aquaphonics and water butts

[junmist]

Most of us have water butts and driving home today thinking of a weeks holiday I will be having in Devon fairly soon and wondering how I could use my water butts to keep some cuttings alive the thought just popped into my head has anyone thought of using water butts with short term aquaphonics for summer, put some fast growing fish in, kill and freeze them, use salad veg for the plants.
Would you need to keep the water circulating like you see on You Tube or could the veg and fish survive with limited interference from us. By the time winter comes fish and veg are no longer in the water butts so you don't have to worry about them freezing. Would the fish survive us using the water butts and the water level going up and down(well in a dry year that is ) it would help those of us with small space's grow more food after all the lids of the butts are wasted space for growing.
And talking about fish as goldfish are carp and I have seen some pretty large goldfish can you eat them.
Look forward to every ones comments.

[Arzosah]

Very interesting!

[jansman]

Fish need good aeration(yes,the bubbles on you tube) and WILL suffer if levels vary. They also need light. More research needed methinks.

[Hamradioop]

Interesting Blog here
http://gardenaquaponics.wordpress.com/

[Arzosah]

Great find!

[junmist]

Thanks for that Hamradioop. No one has answered the goldfish question about eating them that is

[pseudonym]

Thanks for that Hamradioop. No one has answered the goldfish question about eating them that is

Yes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfish

Nom nom nom

[junmist]

Thanks for that Hamradioop. No one has answered the goldfish question about eating them that is

Yes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfish

Nom nom nom

Wow thanks for the link that was an interesting read

[The-Great-Nothing]

Hi

Any reason why you wouldn't use a more 'normal' aquaponic fish instead of the goldfish?

I know the USA are keen on talapia, not sure how it matches our climate. I also read about trout for a UK system.....

Cheers!

Matt

[northern bloke]

I had a go at aquaponics with good results, I used an IBC tote with koi carp in I cut the top off and and flipped it over filled it with gravel and used the bell syphon method to drain the now tray back into the tote.

I also planted lettuce seeds and once they sprouted I just washed the soil off the roots and floated them on the surface on the foam plates that pizzas come on by punching holes in but what I liked best was an experiment I had was when I bought bagged onions from the store a couple would go off before I got to use them so I came up with the idea that I would use some white plastic square down pipe and cut holes in about 1.1/2 inches across and pump the water from the tote through it with the idea they would sprout roots and grow even bigger whilst preserving them.

It worked a treat and heres the best bit I noticed very quickly the roots would grow and I would clip them back as to not block up the system then I had a eureka moment when I wondered what the roots would taste like from then on I harvested the roots for salads they were better than the onions themselves for taste in my opinion I would just clip the roots off give them a wash and toss them into the salad then stick the onion back into the system to grow more roots.

I also buy the out of date limp spring onions and just stick them in plant pot they soon come back to life and re root then cut them off at the base leaving the rootstock in the soil and they will re grow over and over