Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hi all,

well the time has come for me to embark on a project years in the making.
i think this is worthy of its own thread. i had always dreamed of growing fish for food. up until now it hasn't been possible. by the end of this week i should have 100 barra spread over 4 systems to work with.

systems are all cycled beautifully, using 10 or so goldies in each.
each system has a 700l tank and a bathtub as the growbed. about a week ago i planted out a heap of lupin seeds in each growbed. they have sprouted well and are loving the system. by the time i put in the barra the growbeds should be taking up a fair whack of nitrate. 25 fish per 700l would seem a low density which will give me some room for error.

in the future i intend to add 2 more bathtubs per system for filtration. i haven't had time to do so yet but thought that 4 tanks with 1 bed each would be more productive then 1 tank with 4 bathtubs. i have a feeling lower stocking densities will out perform higher ones in ap systems. thats just a feeling and i will find out more as i increase densities.

anyhow i was wondering if anyone has any advice for me that i may find useful.

for example do you think i should give them a salt bath apon arrival? no doubt the supplier will fill me in.

pics soon.

wish me luck.

Promise?

And good luck BF.... glad things are coming together for you

As each tub is only about 200ltr then even three tubs is only 600ltr:700ltr of fish tank....about 1:1

With 25 barra per tank shouldn't be a problem and I reckon they'll produce enough nutes for the three tubs.

Figure you're going to end up pumping at least 50% of your tank each cycle with the three tubs. Are you going to include a sump(s)?

Just might need to be able to react quickly to any water/pH imbalances with only 700ltr or half that during a pump cycle to play with.

Wondering with three tubs (metal?) if the water temp will get pretty hot due to the tubs? What do you think?

You using 700ltr mega-bins?

bye bye goldies

Have fun with it BF, I'm looking forward to this

BF, on the other thread I think you mentioned you were getting them from AusyFish originally - if this is the case, you might want to give them a ring first...vb got in touch with them this month and they are not doing barra this season

Then if you have already ordered them and they are on the way then disregard this

BF - how big will the barra be. I wonder if it is wise to split them between the 3 tubs right away. The higher the density of fish - the easier it is to get them to spot the food straight away when you throw it in and to ensure that the food gets eaten. 25 small barra will be dwarfed in a 700 litre tank. I'd be inclined to grow them a bit in 1 tank first and then you always have the option of grading them a bit as you seperate them into the 3 tanks.

yeah i eventually plan to plumb all the tanks together and use a large sump for them all. that long term plan though. in the short i will just setup 2 bath tubs per tanks and have them all run independently.



tanks are fibreglass and buried to maintain stable temp. they are also partly shaded. i doubt temps will be an issue considering i grew marron last summer in the tanks. i believe they die at temps comfortable for barra.

10-15 cm. they have been weened onto 6 mm pellets which suggests they should be feeding well. no messing around weening smaller fish onto larger pellets. from what i was told they will be fine on 6mm the whole time.

Sounds like you've got it figured BF....

heres a couple fresh pics.

Ah yep, now I remember the tanks and tubs. Thanks BF

well done BF looking good

so why the lupins ? are they just an interim crop or you have a good recipy for lupin flour ?
i remeberd hearing that the kids at cunderdin ag shcool made sausages with a lupin meal and they we almost colesterol free or something like that

all in all im verry jelous

lotta work gone in there bf, best of luck.

here's a hint. lupins have an extremely high protein content.

any guesses?

btw thanks everyone for the comments. want to share this expirience with you all. couldn't do it with out ya's.