Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

cool, I so want some fish here, and some plumbing done, and a pump and the greenhouse finished, and .... oh and lots of fresh vegies to eat!

Well done

Cool, thats one big bunch of fish.. How many did you have in there Stu?

I bought what they said was 250, 13 or so went to heaven via another BYA member, 2 to heaven via me, and so I should have around 230 or so left. I have no idea how many there are ATM, but I will have a better idea when I start putting the biggest ones into the polytank.

You're doing great Mon, wait til I have a go at SP and JP, hopefully I have learnt from Murray and others and keep my kill rate low

ya know, this Ap is without a doubt the most interesting and most worthwhile task I have ever taken on, and it feels good to see it all coming together. Just planted some seeds in one bed, and will plant some more seedlings over the weekend, want to be ready for action, get it all happening!

Fortunately you have 200+ growing barra to keep the veggie growth rate up - there is only so much 10 wee little goldies can do.

Gonna take it one step at a time and see if I can duplicate at least part of your success.

You're making me blush !!! Every day I go down there before work wondering when something will go really pear shaped....

My challenge is to keep the missus interested, whilst that happens I don't get the 3rd degree on what I spend on it.

Getting it down to a fine art whereby I talk about how it can be done and get her input on layout etc - get caught out now and again, but that's half the fun.

Who am I kidding - she's well aware of all my little tricks

Hi Stu,

How's your DWC seed growing system working?

Do you aerate the nutrient (fish water) while it's in those long troughs? What rate of flow do you have going through each trough?

I'm always looking for a better way to grow from seed.....given the the cost of seedlings compared to seed.

I had thought of doing up some flood and drain gravel trays.....660mm x 330mm x 140mm...with very fine gravel.....on a timer.

But I like yours,.......and your greenhouse is sweet, too.

It's nine years since we left SA, but if memory serves me, you are probably enjoying mild conditions at the moment. What's you'r battle plan for your tunnelhouse this summer?

If I recall, you'll go through a period (starting soon) where you'll need to vent a tunnelhouse on almost a daily basis for months on end.

A couple of suggestions......(we lived among the glasshouse growers at Virginia for several years)....you can buy a whitewash-type of product for use in greenhouses.............and you can buy an automatic vent for greenhouses so that it opens once the internal temperature exceeds a certain point. I don't think that these vents are all that expensive. You may also be able to chuck a high density shade cloth over it.....on the days that extreme temperatures are forecast.

While these will help with the temperature, your other problem will be humidity, hence the need to keep air moving through your house. Low wattage fans on a temperature controller.....or a timer.

Your whole system is coming together nicely.

Hi GD,

Seeds in the DWC troughs: Lettuces 100% germination and growing. Coriander 1 seed germinated, looks like it's trying to grow. They all looked like they were gonna sprout, but failed to deliver. Vasil, about 50% germinated, and are growing, oregano, same, but very slow growth. Still, very little nutes ATM, however, that changes as of tiomight as the fish water is going thru the system now, and I won't shut the valve again.
I have planted some celery on rockwool in the troughs tonight, and at the same time straight into the gravel, as well as capsicum, lettuce, cucumber and tommies seeds driectly into the gravel to see how they go.

Weather is mid 20's ATM, still cool nights, but with the tanks both insulated, it seems to be okay. I wish I did Silvers, but only because of the temp thing, silvers will definately be my next batch.

The greenhouse is under deciduous trees, which keeps the shade at about 90% most of the day, hence the plants are a bit leggy. Some light pruning should modify the sun levels okay, just need someone to do it for me. Also, when things get a bit humid, I have a window buiult to instal at one end of the tunnel, and 150mm air gap around the bottom, and I will have a fan in the shed blowing out towards the window, all hypothetical and untested as yet, but a plan nonetheless. The bonus of the location is full sun thru the deciduous trees for winter, so I hope to really kick ass in the winter growing season.

Thanks for your comments:)

Hows that tree, huh?

Like a "smart-tree" (smart relay) it allows sun in thre winter and blocks it during summer.

Where do i buy one? what interface does it take for the lap top? RS232? RS 485?

LOL

I'll send you a seedling Steve, you can see if you could have a better go at it than the mulberry cuttings LOL
When the male tree drops the seeds every year, we get hundreds of little ones on the ground that we have to deal with...

Looking for a volunteer
I'll crank up the chain saw no problems, maybe Steve could help with getting rid of the branches across the GH :glasses8:

You go and have that op Mon, I'll see what I can do :happy2:

Does this plastic film have any sort of fire retardants incorporated?

Dunno if it will burn but maybe explosive charges?? We could count the barra for him as they did their swan dives from 200 metres
that's 3, thanks Steve I knew I could count on you