How We Are Doing It
FILTRATION/PLANTS
Initially, I began with a 6000 Gallon tank, 3000 gal per hour magnetic submersible pump, and a 600 gallon bog filter. The bog filter was filled with 3/8 inch gravel and drained directly into the 6000 gallon tank. The surface area of the bog filter was 60 square foot. It took approximately two hours for all the water to circulate through the filter. It took about six weeks to cycle (or stabilize) the water.
I had 100 full sized Koi and 10,000 one inch Koi in that tank. The water was clear after about 4 weeks and at all times since. The surface froze once in the winter of 2008 for ten days. There was no loss of fish. However I did have a parasite problem once in the summer of 2008 and string algae in the summer as well. I added 100 goldfish to remove the string algae. I medicated the fish for the parasites which I determined were from overcrowding.
An additional problem I had was excess protein in the water. The likely cause was overfeeding. I added water softener salt around the edges of the tank at the rate of one pound per hundred gallons of water. The salt decreased the protein and algae growth. Added salt at a level of 2.5 pounds per hundred gallons will kill the plants. 1.0-1.5 pounds per hundred gallons is acceptable. (Aka as ppm)
The tank I have now is 60,000 gallons. The bog filtration system still exists. Basically the plants will be vegetables and herbs. I will use the “Old World AquaFarm™” Climate Controlled Self-Cleaning Bog Filtration System and place the plants 4 - 6 inches apart.
Prior to the “Old World AquaFarm™” Filtration System, required extensive labor and cleaning. the new tank is about 60,000 gallons Therefore I will need a pump to change the water thru the self-cleaning filter as the plants will be floating on the surface of the tank. I will use a 2000 - 3000 gallon per hour pumps to aerate & exchange the water. Therefore I will circulate the water every 24 hours and use our 10% bogfiltration rate initially. I will then build external tanks to hold more plants.
These tanks will be 8 feet long and 3 feet wide. They will be 8-15 inches deep. They will be 24 square feet each. I will also add earthworms to this part of the system. The red wiggler worms will aerate the soil, provide castings, and consume the plant waste, increase nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, (one pound of worms per 200 square feet) thereby fertilizing the plants at ten times the normal rate without pesticides. When these additional tanks are complete (8 total) I will decrease the aeration pumping to 50% of original. The shrimp will be underneath the shallow rooted floating plants in the main tank in a cool dark area.
My plan is to begin with 10,000 prawns. That will be one prawn to four gallons of water at full size. At roughly half size I will transfer half of the prawns to the second tank the same size. That is why the water will be changed every 24 hours. This will provide 100 cubic feet of AquaFarm bog filtration for 60,000 gallons of water. The only difference is a 96 foot 1 and 1/2 inch PVC pipe with 1/4 inch holes drilled every 18 inches to facilitate aeration. Half of the water through the bog filter, 25% thru the plants, and the balance through the aeration pipe.
If this system works as designed, it will increase yield from 1000 pounds per acre (one pound/180 gallons water) to 35000 pounds per acre (one pound/5.0 gallons of water). This experiment may require an increase in bog filtration rate and aeration rates.
(160,000 gals/hour). (One pound of shrimp/2.5 gallons of water)
The decision was made to raise Shrimp, catfish, minnows, crabs, and perch. A smoker pit was designed to cold smoke the end products and dry them for vacuum packaging. Our first attempt at cold smoking resulted in wasting all the meat. this was due to the ambient temperature being too high. There is a 20,000 gallon prototype pond at the house which catfish are currently growing in. They are between 1-2 pounds as this is written. that particular system has no moving parts.
It is possible dissolved oxygen is decreased in the mornings. The water lettuce (which feeds the pigs) is causing the evaporation of water to increase dramatically. They shall be removed. I will replace them with a Fodder System. I am still having trouble getting crabs as the females only breed once in their lifetime. That breeding time seems to be prior to five and a quarter inches from tip to tip. It is legal to keep 5% undersized crabs for aquacultural purposes.
Back in the early eighties I worked with Texas A&M raising soft shell blue crabs. Blue crabs can live in brackish water. 1.5 - 3 PPT is ideal for them and the fresh water shrimp during the breeding cycle. There are currently Canna Lilies, Banana plants, and water lettuce in the self-cleaning filter system. The plan is to grow foodstuffs in the system. I found a greenhouse and it is on the way.
Currently we are using the porch as a greenhouse. 5000 seeds are planted on the porch. (mostly vegetables) The seedlings were planted in the garden March 2nd. A Late freeze in April made me replant. Drought, excessive heat, and weeds created an environment requiring excessive watering and weeding. Based on the data from the prototype, the garden produced tenfold. Therefore, the greenhouse is the key.
We grew vegetables and much more in the garden. I did not take pictures of the garden this year. It was quite difficult. Drought, weeds, and pests, all were doing their best to prevent us from growing. Fertilizers, constant weeding by hand, and gallons and gallons of water gave us a pitiful crop. The weather, some years it is good and other years it is bad. Bad weather requires more resources to grow the same food. So after years of development, research, and constantly testing new ideas, we came up with the solution.
I read a news story today which stated the ground water is depleting. Perhaps 70% will be gone by 2050. I will probably be gone by 2050 as well. My grandchildren are going to get thirsty if we do not start helping save water and land. Based on our research and the prototype pond we can say our grocery bill will be cut by 60-90%. We will use one tenth the water and cold smoke, then vacuum pack our food for storage.
We are currently designing more efficient solar photovoltaic power, wind power, solar heater, and smokehouse for the meat. Actually, the smokehouse is up and running. The Commercial AquaFarm system is not complete yet. The greenhouse is the next step. Once the new larger system is complete we plan to give away the technology. Having the completed system operating as “Off the grid” is the goal. Then it will be completely self-contained with only maintenance costs and parts as expenses.
The greenhouse will be here tomorrow. For weeks we have been preparing the site. We completed the barn and built a shop in it to manufacture parts for the home version of our program. We have been grading the site, building an “Old World” front for the greenhouse, laying the plumbing and electrical. We now have 60,000 gallons of tank for fish and other seafood, such as crab, shrimp, minnows, catfish, perch and more. We will stock 500 pounds of product and grow them to 20,000 pounds. Each product will harvest at different times. We are seriously considering a breeding system as well. Currently we can catch our product from the wild. We intend to sell aquatic animals in the future. Therefore we will obtain the necessary permits from the State.
We will eventually have 1800 square feet of growing space in the greenhouse for food. Our plants are on four inch centers, weed free, organically grown, and ten times the growth than a traditional garden. We can feed 20-25 people for a year with this commercial system. On an acre this system would equate to roughly 140 people fed three meals a day for a year. That is 280,000 calories produced per acre day.
Old World AquaFarm™ can help prolong the life of the aquifer, get our power from the Sun and or wind, feed our children for less, improve the quality of the food we eat, and most of all, feeding a person for a day is not helping them. Providing the means to grow their own food will help them.
The Greenhouse finally arrived. The shipping company had issues. No blame intended simply prolonged excitement waiting for the delivery. After laying all the parts out and then not reading the instructions. It took two days to build the frame. Read the instructions first. It will save you time.
Rain , wind, not reading the instructions often, and labor issues have slowed down construction. The pipe is in the ground. That is the water and electrical pipe. The ground has been graded. That was something as it rained 4 inches yesterday. Thought I was stirring pudding there for a while until I found some dry dirt. I mixed that in and finally got the area graded. The hoops are up and on six foot centers. Now the hoops need straightening. It seems there are six parts to each hoop. Each part is bent to fit into the next one. In the event one is slightly twisted then it throws the whole thing out of wack.
So When you put your hoops together make sure they are on a flat surface. Do not screw hoop pieces together with the tec screws until they are up and straight. The motorized vents are installed and the trim on the back end wall is going up. We still have to add the covered porch and decorate. Been looking for and old pickle barrel, checker board, and a few wood chairs. Remember those old cast iron wall plaques like the old car, train, Texas star and such. I would like to find some of that for the period circa 1850-1900. We will begin the front end wall soon. The old world style looks good. (Biased opinion and all). More to come soon...
The greenhouse cover is on. We have planted 3000 seeds and currently have over 500 outdoor plants to be sold. We have decided to concentrate on building The DIY Kits so our customers can save money. The Company is coming along great and we look forward to serving your food needs in the near future.
Initially, I began with a 6000 Gallon tank, 3000 gal per hour magnetic submersible pump, and a 600 gallon bog filter. The bog filter was filled with 3/8 inch gravel and drained directly into the 6000 gallon tank. The surface area of the bog filter was 60 square foot. It took approximately two hours for all the water to circulate through the filter. It took about six weeks to cycle (or stabilize) the water.
I had 100 full sized Koi and 10,000 one inch Koi in that tank. The water was clear after about 4 weeks and at all times since. The surface froze once in the winter of 2008 for ten days. There was no loss of fish. However I did have a parasite problem once in the summer of 2008 and string algae in the summer as well. I added 100 goldfish to remove the string algae. I medicated the fish for the parasites which I determined were from overcrowding.
An additional problem I had was excess protein in the water. The likely cause was overfeeding. I added water softener salt around the edges of the tank at the rate of one pound per hundred gallons of water. The salt decreased the protein and algae growth. Added salt at a level of 2.5 pounds per hundred gallons will kill the plants. 1.0-1.5 pounds per hundred gallons is acceptable. (Aka as ppm)
The tank I have now is 60,000 gallons. The bog filtration system still exists. Basically the plants will be vegetables and herbs. I will use the “Old World AquaFarm™” Climate Controlled Self-Cleaning Bog Filtration System and place the plants 4 - 6 inches apart.
Prior to the “Old World AquaFarm™” Filtration System, required extensive labor and cleaning. the new tank is about 60,000 gallons Therefore I will need a pump to change the water thru the self-cleaning filter as the plants will be floating on the surface of the tank. I will use a 2000 - 3000 gallon per hour pumps to aerate & exchange the water. Therefore I will circulate the water every 24 hours and use our 10% bogfiltration rate initially. I will then build external tanks to hold more plants.
These tanks will be 8 feet long and 3 feet wide. They will be 8-15 inches deep. They will be 24 square feet each. I will also add earthworms to this part of the system. The red wiggler worms will aerate the soil, provide castings, and consume the plant waste, increase nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, (one pound of worms per 200 square feet) thereby fertilizing the plants at ten times the normal rate without pesticides. When these additional tanks are complete (8 total) I will decrease the aeration pumping to 50% of original. The shrimp will be underneath the shallow rooted floating plants in the main tank in a cool dark area.
My plan is to begin with 10,000 prawns. That will be one prawn to four gallons of water at full size. At roughly half size I will transfer half of the prawns to the second tank the same size. That is why the water will be changed every 24 hours. This will provide 100 cubic feet of AquaFarm bog filtration for 60,000 gallons of water. The only difference is a 96 foot 1 and 1/2 inch PVC pipe with 1/4 inch holes drilled every 18 inches to facilitate aeration. Half of the water through the bog filter, 25% thru the plants, and the balance through the aeration pipe.
If this system works as designed, it will increase yield from 1000 pounds per acre (one pound/180 gallons water) to 35000 pounds per acre (one pound/5.0 gallons of water). This experiment may require an increase in bog filtration rate and aeration rates.
(160,000 gals/hour). (One pound of shrimp/2.5 gallons of water)
The decision was made to raise Shrimp, catfish, minnows, crabs, and perch. A smoker pit was designed to cold smoke the end products and dry them for vacuum packaging. Our first attempt at cold smoking resulted in wasting all the meat. this was due to the ambient temperature being too high. There is a 20,000 gallon prototype pond at the house which catfish are currently growing in. They are between 1-2 pounds as this is written. that particular system has no moving parts.
It is possible dissolved oxygen is decreased in the mornings. The water lettuce (which feeds the pigs) is causing the evaporation of water to increase dramatically. They shall be removed. I will replace them with a Fodder System. I am still having trouble getting crabs as the females only breed once in their lifetime. That breeding time seems to be prior to five and a quarter inches from tip to tip. It is legal to keep 5% undersized crabs for aquacultural purposes.
Back in the early eighties I worked with Texas A&M raising soft shell blue crabs. Blue crabs can live in brackish water. 1.5 - 3 PPT is ideal for them and the fresh water shrimp during the breeding cycle. There are currently Canna Lilies, Banana plants, and water lettuce in the self-cleaning filter system. The plan is to grow foodstuffs in the system. I found a greenhouse and it is on the way.
Currently we are using the porch as a greenhouse. 5000 seeds are planted on the porch. (mostly vegetables) The seedlings were planted in the garden March 2nd. A Late freeze in April made me replant. Drought, excessive heat, and weeds created an environment requiring excessive watering and weeding. Based on the data from the prototype, the garden produced tenfold. Therefore, the greenhouse is the key.
We grew vegetables and much more in the garden. I did not take pictures of the garden this year. It was quite difficult. Drought, weeds, and pests, all were doing their best to prevent us from growing. Fertilizers, constant weeding by hand, and gallons and gallons of water gave us a pitiful crop. The weather, some years it is good and other years it is bad. Bad weather requires more resources to grow the same food. So after years of development, research, and constantly testing new ideas, we came up with the solution.
I read a news story today which stated the ground water is depleting. Perhaps 70% will be gone by 2050. I will probably be gone by 2050 as well. My grandchildren are going to get thirsty if we do not start helping save water and land. Based on our research and the prototype pond we can say our grocery bill will be cut by 60-90%. We will use one tenth the water and cold smoke, then vacuum pack our food for storage.
We are currently designing more efficient solar photovoltaic power, wind power, solar heater, and smokehouse for the meat. Actually, the smokehouse is up and running. The Commercial AquaFarm system is not complete yet. The greenhouse is the next step. Once the new larger system is complete we plan to give away the technology. Having the completed system operating as “Off the grid” is the goal. Then it will be completely self-contained with only maintenance costs and parts as expenses.
The greenhouse will be here tomorrow. For weeks we have been preparing the site. We completed the barn and built a shop in it to manufacture parts for the home version of our program. We have been grading the site, building an “Old World” front for the greenhouse, laying the plumbing and electrical. We now have 60,000 gallons of tank for fish and other seafood, such as crab, shrimp, minnows, catfish, perch and more. We will stock 500 pounds of product and grow them to 20,000 pounds. Each product will harvest at different times. We are seriously considering a breeding system as well. Currently we can catch our product from the wild. We intend to sell aquatic animals in the future. Therefore we will obtain the necessary permits from the State.
We will eventually have 1800 square feet of growing space in the greenhouse for food. Our plants are on four inch centers, weed free, organically grown, and ten times the growth than a traditional garden. We can feed 20-25 people for a year with this commercial system. On an acre this system would equate to roughly 140 people fed three meals a day for a year. That is 280,000 calories produced per acre day.
Old World AquaFarm™ can help prolong the life of the aquifer, get our power from the Sun and or wind, feed our children for less, improve the quality of the food we eat, and most of all, feeding a person for a day is not helping them. Providing the means to grow their own food will help them.
The Greenhouse finally arrived. The shipping company had issues. No blame intended simply prolonged excitement waiting for the delivery. After laying all the parts out and then not reading the instructions. It took two days to build the frame. Read the instructions first. It will save you time.
Rain , wind, not reading the instructions often, and labor issues have slowed down construction. The pipe is in the ground. That is the water and electrical pipe. The ground has been graded. That was something as it rained 4 inches yesterday. Thought I was stirring pudding there for a while until I found some dry dirt. I mixed that in and finally got the area graded. The hoops are up and on six foot centers. Now the hoops need straightening. It seems there are six parts to each hoop. Each part is bent to fit into the next one. In the event one is slightly twisted then it throws the whole thing out of wack.
So When you put your hoops together make sure they are on a flat surface. Do not screw hoop pieces together with the tec screws until they are up and straight. The motorized vents are installed and the trim on the back end wall is going up. We still have to add the covered porch and decorate. Been looking for and old pickle barrel, checker board, and a few wood chairs. Remember those old cast iron wall plaques like the old car, train, Texas star and such. I would like to find some of that for the period circa 1850-1900. We will begin the front end wall soon. The old world style looks good. (Biased opinion and all). More to come soon...
The greenhouse cover is on. We have planted 3000 seeds and currently have over 500 outdoor plants to be sold. We have decided to concentrate on building The DIY Kits so our customers can save money. The Company is coming along great and we look forward to serving your food needs in the near future.