Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi everyone,

Been meaning to place a thread up on my AP experiences......I'll reserve this one for my large system and if I can get some plants to do better in the kitchen setup I'll post up about that one then!

So I discovered the wonders of AP around Sept last year. Started researching figuring it'd be months before I could really do much about it as I was nearing the end of a championship battle for the 2014 Pro Twins championship (that I ended up winning BTW - go the mighty Aprilia!!) - alas I digress...my partner completely surprised me by ordering a 'Black Beauty' kit from Murray Hallam!! Blown away....just a little!

Collection day! It fitted perfectly in the tray thank god!



The area to be used - note our soil vegie patch in the back ground



Final location...the plan is to remove the iron from the roof and replace with some clear panels as well as potentially trying to make a bit of a green house out of it but it needs some serious mods to do so



Had some left over seedlings which I threw in there just before obtaining 10 goldfish to start cycling


It took a few weeks but everything has settled down and all levels are stable.

Some growth/progress pics


So I have joined a local group order on some trout and will take delivery this coming weekend and am really looking forward to learning more!

I'll post up further pics and reading as we progress. If anyone has any ideas on how I can convert the old carport I'm all ears!!!

nice lil setup. how much does that set you back? I would like to find some tubs like your FT for my GBs for a reasonable price

That I am time pote="slow imjim"]nice lil setup. how much does that set you back? I would like to find some tubs like your FT for my GBs for a reasonable price[/quote]

It's probably not the cheapest option for the budget conscious however being That I am Time poor it was worth it. Plus the Mrs who ordered it wanted something that looked nice in the yard and didn't realise what could be done with IBC's (that and she could not have something done for a surprise Xmas present...)

So now we've started with the kit we will stick with the same GBs from the same company to keep it uniform and 'looking good' for the Mrs... Now that I've learnt more I'll help a few friends out with theirs which will be fun.

indeed keep us updated

Bit of an update.....

Mixed bag - the micro indoor system is going poorly. All the plants keep dying. Most are just turning yellow and withering away, the most recent basil plant (I’ve tried 3 now) actually started to rot!
I’ve put a bunch of different herbs (oregano, sage, parsley and basil) and all have failed miserably.

I threw in some lettuces, spinach and carrots and they all died except for the last remaining carrot which is actually doing OK – in that it appears quite healthy, nice and green and growing.
So being so new with AP I’m a little confused insofar that I would’ve expected that with little to no plants that the nitrates would have been high. I’ve tested the water regularly and:
pH 7.0-7.5
AM – 0
Na – 0
Ni – 0
And these readings have been like this for sometime. I suspect a lack of natural/direct sunlight not to be helping things but I have no choice on placement due to no available windows with sunlight.

Thank GOD the outdoor system is humming along perfectly.

I removed the 10 comets I used to start the system and have added 15 trout....I actually ordered 10 but thought I may lose a few so boosted the order and then received a freebie so I’m actually up to 16 trout atm.
Water temps are dangerously high at 24 degree’s yesterday but the system is well aerated and we are on the brink of the cooler weather coming....in fact it’s been quite a mild summer here in Canberra so I’m keeping everything crossed in the hope we don’t have any deaths.

Fish – have appeared quite happy/healthy. I was expecting 3-4cm fingerlings however these ones are closer to 10cm+



Plants approx 10 days ago:



Plants 5 days ago:



Plants as of yesterday:



Just one of the rogue Zuc’s (from soil garden) which is about half the size of my partner (a bit less obviously) and weighs twice as much hahahaha

Looking good there.

You might want to get the panels off that roof though mate, the tommies seem to be stretching for the sky trying to get some sun.

Trout look happy, good choice of fish for those cold Canberra winters!

G'day mate,

Yeah the plan is to make the old car port into a green house of sorts...

The pics are tricking you though - the grow bed gets full sunlight > but the plants were left over seedlings I happened to have growing under shade at the time so they were definately reaching for the sun and as I'd neglected them (wasn't going to use them) I thought I'd throw them in the AP system just to help balance everything out and since I've done so they have bounced back (you shoulda seen em before!).

plus it's way too late in the season for tommies so I will have to pull them out soon enough, thankfully I've had alot of success in the soil with tommies this year (amongst other veg).

Hoping the trout will be OK - probably not the best choice for a novice and I'm going to need to make some kind of filter but I'm not keen on cutting holes or messing with the tanks from the kit so I'm yet to work that out.

Hi all,

Hoping for some help from the brains trust......

I have searched the forums and realise this has been done to death however I'm seeking input on my pH levels.

Had a trout die last week and thought it was from handling - then another last night so quickly checked the water chem and while everything else is fine, the pH is quite low. I have not adjusted this since building the system some 10 months ago.

I read that I should add some Hydrated Lime and perhaps some Potassium Hydroxide - question being how much of each for 1000l of water? Understand I will need to raise this slowly just not sure how much and don't want to go overboard.....

Thanks in advance!

What is the PH at?

You can save up some egg shells and place them in a bag, then drop the bag into the ST or FT. This will buffer the PH and work towards bringing it up slowly.

Low.......very low. Dangerously low, egg shells won't work fast enough from my research.

I need to raise it (while protecting the fish) and once it's up a little higher I'll add the shells

All sorted....I gingerly added Hydrated Lime (don't know why I'm always so nervous adding extra products in with the fish) - I ended up adding half of what I thought I needed and it looks like that was probably a bit much as pH went from 5 to 7.6 overnight. Understand such a large jump isn't ideal so I'm so glad I didn't add the whole lot!

I'll keep a better eye on pH from now on that's for damned shure!

Hi. I see you've sorted it for now but it may not be the end of it if your bacteria are doing the nitrification thing and making acid... probably will increase as the summer comes upon us.

Have a look at Mr Damage's recipe... 5th post down the page at viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23594

it's been working well for me.

A few recent pics from the weekend - although as of this afternoon there's a bunch more snow peas!

Soil grown garlic is coming along! Going to remove the scapes this arvo and try em out for the first time tonight as well

Some of the best garlics I've seen. Any secrets you'd like to share?