Just like a lot of people who get enthusiastic about Aquaponics, I’ve always wanted to build my own system, and just like most people who like Aquaponics, I just can’t seem to find the time.
I continued to read and read and read. I watched countless videos, experimented with auto-siphons and talked about Aquaponics to almost every person I meet. I was lucky that my ever-supportive girlfriend encouraged me to “just do it” one day, otherwise, I would just still be talking about it. Living here in the Philippines, I do have some advantages. Being in the tropics, temperature for the fish won’t be a problem and I can easily acquire fish and seeds for the plants.
Finding materials for our very first Aquaponic system was no easy task. It’s very easy to feel like giving up since some materials used in the systems I’ve seen are very hard to find here ( fiberglass fish tanks and grow beds, expanded clay pellets, etc.) It’s nice that in other countries, they do sell kits. After scouring to different hardware and DIY shops, I was ready to build using local materials. I decided to try using Shubunkin Goldfish (Php 10.00 each) for the fishtank as they’re hardy and easy to care for. For the plants, I tried directly planting seeds of corn, mustard, pechay (chinese chard), okra (lady’s fingers) in the grow bed. I also added 2 young basil plants. Seeds started to germinate after 3 days. I planted the same type and number of seeds in the soil for me to be able to compare the rate of their growth.
It has been 2 weeks now since the first Aquaponic system went operational. So far, I’m very happy with the progress. I spend at least 15 minutes a day checking it, some minor tweaking and making sure that the grow bed floods and drains correctly. My girlfriend also took the liberty of adding some more fish and one day caught her “playing” with them(with that guilty smile on her face, saying “I’m just feeding them”). Water is crystal clear, which is a good sign. It will take several more days or weeks for the plants to mature, but I am already thinking of building another one with a bigger FT and bigger grow bed so I can plant more edible vegetables and grow edible fish.
Happy planting!