Well, I thought I'd just jump into this aquaponics thing after chewing on the idea for about three years. What pushed me over the edge was taking the better half to BYAP (I suppose someone has come up with a new, catchy name for the shop now that it has changed hands) a fortnight ago. She became more hyped than I was.
So I bought a "Courtyard" system (2 metre GB + 1000 litre FT) as well as a second hand GB + 500 litre FT. After madly scrambling to level and slab an area at the side of the house before my box of red wrigglers from Bunnings expired, I set up the system. First question - how on earth do you separate the wriggly beggars from the compost they are residing in without having to finger through and extract each of the 500 odd? I am only putting the worms in the second hand system to start off with, as the expanded clay medium had heaps of dried up root matter etc. in it for them to get stuck into.
Last Friday I purchased 10 rainbow trout and 11 silver perch from Mundijong Road area and wacked them in. I'd checked the PH, nitrite and ammonia and all was good before putting the fish in. Trout x 10 into the 500 litre, Perch x 11 into the 1000 litre. By morning we had four trout basking in the sun on the slabs (now cleaned and in the freezer waiting to be buttered in a pan - I have read the many posts on the pro's and con's of eating the dead 'uns).
Second question - the fish don't seem to be interested in food at the moment - what shall we do? Temperature of the water is 8.3 celcius in the 1000 litre, 8.0 in the 500 litre. PH, Nitrites and ammonia are already starting to head up. Plants are still wondering what hit them and are slowly beginning to raise their heads, so I don't think much nutrient snarfing on their part has begun yet.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and, if you are able, providing me with some of your good oil on the questions I have raised.
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