It's challenging, to say the least, to keep an aquaponics system healthy in the winter when you depend on artificial everything to maintain it. That is the honest truth.
With aquaponics you have the most unnatural way of growing fish and vegetables together possible:
- Rocks instead of soil
- Artificial lights instead of sun
- Electrical pumps to move the water
- Fish waste water to feed the plants that normally grow in soil
- Heaters to keep the greenhouse warm on freezing nights (which attracts many visitors…)
- Heaters to keep the fish tank and settlement tank above freezing (so the tilapia will grow)
What I ended up with this winter was an incredible infestation of bugs and freezing rocks that chilled the water in the fish tank to a temp that made the tilapia stand still. The bugs loved the warm greenhouse and enjoyed themselves by overtaking almost every single plant. I had to keep the greenhouse warm so the rocks wouldn't get too cold so I started experimenting to see if any of the plants would survive if I let the bugs go to town. The pepper plants were happy to be the strong soldiers of the greenhouse and one of them even produced a little bell pepper that is still growing as I type this.
There were so many issues this winter with the aquaponics system and I don't have time to go into it now (it is an entire book), but it will suffice to say that I have had to choose what I wanted to save in the greenhouse during the cold season. It was either grow the tilapia, or grow the vegetables.
I chose to save the fish and I am happy to say, they are doing quite well.
It is a blessing to be able to watch these fish grow. They have so much purpose. They eat and look forward to eating just so they can grow and become food for us. Amazing purpose and it is fabulous to be able to observe all of it.
