Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello all

Just joined the forum, been having a look around for a few weeks.

Got the idea of doing AP from visiting one of my daughters friends and have been doing research for a few months.

Shirley

Welcome Shirley! Good luck with your first system. I recently had a patio system (one grow bed) installed thru Backyard AP. Just starting to take off now. Much the simplest way of doing it, and probably no more expensive in the long run, unless you thrive on frustration.

Mary

Hi Mary

We are hoping to keep it very simple, and hoping it will be fun to do as well.

I have a few questions, about what to grow and where to get the fish, how to keep pests off the plants, how to keep the cat out of the fish pond etc etc so will put them on elsewhere shortly.

Thanks for the welcome

Shirley

Hi Shirley and Welcome

When you get a chance make a system thread of your own then you can post all your questions with pictures (everyone loves pictures). All your answers will then be in one place for future reference. It is also fun to look back at your mistakes and triumphs .

Welcome again and enjoy.

I guess that says it al

So, does this mean I have to wait till I have a system to know where to get fish, what I can and can't plant, etc. Cos if that is the case then I won't be getting a system cos I have no idea where to get fish, without fish the system is pointless, I thought this was the place to ask for help?

Or have I just misunderstood you?

Thanks

You have certainly come to the right place to get help Shirley! Ooh where to start.
How many people are you trying to feed? My advice, start with trout, they are soo much fun to look after. If you start planning a system now you will certainly be reading in time to start keeping trout when the weather cools down a little.
Have you been to the BYAP shop in Jandakot and looked at the different sized systems. It is not a bad place to start, I spend my spare time there.

Hi Faye

We are just starting to get the system bits put together, hubby wants the fish to be at ground level (is this ok?) and has the hole to dig, and he is going to make the frame and get the irrigation stuff done (hopefully this weekend) and then we will have to have a trip to BYAP to get the clay bead stuff to put in there.

We have been down there once and got the cd and stuff, some good info in there definitely.

But at the moment the thing that is concerning me is where to get the fingerlings from. I don't want to have it all ready with stuff ready to plant and not be able to get hold of the fish to put in there. I would love to be able to have some trout in there this winter.

I was out in Toodyay today and passed Wannadoo Aquaculture, so I have given them a ring and am waiting for them to call back to see if they sell fingerlings (or are baby trout called something different?)

Thanks for any help, all suggestions gratefully received.

Shirley

Golden Ponds are in Baldivis and they have supplies of different fish. Both small and large barramundi for our warm months.
You can go trout fishing there as well, they have a restaurant, grocery store and also sell plants last time I was there.
Well worth a visit. Look in the yellow pages under aquaculture for other suppliers too.
Small trout are called fingerlings. Last season some people got them to around 800 - 900 grams and boy are they fun to keep. I love my trout.

We went to Golden Ponds on the same day we went to BYAP, but they didn't have fish at that time, I suppose the trick is to keep calling them, and go down when they have them.

We had lunch there and it was pretty good, the cray was particularly tasty that day!

On with the prep so we can get some fish in asap!! I am quite excited about it, is it wrong that I am looking forward to keeping something just so I can kill it and eat it?

Thanks again Faye

Shirley

Absolutely not Shirley!!! Welcome

A lot of farmers would be in trouble if it was wrong Shirley!

Besides, looking forward to killing is perhaps a bit wrong, but looking forward to eating? Never, it's a base instinct, kill to eat.

Hi Shirley

You have just miss-understood me. My suggestion is to create a sytem thread before you start building. That way you can keep a record of how you built things and keep adding the pictures as you go. This is definitely the place to ask questions and seek answers.