Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

ps, good to see you waited untill two doors down put their washing out! niiiice

HeeHee we did a burn once and when we were leaving we discovered that the house directly up he hill from the burn was hosting a wedding

but nah I would have made the whole area safe by burning all the grass right up to the fence

They're my favourite neighbours...... ..... they don't count as neighbours anyway... they're just "people" down the road....

Nah wind was blowing the other way... what wind there was .... and she started hanging it out while it was burning ....

I like the way it burnt in such a neat rectangle. What a well behaved fire.

I think it's known as a "rake-delineated" controlled burn TT

What you should do rupe is build a retaining wall and back fill that back yard of yours... it you level the whole lot, I am sure things would be easier in the future... lol...

Besides that, how do you plan to get all the tanks in level?

You mean a CAREFULLY tossed cigarette butt right Rupe?

It wasn't really an accident ... was it!?

Someone once told me that I "should never let the truth get in the way of a good story" Scottie.....

It's my story and I'm sticking to it

Tim, unfortunately I only rent the property......

It wont matter much in long run..... most of the area cleared will be filled with hydro tables... they can be levelled easily....

Down by the fence I will dig in (and level) the 1500ltr tank as a sump tank.....

Adjacent to each end of the floored lean-to will be 2 x Tilkey Troughs... levelled on blocks.....

The slope will actually assist in allowing the siphons to be plumbed through the bottom and run (buried) to the sump.

Will also run the sump return to fish tank (in garage) and any needed power in a trench.

Still lots to do and it might not be clear at the moment...

Hope to start laying it out for the sump, hydro trays and hydro bins this weekend.

Will post progress as it happens

Well just when I was ready to make a serious start to the "mega" system... I've been thrown a curve ball by council .... see here.... viewtopic.php?p=134186#p134186 ....

Seems that I may however be able to exist within council regulations by only having a single (possibly two) hydro tables rather than the s6 x 6mtr x 8 tray tables that I had originally envisaged...

So I'm going for 1 table...... 12mtr x 10 trays.... .....

Not at all an uncommon hydroponic configuration .....

Might have to either rethink my basic filtration issues, if I retain the big 8000ltr tank in the garage... but given council concerns, I'm leaning toward maybe 8 x 800ltr megabins... which will allow for a serial expansion of growbeds/filtration...

The seperate bins will also allow for grading of fish over the season anyway... isolation if required... and the ability to cross over species with seasonal change....

They say "one door closes, another opens" ....

Feeling somewhat dispondant after talks with council... I decided to revert back to a previous idea of locating my system on someone elses property... preferably farm land

This negates most council concerns and restrictions... and isolates me somewhat from threats of eviction from the landlady... either because of what I'm doing or because of the sale of the property...

So began knocking a few doors.... not much joy...

Been eying off this bit of land for a while... but power and access was a bit of a problem.... but thought... what the shit, lets go ask him anyway....

Turns out he's an old Italian market gardner from up round the outskirts of Sydney.... loves his food and gardening.... ended up having lunch with him....talking food, food miles, all sorts of stuff...

Seemed pretty interested in my ideas, then out of nowhere he started telling me that he had once set up some hydro trays for his son to grow strawberries, but that his son had only done it for a year and wasn't really interested.

I asked how long ago and what he'd done with the gear... and he said "oh, only about a coupla years ago... it's still there, I'll show you.."

Threw a pair of gumboots at me and walked me around the back of the shed by his grapevines...

Didn't spot them at first...







Obviously need to be cleaned up..... but he has... a 1500ltr rainwater tank, 3 phase power, a 1/2 HP pump, shed full of nutrient, and a big shed up the back.... all sitting there

Trees will need a prune ... and the trays aren't getting optimum light... especially now in winter (photo at 09:00).... but there's room for expansion above the exisiting trays....in full sun...





We're talking.... he likes the idea of fish and veges

Don't you just love it when all your planets align! Remember to look up and say Thankyou.

goodness!