Aquaponics Introduction

What’s This About?

“Call me Peter B” 

We all have our white whales, and mine is that I am bipolar… Ok so the cat is out of the bag (or box if your Schrödinger). This blog is about why I started one of the most complex things I have ever done, and sorted it, and how that helped me get better/well. It taught me so much, about so much in a very short time, and even kept me level (well almost).

September 2018 I was deep into a descending depression and not working

I was finding it difficult to motivate myself to get out of bed in the morning or complete any tasks. So, I decided to embark on building my own aquaponic system. 

The idea came about as a result of a need to distract my mind which would provide me with something to solve and focus on in a positive way.  As the basis of the fascination was already there, it seemed like a natural step for me to take. That is, however, not to suggest that aquaponics is the suitable outlet for everyone suffering from depression, but instead to highlight the need for a positive focus dependent on personal interests. 

This blog is about,

  • Explaining how I feel and what helps me get better  
  • Explaining how Aquaponics works and how you can build one if you want to
  • Helping anyone who wants to start their own aquaponics system
  • Showing anyone how to distract themselves with whatever your “thing” is, which can help with stress/depression

Aquaponics is a dynamic process, although easy to explain how the system works, in practice it is like the “chaos theory”, everything is connected and all things have an effect on each and every other thing.

Aquaponics, put simply, is an aquaculture system:

  • Waste produced from the fish supplies the nutrients for plants grown within the water
  • In turn the plants purify the water.
  • Water is returns to the fish clean
  • Closed system with little waste of water
  • If done on a small scale only one pump is needed (<5000liters)

As I will detail, the process of constructing the system was challenging, resulting in several failed attempts, however these were all positive as when you get it wrong you learn something, and the point is to learn. This made me think about the issues to solve when trying to sleep and not negative stuff.  This meant I would wake up with a plan that got me out of bed and I could direct my focus on solving the issues, elevating the intensity of the depressive period.