No Sleep Till Brooklyn Aquaponics Installation Is Complete

brooklyn-aquaponics-build

This is some extreme gardening. [I Am Become Derpth] didn’t let lack of space or tillable soil stop him from growing a bountiful harvest. Instead of cutting though prairie sod to begin the farming he had to contend with the concrete expanses found in the NYC area. Here he’s nearing the end of an impressive aquaponics installation in Brooklyn, New York.

For a good overview of what aquaponics is all about we suggest you take a look at this Oakland, CA setup. The heart of the system is a closed loop that uses both plants and fish for balance. The byproduct is edible greens. The image above shows the growing beds through which water is circulated. They’re filled with clean gravel which keeps the roots happy. Once the water has made it through this system it is piped into the basement of the apartment where water tanks filled with fish reside. The system uses the fish waste (broken down by bacteria) to feed the plants.

It’s an efficient system but one thing’s for sure, you don’t just go out and buy a rig this complicated. We think you’ll really enjoy going through the build log linked at the top.

[via Reddit]

12 thoughts on “No Sleep Till Brooklyn Aquaponics Installation Is Complete

    1. I’d like to have something like this but I would end up with one of two outcomes (if i where managing it) I’d end up with a miniature rain forest after not tending to it for an extended period, or an aquaponic alge farm, or even worse a bunch of half soggy/dry-husk dead plants reeking of dead fish.

      Green thumb i do not have and fish aren’t my ideal pets =P

  1. Excellent build :). I totally love the design.

    I am finishing the grow house for my (much smaller) system this weekend. I live in central Oregon, and the last frost date here is the 5th of July so this is all being done indoors. I’ll only be growing about a dozen tilapia until I can get a larger tank. This is a heck of a way to produce food in a small space.

  2. Awesome build, a great example of a very well planned/conceived and carried out project.

    @ngcurrier I think the water was inside to help easily control the temperature of the water using the houses AC/Heater. A lot of fish cannot survive well in rapidly changing temperatures without anywhere warm/cold to swim and I imagine it helps the plants to keep their roots at a steady temp. All this is just me guessing though I could be wrong.

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