Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi there,
Got Joel's book yesterday finished it today - brilliant concepts, cannot believe I have not seen this stuff before.

Couple of questions:
Where abouts/who did Joel get his tanks in WA from. They look like they do the job perfectly and there doesn't seem to be any point in explaining this to another tank builder etc.

Also, I can't seem to find many references to used and proven fingerling suppliers that people have had success with. Silver Perch seems to be a good fish for beginners but I am buggered if I can find the 5 in WA that Joel mentions in the book. (I guess I am just searching with wrong keywords etc).

Planning on builiding a 1 tank and possibly 2 grow bed system as similar as possible to the one Joel has described in the book. Will there be a problem if I place this under shadecloth if I use a continuous flow system. I noted that a flood and drain system would have issues if external water could get in to the system.

Cheers
James

Hi James, Welcome

I reckon that it would still flood if enough water from external sources got into the system. There has to be a point of no return somewhere.

Hi Fizztj,
I don't know what the rules are in WA but here in Qld you MUST have your fish tank under cover from the rain, evidently the logic is that if there was a lot of rain and the fish tank became over full and over flowed then it would be possible for un-native fish to escape into local waterways.

Mojo

Hi James,

Ahh the tank man, he is going to wonder whats hit him as I've had a few people asking for his details. Mark is his name, and his company is called rainfill tanks, they are in osbourne park and your right, better off getting onto someone who already knows about it.. Mark's a great bloke, he's read the book and was even talked about building himself a few systems..

I won't put his number on here, being the internet and all, but you can find his details in the white and yellow pages...

Fingerling suppliers seem to have gone dead here in W.A., at the time of writing the book, maybe a couple of years back, there were a few suppliers advertising in the yellow pages. Now in this years yellow pages I can find only one, Arcadia aquaculture, I bought silver perch fingerlings from him this year.. Another place I have bought fingerlings is a company called golden ponds, you can find them on the net, and they are well worth a visit... If you go to golden ponds it's worth taking a rod with you as they have ponds full of silver perch, and I mean acres of ponds, and you can fish and pay for what you want to take home.

Shadecloth shouldn't be a problem, though it may slow plant growth a little....

I didn't know that you have those rules in QLD Mojo...... Interesting..

Thanks for the tips, have redesigned everything going to put the fish under cover, but will now need to go the flood & drain route as the grow beds will not be high enough. Off to see Rainfill tanks now.

Joel, do you have a guy you have used for the blue drums? I am going to start with 5.

Cheers.
James

Cool, say g'day to Mark for me, tell him I put you onto him.. And the Barrel guy? I'll PM you his number...

Joel,
I should be a bit more accurate about the rules here in Qld. (Although I recommend going to the Gov website for any Qldrs who want all the nitty gritty)
You can keep fish in a tank not undercover, but only fish that are native to your area, for example, here right where I live I can only keep silver, golden perch, Murray Cod and perhaps Bass. Jades, Barra, Sleepy Cod etc are just not permitted unless you keep them in a tank that is under cover. Even the golden perch ( there is a couple of different strains evidently) cannot be kept right here where I live as they are said to not be native to the rivers and creeks in this area, but in tanks and undercover OK
And there are those fish like Talapia which are banned under any conditions
Heavy fines for those who trespass
Mojo

DPI have a stand at the Ekka which has a tank with Tilapia, Carp and Gambusia in it. The Tilapia are quite large. The purpose is to inform people of the fact taht they are all pests and very detrimental to our native species.

It is great that we have access to our natives to grow in aqua and that these fish are so suitable for the purpose.

I think the eggs of certain species could flush in a heavy rain and travel a long way.

Mu kokopu eggs get hit by spring tides and float out to sea then come back a few months later as whitebait.

spoke to arcadia aquaculture this morning he said is getting a delivery of barra tommorow but likes to hang on to them for a couple of weeks to make sure they live. he comes dow to perth most weeks & can meet people in midland for pick ups of fish

I would be interested in a few Barra .... how much are they and size?

Hey that sounds good, I was keen on the silver perch, sounded like they were more tolerant. I guess I could try some of both.

Not sure if I am going to have everything ready in time though. Hoping to get the grow beds in place tomorrow, but fish tank probably won't arrive until next week.

Don't forget to keep in mind that the Barra need to be kept warm...

cant remember size of fish price was $1.20 ea. didnt mention to arcadia what system i was using he said silver perch was no good for tanks does his apply to aquaponics.told they would take a couple of years to grow big enough.
has anyone tried covering tank with clear plastic to raise temp of water?

Hi Nurseryman,
I cover my tank every night with a fibre glass lid I have made for the small 200 ltr tank and it works very well at keeping the temp up. My lid allows the air from the compressor to escape and so keep everything moving. My only worry about plastic sheet is that it might make it airtight and prevent the escape of the bad gases and hinder the intake of oxygen to the water.
I have had some major fish kills since I have started and they have all been to do with proper aeration (lack of)

And mate, Silver perch are as tough as nails, (and they grow fast), go with the Silver to start with, believe me, you need a tough fish when you start off. I won't be trying to raise Barra untill I know a heap more than I know now

Muzza