morrie Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 hi i was planning to set up a 4 foot tank on my deck as a sort of a out door-ish mini-pond . it has good light with abit or early morning and late afternoon sun (more direct sun in winter) - i was going to have a go at a refugium -at or above level - (because i have two gold fish the kids won't part with) but want to grow some plants and have as balanced a system as possible with minimal technologies... i will probabay have just the 2 gold fish a few white clouds or blue eyes and a bristle nose ( i have a few left over sword tails i might throw in there too) i also wanted some plants to be edible - i used water cress with great effect in a outside pond a few years ago unfortunately not many of our family like water cress and i expect if i get it right it will grow fast and require constant harvesting any other ideas for a fast growing underwater or marginal plant that we can throw in the salad or stir fry? also : 1: will i need extra light ? i was hoping not 2: am i going for too many fish? cheers ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guppy licious Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 i wouldn't say that you need more light but try and get some crushed coral or something because i think most plants like alkalinity i don't know for sure but ask around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 There are a huge variety of edible plats you could grow in an aquaculture type arrangement. The main limitation is nutrients. With only 2 goldfish and a few others you will be limited how much quantity you can grow. In a semi shade area, lettuce would be a start. Asian greens, rocket, mescalin, baby spinach all grow pretty well in semi shade. Then you can get into veges proper. Like: beans, capsicum, silverbeet, celery and so on.... You could load the tank up with goldies and grow more of these things than you could easily eat. Check out some aquaponics related stuff on the internet. There is tons. Also look up shade loving edible plants and herbs. You will be amazed the variety you can grow. It sounds like a wonderful project. According to my vege books a majority of veges prefer soils on the slightly acidic side. But that changes somewhat when you are doing it hydroponically (aquaponics) Get yourself some substrate for the plants. Crushed lava rock/perlite.... Anyway, you get the idea. DO an aquaponics search and you will have all the info you need. cheers, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrie Posted January 31, 2009 Author Share Posted January 31, 2009 'aquaponics' hey - nice to know what i was trying to do has a name! i'll go seaching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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