Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Okay....here are a couple of pics. Funnily enough, we didn't have much time to take lots, especially of the catching system! Forgot to take a photo of the one we ate for dinner too- and that was a good meal for four with a bit left over! We did take a couple though, so here they are.

Using the pool was certainly successful, though it is more aquaculture than aquaponics....we are just taking baby steps! It was great to be able to swim over the summer, as well as grow the fish. It seemed the best use of the pool. The water was like swimming in a brackish river-not unpleasant at all, and the fish never did go for any 'dangly bits'!! We do have a UV filter running too, along with the biofilter, to ensure it was safe to swim. While the water has a brown tinge due to the leaves that constantly fall in, it was very clear and easy to see the bottom and the fish.

We would recommend it to anyone!

Deb and Mack

AWESOME fish well done crew

Nice catch Deb!
Now is that a pool scoop or a fish net in the background?
And was it a kreepy krauly or just Mac in the pool hehe? just kidding.

Good eyes faye... looks like a fish net to me

[quote="faye"]Nice catch Deb!
Now is that a pool scoop or a fish net in the background?
And was it a kreepy krauly or just Mac in the pool hehe? just kidding.[/quote]


It is both Faye! We still use the pool scoop to clear the leaves from the surface, and the net is an 'econet' and was invaluable in catching such big fish securely and safely-no tangling up in the net! good spotting!

As for the kreepy krauly.....well.....

Awesome!

Looks good. Temped to jump in my pool but the catfish get really friendly. Play with your feet if you stand on the step.

Very nice looking fish guys... well done...

Well, we had a surprise today when we saw barramundi number 11 swimming in the pool...all alone! We thought we had only 10 left of the original 20, but we were wrong!! So, the patent catching system was used once more, and this time we remembered to photograph it. All went well with the catching, though it had obviously been a bit knocked about by our efforts last week. Note the viewer in the pool- this is great to check on the fish and pump etc!

Nice way to spend a Sunday Mack. Brings back memories of spear fishing seeing the mask and snorkel.

Thanks for the pics
Fantastic, well done!

Hmmm I would of dropped a line in with half a sardine(Mulies for us WA folk) on it and stayed dry but that's just me.
Well done

Well, the trout we put in the pool in April once we caught all the barramundi, are now eating size!! It is amazing how quickly they grow, from 50 grams in mid-April to now 300 grams or more. The largest one in the photo was 325 grams. We have no idea how this growth rate compares to others, but we are quite happy with that for 4 months growing time. They were very tasty too!

We actually had a problem with the water, which led us to drain some and refill and hence caught the fish while we were at it. The water gradually got dirty so we could no longer see the bottom, and then one day all of a sudden the fish didn't come up for their food. We took that as serious, so drained about 75% (we couldn't even see if we still had fish alive until then). It is clearer now and the fish feed voraciously, but it is still not clear water. Does anyone have any ideas on it? We don't have grow beds, but use a bio-filter, and float rafts of plants on the surface. Any suggestions would be great! All the water qualities are ok, though the nitrites was a bit high. We would certainly prefer clear water, aesthetically as well as when we swim in it again once it warms up (12 degrees is even too cold for Mack!).

We caught more fish this week, and realised that the weights mentioned in the last post were after gutting etc. The ones caught this week are 480g before gutting! We have found the best way to catch is to throw in a handful of feed and then scoop with a net, and managed to get four or five per scoop.
Currently we are keeping an eye on the temperature, but it looks like being similar to last year if not colder, so the barramundi will be a while yet probably. We are wondering whether to put in our perch we got in January into the pool instead of barra, but they are pretty tiny at around 4cm. Does anyone know if they would grow out well enough over the summer months or is it worth putting barramundi in again for summer and then the perch??

They are some seriously good looking fish there mack Well done.

My system is still cycling with 50 trout around the 200 gram size. I think I will be stuggling to get them to a good eating size prior to the water warming up but heres hoping.

I am looking forward to getting a good start on the Barra this year though.
Can you tell me where you got your barra from and what size did you start them in the pool ?