Rebuilding the system

It has been several months since my failure to rebuild by system in the place where my family temporarily relocated. Now I understand how critical it is to have good sunlight for the plants to thrive. I have been out of the aquaponic world for quite a while and I am desperate to have a new setup. I noticed that we now have more folks here in PH setting up more systems and some are even starting to build commercial setups, just in a matter of months of being out of the picture.

Here are some sites where one can read more about Aquaponics:

http://aquaponicsphilippines.com/

http://www.philippineaquaphonics.info/

http://www.mixph.com/2010/03/what-is-aquaponics-technology.html

One of my main issues is the lack of space to put up a new system here in Malabon. Unlike in Pasig, where I had an entire backyard blessed with a good position to get sunlight. Until I find a place where I can build a new setup, I’ll have to stick to reading and envy my fellow countrymen get their hands dirty in Aquaponics. 🙂

 

 

Wild Duckweed?

While walking outside my mother’s house in Pasig after work, I happen to chance by seeing some “green stuff” near the swampy grass. I thought it it was just algae or some green liquid stuff disposed by the house nearby. I kept ignoring it until one day my curiosity took over and I looked closer. And guess what’s I’ve found… duckweed!

I’ve been trying to grow them ever since somebody gave me a handful to multiply, but this was the first time that I saw them in the wild. First time I would ever see them grow in that small village in the last 22 years of living there. How they got there, I had no idea.

Some people who are not familiar with duckweed might ask, what’s the big deal about it? In some places they are considered a nuisance and often associated with poor water quality (they basically thrive if the water is rich with nutrients). While this is true, duckweed is considered by some as a plant who might play a major part in the future of food production. In spite of being the smallest aquatic plant, it can contain up to 45% protein and is rich in amino acids which is an ideal food for fish in ponds and aquaponic systems. They multiply rapidly given the proper conditions (conditions that I am yet to fully understand).

So what did I do when I confirmed that it’s duckweed that I saw lying on the murky water in our neighborhood? I ran back home, took some plastic container and my phone camera! Imagine this being done while getting this what-the-hell-is-this-guy-doing kind of look from our neighbors. When I came back with my container, some old guy even tied up his dog on a tree a few feet away from where I found the duckweed, probably thinking I was up to something not very good. But in spite of having to dodge this dog and with his annoying barking, I managed to scoop my duckweed away and walk home smiling.

 

Backyard Chicken Farming: First Batch

Project has finally started a few weeks ago. Added a nesting box inside the shelter. I currently have a “trio” of chickens for starters. My plan is 20-25 chickens for this backyard.

Happy farming!

 

Aquaponics: Tomato fruits

I had been unsuccessful in growing tomatoes but surprisingly, lone tomato plant managed to survive in one of my growbeds and it is now bearing fruits. Last time I counted, it has at least 2 dozens of young, unripe tomato fruits. This revived my passion for Aquaponics which has been stagnant for a few months

Happy farming!

 

Aquaponics: Duckweed!

Some photos of the AP system showing the duckweed I tried reproducing after seeing them from a nearby canal. They multiply so quickly!

 

Backyard Chicken Farming – House Complete

Well, almost complete. I still have to add more supporting wood to make it withstand future typhoons. We get that a lot yearly where I’m from. I spent around 800 pesos for the bamboo, which is a bit pricey since I could have just gotten it for free had I been more patient.

Time now to construct the nesting boxes inside.

Happy farming!

 

Backyard Chicken Farming – A New Journey

Chickens, being one of the cheapest source of protein (not to mention the eggs), have always been part of Filipino diet whether in the sprawling cities or far away
provinces. No surprise that it’s not unusual to see a household with a few chickens.

One day, I suddenly thought “why can’t I have some as well?” We have a small vacant lot with walls and gates already and my Aquaponics setup doesn’t really take much space.

Last week, I started drafting a plan for my project: a mini barn! My goal is simple, 1. Help cut down food cost by producing meat and eggs. 2. Learn the basics of organic chicken farming for larger ventures in the future. 3. To sell excess meat and eggs. Now, this, I’m totally sure if there would be something to call excess. But I’m going to try.

First thing I need would be a house for the chicken. To get me started, I bought 2 hens and a rooster just to motivate myself to pursue this project. With the help of my stepdad, I was able to begin setting up a simple chicken house. Most of the materials were just salvaged from a nearby construction site. The plastic roof are just recycled from my previous greenhouse that was destroyed by a typhoon several months ago.

I chose to go for native, free-range type of chickens since they peck for some of their food like plants and insects, and they’re much more resistant to diseases. I also like the idea of seeing chickens walking around, instead of white chickens confined in cages, being fed with antibiotics and all sorts of drugs.

If the info I got from the net is accurate, a hen would lay at least 40 eggs in a year under the natural method. Meaning, you let the hen do their thing with less intervention from humans. So if there are 20 hens and 4 roosters, I am to expect 800 eggs in a year or 66.67 eggs in a month. And I don’t think we’ll be eating that much eggs. Not bad for a chicken house made up of recycled materials. I know this will be a new journey for me, but I am going to welcome learning and new experiences.

Happy farming!

 

Aquaponics: A new look, same system

It’s been quite a while since my last post. I just want to share some updates with my two little systems.

A view of both of my Aquaponic systems

One day I just realized that I wasn’t getting enough growth for all of the plants and the yellowish color from the leaves are clearly signs of lack of nutrients. If I’m not mistaken, mostly due to lack of iron.

Underneath the small raft

I’ve read from DIYAquaponics that adding a filter in the system would really help a lot in maximizing the dissolved nutrients be fed to the plants since we are reducing the amount of solids in the growbeds which clog up the roots. So I’ve decided to add my own filter! I used recycled plastic containers and some wool and scotchbrite for the renovation.

A top view for the second system showing the home-made filter box

I also painted the outsides of the beds black to minimize the algae that steals away nutrients that should be for our vegetables

Fish tank full of Tilapia

Adding filters on each of the two mini systems and minimizing algae growth have improved the quality of the plants by making sure that they get more nutrients. Leaves looked healthier and the Okra fruits have been almost unstoppable.

As of the moment, the system needs a lot of tweaking since I haven’t done much maintenance lately and I am also planning on setting up a much more ambitious and productive system. Raft is most likely the choice.

 

 

 

My second Aquaponics system, blunders and some future plans

It’s been a few months since my second attempt to put up a new Aquaponics setup. After seeing my first grow some nice looking plants, I knew in myself that I won’t settle for just a little one. I’m noticing that more and more people here in the Philippines are starting to appreciate Aquaponics and some are successful in starting their own setups. Here are some photos of my second system. I used three plastic containers for the grow beds. Two are for the ebb and flow type and the one in the middle, I tried putting up a raft. Recycled coco lumber serves as the frame for the grow beds.

My second attempt with Aquaponics

The raft planted with sitao, basil, pechay and mustard - limited growth due to the shallow bed

After a month of setting this up, the system looked promising. Pechay, Basil, Ampalaya, Sitao and Mustard grew quickly. The goldfish and carp seemed healthy. However, I made a big mistake of over-crowding the grow bed on the left. I also noticed that as the vine plants grow, they shaded the rest of the system

Over-crowded pechay

from sunlight, thus deterring the growth of the other plants. My system was placed beside two trees. Unfortunately, some of their branches grew too long as to deny sunlight as well. I had to cut some of them eventually in order to provide some sunlight. While the raft helped in ensuring a constant flow of water back to the fish tank, I finally accepted the truth that the bed is too shallow to support further root growth.

Nevertheless, I learned a lot from my experience with the second setup. I learned the right flow of water for each grow bed for consistent flooding and draining. I haven’t had any real problems aside from overcrowding and lack of sunlight exposure. The grow bed on the right demonstrated a much better growth of plants since it receives the most sunlight.

Let’s visit the very first system we’ve started. Okra, Corn and Basil have grown quite well. I kept all of their seeds for future planting since they have been grown purely organic. If it will make any difference, I’m yet to find out. This same system also suffered from my Ube plant overwhelming the rest of the grow bed. Now, only my Okra and Ube have survived. I’m going to post some pictures next time and I’m planning to restart the entire grow bed. Definitely no vine-plants, will probably have some leafy greens or herbs.

Healthy okra will serve as mother of all my future Okra plants

Corn: didn't grow as much, but provided some good purely organic seeds for future planting

Mustasa (Mustard) plant

 

Happy planting!

 

Backyard Aquaponics – Beginning of a passion

A close-up look with the flower from the Onion plant. I never really expected it to survive after I planted it.

4th week of the growbed after the seeds were planted

After I started the first one 4 weeks ago, I am now setting up the 2nd and 3rd systems both at the same time. The 2nd one, made up of an old refrigerator and a 55-gallon plastic drum. The 3rd one cost me some money for we had to buy the new growbeds and the fish tank. For the stand, I just went to the construction site near or house and talked to one of the workers, and good thing they allowed me to buy their used coco-lumber for 8 pesos each. I opted to paint them black so they won’t look so old.

I should have planned what I wanted to grow. Now the leaves are all tangled.

I couldn’t wait to get home to finish the stand of the 3 new growbeds. I started slow with the carpentry but soon enough, I was working purely by instinct. I painted the wood black. When I thought I’ve done enough for the day, I punched in a hole for each of the growbed. And when I thought I was tired enough and needed rest, I made 3 stand pipes and 1 bell siphon. It really took a certain amount of self control to stop working with Aquaponics. I could go on and on non-stop. After 4 weeks in operation, I realized some of my mistakes with my first system:

1. Plants – I made this stupid thing by sprinkling seeds in the grow bed without considering how will they look like once they’ve grown. Now it’s a total chaos. I’ll make it a point to avoid this error with the 2 other systems.

2. Bell Siphon – If I invested more time and effort in creating a better bell siphon, I could have minimized the time spent worrying of the bedwil continue to flood and drain. But since I’m just in the experimenting stage, I guess it’s okay.

3. Transparent Growbed = Algae. Because of better exposure to sunlight, algae have been stealing nutrients that could have been for the plants. But I did this so I can observe what’s going on inside the bed and see the roots and water flow.

These experiences have made me more confident in continuing the goal of understanding Aquaponics better and create more successful systems. I hope to be able to use Aquaponics where it can be most beneficial. So here’s a quick update with the 1s mini system we started 4 weeks ago. Some changes have been made, such as the pipe running from the fish tank into the growbed and the tube used in the bell. I also made more reading about Aquaponics and reviewed other videos to better equip me with more knowledge with this passion.

This is the same Okra plant after 4 weeks. It has dominated the growbed ith it’s rapid growth. It has been the most aggressive of all the plants.

This is the same little corn seedling 4 weeks ago. Now, I'm not really sure how this one will go...

My playground. This is where I can be found most time of the day.

My work area from a different angle

This is the 3rd system that is still under construction. Can’t wait to start this one.