# Bamboo vertical aquaponics - viable option?



## SpawnOfVader (Sep 17, 2020)

So I built/designed this system back when I worked for Heifer International after college- the idea was to strap the bamboo to the side of buildings/fire escapes in Bangladesh (project got cut due to funding)....

I'm wondering about adopting the technique for vertical cannabis walls... any thoughts?


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## Macncheesehaze (Sep 17, 2020)

I saw a video about an entire complex that does something like this but with pvc. I’ll look it up. It’s pretty beautiful to see. They didn’t use cannabis but it could be adopted for use with it for sure.


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## Macncheesehaze (Sep 17, 2020)

Found it lol


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## SpawnOfVader (Sep 17, 2020)

Macncheesehaze said:


> Found it lol


I like that, my original design was based off the zip towers Dr. Nate Story used to market.... except we wanted the body of the system to be made from a renewable resource so it got modified some.


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## SpawnOfVader (Sep 17, 2020)

These things!!


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## SpawnOfVader (Sep 17, 2020)

Holy crap now that I think of it a single layer deep of "Zipgrow" towers side by side on a wall would make an amazing space for a vertical SOG


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## stalebiscuit (Sep 17, 2020)

the tower would work fine as far as structure goes; i saw a video from a midwestern university where they were installing a pvc tower as a way of blocking sunlight in the greenhouse from reaching the fish reservoir, raising nile tilapia (block light, and create tower for growing is win-win)

structure wise it works good for hydro systems probably. as far as aquaponics i am not 100% but i think it works fine for vegging and what not but when you hit flower unless you have the tank cycled proper and a large amount of fish the nutrients just arent good for flowering/fruiting plants. i know people who have done tomatos and what not in aquaponics systems but the successful non-commercial systems typically use koi/goldfish, cleaners like bladder/ramshorn snails, and plants like basil, bok choy and lettuce

also i feel like pithium and root rot is higher chance in an aquaponics system versus a hydro. anyway cool stuff and good luck to ya


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## SpawnOfVader (Sep 17, 2020)

stalebiscuit said:


> the tower would work fine as far as structure goes; i saw a video from a midwestern university where they were installing a pvc tower as a way of blocking sunlight in the greenhouse from reaching the fish reservoir, raising nile tilapia (block light, and create tower for growing is win-win)
> 
> structure wise it works good for hydro systems probably. as far as aquaponics i am not 100% but i think it works fine for vegging and what not but when you hit flower unless you have the tank cycled proper and a large amount of fish the nutrients just arent good for flowering/fruiting plants. i know people who have done tomatos and what not in aquaponics systems but the successful non-commercial systems typically use koi/goldfish, cleaners like bladder/ramshorn snails, and plants like basil, bok choy and lettuce
> 
> also i feel like pithium and root rot is higher chance in an aquaponics system versus a hydro. anyway cool stuff and good luck to ya


Oh this is totally hypothetical. Also not limiting it to aquaponics in the thought.... just an interesting tower product that could be useful for cannabis.


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## Nizza (Sep 19, 2020)

great idea!


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## ttystikk (Sep 19, 2020)

The problem with the zip grow towers is the substrate inside would get all gunked up and start to rot. You want to keep the tower free of anything but roots.


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## vostok (Sep 27, 2020)

SpawnOfVader said:


> So I built/designed this system back when I worked for Heifer International after college- the idea was to strap the bamboo to the side of buildings/fire escapes in Bangladesh (project got cut due to funding)....
> 
> I'm wondering about adopting the technique for vertical cannabis walls... any thoughts?








Thats a cool idea man,...I guess the lives of 800,000+ woman slaving in those Walmart slum factories, really mean nothing to 'projected overuns'
Boycott 3rd world clothes afterall they are 3rd world clothes


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## vostok (Sep 27, 2020)

ttystikk said:


> The problem with the zip grow towers is the substrate inside would get all gunked up and start to rot. You want to keep the tower free of anything but roots.


you could run DWC, let it trickle down, then pump it back up ..?

Greetz to you man


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## SpawnOfVader (Sep 28, 2020)

vostok said:


> you could run DWC, let it trickle down, then pump it back up ..?
> 
> Greetz to you man


That's the basic concept of that particular system. There is a sump pump in the ground at the lowest point... that pumps to drip tubing going to the top of the bamboo... from there it's gravity back through the fish tank etc.


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## BaRabus (Sep 28, 2020)

Yo, that looks nice. I would love to see it flourish. Especially the SOG setup you mentioned.


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## vostok (Sep 28, 2020)

SpawnOfVader said:


> That's the basic concept of that particular system. There is a sump pump in the ground at the lowest point... that pumps to drip tubing going to the top of the bamboo... from there it's gravity back through the fish tank etc.


you might not need funding if you grow out that bamboo to 3usg grow pots, then export to us green's ..lol


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## ttystikk (Sep 30, 2020)

vostok said:


> you could run DWC, let it trickle down, then pump it back up ..?
> 
> Greetz to you man


Where is the DWC part in such a setup?

Good to see you


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## SpawnOfVader (Sep 30, 2020)

ttystikk said:


> Where is the DWC part in such a setup?
> 
> Good to see you


Oh I don't have all the photos of that particular system iteration on here, let me try and dig out the rest. 

I was testing a few different methods all linked to the same fish tanks... you can see the vertical as well as the ebb and flow tests in the pictures I already put up..... I was also running some DWC beds for leafy greens.

(when you're pitching a system like this, especially for a non-profit with limited funding you have to do some controls to show why your option is better)


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## SpawnOfVader (Sep 30, 2020)

vostok said:


> you might not need funding if you grow out that bamboo to 3usg grow pots, then export to us green's ..lol


Lol well the system in the pictures is about a decade old so funding for that isn't really a thing anymore (too late). Just going back to my old farming projects now that cultivating cannabis is legal in my state to see what could be adapted. If you mean funding for my upcoming commercial grow that will definitely not be using this design....light deprivation soil grow off the grid for now. 

I would definitely get larger bamboo going forward- not sure I'd want to wait the years required to grow my own bamboo.


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## Flowki (Oct 13, 2020)

These type of systems seem good but I've seen many issues around upper or lower roots blocking the system. The flood and drain type tables with multiple inlets and pumps seem much more fool proof. If that type of layout can be mimiced in a ''just off center'' vert system it would be better IMO. Like a mini waterfall.


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