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14,000 gal system; Tilapia vs Trout

 
pollinator
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I've started planning for our aquaponics/fish pond... I have experience with tilapia aquaponics but know nothing but bits I've read about raising trout...

I'm trying to figure out why trout are the only fish in the BB, there must be good reason. Tilapia has proven quite valuable to my arsenal of food production.

1. With Tilapia, if you know some interesting factoids, like about the morphing of the "ultra-male" it becomes fairly easy to build a tilapia pond that will self-sustain production as you take fish from the pond for meals, trout aren't as easy to have reproduce, no?

2. May aquaponics (tilapia) folks say 1 pound of fish to 3 gallon final weight is the max one should plan for; I like to keep it much lighter, so in a 14,000 gal pound I never plan to have more than maybe 1,000 pounds of fish (that's including fish of all ages/sizes)... would trout even do well in a 14,000 gal set-up?

3. I know fishiness and mercury are a concerning factor, I have always practiced having a "cleansing-drum" where I'd put Tilapia for a 2-week holding time with no food to cleans out the fishy taste and they become quite delicious (takes on any flavor you cook it with and I have at least convinced myself the mercury levels drop)... I understand this, to some, would be considered in-humane; I'm interested in feeding my family.

4. Tilapia do extremely well in "dirty water", which I think is why they are so frequently used in aquaponics; with a good bio-filter and a slow-stocking of the pond I plan to keep the water the cleanest I ever have... would this bio-filter maybe help so that I should consider trout instead?

Is trout mainly just so darn delicious that that is the reason people go with it?
 
master pollinator
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My understanding of trout is that they require cool, clean, highly oxygenated water and that in a simple aquaponic setup these three things can be the most difficult to provide (especially in summer, not to mention warmer climates). Tilapia are far more tolerant of warm, turbid and borderline stagnant conditions that mimic the tropical floodwater environments that they are adapted to.

It sounds like you've thought this through pretty well and have a good system design concept that makes sense with tilapia. I've often wished we could raise them here but they are a biosecurity no-no. We have enough trouble with catfish, koi, and grass carp as it is (and even though we have world-class trout fishing in many of our rivers, they play havoc on our native species so it's a bittersweet tradeoff).
 
pollinator
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Trout works if you have cool water. Less stocking density but higher price.

Tilapia wants the "Cuddle Effect" so you can stock high but its for hot climate.

I had Tilapia in three 1000 Ltr cubes for my Aquaponics test system (see my post: the long way to our dream in Thailand -Part 1), and they grew out in 8 month to 800 grs till 1 Kilo.

The taste was great, compared to the mud taste from green water (dumping manure into the pond and let algae grow) ponds.

Monthly harvest in below pictures...
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IMG-20200421-WA0000.jpg
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gardener
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You know, I always wondered if it would be possible to build a "stream" around the inside edge of my greenhouse. I'm sure it would be too costly for the amount of trout one could produce, but it's a fun mental exercise. In one corner, dig a trench starting about 2 feet wide and 1 foot deep. Then follow it around the edges, gradually lowering the depth until it gets to maybe 5 foot deep on the fourth side. Cover the trench in something to prevent erosion. Add a big pump to take the water from the deep side and pump it back to the start. Gravity takes it down hill like a small stream, and voila... you have your own "stream". Just put a grate over the top and you still have most of the space in your greenhouse for growing. The greenhouse and movement should help keep it from freezing in the winter, while being partly underground should help keep it cooler in the summer. Throw in some rainbow trout or something and there you go.

Now that I type all that out, I wonder if you could get a similar effect by keeping the trench about the same depth and just using a pump as a circulator to keep the water moving in a circle?
 
pollinator
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Mercury won't be an issue if you start with clean water and provide your fish with high quality commercial feed.

Aquaponics can be an enjoyable way to supplement your diet with nutritious food but it is energy intensive and doesn't pencil out economically unless your end product (plants) and your byproduct (fish) are very high dollar. Start-up costs for a 14,000 gal/1872 cu ft system will be spendy.

Keep in mind that pumps will fail, heaters/chillers will fail, power supplies will fail, and bio-filters will crash.




 
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I will reiterate what has already been said.. it comes down to water temperature and quality. I am blessed to have built a pond that is fed by hot springs, and the water, at a pH of 8.1 and slightly cooled by the time it reaches the pond, has proven to be nearly ideal for Blue Nile Tilapia. Beside a big rain event that killed all of my biggest fish last summer, they have thrived with almost zero maintenance. The population has rebounded, and future plans are to fertigate with the pond runoff.. which just feeds back into the creek for now.
 
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