Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

When consulting with Lee on his dream to have an aquaponic system he stated " I always wanted to have my own house so that I could have an aquaponic system." He tells me he has been waiting for three years after seeing Joel on Gardening Australia and is clearly thrilled to see it all come to life.

The shed was originally covered in asbestos which was removed to allow a laserlite roof letting in as much natural light as possible. The sides also were removed to half way down letting in light and keeping out leaf litter.

A well prepared site meant that the system was installed in less than four hours.

Carl and John attending to the pipe work.

The works in progress the team putting the system together.

Another fun day was had by all.

Carl overseeing the job and ensuring that quality control is maintained at all times.

A symphony of draining water signals the beginnings of a new system.

Another BYAP system installed and all staff returned to base before the sun sets.

Lee...maaaate...you didn't need to wait until you had a house, just the shed would have been enough .

Congratulations - great system.

I think the shed came with the house Vb. But you are right, you don't need to buy a house these systems are portable and if you have to sell your house they are also an asset.
Lee just sent me a picture of what the shed used to look like. He has done a bit of work as you can see.

Great system Lee. Will bring alot of fun and health. BYAP team you are legends.

LB

the total cost would be handy .
do your tanks need fences under pool fenceing laws ?

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/ Fishlips you can scroll down and find a brochure with prices of the systems available. Regulations vary so much in different locations so you need to check with your local council and always try and use commonsense.

In pic 3, that's not "the boss" hiding behind the post bludging again is it?

Another system install notched up to the WABY's

Elk you should know by now the boss is the one in pic no 5. with the mallet haha just kidding
That was Lee, yes you could have mistaken him for the big boss who is often seen shying away from the camera.

Oh! - thought I saw the familiar pair of devil horns sticking out

Good system Lee, great work BYAP team, send more pictures as the plants and fish grow!

As I am yet to figure out how to put pictures on the forum I thought I'd send them your way.

I've been testing ammonia levels most days and pH, nitrite and nitrate every 2-3 days. pH is about 8, rather high but that's as it comes out of the tap. All other levels are sitting safely on zero.

I have extended the roof to meet the blue shed, which means the drain tank is now under cover, and I have put flywire on the west wall of the aquashed as I had too much tree debris falling on the growbeds on that side.

Growth is slow at this stage but it is starting to kick off in the last 3-4 days to coincide with the algae starting to coat the walls of the tanks.

In the first week I had about 5 Bream deaths but they looked very weak from day one. The Koi and Bream combination has proven to be a fizzer. As the fish have settled in the Koi started hiding constantly and when I disturbed them they were immediately harrassed by the Bream. I was finding one to two dead Koi each day before I transfered all but one Koi to the drain tank (float adjusted for higher water level as Carl advised). I left one Koi with the Bream that seemed happy swimming out in the open with the Bream, 5 hours later he was a floating carcass with no eyes or guts.

No Koi deaths in the drain tank since (3-4 days now)and they are happy to feed out in the open. Bream are fattening up nicely but there is still 4-5 weak looking ones that appear as if their swim bladders are making them sink to the bottom all the time.

There is about 40 fish in the system at the moment which may be too few?

Plant growth may be a little stunted by new-ness of system but also a lack of afternoon sun. I'm waiting on good weather so my tree surgeon can safely climb the trees to prune them to let in more sun.

Planted some seeds of beetroot, carrot, roma tomatoes(from my sandwich), beans and parsley which have all kicked off. I even forgot about the roma tomatoes and wasn't sure what they were initially.

Enjoying watching it all happen.

Everyone one I show and tell are very excited about it so I point them your way, hope some get there.

Cheers

Lee (cats name is Oscar)

Looking good Lee. Your dream is finally coming true. Patience is always a virtue and good to see that you are enjoying the process as well. That seems to be what life is all about not just the destination but the journey.

Looks good. I'll have to try one of those floats in the FT.