The wall has really grown this summer. I mean REALLY grown. It’s now a struggle to see the fish. Somebody remind me . . . wasn’t this project for the fish? That’s a 50 gallon aquarium hiding back there!
Knitting, gardening, quilting, cooking and dogs
The wall has really grown this summer. I mean REALLY grown. It’s now a struggle to see the fish. Somebody remind me . . . wasn’t this project for the fish? That’s a 50 gallon aquarium hiding back there!
Hello Nori:
I got to your page through Googling planted walls, and I love your project! I want to do some kind of vertical aquaponic feature for our sunroom this Winter, thanks for the inspiration and details!
There are a few keys. Expect to do water changes every six months. The toxins that can’t be cleared by the plants need to be removed and an occasional water change seems to be the way to do it though I’m flirting with adding a carbon filter to the works to see what that does. Right now I’ve got lots of babies so the bi-annual water change seems to be doing the trick. Without it, I had sick fish with no obvious cause.
Second, plants do better in a trough with hydroton that floods and drains, though they’re doing well in the felt wall. When I build my plant wall in the sun porch, I’m going with a series of hydroton filled troughs and a sump so the fish tank level remains constant. That will also make water changes easier.
Lastly, the plants need kelp every week or so. Terry adds it occasionally when he tops up the water.
So, we’ll see how tomatoes, peppers and herbs do in a vertical trough system feed from a fish tank . . . if I ever manage to get the sun porch done!