Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello Everyone. I am just setting up a system in Meredith which is between Geelong and Ballarat in Victoria. I have a couple of newby questions.

1. Do seeds or seedlings get planted directly into the gravel in the grow beds or is there a step in between. I used seed raising mix to grow my seedlings before planting them out in the garden and i wonder how small seeds like lettuce will go.

2. Can i use redfin in my system? I can catch them from one of my dams or the nearby river so they must like the local temperatures.

Thanks,
Terry

Hi Mr. Fisho... welcome

1) Yes... sow direct

2) Yes... well there seems to be a gathering group of Redfin advocates willing to try them...

Heyo Mr Fisho!

Hi Mr Fisho.
Looking forward to some pics of your system.
Redfin debate is alive and well at BYAP at the moment.
Free fish is good fish.
Seedlings are good for the instant effect.

welcome Mr fisho
and confirm Rupes' comment
It is always good to go with local inhabitants
Not that I know much about the fcr for Redfin,
or the table quality...tell us more if you have the goss!

As far as i can tell Redfin are hardy and do well in captivity. they are supposed to be good eating, but to be honest i just go fishing for peace and quiet so i put them back. Next time i'll eat one and see what they taste like. The water temp in my dam is always cold, even in mid-summer and i have caught them up to 35cm, but i have no idea how long it took to get that big. They breed in the dam too so there is always a good supply of small fish that i can catch with an yabby trap.

On the seedlings, if i buy them they are grown in soil, is that a problem? Can i just wash the roots? Sry bout the noob questions.

Thanks.

Hello Mr. Fisho welcome to AP.
Hello Rupert,
I would like to know how deep to plant lettuce seeds?
Would you plant them in the gravel just above the top water level? Or will they germinate higher up just from moisture in the gravel?

heka

Redfin are nice to eat - we had some from a nearby creek. It's illegal to keep them in S.A. I believe.

heka

Mrfisho no n00b ???s
If I import seedlings I wash the soil out.
They may have used thrive, and thats not good for fish.

heka - just add them to the gravel, they will sort themselves out

hey mr fisho. I get to Ballarat most weeks from Geelong. Jim at Buninyong has a good system. He has a reddie he has been fattening for the table for a while now. Rainbow trout would also be a good option for you. They eat more, grow quicker so the veg side of things goes better in winter (as they are a cool water temp fish.) Good luck with it all.

I have ordered a greenhouse to help things grow through the winter because it is cold and windy here. Should arrive this week I hope.

My system will initially have two 500l fish tanks in the green house and two outside. I will monitor the water temps over summer and see how they work out. I will only have fish in one tank this year so i can move them outside if i need to.

I should have 500lts of grow beds this year and the system i have designed only needs one pump. We have frequent power outages so i am looking for some information on backup pumps if someone can point me to an appropriate thread.

Thanks again.

Fisho - use a largish car battery, a charger, an inverter and your pump.

Battery $150, Inverter $80, Charger $50, live fish = priceless.

In my system the circulation/ aeration pump (240v, 65w) runs continuously off the inverter, and draws around 5A @ 12v. A landcruiser battery (100AH capacity) gives 10 hours of backup to 50% capacity.

I run the pump off the inverter continuously, because that way I know that the system is working. Before the power goes out, and nothing works.

Welcome Mr Fisho, Yes redfin do well in aquaponics and are very good eating i am going to get some more as soon as weather permits.
Regards jim.

Welcome and hello Mr Fisho you got me thinking on the redfin, My older brother used to fish for them when we were kids and they were much sought after as a meal. I am setting up at Broken Hill next year and am wondering if they might be the go here?

Hello Mr Fisho,

Redfin are indeed a very good tasting fish, they do need to be skinned as scaling them is a PITA. Check your state regs as to whether you are allowed to keep them in captivity as they are considered a pest fish in pretty much all the states. As has been said trout are another fish to consider as well as Silver Perch.

Himzo.