Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Tell her you need two growbeds.... so that you can keep a supply of her favourite plants continuously....

Trying to ensure supply with a single growbed is really difficult...

I am bypassing my minister for finance also and financing my system myself. Not thru paid work because I don't do that but thru scrounging and selling on ebay and garage sales. I have an online shop http://www.madeit.com.au/champagnecreations

Anyway haven't sold anything yet is only a couple of weeks old, but those cold days when I won't go outside and work on my system I sit inside and I sew and try to sell.
This is how I am paying for my AP system!
Dale

You dont have to justify it to us Dale , we all understand perfectly why you want the AP gear

I hear what your saying. But at least it's a start. It comes down to taking on the battles on I can win. All going well I can expand to a 2 bed system in the near future.

Mantis

How much you paying for scoria? I just filled up 1 x 1/2 Blue Barrel which worked out to 85 kgs and $18. PH is sweet but $128 a m3 or $99 yd3, may get pricy for 20 - 30 1/2 barrels

Cant remember exactly Erich but nothing like that price. The yard I got mine from didnt have anything at that price not even decorative river pebbles. I reckon the scoria was in the 70-80 range per metre

cheers

I think i'll shop around a little then

Planted out 2 punnets of each of lettuce and brocolli and 3 punnets of snow peas and some silver beet.
Water still not clearing at all
Ammonia 1.0 and no nitrites yet

he who await the warmer weather, shall see nitrite

Slow day at work so did some googling on finings and there useage. I have found a winemaking link about them that mentions that egg whites need some salt with them to work as a fining agent. I have about 8 egg whites in this system and they are doing nothing, but there is no salt in there. So I will salt it to 1ppt tonight and see what happens.

watcha mean fining buddy?

Finings are things put in wine, beer, etc etc to clear cloudiness. I have used geletine to clear beers before I got the brewing right and now dont need it.
Egg whites are good for clearing fish tanks but they just arnt working in this system yet.
What finings do is attract fine particles together to make larger clumps that can be trapped by filters or just drop out of the brew.

Intriguing! Thanks for enlightening me Richard

Still no signs of clearing. If nothing happens in the next couple of days I will change all the water. Have plenty in the rain water tanks

Even after washing my scoria the water is like a bad muddy dam. I have the pump on between 9 to 5 pumping into filter wool and towels.

I'll give it a couple of weeks before changing out the water. I believe changing the water may impact the cycling.