hi joel,
firstly i would like to congratulate you on your segment on gardening australia. inspired me to get out into the garden and visualise my future setup. i would also like to thank you for your great website and forums. finding this place is like a breath of fresh air.
i am a keen follower of your work and hope to purchase your book in the near future.
for the past few years i have been led down the path of sustainable living. i like the idea of providing for most of my own needs directly through my own energy outputs (with the help of some little creatures
).
I have been breeding worms for several years and after reading about aquaculture and inparticular aquaponics i feel its the natural progression towards my goal. at first the worms were just for disposing waste and making castings and "juice". after months of failing i finally managed to create a stable farm. after this i was blown away by the breeding rates and had more worms then i expected i ever would. i learned that worm farms were not simply a worm only afair. i realised i wasnt farming purely for worms but for a whole eco-system of micro organisms.
about 6 months ago with an excess of worms i started to think about the possibility of growing some goldfish. i had an old broken fridge which i was going to get rid of but figured why not turn it into a small pond. i did so and threw in 3 goldfish and a few plants. i hand fed with 1 worm each daily throughout the warmer months of autum and i saw good growth and healthy looking fish. i was using no filter or airation. i was using the water from the pond for the vegies and topping with tap water. i live near a waterplant and the water is very chlorinated straight from tap.
i now have 6 locally sourcced marron and the 3 goldfish growing in a large rectangular fibreglass pond. i am using a solar powered pump for airation. 1 month prior to introducing the marron i filled the pond, threw in some worm castings and airated. the marron have been hand fed worms and are now starting to look good. i have been considering adding a heater but they seem to have settled in well not to mention im near broke. its now been 2 weeks since introduction of the marron and theyre still alive so i must be doing something right.
i am now at the stage where i am looking to setup growbeds and have a few q's if you dont mind answering.
firstly i was wondering if you need to change the gravel after a period of time or can you use is indefinately?
secondly have you ever used perlite as the medium? if so how were the results?
thirdly have you any expirience with growing marron in you systems? if so how are the results?
