Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

We are all responsible people here, who aim to do the right thing and educate others by sharing information

What i mean is its a public forum theres probley an ag dep member already

Yeah guys (& Faye) will be onto it today - destined to be BSF food.

Swung by and got some real duckweed from Joel yesterday so am ready to go - photos later today to prevent my arrest, detention and torture by the Ag Dept

I will inform the Keystone Cops here in Narrogin to be on look out for transportation of illicit material

I didn't realise Azolla was a weed! I've had it in my fish tank out the front for months. Been using it to mulch my blueberries. Doh.

Anything that can take over a body of water and become uncontrollable is a threat to our waterways. I used to show my students a video on water weeds and how they could double in 4 days and then double again. Very costly to remove by mechanical means, or sprays, like fighting a losing battle. I would rather people undersatand the threat and effects,rahter than just say cause its banned. My story came from a phonecall I received after my garden was on ABC tv, it went "Congratulations on winning, but we noticed that you have salvinia in your fish pond. I said oh I use it to show people what is is, so others know. Ahaa wrong answer. Get rid of it or you will be fined. Okay then. The point being that a bird may come and drink from my pond, catch some on its foot and before you know Bibra Lake is covered. End of lesson. (But great for compost/mulch)

Well they shouldn't get too damn picky - the stuff didn't turn up here by immaculate conception - I bought all the plants in that tank from a major chain and a well known retailer of water plants so it came from one or both of them. They'd stop the spread a hell of a lot more by policing the retailers andmaking them get rid of it than by picking on the occasional end user who appears on TV or a forum thread.

Anyway, it's gone - 90 minutes I would have rather spent doing something else, but at least the BSF have another 2.3 kg of fresh food to work their way through.

And into the BioPod to get turned into BSF self-harvesting protein...

Just an update on what's progressed over the weekend and Oz Day.

Second GB stand and GB ready.

Two more moving bed biofilters for the 1000 L yabby tanks (second one to be purchased on the coming weekend).

Nige no update pic's from the weekend don't tell me you were slacking off

Not me baby !

Was so knackered by the end of the weekend I couldn't even take photos.

Completed over weekend;

- Third (and final ) tier has been level and retained.
- All blocks for the remaining two GB stands are in place and levelled.
- Cement powder raked into levelled roadbase and watered in.
- Third GB stand de-rusted and painted.
- All GBs purchased from Joel earlier in the week.

So only remaining tasks;

- finish last GB stand.
- seal the FT (just need builder to finish the cladding and get his scaffolding out of it, and frack off !!!!!).
- get last 1000L tank that Tankmaster said they had, but when I turned up Saturday - oops, they made a mistake (lucky they're only 5 minutes away).
- all plumbing.
- cycling.
- fish in FT
- setup backup system.

Photos up sometime this week !

Well, while I cannot see the Western Pygmy Perch in my stand alone tank, I do know they're there, hiding under the plants.

With every day's BSF harvest there are always a few maggots and I usually separate these out before freezing the BSF. So, I then throw them into the tank in the piccy and while the water is coloured by the tannins from the bloody gum leaves that abound here, it is pretty clear and standing next to it you can see the yabby hides on the floor of the tank.

The maggots sink about 100mm then start jerking in different directions as the WPP whip out and go at them, pulling them this way and that before devouring them. Very entertaining

Some more progress at last - have had to make sure I had a couple of 1000L tanks up and running for the yabbies I'll pick up from Narrogin next weekend.

Few more shots...

The damn biofilters have too much media in them - have to take off the top and take some out - bugger, bugger, bugger

Too much media just packs against the top mesh and there's no moving bed. Also makes the filter float off the bottom (which could be fixed with a brick, but when the media is not moving anyway, there's no point)

Looking good Chilli...