Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hi all

i thought ill introduce my self and my system im working on.

before i new about aquaponics i was into cichlids, due to my interest in them i wanted to build a whopper of a pond to house them in.
so me and me bro dug out a massive hole in the back yard (3x2x1) and
filled it with lining. due to my stop at the pond shop the guys there recommended me to make a plant filter which is suppose to be a bloody good filter. Then i remember that Johnnie7au posted this wheelie bin set up on the perthcichlid site which got me thinking.

i can now try to house cichlid in my pond with the addition of a good filter
that will produce fruits and veges for the old ones(parents) to keep them happy and also reduce my nitrates.

so far the pond is full due to a water change i did and forgot to turn the water off (my first HSM), my set up i have 2 bio filters consisting of 20kg of coral and 5kg of ceramic tubes with two 4000LPH pumps

pond has been cycled for 2 weeks without fish and 2 months with 10 goldies. so far i only done one water check at my LFS and got the thumbs up.

i was hesitating to put fish in coz i could not see more then 20cm down my pond due to what u guys called pea soup. so i got up a 70% UV shade cloth
and i kind of cheated and got me self a UV clarifier and i got to say it works like a charm, two weeks later it has cleared up.

so next step i had some coriander on foam rafts and added 20ish electric yellows, a pleco, some guppies from the next door nabour.

the water is heater by 2 300watt jaguars and a 100m worth of solar heating on the shed. the temperate i get is around 19-21c with fish still being happy.

now comes the fun bit, i got to try and reduce my ph and start adding my grow beds. im planning to buy another 4000LPH pump and run 3x 160 litre
tubs from "b" (y do we call it b) and run it on a bell siphon. i know u all
are going to jump the gun and say WHATTTT only 500 litre of grow beds
but due to the low up keep for now and the $$$ i spent already i got to
make it slowly, so there will be more soon

i think thats all
thanks to johnnie7au for getting me in this new hobby and
for the rest of u guys that got me to where i am with this site.

thnc andrew

Wow fisho, this one I'd like to see....

If you've been reading through the forum, then you know what's coming next.....

Yep, pictures please..... seriously

is that what room and board is called these days



because they don't need our advertising and its quicker!

cos it's a dirty word around here. bloody rip off that joint, but they've put post other places out of business now, so not many options.

welcome fisho,

good to have you on board. i like the sound of your system.

you got me thinking about a system i was setting up for breeding goldies. i like the idea of running goldies as they are hardy and a good beginners fish to breed with.

i'm curious. how difficult are cichlids to breed in outdoor tanks? i don't want to spend money on heating the tanks so all breeding will be done in summer. i will bring in the broodstock inside over winter in heated aquariums.

do cichlids have good returns in the aquarium trade or would you recommend something else? i don't want to fork out for something that i want get anything back from. i know with the goldies i should at least get my money back when the breed.

btw i have a good rotifer and copepod culture going. larvae feed should not be a problem. just a matter of getting the broodstock to breed. you seem to know your stuff.

Yo fisho.

I can understand why you'd be happy about using the UV clarifier, a few of my friends are goig through the algae bloom stage..............

In the long run though i'd reccomend removing it from the system as it will kill all the free floating beasties thats makes a MATURE AP system so bulletproof and superior.

Welcome

Steve

and affect uptake of trace elements???

BF, the cichlid trade is very good if you know what fish to get. My brother has 6 2.5 foot tanks outside. He has bristlenose (breeding like crazy), peppermint bristlenose (small but can sell a large pair for $500), Electric Yellows (easy to breed, good returns), Synodontis multipunctatus - hard to breed, sell for $80 at 4 cm, then you have your Gibis, Plecs and L numbers. Ie L333, L081, L003.

We have to heat the water in winter, but summer should be ok. Unless we need to cool the water.

what a reply

yes i will try to only have cichlids during summer period and have trout
during winter to save on electricity so that means the cichlids will be housed in
side to breed. i got 30 small bristlenoses as a clean up crew but too small to
put in so far (filter will eat them)

with the yellow the pond is more of a grow out tank and all the good qualities
ones come in side to breed and yes most LFS will take them of your hands
for other good that i might need^^.

and the UV clarifier will only be turned on when i get a algae bloom otherwise
it off.

will post pictures soon

does one need license to sell cichlids?

nope u can trade them in to LFS for credit
or can put them up for sale in the quokka or cichlid sites

i was wondering if fish bins would be good as grow beds??
has any1 use it??

thnx andrew

oks

i did a water check today before i start adding/making the grow beds to my
surprise my test came out

ph=8.0
ammonia=0-0.2
nitrite= 0
nitrate=0

i got 9 goldies, 25 yellow, a pleco and some barbs/guppies

my question is wheres the nitrates go ^^ (need more fish or my fish dont know how to poop^^)
i feed them 2 times a day around about 50gm guestamate
or can 6 corianders take all the nitrates that these fish r producing??

thnx andrew

some pict

what i hve done so far


GB place


yellows

progress so far

got 4x42litlre GB up and will be running tomorros
washed 100kg of blue metal then gave up for the day. any pro APers in perth want to come over and show me how to do it properly, im still new at this ^^

but i have found out that i have a internal parasite in my fish (bloat) :{
and they dont sell medication to fix this problem any more
i hope the 2 little guys fight through and live.

andrew