Logo primary
Logo secondary
Aquaponics and Aquaculture Perennial Garden
Aquaponics and Aquaculture Perennial Garden
Details
Commenced:
01/07/2014
Submitted:
09/01/2016
Last updated:
23/03/2017
Location:
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA, Phoenixville, PA, US
Phone:
email [email protected]
Website:
http://www.permscape.com
Climate zone:
Cool Temperate





My Projects

(projects i'm involved in)


Followers
Christina Stevenson Denise Grant Nathan Dow

Back to Aquaponics and Aquaculture Perennial Garden

Vermiculture and Aquaponics - Recycling fish waste and creating rich soil, vegetables and protein with worms

Project: Aquaponics and Aquaculture Perennial Garden

Posted by John Stevenson about 8 years ago

Recycling fish waste to grow soil, worms, and plant fertility.

Creating soil and adding fertility using recycling fish waste.

 of the fish grow out tanks. Tilapia waiting to be fed. Photo by John Stevenson of Permscape.com

In our aquaponics system air lifts are responsible for transferring the larger solids from the fish tanks into the settling basin. The entire aquaculture/aquaponics system is powered by one external 64 watt air compressor and gravity which continually moves more than 1000 gallons through the basin at a rate of approximately 3 gallons per minute.

The drain for solids removal is located on the bottom of the tank next to the standpipe in the Permscape.com aquaculture system.

Air lifts are not new. Under gravel filters and other forms of air lifts are regularly used in the aquarium hobby. Modern sewerage treatment plants also use these systems. These designs owe their existence to work of engineer Carl Emanuel Loscher who inventing air lift technology in 1797.What does a simple DIY airlift design look like?

oto of the permscape.com aquaculture tank. One hose connects to the solids removal drain and the other to the stand pipe.

There is a drain in the middle of the poly fish grow out tank. Solids sink to the bottom of the tank. The solids are attracted to the drains by the circular current, fish behavior, and drain suction. An external hose is connected to the drain through the bulkhead fitting under the tank to a 90 degree elbow. A hole is drilled into the elbow and an irrigation barb is glued into the hole. The other side of the barb is connected to the air pump manifold.  The horizontal side of the elbow is connected to pipe.

View of airlift fitting - Photo by permscape.com

Side view of an airlift fitting in the Permscape aquaculture system.

This pipe is connected to a “T” fitting. One end is sent to the settlement basin through a bulkhead. The horizontal end is extended above the basin and topped with a cap fitting that had a small hole drilled into the center.

Bubbles and waste exit here through the bulkhead and into the solids settling basin. Photo by Permscape.com

The larger solids settle in the basin. The remainder of the water flows over a weir and into a drain which is piped into a bio filter.

Solids settle in this basin and are transferred to feed worms. Photo by John Stevenson of Permscape.com.

Gravity continues to move the water. It flows through a pipe on the floor back to the tank through a hose. There is a shut off valve inline to allow isolation of the tank. An air lift inside the 90 degree elbow on the floor moves the water to the aquaponics system (located above the fish tank) or returns it directly to the tank (when the system is decoupled).

Floating raft beds (Styrofoam chinampas) connected to an aquaculture Tilapia grow-out system located above the culture tank. Photo by Permscape.com

Cleaning water while feeding worms

The flow to the settlement basin is stopped by the inline shut off valve coming from the tank. The settled solids in the basin are drained through a pipe connected to the bottom of the settlement tank. It has a shutoff valve also and is located high enough to easily fit a five gallon bucket below.

A pool skimmer screen is placed below the settlement shutoff valve and on top of a five-gallon bucket. The solids that remain on the skimmer are emptied into the separate worm system.

The worm system is a series of totes containing composting worms, shredded paper/cardboard, rock dust, and crushed eggshells. The fish waste is placed into the bins and covered with shredded paper.

Eisenia fetida (composting worms) are raised in the garage and are feed settled fish waste from the aquaponics/aquaculture system

Fish waste is transformed into valuable worm castings and an ever increasing worm biomass. The castings are also made into a worm tea which is fed back to the aquaponics system.

A look inside one of the worm totes at the Permscape aquaponics system located in the garage. Photo by: John Stevenson Pennsylvania, USA.

Castings are also formed into soil blocks. The blocks are the heart of our sustainable nursery. Plants are germinated and grown from collected seeds.

John Stevenson and Dr. James Rakocy – Aquaponics Seed Starting Photo by Permscape.com

Many ask us if we feed the worms back to the fish. Yes, we occasionally feed surplus worms back to the fish. The truth is composting worms are an incredibly valuable resource. Fruit, vegetables, leaf meal, fish fry, algae, duckweed, azolla, and various bugs are a much better fish food option. These inputs are intentionally grown in the system to add the diversity and complexity necessary to achieve an integrated living ecosystem.

new transplants

Some solid accumulation is actually good for your plants.

Mineralization facilitates the release of important inorganic nutrients. This process typically takes place in tanks, located in line, before the sump. Ours are filled with bird netting.

We have installed a worm tea brewer in our aquaponics system that runs constantly. The worms process the fish solids that normally would have made their way to the mineralization tanks. After the worms and microbes “do their business” the castings are added back into the system brewer.

Our results, though admittedly antidotal, demonstrated better plant growth in the system using the worm tea brewer. It was compared against the other system (AQ-1) which did not have a settlement basin. AQ-1 uses a solid lifting overflow swirl filter located in a constant height one pump tote system. The smaller solids travel through gravel media and into two mineralization tanks located below them. There is no settlement basin in AQ-1. Solid waste remains in some form in the system. Composting worms in the grow beds of AQ-1 process the fine solids. These worms are likewise creating castings. However, for whatever reason the growth is better in the system brewing worm tea. We have many thoughts on why this is happening. The other advantage of the settlement basin is the creation of soil for other purposes. The worms reproduce much faster in a separate system and process not only fish waste but also the scraps from pruned plants in the system.

Vermiculture and aquaponics drain1 1 Drain pipe on permscape system Airlift fitting 1 Side view of one of john stevenson's air lift fittings in the permscape.com aquaculture system. Bubbles and waste exit here through the bulkhead and into the solids settling basin. photo by permscape Solids settle in this basin and are transferred to feed worms. photo by john stevenson of permscape.com. Permscape garage grow out tank in phoenixville pa Eisenia fetida are grown in several totes and are feed settled fish waste A pool skimmer screen is placed below the settlement shutoff valve and on top of a five gallon bucket. the solids that remain on the skimmer are emptied into the separate worm system. A look inside one of the worm totes at the permscape aquaponics system located in the garage. John stevenson and dr. james rakocy %e2%80%93 aquaponics seed starting Floating raft beds %28styrofoam chinampas%29 connected to an aquaculture tilapia grow out system

Comments (3)

You must be logged in to comment.

Kate Wilson
Kate Wilson : Our boys are trained to diagnose and resolve a wide range of truck issues, from mechanical and electrical problems to maintenance and emergency repairs. Granite Bay Fence Company
Posted 3 months ago

Report Kate Wilson on Vermiculture and Aquaponics - Recycling fish waste and creating rich soil, vegetables and protein with worms

Reason:

or cancel

Robert Hones
Robert Hones : Specializing in trucks from renowned brands such as Mack, Freightliner, Kenworth, Iveco, Paccar, and many others in the industrial vehicle realm, we understand the unique requirements of each vehicle and are equipped to handle them with precision and expertise. Jackson Mobile Truck Repair
Posted 3 months ago

Report Robert Hones on Vermiculture and Aquaponics - Recycling fish waste and creating rich soil, vegetables and protein with worms

Reason:

or cancel

Kate Wilson
Kate Wilson : our mobile trucks are always stocked with tools and parts for a complete repair job. Gilroy On-Site Truck Repair
Posted 3 months ago

Report Kate Wilson on Vermiculture and Aquaponics - Recycling fish waste and creating rich soil, vegetables and protein with worms

Reason:

or cancel

Courses Taught Here!
Project Badges
Residential Commercial Demonstration Educational
Administrators
John Stevenson - Admin
Team Members
Christina Stevenson - Team Member

Report Aquaponics and Aquaculture Perennial Garden

Reason:

or cancel

Hide Aquaponics and Aquaculture Perennial Garden

Reason:

or cancel

Hide Vermiculture and Aquaponics - Recycling fish waste and creating rich soil, vegetables and protein with worms

Reason:

or cancel

Legend of Badges

Note: The various badges displayed in people profiles are largely honesty-based self-proclamations by the individuals themselves. There are reporting functions users can use if they know of blatant misrepresentation (for both people and projects). Legitimacy, competency and reputation for all people and projects can be evidenced and/or developed through their providing regular updates on permaculture work they’re involved in, before/after photographs, etc. A spirit of objective nurturing of both people and projects through knowledge/encouragement/inspiration/resource sharing is the aim of the Worldwide Permaculture Network.

Member

Member

A member is a permaculturist who has never taken a PDC course. These cannot become PDC teachers. Members may be novice or highly experienced permaculturists or anywhere in between. Watch their updates for evaluation.

Male memberFemale member

Permaculture Matchmaker

One of these badges will show if you select your gender and the "I'm single, looking for a permaculture partner" option in your profile.

unverified

PDC

People who claim to have taken a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course somewhere in the world.

verified

PDC Verified

People who have entered an email address for the teacher of their PDC course, and have had their PDC status verified by that teacher. Watch their updates for evaluation.

pri_verified

PRI PDC

People who’ve taken a Permaculture Research Institute PDC somewhere in the world.

pdc_teacher

PDC Teacher

People who claim to teach some version of PDC somewhere in the world.

pri_teacher

PRI Teacher

With the exception of the ‘Member’ who has never taken a PDC, all of the above can apply to become a PRI PDC Teacher. PRI PDC Teachers are those who the PRI recognise, through a vetting board, as determined and competent to teach the full 72-hour course as developed by Permaculture founder Bill Mollison – covering all the topics of The Designers’ Manual as well as possible (i.e. not cherry picking only aspects the teacher feels most interested or competent in). Such teachers also commit to focussing on the design science, and not including subjective spiritual/metaphysical elements. The reason these items are not included in the PDC curriculum is because they are “belief” based. Permaculture Design education concerns itself with teaching good design based on strategies and techniques which are scientifically provable.

PRI PDC Teachers may be given teaching and/or consultancy offerings as they become available as the network grows.

pri_teacher

Aid Worker

The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to be involved in permaculture aid work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture aid worker experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.

pri_teacher

Consultant

The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to do paid permaculture design consultancy work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture consultancy experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.

community

Community Project

Community projects are projects that help develop sustainable community interaction and increase localised resiliency.

Report Vermiculture and Aquaponics - Recycling fish waste and creating rich soil, vegetables and protein with worms

Reason:

or cancel