Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Toads in the sump tank? Just make sure to leave a stick propped at an angle to let them get out of the tanks until you are ready to get things running again. Or leave something floating for them to rest on. Maybe you don't need fish at all, frog legs anyone? Toadponics? Anyway, if amphibians have moved into your system and are surviving, at least that part of the system is probably pretty non toxic since amphibians tend to be pretty sensitive to environmental toxins. Just check a few of em for extra limbs and other strange mutations to make sure all is good.

"ill just try the cayanne pepper and see if that helps at all".
If it dosn't try a motion senser and one of those annoying car alarms (or possibly ultrasonic )

hahahaha at both you two

toadponics LOL

Johnny,

Been busy, but I don't see anyone replaying re BT/dipel. The stuff is a naturally occurring bacteria that kills only insect larvae. No problem for fish, earthworms, people, dogs, etc.

Keep up the good work!

Dipel is a bacteria... kills the grubs and caterpillars by literally drying them out from the inside...

As far as I know it's harmless to birds and fish... somehow I think they birds would avoid any dead/dying grubs/caterpillars anyway...

While Dipel comes in a "dust" form when packaged... it's then mixed with water and foliar sprayed.... so the chances of birds getting any real exposure is limited I think... Plus the Dipel works very quickly....

im wondering if dipel can be purchased from the the home despot or lowlifes?

im still mad at the co-op(because of my filer/media fiasco) thats where i usually get
my chemicals but they will not get any of my moneys if i can help it

lesia departs today to care for friend going into surgery so i will have more AP work time.

the weather is so crappy but this pig is greatful for the rain

hopefully i can get the blue metal rock today and let it soak for a few days in the buckets i got.

i have the urgency monkey back again
i want my AP system back up and trying asap.this AP addiction is fiercely consuming thing indeed

on a side note i spoke to big john of mightyfish in a few emails. he is coming to this area for the suwannee river festival and im hoping he might come by and see me and my BYAP attempt

him is a very very nice person and hopefully his website will be up soon too.
i hope i do get to meet him

just wanting to let the vets im still alive and do still have a/p alive too

barely for both of us but still above dirt

i did finally find out exactly what ails me too. not that i can get it fixed or even see qualified doc but they did finally blunder onto what is wrong. its called arnolds chiari malformation or acm

since last thanksgiving i have had bad headaches. i mean bad ones like too much wine at the party and a nice hot sunny morning after type head pains. so i not been doing to much

i did have exploring type surgery and since january been having teeth removed from the tractor wreck i had that broke many. teeth can make viscous head pains so i was hopeful as they come out that head pains would diminish but so far has not

my system is ready just has no fish but i did finally get it all cleaned and reset from my media fiasco blunder.

i do have a huge amount of squash doing nicely in soil garden thanks to my potbelly piggy
tilling and fertilizing it so nicely

i also purchased a small 2 cycle tiller from sneers i mean sears. its their brand but 32cc and works quite well in softer florida soils. i think mtd or bolens makes this machine and it was cheapest of all of them at 203.00 including tax and came recommended from my small engine guru friend

im once again wanting to move to tennessee and out of florida so thats where im at and hope all of you are having happy a/p successes.

bright blessing all , johnny

Hay Johnny,
Good to know you are still with us. Haven't heard from you is a while.

I've found that chickens and ducks make pretty good tillers and weeder of the garden, just don't let them at a garden bed you are not ready to have torn up yet. I expect pigs would be great too but I don't think I can have one of those in a residential neighborhood. I'm looking for a farm I can move to, or at least a big enough lot of agricultural land where we might approach self sufficiency.

I wish you luck sorting out the headachs. Or at least managing them so you can live with less pain.

hey johnny, have you tried 'dragon naturally speaking' to turn your spoken word to text? it might help you post quicker.

hello everybody , i made it back finally , had to create new acct. as i lost my net mail and could not retrieve my old acct. info. but its still old blind me.

system has been idle while me and lesia both been pretty sick in last year or so , but last week i started again trying to tighten up the greenhouse after putting new poly on it. had large storms right afterward and so far i still have my poly on the structure. thats good becuase they calling for this tonight 43° F | 18° F and for some reson we always get way colder than what they say its gonna be too.

yesterday i installed about 75 feet of 3" pipe on the back wall in a semi zig zag pattern downhill to ST , 3" is sorta small but what i had and im hoping 2" net pots will sorta fit and grow something? dunno what maybe lettuces?

have a nice local man will give me all the bream i want but its just too darn cold for me to consider adding them to 50 something water now. so im just cycling without fish.

i missed all of you i had here for friends and look forward to making the new friends i always get in here. i tried to get on tclynx forum but had probs and never got acct. set up. i had wanted to go to her workshop but travel is always an issue with me and lesia (lisa)

im sure ill have just as many wacky questions as before and be just as badly offtopic as ever lol


best regards and highest respects , johnny

Welcome back ol' mate!

There are plenty of new faces around here - myself included ...

Look forward to seeing what is in store for your system!


BTx

Yeah, welcome back Johnny...

t/y rupe and new mate bt

today i must try to get gh caulked again , and maybe figure what the heck i need to config something and get it going again

having these new 75 feet of channel i would like incorporate them into the mix. i still dont have enough media
never could find any i could afford. so im thinking constant flow and just plant in media filled pots i soak either on timed pumping or constant

being as this is small pipe @ 3" ill try 2" net pots in it and full sized pots in the shallow larger gb's

getting that herd plumbed will be enough of a mystery and i need to use the KISS method now more than ever but this is the junk i have and need to use.

probably wont be automatic but im stuck here 24/7 anyway so i might as well be out there manually swapping pumps and tanks

lol im a mess now more than ever. tcl could prolly walk in and say plumb this to that there , raise this up and plumb it to there and such and we grow record numbers of both fish and leafys


but as of now im lost again as to how it all needs to tie together.

pics pics i need pics to post...

and again cause i cant edit (and i do know why) cant get this cam to work either , old age and electronics lol

what i think ill try this time (until some vet smacks me with the ruler) is this

chift pist , pump from st into both the (2) shallow gb and the maze of 3" pipe , have the 2 gb drain right back into the ft w/ 2.5 or 3" slo and the maze of pipe drain right into the st

media in the 2" pots in the pipe channels and the 6" pots in the gb's ( i know i need more media but cant find any i can afford)

just keep it constant flow or cycle quick (dunno on thats yet) and it still leaves the largest tank i have the 1000 outside the gh and out of the production loop

not need the big tank unless i get way more gb and can afford to get media . i must find some alternative media but still inert * sighs loudly

but at least ill have something running and growing. since last time i have acquired another 50 gallon drum and a good sized bio filter.

i had thought about shreading milk jugs and food safe plastic like water bottles for media but getting enough to shred might be issue. run them thru the yard chipper and see what happens? i also thought about old commercial bread trays and cola carriers cut into grids and bound with zip ties. would be easy to reset and clean by just cutting the zip ties loose. would bacteria colonize it you think?

anyway im on it but not going far (yet)

as always thank you , johnny

Hay Johnny, welcome back.
Sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well.
But it sounds like you are gonna keep working at things no matter what life seems to keep throwing at ya. Now if you keep the fish load in the system low, you can get away with less filtration. I know of raft systems that basically use a barrel with bird netting, shade cloth, screen and whatever non-toxic and non treated materials they can find. Just make sure there is enough flow/aeration that things stay healthy.