a humble start...

Soon after being introduced to AQUAPONICS! I began to scheme...it was less than an hour after I was introduced to the concept that I began to develop my first aquaponics "system".

I had this goldfish bowl sitting around idle...with some ramshorn snails and freshwater aquatic moss. It was not doing a whole lot for me, the snails or the moss...



The snails were producing prodigious amounts of poop- eating algae and the odd bits of food I threw in for them. I decided these snails and their poo would provide the engine of fertility for my first aquaponics system.



I happened to have a Philodendron as a houseplant and it was gimping along...neglected as much as the snails and moss. I repotted the Philodendron in some aquarium gravel contained within a hydroponics growing pot.

No, I didn't happen to have a hydroponics growing pot lying about...but I live in Seattle...there seems to be a hydroponics growing store on every street corner...indoor "gardeners" abound...though I doubt their intended crop is snails and philodendron...

A quick bus ride to the 'ponics shop and I had the material I needed for my first aquaponics set-up.

The idea is that the snails will continue to poop and pollute the water and the philodendron will send its roots into the water and feed and grow from the nutrient soup in the goldfish bowl below...cleansing the water in the process.