Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have started a wikibook (if you not familiar with wikibooks, check it out wikibooks.org and type in aquaponics) about aquaponics and although it's very basic at the moment, I would like for it to expand with the help of anybody who has knowledge of the subject and would like to contribute. Wikibooks is intended as a medium for publishing instructional info online and is similar to wikipedia in that anyone can edit and contribute. The goal for the aquaponics wikibook should be (IMHO) to show how to build an aquaponics system that will be simple, easy to replicate and maintain and easy to build from as much "waste" products as possible to reduce costs. Perhaps this way, aquaponics could be practiced easily by more people, maybe in developing countries where information and time to spend surfing the web are not so freely availabe for example. Included should be things like fish species, plant species, fish foods, etc.

Once a basic book is hashed out, it could be translated into other languages to reach a wider audience too.

So if you'd like to help, please check it out and get typing

I think a wiki already exists I don't think it ever went anywhere people all ways just use the forum, everything they need is here. There is also the barrelponics manual and of course Joel's backyard aquaponics book, I originally read a different book to Joel's, 70% of it was a complete waste of time and not of practical importance. The forum was all I needed to (a) convince me of its effectiveness and (b) show me how to do it.

I kinda agree with novaris on this one.

Travis has already written the Barrelponics manual which is freely available to anyone and it is a well done how to build manual though a simple barrel ponics system is not big enough to grow much, it gives people a start point.
The forum here is a wonderful resource for anyone with access to the web and is really all the info I needed to reach a point of harvesting 100's of pounds of fish per year from my side yard.

Now don't get me wrong, if you wish to write a book, more power to you, but I think it is just as effective to bring people here. Those who are good at wading through the forum gain much and those who have a bit more trouble with it, ask for help and advise quicker. It's all good.

Yes started a wiki a while back, you can find it at

http://www.aquaponicswiki.com

I had some fish species pages added not long ago, unfortunately they aren't well linked within the site yet.. If anyone wants to add things to it, go for it, some people did a fair bit of work early on in getting info out of the forum and up on the wiki but I guess it really needs a lot more people adding their contributions.

Probably need to mention it around here a bit more frequently.

Go to the aquaponics wiki, make your contribution to help everyone learn about aquaponics.....

Heres a link to a list of all the individual wiki pages so far http://www.aquaponicswiki.com/index.php ... l:Allpages

This is excellent news Saves a bunch of work! As to the comments about all the needed info being on the forum, that is true but getting to it always requires lots of searching followed by reading through pages and pages of chat and discussion. A forum is a great place for discussing and asking questions but it's no substitute for a book and certainly can't be printed out and studied under the shade of a tree. My thinking was that it would be nice if there existed a book or manual that could be freely printed, even bound, and then used or distributed by whoever would like to share the wonder that is aquaponics.

I am aware of the barrelponics manual, however it really only covers the building of one design, albeit in painstaking detail. However, reading it doesn't leave one feeling that they know and understand aquaponics(IMHO). I'd go further and say that most people who know little about AP would think it was very complicated to do after thumbing through the the BP manual.

So in the midst of the climate convention that hopefully will set humanity on a path towards sustainability, let's try and promote aquaponics as much as possible, let's be creative and think of new ways to spread the idea. Aquaponics after all, is surely one of the(if not the) most sustainable, and eco-friendly ways to produce food there is, yet I bet less than 1% of people have even heard of it, let alone know anything about it.

1% would be 60,000,000 people.
... only 2% of the population can read.
Even less have access to WWW.
Also, a book is the final read of a set of given parameters.

BYAP covers all the parameters...
Oh and it is free

There's a heap of info on the main BYAP site WP, try the following link:

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/information.html

If you then click the "Info" button there are many different pdf's that you can download for free, including the first edition of the BYAP magazine.. http://www.byapmagazine.com/BYAP_Magazine_Issue1.pdf

...and that too EB
Howdy BTW?
Hot enough?

Bloody warm up here all right, and gunna be worse tomorrow....

I have a 10 ltr bucket for the sump tomorrow..
that should last a few hours

We still have some in a 1000L system at the shop, it's surprising how well shade keeps a system cool.. Dunno if they will last out tomorrow though.

Need an ice machine.