Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Yea, you might have it there.

Yep - got that idea rattlin' around in my head too !

Mmmm - you got me thinkin' last night. As I've said, the ants cant get up there via the pipework, but it is possible that they'll be able to do it by the airhoses.

I'll have to ponder that one for a while and see if it's gunna be a problem or if there's anyway I can implement a solution if it is.

Good work Nigel, was only 40c in Esperance on the hottest day but the southern ocean was 20c was thinking of you when I was shivering...................honest
As for the rent a dingo, hope no babies where around and it's cheating, what happened to blood sweat and tears, you young blokes today are going soft, back in my day...................

Mate, it was 46ºC in the shade - the blood, sweat, and tears all started as soon as I walked outside And on top of that there wasn't even a fart of a breeze.

If I didn't have the Dingo, I'd be dead. Literally. Bloody road-base is damn heavy and a lot of my pushing is uphill !

Bit of an update on my quest to self-provide as much of my AP food supply as possible.

Weighed out the amount of BSF larvae I've frozen since I started with the BioPod in mid-November and it came to 1.1kg Total production would be about 10-15% more than that as I regularly throw some of the larvae around the yard to help support a viable population.

Also took my first duckweed harvest which came to ½kg wet weight. Am freezing this as well. Not wure how well it will work, but there's only one way to find out.

It's kinda scary just how much duckweed can be produced. The photo below shows the tank just after I took out the ½kg mentioned earlier - two days later and as far as I can tell it has all been replaced

Will put another photo up tomorrow to show it.

If that production rate continues I think it will become a supplementary BSF feed as well !

Duckweed? Thats what Chapelle said

But I gave up on that Nige it took over the system, in the old system I got a lid off one of those foam vegi esky's and cut the middle out, left about 1/2" border and grew weed in there, was ok but if one piece escaped make sure to get it out, I actually managed to dig up a picture, I used the offcut as a strawberry raft, another failure but from memory strawberry's had a bad year in narrogin all over

Thanks Paul - good idea ! Could hang a bit of shade cloth off the bottom with a couple of weights on it to help prevent it getting out.

Either that or I'll get my hands on a 500 litre tank and just use it for duckweed and nothing else 'xcept a couple of yabbies to clean the bottom and a few WPP to take out any mossies.

Chillidude,


I may be completely wrong but, that doesn't look like any sort of Duckweed I have seen. It looks more like Azolla. Grows just as fast as Duck weed, but it is really an undesireable.
Duckweed, to me , is the smallest flowering plant and has tiny leaves. Your pictures seem to show a large, succulent type leaf, similar to Azolla.
This is a picture of my DW.

As I said, I could be wrong!

Cheers IanK

Yes as soon as looked i said thats not duckweed thats azolla
and thats not worth a cracker if i was you i would get it out of your system asap its good for mulching dirt gardens

Jeez, I think you're right guys

Obviously did not pay enough attention to the piccies

I understand that it's a weed (I'm 10+ kilometres from a body of water or running water) but I don't understand why you say it's no good;



I will get rid of it now I know what it is though.

Then, there's this;



Still trying to find something regarding protein bio-availibility in fish. Obviously it's a bummer for pigs, but probably good for BSF...

Some of the QLD councils seem to think it's more beneficial to waterways than not having it;
http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/attachment/azolla_fact_sheet.pdf

Salvinia is a declared noxious weed here and if the Ag dept. know that you have it you will be told to remove it or there is a likelihood that you will be fined.
Azolla can also cause problems in waterways choking up the surface and causing harm to local wildlife. Great in the compost or worm farms though.

Agg department know now