Additional Media Beds at Sahib Aquaponics Research Farm
Adding Additional Media Beds for Increased Growing Space and Extra filtration
Adding additional media beds for increased growing space and extra filtration presented a challenge, especially when you are working with extremely limited space. I noticed that the top of our Koi pond was at present “wasted space”, just waiting to be put to use for growing additional food. I could have just built shallow water culture (SWC), raft beds as our filtration system was already adequate for our needs. However, our Koi are growing rapidly in size and I do not really want to part with them. They feed right out of my hand and provide such stress relief that it is hard to describe. With the temperature’s increasing as we enter the hurricane season, the extra feed that the Koi are enjoying, any extra filtration during these months would be extremely beneficial in keeping our Aquaponics created Ecosystem in balance. Adding media beds should help meet this need.
David Hart, my fellow Aquapon friend and I discussed what would be appropriate to build over the Koi pond that would be both functional as well as cost effective. We decided that we would replicate the Sahib Zero Lot Hybrid Aquaponics System grow beds on both sides of the fish tank. Not only would these provide us with additional growing area and the much sought after filtration, helping us use as much of the valuable fish waste within the system as possible, we would also be able to substantially increase aeration by using the modified Affnan bell siphons. We have built the first section of the media beds and they are operational, functioning just a s planned. Here are a few photos that we are sharing and a brief video of the new media beds now in operation .
Sahib is happy to share with you the endless possibilities of how to grow your own food locally and naturally without the use of harmful pesticides and chemical fertilizers by using these Aquaponics hybrid urban growing systems. These Aquaponics hybrid urban growing systems can be scaled to size and can be replicated. They can be modified to be operated off grid as well as expanded as the need arises. Such systems can be used to have fresh food at home, work or anywhere they are set up. They are excellent tools to use as teaching aids so that we can empower the future generation with the knowledge to grow their own food locally by natural means. Sahib’s Aquaponics hybrid urban growing systems can be the basis of feeding the family, the community as well as provide income to the urban farmer. Sahib will also share how such systems can be used in urban retail economy, both by food establishments as well as food/produce retail outlets to enable the consumer to purchase food that has been grown locally and by natural means. Food that is “live” (a new twist on the label “Fresh”), and the type recommended by most medical and health professionals as what we should be eating.
Sahib is using the profits from Aquaponics training workshops by Aquaponics Urban Gurus to fund the development of Aquaponics for the poor hungry world villages. He has set up a separate group for this called “Feed Hunger Now” (see link below). Will you help join Sahib…can we work together in this venture? What ideas do you have to help towards this goal?
You are welcome to share your ideas and designs as to how you would suggest we increase additional growing space and/or make improvements. You can submitt them to sahib@sahibaquaponics.com.
As a a signatory to the Time to Act petition the new website www.globalagriculture.org, launched today by the Foundation on Future Farming and Biovision, might interest you. As you know, the Time To Act petition calls on the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) “to use this historical opportunity to take agriculture beyond ‘business as usual’ and agree on actions that actually do eradicate hunger and poverty, and protect the environment.” The www.globalagriculture.orgwebsite promotes and relays exactly this message and we therefore ask that you consider linking to it.
Launched to coincide with the run-up to Rio+20, this easy-to-use site features the findings of the ground-breaking UN/World Bank sponsored International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), which calls for a paradigm shift in global agricultural policies. The information is available by topics and offers updated figures, background information, further reading and news. Users can browse and search the 2,000 pages of the original reports focusing on their specific area of interest. Scientific and institutional follow-up reports are presented, including current hot topics such as land-grabbing and food speculation. We are also keen to receive any of your suggestions, links and data that are relevant to this debate.
Why now? The Rio+20 conference provides the opportunity to set in motion a much needed, permanent assessment of agricultural knowledge, science and technology for development. We look forward to working together with you to make this a reality. Please link to www.globalagriculture.org today.
Thank you in advance and please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested.
Sahib Aquaponics Zero Lot Hybrid Aquaponics System was recently highlighted as being “A Good Fit For Small Spaces”. This was an article in Cornell University Small Farm Program Newsletter – the Urban Gardening section.
Here is an extract from the article by Molly Davis…
“A Good Fit for Small Spaces
In suburban Orlando, Florida, farmer Sahib Punjabi has developed several models of miniature re-circulating farms to fit in small, underused spaces, such as storage rooms and patios. In only 18 square feet, Punjabi’s “Zero Lot” Backyard Aquaponic System combines a variety of plant beds with a 55-gallon fish tank. He aims to build a totally self-sufficient system that can be deployed anywhere, from developing-world villages to U.S. neighborhoods.
“This was a far superior way to grow it locally, grow it naturally, without having to resort to harmful pesticides and fertilizers and such, because if I did, my fish would die,” said Punjabi. Goldfish require less oxygen than many food fish, but still supply enough fertilizer to nourish lettuces, herbs, and vegetables. Punjabi uses a variety of bedding materials.
“The whole idea is that the plants absorb nutrients from the water so that pure water goes back to the fish tanks,” said Punjabi.
A single 50-watt pump circulates the water through pipes. Valves control the inflow into the beds. Punjabi emphasizes the importance of maintaining the water chemistry, especially the pH and the nitrogen cycle.”
SAHIB AQUAPONICS is providing training workshops for community members and students around the U.S., interested in learning innovative methods and market-based solutions using urban agriculture and Aquaponics. Sahib will share with you the endless possibilities of how to grow your own food locally and naturally without the use of harmful pesticides and chemical fertilizers by using these Aquaponics hybrid urban growing systems.These Aquaponics hybrid urban growing systems can be scaled to size and can be replicated. They can be modified to be operated off grid as well as expanded as the need arises. Such systems can be used to have fresh food at home, work or anywhere they are set up. They are excellent tools to use as teaching aids so that we can empower the future generation with the knowledge to grow their own food locally by natural means. Sahib’s Aquaponics hybrid urban growing systems can be the basis of feeding the family, the community as well as provide income to the urban farmer. Sahib will also share how such systems can be used in urban retail economy, both by food establishments as well as food/produce retail outlets to enable the consumer to purchase food that has been grown locally and by natural means. Food that is “live” (a new twist on the label “Fresh”), and the type recommended by most medical and health professionals as what we should be eating.
2012 Aquaponics training workshops by Aquaponics Urban Gurus
Next Aquaponics Workshop: June 9th & 10th 2012
These Aquaponics Workshops by Aquaponics Urban Gurus are an excellent place to learn Aquaponics and be empowered to build Aquaponics systems to grow organic food for their family without using harmful pesticides or chemical fertilizers, discover the potential to create another income source as well share such knowledge with many more to help provide sustainable solutions to the world hunger epidemic.
Sahib believes that such training should be affordable so as to enable all sectors of the society to educate and empower themselves in this wonderful way of growing organic food. He also believes in smaller class sizes (not to exceed 20 participants), so that the Workshop training can be personalized as much as possible. By being a participant in such Aquaponics workshops, you will really learn and be empowered to grow your own food locally and naturally.
Space is extremely limited so reserve your space now
Here is a recent e-mail from one of the Workshop participants…
“Hello Sahib,
I really enjoyed your 2 day Aquaponics class. It was very informative and practical. You made what seemed like complicated gardening into a fun learning experience. Your explanations made it easy to comprehend the principles behind Aquaponics. Seeing your Aquaponics garden and your simple systems setup demonstration, removed all doubts. Even though I am a beginner, I am confident that I can do this now. It opened up a whole new world of providing healthy “organic” food for myself and others. An excellent job done! I will recommend you classes to everyone. Rajaji “
Sahib replaces NFT’s in Phase I with Vertical Shallow Water Culture (SWC)
In the original design of Phase I at Sahib Aquaponics Research Farm, Sahib introduced NFT’s made of 3 inch PVC pipe. They were three 48ft long NFT’s mounted over the deep water culture (DWC), grow bed. They were installed in late September 2010 and were watered by the effluent rich fish water using the same pump as that watered the DWC. During the initial months we experienced fantastic growth of whatever we planted and never had any issues as regards clogging and water flow constraints. During the summer last year, after they had been in operation for just under one year, we started to have considerable issues with clogging, sediment settling at the bottom of the pipes and water overflows. We also noticed that there was a significant change in the water temperature towards the end of the 48ft NFT’s. Needless to say, we experienced a significant reduction in the growth yields and times of anything planted. We also realized that if we left any plants for some time in the NFT’s, the root system would seriously compound to the water flow issues. We wanted to be able to increase aeration in the growing area but could not do so in the NFT’s and found it difficult to clean them. Perhaps if they were built in smaller lengths, such problems would have been easy to address. What was the solution to still be able to maximize the growing space in the waste land Sahib Aquaponics Research Farm is located in?
As we were building Phase II, what we jokingly refer to as “Vertical Mania”, we designed a Shallow Water Culture bed (SWC) with the following dimensions; 6 inches deep, 2 feet wide and 12 foot long. This gave us a bed with a maximum water capacity of under 100 gallons, thus with wood, a total weight load around 1,000lb. With the 2 inch raft, the actual amount of water in the SWC would be less than the 100 gallons thus the lower weight could make its vertical suspension possible. The additional amount of water would allow increased aeration and the short length of the SWC would keep the water temperature more stable. The SWC would be ideal for plants that did not require long harvests or have extensive root systems. We installed our first vertical SWC in Phase II in late November 2011 and have experienced fantastic results. We have proceeded to design and install a two level SWC system and are working on a three level system to increase the overall growing capacity in a limited space. Given the advantages of SWC, Sahib decided to remove the NFT’s and utilize them elsewhere in shorter lengths and replace them with four SWC’s. We have included some photos of the changes below. We will post more at a later date and report of any issues or problems.
SAHIB AQUAPONICS is a Florida, USA domiciled corporation and is a pioneer in developing and building Aquaponics hybrid urban growing systems for sustainable urban gardening. The company specializes in Aquaponics and in the promotion of sustainable urban gardening and the establishment of such Ecosystems. Their mission is to strive to be at the forefront of sustainable urban gardening by adopting the latest Aquaponics technologies and growing methods to provide both high quality food and fish, competitively priced, grown locally and grown naturally. SAHIB AQUAPONICS is providing training workshops for community members and students around the U.S., interested in learning innovative methods and market-based solutions using urban agriculture and Aquaponics.
As promised, we are also sharing some photos of the Zero Lot / Backyard Gardener Aquaponics Hybrid System that we introduced at the last Aquaponics Workshop on December 10th & 11th 2011. There are now SIX different growing methods being used by this small system. What a fantastic system to have in your own Zero Lot or Backyard. Sahib will share with you the endless possibilities of how to grow your own food locally and naturally without the use of harmful pesticides and chemical fertilizers by using these Aquaponics hybrid urban growing systems. These Aquaponics hybrid urban growing systems can be scaled to size and can be replicated. They can be modified to be operated off grid as well as expanded as the need arises. Such systems can be used to have fresh food at home, work or anywhere they are set up. They are excellent tools to use as teaching aids so that we can empower the future generation with the knowledge to grow their own food locally by natural means. Sahib’s Aquaponics hybrid urban growing systems can be the basis of feeding the family, the community as well as provide income to the urban farmer. Sahib will also share how such systems can be used in urban retail economy, both by food establishments as well as food/produce retail outlets to enable the consumer to purchase food that has been grown locally and by natural means. Food that is “live” (a new twist on the label “Fresh”), and the type recommended by most medical and health professionals as what we should be eating.
2012 Aquaponics training workshops by Aquaponics Urban Gurus
Following the successful inaugural Aquaponics training workshops by Aquaponics Urban Gurus, Sahib Aquaponics will be holding numerous Aquaponics Workshops in 2012. These Aquaponics Workshops by Aquaponics Urban Gurus are an excellent place to learn Aquaponics and be empowered to build Aquaponics systems to grow organic food for their family without using harmful pesticides or chemical fertilizers, discover the potential to create another income source as well share such knowledge with many more to help provide sustainable solutions to the world hunger epidemic.
Sahib believes that such training should be affordable so as to enable all sectors of the society to educate and empower themselves in this wonderful way of growing organic food. He also believes in smaller class sizes (not to exceed 16 participants), so that the Workshop training can be personalized as much as possible. By being a participant in such Aquaponics workshops, you will really learn and be empowered to grow your own food locally and naturally.
Here is a recent e-mail from one of the Workshop participants…
“Hello Sahib,
I really enjoyed your 2 day Aquaponics class. It was very informative and practical. You made what seemed like complicated gardening into a fun learning experience. Your explanations made it easy to comprehend the principles behind Aquaponics. Seeing your Aquaponics garden and your simple systems setup demonstration, removed all doubts. Even though I am a beginner, I am confident that I can do this now. It opened up a whole new world of providing healthy "organic" food for myself and others. An excellent job done! I will recommend you classes to everyone.
Rajaji “
Sahib is using the profits from Aquaponics training workshops by Aquaponics Urban Gurus to fund the development of Aquaponics for the poor hungry world villages. He has set up a separate group for this called “Feed Hunger Now” (see link below). Will you help join Sahib…can we work together in this venture? What ideas do you have to help towards this goal?
The February Free Farm Tour was the first opportunity for Central Florida members of IDEAS For Us to come and discover the wonderful world of Aquaponics. We certainly had a full house. We had over 60 visitors, 50 of them via IDEAS For Us. We had to arrange 4 tours, starting at 10.00am and lasting well past 4.00pm. A very busy day!
You should have seen the starry glaze in the eyes of all who attended. Was this really true? A sustainable urban food jungle in waste space! We felt so good that we could capture their imagination and open up a whole new world for them to seriously look at the fabulous opportunities that Aquaponics offered re “Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions”. Everyone who attended left with a big smile on their face and made comments that they would now seriously consider starting their own Aquaponics systems and look at attending the Aquaponics Workshops by Aquaponics Urban Gurus. As announced in January 2012, Sahib Aquaponics and IDEAS For Us have partnered to provide educational tours and professional training programs for students and community members. The first Aquaponics Workshop for the members of IDEAS For Us has been scheduled forMarch 17th & 18th 2012.
During one of the Free Farm Tours, Sahib was asked whether his offer to donate a Nano or a Micro Hybrid Aquaponics system to any educators who attend the next Aquaponics Workshops by Aquaponics Urban Gurus scheduled for March 10th & March 12th 2012 was still valid. Off Course! We will gladly donate such to any educator, whether they teach elementary, middle or high school students provided they attend the 2 day Aquaponics Workshops.
Why?
Sahib shared with them the following example. He asked them, how do you start bonfire? Both answered that you should start with small twigs that will light easily than the big logs. Small children will learn this wonderful knowledge quickly and will be able to expand its use significantly as they grow. It is for this reason that Sahib stated that he would be happy to donate such systems to the educators to teach our children this wonderful way of life.
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Sahib loves to share his knowledge and encourage everyone to learn. His goal is to empower you to grow food for yourself, your family, your community and your business. Grown locally and grown naturally without any harmful pesticides or chemical fertilizers. He thus offers FREE Farm Tours of Sahib’s Aquaponics Research Farm.
FREE Farm tours are held the first Saturday of every month starting at 10:00am and last for about one hour. As Sahib’s Aquaponics Research Farm is located in a small facility, you will need to register as we try to limit our farm visitors to 12 per tour so as to be able to give you personal attention. Small or large groups are welcome and we encourage field trips for all class sizes. Please plan to have any groups with young children or those with special needs, be chaperoned.
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