Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have been lurking for sometime and now my son Huntly and I are setting up a new AP system near Katunga Vic. on an ex dairy farm with only 7 acres left plus old dairy, house other sheds and 3 megs of stock and domestic water.
We are using s/hand round concrete stock troughs, 2 x 1500lts but only 500 deep as fish tanks, 1 x 800lts 400 deep as sump yabbies duckweed with float switch pump pumping water to 2 x 800lts GBs set above and to one side of the fish tanks with the water returning via gravity to these tanks. All troughs are under cover the fish tanks have gal corr roof and the GB area acrilic. Sides will be filled in on South/west sides with corr walls the north is cement brick the east clear plastic with shade cloth for summer. This will be our trail zone if this works OK we will expand into the old dairy.
Will fill in more details and pix as we go along.
Alex

Welcome Alex, we will no doubt look forward with interest in your project.

Welcome to both you and your son.

Sounds like you've put lots of thought into the system. Will be good to see pics, we love pics.

I'm pleased to see I'm not the only person interested in AP around here. I'm in Numurkah so you couldn't be much closer!

Feel free to ask any questions, someone here will know the answer.

Sounds like an excellent and big system. I assume you are looking to go comercial Alex?

Hi welcome aboard!

You seem to be going on a nice system with a big potential.

The only comment I could do is the ratio that you went from to calculate the volumes of tanks and growbeds.
It is usually assumed that the ratio is 2:1
2 is the total growbed volume (GB), here 2 x 800L = 1600L
1 is the fish tank volume (FT), here 2 x 1500L = 3000L

We won't take the sump in count because of the supposed equality between yabbies ammonia production and the duckweed nitrate consumption. And the sump is just used as a volume transfer unit so doesn't have any use in the biological process but reducing stress of the fish.

It would need 6 more growbeds to be able to cope with a high fish density, around 5 kg/100L at the end of growth with all the knowledge you'll have then.
The volumes will be: 8 x 800L= 6400L GB : 3000L FT = 2 x 1500L, ratio of 2:1.
And might need to get a bigger sump volume or find a way of sequencing the flood and drain cycles so that each growbed empties on it's own and won't overfill the sump tank.

Otherwise you'll be at the max at 40 kg of fish at the max capacity of system, you'll be able to go over that limit but you'll start having problems with very high nitrate levels and possibility of fish problems linked. Or you'll have to limit the food input because the system won't be able to manage the nutrient input.

Would an elder of the forum confirm my sayings, please?

Anyway you can start like this because I suppose you'll be starting with fingerlings and a very low fish density. But I would suggest planning to link and operate more and more growbeds depending on the growth of the fish and the levels of nitrate in the water.

Hope it helps, good luck with the system and don't forget to backup an air supply when planning the system.
Have fun...

Welcome Alexmac!

Do you like Joni Mitchell by any chance? Your topic is the name of one of my favourite songs.

Thank you for your welcome. No VB not commercial just an interest. Look forward to meeting you SG. Will try to keep it interesting C1.
We hope to grow Jade perch but would love to get our hands on some redfin does anyone have any idea where we could get some?
Alex

tafe dams near jim

Think by the time you get the system together and cycled Alex, it might be a bit late and too cold for Jades.... maybe look at a batch of trout first up.....

And by the way, welcome to the world of AP

Thanks AM, your comments noted. We will not be running the 1500lt units full on until we have worked our all the kinks.
We do have room in the current area to increase the GBs by a factor of five very quickly if we have to.

Thanks Scottie, I guess we enjoy the same sounds.
Alex

Saw the reference to AM and had to look to see if Dave was here. Then realised it was reference to our french friend.

Alex - one of the mods is AM - aquamad. Dave hasn't been around for a while though

Hey - your system sound like its gonna be a beauty. Is great to have all that infrastructure you can put to use. Be producing your family's veggie needs in no time :-)

Thanks Steve, we have dams close to here that should yeild both Reddies and yabbies I was hoping that someone might be breeding them.

ROZ trout are on the menu due to the time factor for this season. We do not intend to rush as we have not moved to the Katunga property full time yet we are still finishing a reno on our old house at Heathcote Vic. Huntly is working at the Hydropnoics unit in Katunga

What? All Year Round?

Welcome! We are looking forward to pictures.

at the moment yes, why do you ask Roz?