Hello fellow green (or shades there-of) thumbs, I would like some feedback on the layout for these flood-and-drain style growbeds in a soon-to-be-built 20’ greenhouse. Half, that’s right, HALF of my current food budget goes to salads, so lettuce/cucumber/tomato are all very important for me.
Water will be pumped constantly from my ~1000 gallon rainbow trout pen which will also supply the nutrition. I’ve done some aquaponics in the past successfully, but this is my first stab at a larger setup and my first greenhouse, so all critique is welcomed.
Yup that is correct! The vortex created by the pump (that pushes water away from the pen and to the growbeds) should be enough for circulation from the research I have done; however, I may need a secondary one if the fish are unhappy, time will tell.
Rainbow Trout are very sensitive to dissolved oxygen content and temp. The kill temp for rainbow trout is only 77F(25C). I fear the water return from the greenhouse in the summer may be warmer than that. How do you plan on mitigating the temp?
Honestly Talipa may easier to raise. Pond heaters are relatively inexpensive versus chillers.
Of course catfish with their extreme survivability were popular a long time ago with aquaponics.
Yup totally! Temp mitigation plan is having the water underground in an area with 100% shade, also the area I moved to has (typically, who knows for the future) mild summers. I’ve researched a bit and have found lots of ppl locally having luck with trout. When I was in a tropical area I did channel cats (I also love to eat them) and had great success.