Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Another pic...

I have been busy yesterday and today...

The container is in his final position, the mancave is reorganised to house the 2 FTs, all the formwork is removed and the site cleared from surplus concrete, the first FT is cut, cleaned and positioned, the second FT is cut... ...and i have been shopping, that is the real disadvantage with Darwin... not much to choose from.

Cheers

You have not started small there have you mate

How do you plan on maintaining the temp of the container if your fish tanks are in there? I imagine it would be a bit like an oven in there?

The FTs will be insulated and I am thinking about a whirly bird or two, which also makes working in there easier. Second idea is selectable source for aeration, draw from the shade under the container in the wet season and from inside the container during dry. Third would be the solar heater on top of the container, maybe I could build some PVC coils for under the container in case I need to drop the temperate a little. I will keep an eye on the temps for sure.

Cheers

And for the barras I need 29 degrees all year round for maximum growth...

Hello all

Another busy day is over, cut all the Gbs, one is already filled with clay, the other two will be cleaned in the morning. The Fts are cut and cleaned and I put a 50/32mm SLO in each.

My wife told me if I get some Goldies to start the cycling of the system, that these Goldies have to end up in one of the STs and are not Barra Food.

Some more shopping is on the plan for the morning, parts for the insulation frames and two more auto syphon.

Cheers

Mate why do you need 29 c for the Barra, I just helped chainsaw harvest 22 barra out of his system and during winter I think he keeped them at 22 c. Below 20 you may be in trouble but you should be able to get two lots through to plate size for a good feed.

I got told they normally stop feeding under 27 degrees, same as in the rivers... Water temp under 30 degrees and I don't even put the boat in I am planning on 25 Barra per tank, the fingerling are ready for pick up in 3 to 4 weeks.

Some one gave you wrong information, ring up fisheries out at channel island where they do the breeding. They will be able to give you the correct information and you will most likely buy from them any way. Cheers

The warmer water wont worry them though

I am curious about how it will go in summer. Putting up a roof above the sea container would work wonders i imagine. But then it might not be needed at all. I know that my water here i Gero was up in the 30's and that wasnt in a big oven. Looks like you are more than capable of handling it though

Ccbear, I just looked into the material from Charles Darwin university, where I joined a weekend info session about aquaponics and their fish selection and management paperwork gives following information:

Barramundi - optimum range of water quality

Temperature: 26 - 30 degrees c
PH: 7.5 - 8.5
Dissolved oxygen: more than 4mg/l

And so on...

We went to the fisheries as well on the first day and there was mentioned that growth rates goes down with colder temp.

When i went to the university on Friday morning I got told that their barramundi is in winter sleep now because the temperature has dropped and they stopped eating.

But i am always open for other information.

Rsevs3, I will put a shade over the gbs and maybe on the other side of the container as well, that takes the sun of the sides and might help a bit. I will see how much work it is to fit the door a mate gave me last weekend, if it is easy, I might keep my eyes open for some Louvre windows...

The maximum growth rate under optimum conditions was given as ` from 100mm to 400/450mm (plate size) in between 6 to 8 month`

I am looking forward to it...

Your barra definitely wont be shy of the warmer temps mate. They will survive at lower than the suggest temps from CDU, as mentioned but they thrive in the warmer temps. Perch will be happy all year round too

At the fisheries they are doing an aquaponics system stocked with sleepy cods, that looked nice as well, very high stocking density possible...

So, i did some water testing this morning before i introduce anything into the system.

PH:7.8 - 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Water temp: 27.8
Max temp in container over 24 hrs: 36.0
Min temp in container over 24 hrs: 20.8

I have to make some nice spreadsheet for that or extend one of the lists with float around the forum.

Btw, all 3 grow beds are cleaned, i just need some more parts to connect everything.