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Joined: Mar 12th, '06, 07:56
Posts: 17803
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Location: Perth
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Christopher Nesbitt, Director of Maya Mountain Research Farm, Belize.
www.mmrfbz.org
Dear Joel,
I have had your book, CD and DVD package for a week and I am still as excited as I was when it first arrived. I think that Backyard Aquaponics represents a major contribution to food security, a huge step forward in regional food production models. Aquaponics as presented in your book is a technology of much promise, especially in urban environments.
Your book is very well layed out, with lots of information on every page. Having read the book and watched the DVD, I think it wiould be possible for anyone with a modicum of skills to build such a system with the information contained in your Backyard Aquaponics package. It is inspiring on every level. All of my questions are answered as they come up. The DVD is well produced, visualy appealing and fun. You have created a wonderfully informative package.
Thank you for producing such a wonderful product.
Yours in development,
Christopher Nesbitt
Maya Mountain Research Farm
San Pedro Columbia, Toledo, BELIZE, Central America
Promoting food security through stacked polycultures and applied biodiversity.
Steve Diver, Agriculture Specialist, Arkansas, U.S.A.
www.ncat.attra.org
Hey Joel -
The Backyard Aquaponics kit arrived a few days ago and I'm thoroughly impressed and excited. This is a self-published book with an accompanying CD/DVD collection that serves as a model for others to share their expertise on specialty topics in sustainable agriculture. The book is all the more relevant because it is based on your personal experience with "backyard" aquaponics. Those circular corrugated steel water tanks are very attractive for outdoor production.
The text and photos are well organized and easy to read. The CD/DVD collection contains very helpful supplemental items, including a photo gallery, video clips, diagrams, plans, and spreadsheets.... In short, the Book/CD/DVD package you offer is a complete educational and training module.
All the best,
Steve Diver
ATTRA -- National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
Travis Hughey, Author of Barrel-ponics Manual, South Carolina, U.S.A.
Hey Joel,
Just got your info packet and am quite impressed!!
Outstanding job man!! I viewed part of the DVD and flipped through the manual and can't wait to get into it in more depth. I will take it with me on the plane to Africa next week and get the chance to read it completely. I really liked the "how fast does it grow" part of the DVD. I'm going to have to do that sometime. I just ordered a mini camcorder and hopefully will be able to do something like that in the future. That's a lot of work though so it will take some time. Aquaponics I really believe may be a Godsend to the poorer people of this world. If there is any way I can be of assistance to you please let me know. There is just so much to share and learn when we all get together. Once again, VERY IMPRESSIVE!! GOOD JOB!! Keep up the AWESOME work!!
Blessin's,
Trav.
Penny Livingston-Stark, Internationally recognized permaculture teacher, designer and speaker, Bolinas California
About Penny
Hi Joel,
Thank you for sending us a copy of your manual CD and DVD. I will share these with others. We can also put a link from our website to yours. Yes we really enjoyed your project and video. I would be happy to have you use the photo on the website.
Warm regards,
Penny Liviingston-Stark
Toby Hemenway, Author of "Gaia's Garden", Portland Oregon, USA
Dear Joel,
How very nice to hear from you. Of course you may use the photo. I’m very inspired by what you’ve done and, because of what I’ve seen of your work, would like to start some aquaponics projects here in Portland. I am helping in the design of a 14-acre garden site here in the city that will be used by hundreds of schoolchildren as well as a group of graduate students, and it would be a perfect location for an educational aquaponics project. I hope your work is going well.
Toby Hemenway
Penny Liviingston-Stark, Dawn Nesbitt and Toby Hemenway with the Backyard Aquaponics Manual
Book Review by Christopher Nesbitt, manager Maya Mountain Research Farm, Punta Gorda, BELIZE, C.A.
www.mmrfbz.org
“Backyard Aquaponics” is a new book by Joel Malcolm, an innovator in Perth, Australia and is well worth a look.
Aquaponics is a very simple and efficient system involving aquaculture and hydroponics. The system is dependent on plants in grow beds, generally pea gravel, being used to filter out fish manure and other material while aerating the water to maintain oxygen levels.
Joel’s book is substantial, with plenty of information and is broken down into several chapters, spread out over 113 pages of text, photos, graphs and diagrams. In it he does a good job in pulling the reader into the wonderful world of aquaponics by creating a seductive and idyllic picture of the productive system in his backyard.
Backyard Aquaponics is comprised of a book, a DVD and a CD and is substantial, with plenty of information. The information is presented in a clear way, and each chapter leads to the next chapter. Questions that arise while reading generally are answered further on in the text.
The book is broken down into several chapters, spread out over 113 pages of text, photos, graphs and diagrams. The first chapter, “So What Is Aquaponics” explains the concept and components involved in such systems.
Joel does a good job in pulling the reader into the wonderful world of aquaponics by creating a seductive and idyllic picture of the productive system in his backyard.
The second chapter is “Designing and Building A System”, which discusses the many ways to get from nothing to a productive system in your backyard with fish and vegetable production.
Joel discusses the merits of many types of materials and components, and explains how he arrived at the types of components he did. He mentions his preferences, and discusses various alternatives to those components.
He discusses growing media, his grow bed irrigation system and draining system, the flows of water in the system, and the mistakes he has made, while also sharing on experiences of others.
His system is designed using corrugated iron tanks special built to his specifications. He also discusses other tank designs, and offers sound reasoning behind his decision to go with corrugated iron tanks.
Joel uses corrugated iron tanks for both his grow beds and his fish tanks.
The third chapter is devoted to Systems Designs, and covers flood and drain and continuous flow systems. This chapter, like the previous chapters, is well written, and full of information.
This chapter has excellent diagrams of potential system designs, and has detailed information on the components needed to build an aquaponics system like Joel has built. It is based in his system design and includes diagrams showing water flows between the components of the system.
The first part of the fourth chapter, called “The Fish” , covers the needs fish require to maintain health and grow, covering stocking densities and feed quantities.
The balance of the chapter is about the various fish a potential aquaponics system could have. While the information presented in this part of the chapter is Australian centric, a discerning reader could most likely find species whose needs and attributes were suitable for tank based aquaculture in an aquaponics system in their region.
The chapter discusses eight species of finfish and several species of freshwater crustaceans.
The fifth Chapter entitled The Plants, is about the various plant species that can be produced in grow beds in an aquaponics system. It draws heavily on Joels personal experience and is written, as is most of the book, with a contagious enthusiasm that radiates from the page.
Joel discussed various plant species and their suitability for use in an aquaponics system and encourages the reader to “Experiment, experiment, experiment.”
The photo of a grow bed overflowing with several different species of plants is an extremely compelling argument in favor of the aquaponics system.
The sixth Chapter, “Building a System” covers the building of Joel’s system from beginning to end. It is full of photos and offers many tips on construction.
This is the most substantial chapter, vert dense with information, showing each of the steps Joel took between conceptualizing and completion of the system. It discusses how he designed the system, and shows his work. It covers building the structure that houses his system, how the tanks were placed, how the system will work and energy flows internal to the system.
It has a lot of information covering the time between system completion and the first harvest, as well as general maintenance information.
The chapter also includes information on planting regimes, what to look for in sourcing plants or seed, and how to stock the system with fish. With intriguing photos of the completed system, there is plenty of information about how the system operates.
The chapter ends on a very good discussion of the problems of food production and transportation. As elsewhere in the book, Joel does a very good job of presenting information in an accessible manner.
The book is peppered with humour, and Joel, who is obviously well informed on issues of food production, aquaponics chemistry, soil science and regional food security never talks down to the reader.
The book is well written in a friendly manner that is easy to understand, and enjoyable to read.
Armed with this book, I would feel confident to build such a system.
The book by itself gives enough information to establish such a system, however, the other two components pf the Backyard Aquaponics package, the accompanying DVD and CD, are both informative and augment the information in the book with visually appealing clips of Joel and his system.
The DVD has three featurettes covering Flood and Drain systems, Continuous Flow systems, a clip showing the phenomenal growth rate of the vegetables produced in his system, as well as a picture show and some “extra bits Unsorted”.
Joel provides the narrative, with piano accompaniment. The clips show the system at work while discussing the principles of the systems Joel is describing. Joel describes how the components work, and the video shows clearly how the system is set up.
Most of the information in the clips is covered in the book, but seeing the systems physically is a valuable tool to further illustrate the workings of the system, as well as the incredible growth rates of Joel’s vegetables. The DVD component in the Backyard Aquaponics package is very valuable, not to mention enjoyable and inspirational.
The CD has many slide shows as well as excellent Excel documents which cover such topics as Barra growth, pumping cycles, and a materials list to replicate a system like Joel’s. It is a wonderful supplement to the information in the book and DVD.
The author of this review had no regional problems reading the DVD, despite being in another region, nor did I experience any formatting problems using the CD with a Macintosh computer.
Joel’s system is a very impressive accomplishment, noteworthy for its limited resource use, and its productivity. Backyard Aquaponics is a wonderfully informative package of information, a significant contribution to promoting regional food production.
It can be purchased through Joel Malcom’s web site, www.backyardaquaponics.com
Other General Comments and Feedback
I have looked through your book and I must say I am impressed with the information it contains, very easy to read and understand and definitely the way I'll set up my system.
Cheers.
Alain, Australia
Hi Joel
Your book is invaluable.
I am planning a talk to give to all the Shires in the Peel Region to enthuse them about Aquaponics. Can I have your permission to quote Chapter One The Concept paragraph? Also use various statistics from your book. Of course I will credit you and your book as a source.
Anton, Australia
G'day Joel
Just wanted to say your book arrived today. I have the dvd playing as I read the book. Must admit I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. Not sure what I was expecting but you've definately put together a very professional and informative package and I have to say it's certainly money well spent.
Thank you!
Mike, Australia
Thanks so much for the book and DVD that arrived yesterday, I've watched the DVD a couple of times now and I found it fascinating, love the backing music as well..
Jeff, Australia
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Backyard Aquaponics
