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!