Using ducks to grow aquatic weed for biomass

I have just created a couple of brief Youtube videos to illustrate how a recirculating water duck pond can approached the problem of cleaning up the water, grow a biomass that expands quickly (water hyacinth) and can be used as source of biomass, fodder or fertilizer. I have plans to extend this by using the weed as feed stock to a anaerobic digester to generate methane with a byproduct of fertilizer.

http://youtu.be/jB9MDlh29nI Part 1

http://youtu.be/sW2fbFUhL00 Part 2

So this is basically an aquaponic system?

it's a duck-ponics system. do a search for that on google, and you'll see a lot of people doing it.

There is a possibility to integrate several more levels of species with this. Use the duckwater to grow algae/duckweed, feed to algae fish (tilapia and carp), create biofilter with mushroom straw blocks, etc. The more integrations, the better.

Very nice Cash, it gives me a lot of ideas.

Are you siphoning with the black tubing or is there a pump? I ask because it looks like your yellow bucket is higher. Can you explain your system a bit here?

Abe Connally wrote:it's a duck-ponics system. do a search for that on google, and you'll see a lot of people doing it.

Eh, I consider all animals growing in/around water part of the 'aqua' .

Jami McBride wrote:Are you siphoning with the black tubing or is there a pump?

Jami, the water flows by gravity from to the pond to the bathtub then to the sump (below the bathtub drain) and then is pumped back over the hump to the yellow bucket which is a filter and then back to the pond through holes in the sides of the filter. The maximum rate of flow is limited by the pump but restrictions in the tubing between the pond and the bathtub has frequently reduced this rate of flow. Daily maintenance has involved cleaning out this tubing with a bristle brush on a flexible shaft (purchased at Harbor Freight). This takes all of 2 minutes but is the kind of thing that should only need to be done on an occasional basis rather than daily. I do anticipate making the pipe bigger between the pond and the bathtub, currently it's 3/4 inch PVC tubing. So far I have removed a 8 inch long stick, pine needles, and other debris. You might be surprised what the ducks put in their pond.

Neal McSpadden wrote:So this is basically an aquaponic system?

Neal, technically I think it would be an aquaponic system but I think purists would say it's something else and the fine (and very important distinction) is that fish are "cold blooded" and ducks are "warm blooded" animals. The fish do not excrete pathogens such as e. coli while the ducks can or do. I have an aquaponic system with fish and I keep them far apart for this reason, I don't want any cross contamination. There is at least one aquaponic system that uses alligators or crocodiles, reptiles are "cold blooded".