Are the fish dead yet? - Santee, CA system

dstjohn99

I enjoyed some rain recently. The grow tube is working well this winter. This is the first time I've had success. I added a 5 gallon mbbr before the inlet that probably helped. Surprisingly I'm getting some tomatoes this winter, and the lettuce and snow peas are doing great.

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rininger85

I'd say you are doing alright. A lot more going on there than here!

boss

Wow you are creating envy from NE NM where we finally have a dusting of snow and the first moisture in three months.

dstjohn99

Thank you both for the kind words. That's the first rain we've had in 6 months but it was a good storm. Hopefully there is more to come but my rain barrels are full for now.

You two have a much more difficult environment yet you still manage to create great systems and results with the amazing greenhouse systems.

DanaPT

dstjohn99 wrote:

The rats in my yard seem to like avocados.

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So I made them some guacamole.

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This one liked it!

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Sorry for the graphic photos and cruelty to animals, it's not usually my thing. But I am at war with rats, they are eating my finest produce.

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I'm changing my tactics. I no longer try to keep them away. I'm putting things out to attract them, things they can nest in. Food, water. I want them all to come. I will get them all.

I have snap traps, a live catch rat cage, black oil sunflower seeds on water (got one last night!!!!!), oats laced with plaster of paris, nesting boxes that I can close off, then open over a waiting trash bin or water bucket, fish and bird friendly poison bait. My electronic trap is not working

and it cost more than the others combined. Any other ideas are welcome.

I no longer practice AP, my primary function is now to attract and eliminate rats. When I have spare time I will return to AP. I am a changed person now.

Truly a "killer" set up you have here! Rats and other 4 legged creatures are problems. Everything else looks really good!

dstjohn99

Thank you Dana. Wow, it's been a long time since I've been on the forum. I have a few other projects going, but not much AP related. I do need to upgrade my filtration, so I'm thinking static upflow or MBBR or I'm not sure what.

Since My FT is my sump, all my solids go through the pump, then the macerated solids are sent to the RFF and into the GBs. My water has always been brown. I would so like to have the clear water I see in other systems.

Anyhow, here are a few recent photos.

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The last one reminds me - it is NOT a yellow bell pepper as I thought. I cut it up and thought - "black seeds, that's odd." Then I ate some to see if it was sweet or bitter. Turns out it's a Peruvian Rocoto pepper, about the same heat as a habanero.

My mouth burned for 1/2 hour. I kissed my wife goodbye a couple hours later and burned her lips.

Note to self, don't grab seedlings by only glancing at the picture - read the label too.

Green Time

dstjohn99 wrote:

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The last one reminds me - it is NOT a yellow bell pepper as I thought. I cut it up and thought - "black seeds, that's odd." Then I ate some to see if it was sweet or bitter. Turns out it's a Peruvian Rocoto pepper, about the same heat as a habanero.

My mouth burned for 1/2 hour. I kissed my wife goodbye a couple hours later and burned her lips.

Note to self, don't grab seedlings by only glancing at the picture - read the label too.

Peruvian Rocoto (Rojo) are my favorite. A fresh ripe rocoto diced with a little salt and fresh squeezed lime juice makes a fantastic salsa!

I have tried for years to grow them (I suppose it is due to the climate over here being so different then the climate in Cusco). I have gone through several hundred seeds with a very low germination rate. Of those that germinate, only 15 of the seedlings have grown into plants. 8 of the plants have flowered. Only 1 has had fruit set (It happens to be the only one that has survived in the aquaponics). That plant has survived being blown out of the gravel during the hurricane last year (notice the teepee stand supporting it) and had survived the winter where it died back to within a few inches of the gravel (all of the growth is new from this spring).

dstjohn99

Looks very good Green Time. I like their little purple flowers. Mine are transplants picked up from Home Depot. They have done well here in the So Cal climate, though growth has been slow. I have 4 or 5 plants and most have fruit. I'll need to increase my Scoville tolerance to enjoy these!

dstjohn99

Recent harvest. Good year for tomatoes.

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Nhibbo

I grew some red rococo recently, but I couldn't eat them myself. They were just way too hot. A friend asked to try some. As I handed them over, another friend spied them and said, "they look so innocent, but they are the Devil!".
I have to agree...I thought perhaps cooking them might reduce the heat. A 1cm square in the frypan and the whole family had to evacuate the house with burning eyes.
My friends verdict?
Lovely!

I pulled out the plant!

Nhibbo

Bloody autocorrect got me again......ROCOTO

dstjohn99

Wow, 2 years since I posted here. I grabbed a few recent photos of what's going on in the backyard. Over 200 tilapia fry; the rocoto peppers have a distinct season - always. I picked over a hundred, then three days later ripe peppers cover the bushes! My dog found a trout that jumped out. The tilapia was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the beer pairing. Oh yeah, cleaning growbeds SUCK. And ALL my catfish died last Thanksgiving. Over 60 fish, averaging 5 lbs each. Do the math, yes over 300 pounds of catfish. I definitely titled my thread appropriately.

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Gunagulla

> over 300 pounds of catfish.

That's a lot of big catfish in a small tank!

7341

dstjohn99 wrote:

And ALL my catfish died last Thanksgiving. Over 60 fish

Do you know how?

dstjohn99

Gunagulla wrote:

> over 300 pounds of catfish.

That's a lot of big catfish in a small tank!

Yes, I would say severely overstocked. It seemed fine when I had 65 fish averaging 1-1/2 lbs. But I had many fillets in the freezer so I did not continue to harvest and lost them all. One was 17 lbs., I had him since the beginning (4+ years).

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Are the fish dead yet? - Santee, CA system

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A place to discuss aquaponics