Quackaponics System

Life is a series of chemical reactions playing out over and over. This is not to say there's nothing awe inspiring or amazing about our chemical roots. In fact, I think that the web of reactions that has led to to the world we have is mind blowing. Anyone who has cared for an aquarium and conducted basic water tests has seen this phenomenon first hand. The aquarium is a miniature of our world, highlighting the delicate nature of our closed system. The inputs and outputs of the system must be carefully monitored to ensure its health and stability. 

Our 3 Cayugas and 2 Swedish Black ducks making a splash!

Our decision to venture into quackaponics came about innocently enough. Ducks will find, play in, and muck up any amount of water. Their eggs are delicious for cooking and baking, their waddling is cute as can be, and they tend to be good foragers. Unfortunately, they can turn perfectly potable water into a stinky stew in less than 24 hours. For this, and because we felt it only fair for them to have adequate swimming space, we decided to forgo the kiddie pools and build a pond. We didn't build a drain into the system and even over-engineered for 5 ducks, we knew we would need to carefully consider the inputs into the system. When you're talking about ducks, you soon realize that more than just their own waste must be considered an input; all manner of sticks, pine needles and yard debris could be just a siphoning away from a yummy treat. More likely, it'll end up on the bottom of the pond, but ducks are never one to make such an assumption!

We also wanted to keep some fish in the system. The fish offer a number of benefits:

• Enjoyment - watching them in the morning or the evening is great fun. We love speculating on how much they've grown, how many there are, and seeing their group dynamics play out (the same ones always come up to feed first!). 

• Adding fish to the system also meant an extra layer of protection against algae and (pllllleeeasssseeeee) help keep the bottom layer of muck from taking over the entire pond. 

• Keeping away mosquito larvae, which is especially important in Florida where the first cases of mosquito contracted Zikia have been confirmed 

• Fish also add another source of nutrients to the system. The ducks bring a lot of solids (ie sticks and twigs) into the system, but they don't actually introduce a lot of nutrients given the many thousands of gallons of water in the system. 

The plants we put into the system enjoy having their feet wet, meaning they are adapted to having their roots in water at all times. For traditional aquatics, there is a wider range of oxygen levels that these plants can handle. However, we wanted to add edibles to the system, which have more strict requirements on oxygenated water. We have made sure to add two small aeration stones to the main pond in addition to the waterfall from the top and the middle ponds to keep a lot of oxygen in the system. Filtering out nutrients in the upper pond and two adjacent kiddie pools we currently have the following:

• Cantaloupe
• Mint
• Lemon balm
• Basil
• Catnip 
• Banana plants
• Scallions

For the first few weeks had some serious breaking and entering to contend with so most of the edibles are limping along. However, their color is great and they seem to be better able to handle the denuding than the landlocked plants that get found by the birds (ducks, turkeys, and chickens). There are still a number of questions we have about the system: 

• How many plants can the system handle? 
• How many ducks can the system handle? 
• How much nitrogen are the ducks adding to the system? 
• How will the system be different once the height of Florida's summer heat releases its stifling grip?
• Can we safely eat the plants grown in the quackaponics system or should we relegate it all to animal feed? Perhaps we handle leaves and fruits differently, for instance eating the cantaloupes, but giving the mint and basil to the birds. 
•  How long will a sump pump that is designed for 2" solids, running 24/365 last? 
• What type of hideouts do we need in order to encourage the fish to breed?
• Will our plecos grow to 2' long and become beautiful, deeply appreciated food for our garden's sandy soil? 

If you have experience with a quackaponics system or something to share please feel free to leave a comment or send us an email. Thanks for reading!