc, a solar panel takes 3 years to offset the GHG produced in getting it to your door.
That was based on coal fired power GHGE, which is one of the worst pollutants for power generation.

So, by my calculations for the panels on my roof, they take 3 years to pay off my investment, and in that same time, pay off their own GHG emissions, so I have 2 years left till they cover their own costs.

chillidude

MoyaAnomalous wrote:

Only truth is truth.

I will end this conversation here...

I hope that's the truth !

earthbound

Would love a large expanse of water to play with like that, there are all sorts of possibilities then.. Bit of a pipe dream when you liver in one of the driest continents on earth though.. :dontknow:

Need to find a wetter area in Aus...

Bushy

Go east young man.......up to 2,500 mm enough for you ?

earthbound

Or perhaps south...

Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics