Closed biological system for growing sturgeon and strawberries. Aquaponics: strawberries from sturgeon Nymphaeum in a pond: description, planting, care in Siberia

All material presented below has been specially edited for a wide range of readers. Without abstruse formulas, so that anyone can understand what the author wanted to say. Perhaps in the future a special paid site will be created for narrow circle readers, where it will be possible to debate and discuss new experiments and methods for calculating biologically closed systems.

General form experimental setup:

	a hundred Siberian sturgeon ("Lensky" sturgeon) lived in a white plastic pool; on the left was a hydroponic installation (with fluctuating water levels) for growing salads, strawberries or tomatoes; on the right was a filter system and a cylinder with compressed oxygen;
	In the sand filter, plastic granules were used instead of sand, the main purpose of which was to allow them to colonize with nitrifying bacteria, as well as to retain suspended particles, undissolved in water, larger than 100 microns in size. This modified filter is both a biofilter and a mechanical filter. To avoid the formation of stagnant zones (anaerobic) and clogging of the biofilter, the filter was often backwashed;
	the washing water was settled and the solid sludge was used for compost;
	the system was installed alarm, who called cellular telephone chief developer (the system was assembled from burglar alarm and therefore was inexpensive). Three sensors are connected to the input relays: the presence of electricity in the office, the oxygen concentration in the water and the water level in the fish pool. The main purpose of the experiment is to check the accuracy mathematical model, which describes a closed ecosystem based on nutrients.

The installation was developed and assembled by V.V. Krasnoborodko. in 1993.

Before the start of the experiment, water parameters were selected that needed to be maintained during the experiment:

For sturgeon:
- maximum ammonia concentration, mg/l;
- maximum concentration of total ammonium (was calculated knowing the pH and temperature of the water), mg/l;
- maximum nitrite concentration, mg/l;
- maximum nitrate concentration, mg/l;
- maximum concentration of undissolved suspended particles, mg/l;
- maximum concentration carbon dioxide, mg/l;
- minimum oxygen concentration, mg/l;
- water temperature, C;
- pH range of water (taking into account the needs of plants);
- range of water alkalinity (calculated taking into account the dependence on pH and CO2), mg/l as CaCO3;
- range of water hardness, mg/l as CaCO3.

For strawberries:
- maximum concentration of dissolved substances, mg/l;
- optimal concentrations of macro and microelements: Ca, Mg, K, N (as NO3), P (as PO4), S (as SO4), Cl, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, B, Mo.

To adjust the pH of the water, the following were used: KOH, CaO, Ca(OH)2 (as is known, fish waste products lower the pH, and plants, on the contrary, increase it. But in this case, oxidative processes dominated).

As a result of this experiment, a large amount of experimental material was accumulated, including: the dynamics of the main nutrients (NO3, PO4, SO4, K, Ca and Mg) supplied with fish food and accumulated in fish, plants and solid waste. As a result of this experiment, the water was not poured out anywhere, but was reused. Water losses consisted only of evaporation. pH adjustment was carried out twice a day (especially at the end of the experiment, when the sturgeon biomass increased significantly), while microelements were adjusted once a week. No macronutrients were added because came with the fish food, except for potassium and calcium, which were added in the form of hydroxides depending on what was missing.

At the end of the experiment, the mathematical model of the behavior of such a biosystem was brought to perfection. Even without expensive tests, it was possible to accurately predict the current concentrations of macroelements in water, the amount of hydroxides necessary to adjust the pH of the water, as well as some microelements.

The operation of such closed systems (with circulating water supply) requires the presence of a trained operator for 24 hours. This is important for quickly eliminating breakdowns in the life support system of fish. If the fish stocking density is high (the author increased it to 400 kg/m3), to achieve maximum yield and reducing the cost of heating the room, the likelihood of failure of components of your installation increases. For example, if you stop supplying fish with oxygen, you risk losing your entire fish population in 20 minutes!
Critical time interval:

Operating a system in which fish and crops are grown together is a very complex undertaking, requiring knowledge from three seemingly completely different areas of science. These are aquaculture (fish farming), hydroponics (greenhouse farming) and microbiology (cultivation of bacteria in a biofilter). Animals, plants and bacteria are the three acting “persons” in any closed biological system that live in symbiosis with each other. The first description of such coexistence was given in the last century by V.I. Vernadsky and called it “The Doctrine of the Biosphere”!

However, not everything is as complicated as it seems at first glance. Organisms living on Earth are quite difficult to destroy, at least simple life forms. If we describe the behavior of such three whales as: animals, plants and bacteria, or, let's call them differently, consumers, producers and destructors, then we get a 2nd order differential equation that does not have direct solution. But we know that life forms are tenacious, moreover, they are able to adapt to changing conditions environment, so there is no need to try to take into account all the chemical elements, but rather concentrate on the so-called “markers”. For the rest chemical elements the system will bring itself into balance. Therefore, the equation simplifies and becomes completely solvable. This is the main idea of Vasily Krasnoborodko’s mathematical model. Thanks to this approach, it was possible to quite accurately calculate completely closed systems and develop a method for producing completely sealed live aquariums. You may ask why only such small aquariums are made with shrimp and not with fish? And it’s very simple, to create a completely closed system for a small fish, you will need a volume of at least 200 liters of water. You will have to collect it in a laboratory, but you won’t be able to take it home, because... A 200 liter aquarium weighs 200 kg!


Closed system	Installation closed water supply	Siberian sturgeon and coconut palm- brothers forever!	Sturgeon fry. Weight 50-100 grams


Every day sweet strawberries for tea! You can’t tell by the taste that it was grown hydroponically	This is our salad! Not a gram of mineral fertilizers. As soon as we weigh it, we’ll eat it right away and won’t give it to anyone.	The 400 W backlight is visible from above

Working sketch of an aquarium for strawberries


One of the many water testing reports	How to analyze water nutrient solution for plants. Comparison with traditional solutions used for hydroponics	Using sturgeon water to water plants in a greenhouse

First experiments with the integration of an aquarium and strawberries


Home aquarium with guppy fish - complete absence of aquarium filters	Aquarium diagram	View from the other side. The fish are not visible, because... there is little light in the aquarium

Why was it necessary to fence this entire garden?

For growing heat-loving fish species important criterion is the temperature of the water. In our climatic zone at the usual way(for example, cage) sturgeon can be grown only 4-5 months a year. The rest of the time the sturgeon does not feed and, accordingly, does not grow. Therefore, it grows from a 3 gram fry to a marketable weight of 1 kg in 2-3 years. Optimal temperature for the growth of sturgeon is 20°C-24°C. Heating water at a sturgeon factory is a dead end. It is impossible to heat 200 m3/h of water from 10°C to 24°C - even a whole power plant is not enough for this! The only way out of this situation is to plant the sturgeons high in the pools and not use water from the river, but purify and not release warm water from the system (sturgeon + strawberries). Then you can place the entire installation in a heated room and keep the temperature at 20°C-24°C. Preliminary results have shown that it is possible to obtain up to 80 kg sturgeon per m2 a pool 1 m deep per year and 10 kg of strawberries from the same area. The sturgeon is a predator, so plant roots are of no interest to it. The cost of sturgeon with this method drops several times! This means it is possible to create fish production based on such technology. With this method of cultivation, low feed consumption is achieved - 1.5 kg of feed is consumed per 1 kg of sturgeon, versus 3 kg of feed when reared in ponds. Why this is so is not difficult to understand. With pond fish farming, you have a wintering period when the water temperature becomes low. The fish stops eating and, accordingly, does not gain weight, but loses weight. In the summer you feed her, and in the winter she loses weight. In a closed system you can keep the water temperature warm and there is no overwintering period. The fish eats, gains weight, and thinks that winter will come tomorrow. That’s why feed consumption is 2 times lower! No fish farm can compete.

General view of the experimental setup:

a hundred Siberian sturgeon ("Lensky" sturgeon) lived in a white plastic pool; on the left was a hydroponic installation (with fluctuating water levels) for growing salads, strawberries or tomatoes; on the right was a filter system and a cylinder with compressed oxygen;

In the sand filter, plastic granules were used instead of sand, the main purpose of which was to allow them to colonize with nitrifying bacteria, as well as to retain suspended particles, undissolved in water, larger than 100 microns in size. This modified filter is both a biofilter and a mechanical filter. To avoid the formation of stagnant zones (anaerobic) and clogging of the biofilter, the filter was often backwashed;

the washing water was settled and the solid sludge was used for compost;

an alarm system was installed that called the main developer's cell phone (the system was assembled from a burglar alarm and was therefore inexpensive). Three sensors are connected to the input relays: the presence of electricity in the office, the oxygen concentration in the water and the water level in the fish pool. The main goal of the experiment is to test the accuracy of a mathematical model that describes a closed ecosystem based on nutrients.

The installation was developed and assembled by V.V. Krasnoborodko.

Before the start of the experiment, water parameters were selected that needed to be maintained during the experiment:

For sturgeon:
- maximum ammonia concentration, mg/l;
- maximum concentration of total ammonium (was calculated knowing the pH and temperature of the water), mg/l;
- maximum nitrite concentration, mg/l;
- maximum nitrate concentration, mg/l;
- maximum concentration of undissolved suspended particles, mg/l;
- maximum concentration of carbon dioxide, mg/l;
- minimum oxygen concentration, mg/l;
- water temperature, C;
- pH range of water (taking into account the needs of plants);
- range of water alkalinity (calculated taking into account the dependence on pH and CO2), mg/l as CaCO3;
- range of water hardness, mg/l as CaCO3.

For strawberries:
- maximum concentration of dissolved substances, mg/l;
- optimal concentrations of macro and microelements: Ca, Mg, K, N (as NO3), P (as PO4), S (as SO4), Cl, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, B, Mo.

The operation of such closed systems (with circulating water supply) requires the presence of a trained operator for 24 hours. This is important for quickly eliminating breakdowns in the life support system of fish. If the fish stocking density is high (the author increased it to 400 kg/m3), in order to achieve maximum yield and reduce space heating costs, then the likelihood of failure of the components of your installation increases. For example, if you stop supplying fish with oxygen, you risk losing your entire fish population in 20 minutes!
Critical time interval:

However, not everything is as complicated as it seems at first glance. Organisms living on Earth are quite difficult to destroy, at least simple life forms. If we describe the behavior of such three whales as: animals, plants and bacteria, or, let's call them differently, consumers, producers and destructors, then we get differential equation 2nd order, which has no direct solution. But we know that life forms are tenacious, moreover, capable of adapting to changing environmental conditions, so there is no need to try to take into account all the chemical elements, but rather concentrate on the so-called “markers”. For the remaining chemical elements, the system will bring itself into balance. Therefore, the equation simplifies and becomes completely solvable. This is the main idea of Vasily Krasnoborodko’s mathematical model. Thanks to this approach, it was possible to quite accurately calculate completely closed systems and develop a method for producing completely sealed live aquariums. You may ask why only such small aquariums are made with shrimp and not with fish? And it’s very simple, to create a completely closed system for a small fish, you will need a volume of at least 200 liters of water. You will have to collect it in a laboratory, but you won’t be able to take it home, because... A 200 liter aquarium weighs 200 kg!

Sturgeon + Strawberry = CLOSED BIOLOGICAL SYSTEM

All material presented below has been specially edited for a wide range of readers. Without abstruse formulas, so that anyone can understand what the author wanted to say. Perhaps in the future a special paid site will be created for a narrow circle of readers, where it will be possible to discuss and discuss new experiments and methods for calculating biologically closed systems.

General view of the experimental setup:
a hundred Siberian sturgeon ("Lensky" sturgeon) lived in a white plastic pool; on the left was a hydroponic installation (with fluctuating water levels) for growing salads, strawberries or tomatoes; on the right was a filter system and a cylinder with compressed oxygen;

The sand filter used plastic granules instead of sand, the main purpose of which was to be able to colonize them with nitrifying bacteria, as well as to retain suspended particles, undissolved in water, larger than 100 microns in size. This modified filter is both a biofilter and a mechanical filter. To avoid the formation of stagnant zones (anaerobic) and clogging of the biofilter, the filter was often backwashed;

The washing water was settled and the solid sludge was used for compost;

An alarm system was installed that called the main developer's cell phone (the system was assembled from a burglar alarm and was therefore inexpensive). Three sensors are connected to the input relays: the presence of electricity in the office, the oxygen concentration in the water and the water level in the fish pool. The main goal of the experiment is to test the accuracy of a mathematical model that describes a closed ecosystem based on nutrients.

The installation was developed and assembled by V.V. Krasnoborodko.

Before the start of the experiment, water parameters were selected that needed to be maintained during the experiment:

For sturgeon:
- maximum ammonia concentration, mg/l;
- maximum concentration of total ammonium (was calculated knowing the pH and temperature of the water), mg/l;
- maximum nitrite concentration, mg/l;
- maximum nitrate concentration, mg/l;
- maximum concentration of undissolved suspended particles, mg/l;
- maximum concentration of carbon dioxide, mg/l;
- minimum oxygen concentration, mg/l;
- water temperature, C;
- pH range of water (taking into account the needs of plants);
- range of water alkalinity (calculated taking into account the dependence on pH and CO2), mg/l as CaCO3;
- range of water hardness, mg/l as CaCO3.

For strawberries:
- maximum concentration of dissolved substances, mg/l;
- optimal concentrations of macro and microelements: Ca, Mg, K, N (as NO3), P (as PO4), S (as SO4), Cl, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, B, Mo.

The operation of such closed systems (with circulating water supply) requires the presence of a trained operator for 24 hours. This is important for quickly eliminating breakdowns in the life support system of fish. If the fish stocking density is high (the author increased it to 400 kg/m3), in order to achieve maximum yield and reduce space heating costs, then the likelihood of failure of the components of your installation increases. For example, if you stop supplying fish with oxygen, you risk losing your entire fish population in 20 minutes!

However, not everything is as complicated as it seems at first glance. Organisms living on Earth are quite difficult to destroy, at least simple life forms. If we describe the behavior of such three whales as: animals, plants and bacteria, or, let's call them differently, consumers, producers and destructors, then we get a 2nd order differential equation that does not have a direct solution. But we know that life forms are tenacious, moreover, capable of adapting to changing environmental conditions, so there is no need to try to take into account all the chemical elements, but rather concentrate on the so-called “markers”. For the remaining chemical elements, the system will bring itself into balance. Therefore, the equation simplifies and becomes completely solvable. This is the main idea of Vasily Krasnoborodko’s mathematical model. Thanks to this approach, it was possible to quite accurately calculate completely closed systems and develop a method for producing completely sealed live aquariums. You may ask why only such small aquariums are made with shrimp and not with fish? And it’s very simple, to create a completely closed system for a small fish, you will need a volume of at least 200 liters of water. You will have to collect it in a laboratory, but you won’t be able to take it home, because... A 200 liter aquarium weighs 200 kg!

Why was it necessary to fence this entire garden?

For growing heat-loving fish species, an important criterion is water temperature. In our climate zone, using the usual method (for example, cage farming), sturgeon can only be grown for 4-5 months a year. The rest of the time the sturgeon does not feed and, accordingly, does not grow. Therefore, it grows from a 3 gram fry to a marketable weight of 1 kg in 2-3 years. The optimal temperature for sturgeon growth is 20°C-24°C. Heating water at a sturgeon factory is a dead end. It is impossible to heat 200 m3/h of water from 10°C to 24°C - even a whole power plant is not enough for this! The only way out of this situation is to do high seating sturgeon in pools and do not use water from the river, but purify and do not release warm water from the system (sturgeon + strawberries). Then you can place the entire installation in a heated room and keep the temperature at 20°C-24°C. Preliminary results showed that it is possible to obtain up to 80 kg of sturgeon per m2 of a pool 1 m deep per year and 10 kg of strawberries from the same area. The sturgeon is a predator, so plant roots are of no interest to it. The cost of sturgeon with this method drops several times! This means it is possible to create fish production based on such technology. With this method of cultivation, low feed consumption is achieved - 1.5 kg of feed is consumed per 1 kg of sturgeon, versus 3 kg of feed when reared in ponds. Why this is so is not difficult to understand. With pond fish farming, you have a wintering period when the water temperature becomes low. The fish stops eating and, accordingly, does not gain weight, but loses weight. In the summer you feed her, and in the winter she loses weight. In a closed system you can keep the water temperature warm and there is no overwintering period. The fish eats, gains weight, and thinks that winter will come tomorrow. That’s why feed consumption is 2 times lower! No fish farm can compete.

In aquaponic systems, strawberries or wild strawberries receive nutrients from water constantly circulating through the boxes. Water, with nutrients dissolved in it, flows along the bottom of the box in a thin layer. Plants are planted in cups, the bottom of which is slightly raised and does not touch the nutrient layer. As plants grow, the roots sink into the nutrient layer and receive all the nutrients enriched with oxygen from the liquid. It is better to grow strawberries (strawberries) on a hard, breathable substrate (expanded clay, coarse perlite, gravel, coarse river sand).

The roots of strawberries (strawberries) should not be in a stationary solution. This will lead to the death of the plants. The roots of strawberries also do not like heavy and prolonged flooding.

One adult strawberry plant requires a container of at least 3 liters. You can plant plants in one container, this will require 10-15 liters for 3-4 plants. In greenhouses, about twenty plants are planted per square meter. Plants are placed at a distance of 20-30 centimeters from one another. Varieties with large leaves are planted at a greater distance. Compact varieties can be planted at a distance of 10-15 centimeters between plants.

A mixture of vermiculite and perlite in combination with drip irrigation. In installations with expanded clay and drip irrigation, water is supplied for 15-20 minutes every 1.5 hours. The solution should not come into contact with the plant.

Vertical cultivation of strawberries

To save space and maximum use spaces grow strawberries vertically. To make it beautiful vertical installation, need to plant strawberries (strawberries) in tiers or use varieties that are prone to fruit formation on daughter rosettes as well. At vertical way 60-100 plants can be placed on 1 square meter. The quantity depends on the variety and equipment used.

Pollination of strawberries in aquaponic greenhouses

Productivity strawberries in aquaponics directly depends on the organization of artificial pollination in greenhouse farming. Let's look at several ways to pollinate strawberries (strawberries) in a greenhouse.

If the plantation is small, several square meters to grow up to a hundred plants, you can use a simple method of manual pollination - using an ordinary, but always very soft, brush (for painting or a small cosmetic brush). The brush should only be made of natural bristles. A working morning in the greenhouse, when the strawberries begin to bloom, you need to start by taking a brush and carefully brushing it over each opened flower. By simultaneously growing two or three varieties of wild strawberries, you will achieve cross-pollination of flowers, and this will have a positive effect on the yield and quality of the berries.

The second method of artificial pollination of strawberries: using a fan. The fan turns on and directs the air flow to the strawberry flowers. It looks like a breeze is blowing. The fan should not be close, and the air flow should in no case damage the flowers and the strawberry plants themselves.

Third way - pollination of strawberry flowers with the help of bees or bumblebees. It is usually resorted to when the strawberry plantation is extensive, and it is unrealistic to cope with pollination yourself. They use both bumblebees and bees at the same time since they work differently on strawberry flowers and in different time days. As a result, ideal pollination of strawberry flowers in the greenhouse occurs. One family of bumblebees or bees, with intensive flowering of strawberries in aquaponics, pollinates approximately 0.2 hectares.

The process of pollination of strawberries when grown in aquaponics Firstly determines the yield and quality of berries. But, unfortunately, very little importance is currently attached to pollination issues.

Strawberry varieties in aquaponics

Choosing a strawberry variety for growing in a greenhouse in aquaponics depends on the purpose of growing strawberries. To continuously obtain berries over a long period of time, you need remontant varieties neutral daylight hours. If you plan to sell strawberries, pay attention to the size, density of the berries and the possibility of transportation. It’s easier to sell identical medium-large berries than giant berries in half and small change.

The most commonly used varieties: Pineapple, Khoniei, Zenga Zengana, Korona, Marmolada, Darselect. IN last years in Holland and Belgium (the main producing countries of greenhouse strawberries and strawberries, the Elsanta and Sonata varieties are used almost exclusively. Alternatively, you can grow the self-pollinating small-fruited strawberry variety Supreme.

Eichornia - water hyacinth

Eichornia

Eichornia (water hyacinth) – tropical plant, which is rapidly gaining popularity among Russians. Eichornia comes from the Amazon River basin.

Water hyacinth grows on the surface, the roots can float in the water or take root depending on the depth of the reservoir. Eichornia leaves are dense and shiny, oval in shape and have air cavities that act as floats. Water hyacinth leaves are collected in a basket. Eichornia inflorescences have wonderful aroma and look like garden hyacinth flowers.

Water hyacinth reproduces by lateral tendrils from the rosette.

Unique properties of water hyacinth.

High growth rate water hyacinth. In three months, up to two hundred eichornia grow from one bush. The mass of plants doubles in a month.
Some scientists believe that it is Eichornia, which lived on earth since time immemorial, that we owe the formation of oil and gas reserves.

Nutritional value water hyacinth is high. Green eichornia is readily eaten by many species of animals, birds and fish. Eichornia is well eaten by ducks and nutria. Water hyacinth is eaten by herbivorous fish: carp, carp, grass carp...

High rate of absorption of fish metabolic products, minerals and organic substances makes water hyacinth an excellent filter for water. Suspended particles settle well on the powerful root system. Water hyacinth absorbs dissolved inorganic substances including cyanide, oil pollution, heavy metals, phenol. Eichornia suppresses pathogenic bacteria in water, kills coli. A hectare of water hyacinth processes 150-200 kg of ammonia nitrogen and 2-5 kg of petroleum products per day.
At the beginning of August 1999, at the Novosibirsk Tolmachevo airport, several eichornia plants were planted in a sewer canal 50 m long, 3 m wide and 1 m deep. By September, the plants had grown so much that they formed a continuous carpet on the surface of the water. And even in such a short period, the content of nitrates, chlorides, petroleum products and other pollutants has sharply decreased.

Application of water hyacinth in our eco-system

In our closed ecosystem, water hyacinth is used as an element:

cleaning unit. Allows you to reduce the amount of make-up water.
plant growing block. It is planned to be used as food for herbivorous fish.

Nymphea in a pond: description, planting, care in Siberia.

Legends...

Almost every nation has legends about water lilies - nymphs. We publish a description of the most beautiful of them, in our opinion, in a separate article