Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey everyone, have been lurking for a while here, so thought i'd register.

I have recently bought a house, settlement happens within a month.

This house has a below ground concrete pool, currently filled in with sand.

So i had an idea.....

My plan is to dig out the sand, patch the pool, and use a liner to make it water tight. its capacity is 30k litres, so its no paddling pool.

I plan to stock it with murray cod. The pool will feed large flood beds filled with expanded clay(i have tonnes of it already) and growing a wide variety of fruit, veggies and herbs. From there it will pass through a particle filter and back into the pool.

I also plan to have marron, but in a separate tank, segregated with acrylic to avoid cannibalism.

Any produce i don't eat will go to the chickens, or the worm farm. I plan to grow potatoes, garlic and onions in raised garden beds filled with the chicken coop waste.

So, am i just dreaming? or is this feasible?

Your feedback is appreciated.

Val.

If it is, I can't wait to see the pics

oh and welcome

just wondering about the sump.

is it critical to have one?

what is its purpose?

can i stick yabbies in it?

The sump is used to buffer the tank so that the level isnt affected as much when your grow beds fill and drain. Or for your beds to drain to if your tank is higher than your growbed drain.

Welcome nonvalid

Sounds like a big job to shovel out 30K of sand, hope you have some helpers

I like the idea of using the pool to feed grow beds but I wouldnt bother with a sump or particle filter. Just pump in pool to grow beds then back to pool, nice and easy.

Also, Im fairly sure we dont/cant have Murray cod in WA.

Also, Id love to know where you sourced tons of expanded clay, that stuff is getting rare.

Cant wait to see your system start up

Ah, great to know its so straightforward.

Would it be cool to run from one of the grow beds to the marron tank, then to the main fish tank?

I have a supplier of murray cod already, and I used to grow veggies hydroponically, so have loads of clay left over. Also have alot of perlite and vermiculite, but won't be using that unless for lettuce perhaps.

Can do if you like.
Pretty sure murray cod is one of those banned in WA fish. May need to check before you get em.

I spoke to a guy two weeks ago. Its ok to get them for a fish tank, but aquaponics isn't apparently. I interpret that as commercial operations, not domestic ops. I believe they can go from fingerlings to 1kg in three to four months. Would come in handy. I plan to keep the large cod as breeders and eat their babies.

Welcome Nonvalid! Swiming pool conversions are awesome. I'm trying to remember the thread, but there is one conversion where the owners still use the pool for swiming while there is fish in it. If I recall they grow tout in the winter, and silver perch or barra in the summer. I don't think I would ever want to own a conventional pool when I know that a converted pool can be used for swiming, and feed my family.

I believe your talking about Macca's pool Ron. Here viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4396&hilit=pool although it isnt run as an AP system. More than enough to convince you to convert your pool though.


Murray cod dont seem to be on the noxious list, but either are Jade's. I suppose you will find out when/if you apply for translocation. AP comes under hobby farming so unless you are selling your fish you dont need an aquaculture licence. It seems the aquarium trade have free run so I suppose that would be the easiest way to go. Gotta love that grey area.

Yea, that is the one.

DandM's system is also a swimming pool, although they recently added a BYAP 2000L system.

Macca is the M in DandM. Both links are pointing to the same thread. Not to say that the thread is not worth pointing to twice. I am insanely jealous of that pool!

Mind sharing it, either post or PM.

Cheers

Shaun

Double wow.... how many tanks do you have... and long have you been involved with fish breeding...