Apartment Aquaponics Continued...

Change is sometimes so slow we don't realize its happening at the time, only in hindsight, but in hindsight a lot has happened a lot has changed it just took a while!

This is the case with the aquaponics project.  Since last mention (Aquaponics 102) sadly one fish has died (I suspect he was sick or injured at the pet store) so now there are only two fish.  The first plants added where some Duckweed (like tiny lily pads) just floating on the waters surface.  At about the same time I planted some Evergreen Sweet-pea seeds in the grow bed and in a pot on the window sill, the ones in the pot have sprouted but the ones in the grow bed never did.  So a few days ago I bought a stick of bamboo with some leaves on it ($2), cut it in half and planted each piece in the grow-bed.  Our window is very cold, I'm worried too cold for a semi tropical plant like bamboo.  It's the only place in the apartment which gets any light though, everywhere else is plenty warm but gets very little light, the window sill gets some light but is possibly too cold!  A real catch 22.

Expenses so far: $23.

The biggest drawback to this system I see is the pump.  It requires outside energy (in this case electricity) and must run for a good chunk of the day (12/24 hours to be safe).  If aguaponics is to be sustainable we need to eliminate this artificial "crutch" from the system.

I have an idea to do this and will post as soon as its up and running.  Check back soon!