Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ti Tree 200 kms North of Alice Springs, , anyone else out there in this area or Alice ?
Would be great to here from you regarding the feasibility of barra and trout production at the corresponding seasons in this area.

Barra sure. Trout, ummm I doubt you could keep your water cool enough. Trout prefer <19C afaik they will handle more, but stop eating.
What other fresh water fish do you get up your way?

Hi Brendan... welcome to the forum...

Thanks for that I have posted aurl for the min and max temps from the closest place to me
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/ ... 5643.shtml which is 50 odd ks away do you think maybe between april - sept i could keep temps under 19, it will be fully covered from the sun. Im looking on the web http://www.nativefish.asn.au/taxonomy.html and all i can find that i have heard of is Sleepy Cod and Golden Perch, are either of these nice eating ? I know absolutly nothing about either of these fish but have heard about both of them on the forums. Have to find out what ideal temps are for them.

RupertofOZ I used to live in KIama, went to kiama High, moved out about 7 years ago, ive been looking at your thread looks fantastic. I set my old man up with a NFT for lettuce and tomato on his deck only real small but kept them with fresh lettuce and toms every night, worked really well to.

Sleepy cod are rated one of the best fresh water eating fish in the world ..... but be warned that they are VERY slow growing.
trout might be ok if you have tanks beds etc buried??? soil temps will give you an idea.

Cheers

Goldens are good too. problem with golden perch and any cod is cannibalism.
If you want to keep them, you'll have to stock them desnsly, limit light, and feed them well.
go a season, and measure the temps of your water.. could be you can manage to keep trout.

Spent a couple of years just up the road in Tennant Creek ... just stick with the Barra Brendan...

The rest of us will just drool, and curse, at the misfortune of your winter temperatures .....

Worse comes to worse... you can always heat your tank on the really "bad" nights....

Or you could go for a winter crop of Silver Perch... don't know what/if there are restrictions on them in the NT...

But being a recirc system, you should be able to satisfy any regulations...

Forget the worrying about trout until you have a season under your belt. Your average temperatures (day and night) are a lot higher than mine, as jamie said you'd likely only get 3 or 4 months to grow out - which is pushing it.

well thjats what ill do, now to just source some barra fingerlings close by

gday gang,
Its been a while since ive been on the forums, but these cold days and nights are nearly over and ive changed my tone a bit.
Ive been digging, yeah bloody tough but at least theres no flies and its a great temp. Made a few what i call strip dams basically just rectangles in the ground which i intent on sealing with some plastic or similar. Have been emailing some Hatcheries in QLD for prices on barra so i see what happens. Hope all is well, im gunna have a look at what you guys have been up to.
Talk to you later
Brendan

keep us posted what you get up to.

Love reading what people manage to get going..

Hi Ntbrendan
I guess I'm probably your closest neighbour (in Territory terms) from the "Alice" I have been bitten by the AP bug and have had a small system up and running that is supplying my partner and I with fresh greens for one meal a night. As with most people on this forum they have been so anxious to get a system up and running that many problems and mistakes are made which are then corrected with their second system,(eg Joel's first swimming pool system) I can certainly vouch for this, but lots of fun learning and playing around with ideas.
I work out at the newly established Desert Knowledge Precinct and am currently in the throes of gathering a research team for assessing the feasibility of Aquaponics in the desert (which is approx 75% of Australia's land mass) given our isolation and the cost of freight the research would also involve reducing the inputs that I see are the limiting economic factor in aquaponics, such as freighting of fish and fish feed and the need for alternative power sources.
While I believe that it is important not to reinvent the wheel there may be some way of simplifying and making systems more robust for our harsh environment
The potential of reducing water, reducing food transportation and access to better quality food has a huge potential in our isolated towns and communities.
If you would like to have some sort of input let me know
If you are down in the Alice drop me a line and you would be more than welcome to see my system providing you promise that you won't laugh too much about my first attempt.
Regards