Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thanks Al,
my youngest son finally came to visit on Tuesday and now he wants to build a small system, so i'll be helping him get started..
when i showed him everything that night there were still 6 or 8 minnows left getting pretty big.. i thought they grew to big to eat, but wednesday morning there was only 1 dead one on the bottom.. the fish are really starting to do well with the food,, from a teaspoon to a couple tablespoons a couple times a day in a week..
i know there are at least a few crayfish left.. i'm hoping to get a better idea of what's left this weekend,, if anything i can add more (last time i checked it was $7 for 4 dozen at the bait shop)
it'll end up on the dinner table in one way or another

hi keith, another one hooked very cool. please let me know if the bait shop has more crayfish or not. thanks Big Al

i didn't make it down there before he closed, but his sign for crayfish is still up..
i should be able to find out how much they are this afternoon, either 1.50 or 3.00 a dozen though
and if you do get some for your sump, make sure you have some hides for 'em

if you end up coming out to pick some up, i used a cooler with one of my air pumps..
if you need it, you can have the garage sale pump (it only cost me 2 bucks with stones and tubing) you can pick it up on your way down there..

oh,, and you know how my duckweed tank was full of algea? well, over wednesday and thursday it cleared right up and i saw 2 cray's in there..

i might get another dozen myself.. i'm tempted to get minnows for the perch too.. they're growing fast now that they're eating.. i'm sure we'll be able to start harvesting them by the end of august, i'm thinking if i do 2 or 3 at a time and freeze them, i can manage the "bioload" a little better

pulled out the radishes that went to seed in one bed and am trying some carrots that i put in wet tissue this time (i think most of the carrot seeds washed away)
going to pull the radishes out of the other bed this weekend and replace with brussel sprouts i started in the floating raft last weekend, not sure what else, but something probably from the float raft
take care

hi keith, im glad to here about your duckweed clearing up. yes let me know about the crays. i,ll be gone tommorrow and maybe sunday. im interested in the crays though for my sump tank thanks. later Big Al

he's got them, 3.50 a dozen (forgot about that 4 bits)
and he said he had a good supply.. couldn't help myself and got 2 dozen more after finding a dead one this afternoon
got the new mini camera and will try to take some pic's this weekend.. water is still clear, nitrates have been getting down to 10, but plants and fish are doing good,, the perch are definitely growing faster than the bg, (probably since i cut back on the worms)
something in there eats duckweed, i put in a small handfull at night and it's gone in the am (was told perch and bg would not eat it)

a different view of my system

hi keith, thanks for the info i'll try to get out there to get some thanks Big Al

i forgot to say nice perspective. but where is melissa's nice garden at. later Big Al

the fish haven't been eating the last few days, probably all the storms rolling through..
had a dead perch this morning, will test water tonight..

i think the google earth pic is from before she planted but after she dug up the spot - i don't think that the system was quite finished

hey Al, did you get your fish yet?

Fish not eating isn't a good sign. I had another bluegill die this morning - same symptoms of the first - no gut at all! Poor fella starved to death. I can't feed them anymore, though, because I don't have enough growbed media. I'm already at the limit of what the system can handle - roughly 1T of food once a day. I have too many fish for a small 55 barrelponic system.

hi keith, yes i got 450 perch this morning. thanks for asking Big Al

fish were feeding and fine last night and again this am,, i think being a little off the feed was more weather related than anything.. lots of thunderstorms rolled through..

starting vacation after work today not back to work until the 3rd of august..
me and the mrs are going up to the pocono's to visit a friends in the NY/PA/NJ area (melissa will be "watching" the system" - i'm worried!)

i'm coming back to ohio tuesday or wednesday, and melissa is going up to visit family as well, the girls will be going to Lilith Fair in jersey, since my wife won tickets (not a show i think i'd enjoy, maybe besides the indigo girls - a little to militant feminist for me,,, hehehe)

i'm sure i'll be worried about the system, but i'll take my mandolin and try to relax

super bummer..
got home last from eastern pa last night, too dark to see much but the water looked a little cloudy..(figured the stepdaughter might have over fed a little, but when she called and said that there was still food floating from the morning i told her to hold off on feeding,, she said she didn't really see any fish

today i decided to clean off the algae that was forming on the pvc hides i put in..

i think there are only 2 fish left in my system..

however they got out of the tank, they had assistance, the bird netting i put over the tank (besides a tarp during the day) clips on and was always "in place"

i can't believe the nerve of some peoples children (not saying it was kids that took them,, just an old saying)

wow.. i better get a security camera before i get more fish..

Dude that sucks derriere, I feel your pain, keep on keepin' on, one day we'll have cyborgs to guard our fishes ;]

Wow. Sorry to hear that. Do you think a bird could have got them? We got quite a bit of rain, do you think it overflowed? Total bummer!