Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

we even managed to spill a little in there too , should keep the fish happy

3 new shots

Im beginning to think I need some more fish , rather than the 2 gholdfish in each system .

Ive been checking the water temps every day and even when it was 39 degrees at 12 , the water temp in the big 1500L system was only 18 degrees .
I was intending to get 20 or so silver Perch off Bio-Farmer and pump them full of food for 3 months till winter really hits , then put trout in ( I dont want to heat the water ) and eat the perch .

im thinking I could skip the perch , as the water temps never getting above 18 degrees , and go straight for trout , as its only going to get colder around here from now on

so ...
where do I get 30 - 40 trout fingerlings , plus food , in Perth ?

the 3 bean plants in the back of the first shot were direct seed into the system , they sprouted 3 days later and thats the growth after just 2 weeks . if I had more fish load , they'd be growing like crazy

i need fish

Nice Boris. The watermelons look great.
Are you coming to the next get together at the shop on the 4th April?
Faye

not much been happenning on the AP front , too much other work to do

got a flashy new lid for the sump , its neon green acrylic and looks like theres a light constantly on it , for some reason its enticed the feeder fish to sit at the top of the water now

Troutman dropped off 60 rainbow trout just over a week ago (after I bought a test kit )
been testing the water 2 or 3 times a day , looking for an ammonia spike . it seems I missed the ammonia spike , AND the nitrite spike , according to last nights test and thismornings test - 5.0 on the nitrate , cycled already apparently

had dad around this morning showing off his august fishing spot to my uncle . Now that both of them , builders , have set their sights on getting my 8m pond / raceway system up and running it should happen a bit quicker than if its left up to me

the acrylic lid on the sump may be causing a slight lack of oxygenation , killing my feeder fish , maybe I'll leave that off unless its raining really heavily , and keep it on at night to hold some heat in

cant post a pic now , cause Ive been shaped by my ISP . system doesnt look too much different , im expecting some good plant growth by the time my nets back up to speed . But anyway ...
looks like my tank cycled in 1 WEEK !

i got nitrate in my system
my raw system, cycled with fish in 2 weeks
u had stuff in yours before u added the trout


just hijacking your thread

bah humbug , you used duck poo water and gravel ! I got my raw , unused gravel from ,
oh , heh , the back of your truck

Im ordering some of this for us :

http://www.bigskybrew.com/process/troutslayer.htm

just incase ....

we Will slay trout, how and when i dont know but by summer and warm water they will all be dead

I might put the banana chillies inside them BEFORE In kill them , maybe it'll taste better

Well done Boris, looks like you made it through to a cycled system without any major dramas.
I recon your right about your system having enough DO, that little pump with the venturi seemed to be putting a few bubbles into the tank when I saw it.
As for eating the trout, I recon you cant go past smoking them. You can get a cheap smoker from your camping or fishing store or make up your own out of a webber.

despite the lack of intense growth ( the fish aint that big yet ) my systems already working its magic

had an electrician around yesterday to price up some work ,and he was blown away by the fact you can grow and eat rainbow trout in a bucket ...

got another convert to the cause for joel it looks like
can I get my aquaponics monks robes yet ? Im just pointing at it as people come around , but my system seems to be converting everyone who see's it

tell him to give you mates rates and you'll "learn him in the ways of AP"

Plants are starting to grow quick now , havent lost any of the trout yet theyre all still happy

ive added another pump into the tank for aeration

Nitrite got to 1 a few days ago so I did a 30 - 40% water change , its back to 0,25 now . I wouldnt have done that if there was no nitrate showing , but nitrates at 50+ , so I assume that theres just not enough bacteria to convert all the nitrite . ammonia is slowly dropping

So I figure I need another growbed , this one will add 450L of gravel to the 350L that ive already got

ive cut a spare IBC donw to 450 cm high , the steel cage has been left on 2 sides where it will butt up against the fence , for beans or something to grow up , the other 2 sides have been cut down to 45cm aswell

this one will sit on top of the tank , turned 90 degrees to allow me still 30% access to the top of the tank , if I really need to get in there I just fill the GB so the water level lowers enough for me to see whats going on

New GB will be supported by 4 pieces of square tube patio type steel , laying across the top of the tank on the existing IBc cage , it should support it ....

this GB will be fed from thhe new pump that ive put in for aeration , on another timer at opposite time to the existing growbed cycle ,so that the water levels dont get messed up

im thinking maybe even a couple passionfruit plants

the only problems I see so far are that I have to climb up onto the tank to harvest from the top GB , but if its passionfruits or kiwi fruits I go for the vines will be trained along the fence and patio back anyway

get a step ladder, you'll be fine