Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all,

I've come up with a kooky idea (thats what i do best, i should put it on my CV)

We all know that a light outside at night will attract insects.

Has any one tried incorporating a light just above or just UNDER the water level of their pond or tank?

It would be like a buffet for the fish. all you can eat style.

I did a little research and some people have tried it but its one of those things that would be hard to gauge in terms of effectiveness.

Maybe one of those solar powered garden lights, cut off the stake at the bottom and dose it with silicone sealent to water proof it. they automatically come on at dusk and recharge during the day. and i reckon it would float nicely if it was air/water tight.

The blue lights in bug zappers tend to work better than white lights.

Ideally i'd like to try a true UV light.
I had a new years eve party in the back yard at my place one year.

DJ, music and the like. I decided to exchange my normal compact flouro on the back porch for one of those purple UV lights that make your clothes glow.

I had to turn it off after about 30 minutes because anyone who went to walk inside got a mouthfull of small insects. No kidding.

Thoughts?

I have a pond light underwater in one of my systems, but it doesn't really seem to attract that much in the way of insects. I've put the bug zapper above the tank a few times and switched it on at night, though I have never really tested what in the way of insects are getting zapped and falling into the water..

A friend came up with a good idea. You get a fly trap (standard bait style, a bit like a fruit fly trap) and arange for it to be mounted into something that floats upright ontop of the water surface. Flies will be attracted to the bait as per usual, but rather than end up in a jar that you have to tip out, they go straight into the water.. Instant fish food.

I quite like the idea of self feeding devices, light etc....

Hi Bugcatches I remember a science project , a light is put behind a white sheet this could be suspended over the tank or over a collecting device. The bugs are attracted to the light land on the sheet and slide down. What next ? Could we train our fish to leap out of the water and press a button with their tail to dispence the food?
Regards Marc

Don't laugh

Some aquaculture experiments have installed paddled in the tank that the fish have learned to knock when they want food dispensed.

Watch fish for a long enough period and you'll see them adapting and changing behaviour.

I need to get out more

Hi fellow fish freaks
Its great that we have a sense of humour and don't take things to seriously. I think it would be much more exiting to see the fish leaping out of the water with a swish of their tail, a gulp and a wink to dissappear in a foam of whitewater.
Cheers Marc

It's true..... On demand fish feeders, heres a link to just one of many pages where they sell them. http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings.categories/ssid/412

And on the subject of training fish, check out these trained goldfish, it's a short movie, about 2.5MB. http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/pics/trainthegoldfish.wmv Damn funny...

i'll give the guy 10 out of 10 for perserverance! that would have taken bloody AGES to get them trained to do that.

Hi Ponic people
I watched the goldfish, Well what can I say to that............. speachless
Regards Marc

Joel, how's this for Sue's BugOmatic Fish Feeder (cheap, from recycled materials):

Get a one or two-litre soda bottle & cut off the curved bottom.

Get a flattish piece of styrofoam for the float (think life preserver) -- it should be about an inch (2 or 3 cm) thick & 3" (8cm) larger in dia. than the bottle. Mark the circle of the (new) bottom of the bottle, & cut it out with a small serrated knife & discard the center. Push the bottle into the styrofoam float.

Tie a piece of bait to string, then drop the bait into the bottle so it hangs a bit above the bottom of the float & tie the string around the neck of the bottle.

If wind is an issue, you might have to press some weights (not made of nickel, which is poisonous to fish) into the top of the float to keep it upright.

The flies climb into the bottle for the bait, eat their fill, can't find their way out & fall into the water and become the buffet.

BTW, I haven't tried this. It might or might not actually work. Or it might need some tweaking.

Sue

Nice one Sue, I'm going to put a little thought into it and try it out.... It will have to be very stable because the fish get a bit happy when it's feeding time and it would be easy for them to knock things over..... mmmmmmm contemplation on how to make it all super stable...

A weight and something elastic? Something that would stretch far enough when the tank was full.

i found this topic in the back catacomb's of the 4th page .
but any ways...

i know small-scale total indoor aquaponics set ups are really populer. i have a couple of questions on lights, well more like a list of witch light are better for what type of plants/fish, heat of the light(MH lights are hotter then Florescent lights), how much they coast, and what brand you have had luck with.

thank you so much for your insight.

-df

Do you mean hot as in heat or hot as in colour temperature in K?

The do put out more heat than a fluro tube, but if you had 1000w of fluro's you'd find that its actually the fluro's that put out more heat.

The MH's have the best efficiency and the closest colour to natural light.

Steve

hey great point! i ment heat as in temp heat. i didnt even think of color range. but you can put color rang if you like, that whould be a big help.
ur right a huge bank of florescent whould be to hot i guess now i think about it.
but just what im looking for is like:

"i use a 600 Watt HPS Lamp for my indoor AP system, with a 3'feet by 4'feet grow bed and ive had best luck with tomatos, strawberries, and chillies"

any more info whould help alot thank you

-df

I am working on some LED based lights.... I have a few more tests to do but I believe they are working. I still have to find what the best colour ratios are and the addition of UV and IR. Plus the optimum time per day they need to be on/off.

Lots of places now sell LED grow lights but they are VERY expensive. However they literally last for years and run comparably cold (temperature).