Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey mattyry,
There is a definate growth in them since I got them from you, but trying to be good and not over feed at the moment due to the high Nitrite levels i've got, thought they would have come donw by now but seems to be taking a while I am going to try not to feed for a few days and see if everything sorts itself out again. I hate when this happens..... just when you are supposed to be able to fatten your fish up something goes wrong and you have to restrict the feed. Happened to me with the SP last year too, so I guess thats why they are still soooooo small. Not being able to feed to there needs.

Will need to buy a new test kit soon too, because I am getting low on amm solutions and ites I reckon..... and I have just smashed 2 of my test tubes this week! One I dropped the other I smashed the bum out of cleaning it!

BB,
How are things going mate??

I think I only have 1 of your SP left, think that they may of became lunch.
I harvest a few trout last week end, about 270mm and 240 - 250 grams each.
your ones should be getting up there now.

regards
matt

That's awesome mate, I'm tempted to harvest one or two in the next few weeks, they are eating really well at the moment, feeding twice a day on weekends and the odd day durning the week. They feed franticly during the week especially on the days were they haven't been fed twice the day before.

You may be suprised about the SP although if they are in with the trout they may as you say have become lunch to the trout. I have my 6 in the indoor tank that are growing well since I now have the water at a constant 19-20 degrees, and the ones in the outdoor tank I have not seen in many months. Its just the cold temps the silvers really are quite boring during the cold weather.

I have now insulated all FT/ST and all are rapt in shade cloth too. Water temps are about 9-10 degrees in both tanks now every evening, which has risen over the last month by about 1 degree. Hopefully the weather will get hotter soon and the SP will come back to feeding.

Lost a Yabbie the other day, the big one, he had a soft shell when transplanted from the indoor system to the outdoor system so i'm putting it down to this.

Also have a minor algae problem that occured when I didn't have tanks properly insulated and shaded.

And im out of amm test bottle so really need to get a new test kit!

Sim I've got amm test solution you can have. I have 2 batches as when I test I test with both to make sure they are reading right - overkill I know but better to be safe than sorry - surfice to say, I don;t think I need them both so you are welcome to one if you want.

You can buy the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/pH tests separately... come with the colour cards & extra test tubes...

Okay it has been awhile since my last post, and a lot has happened,
First the good things;
plant growth has been amazing since coming in to spring, so much better than last year. What a diference a matured system makes to vegie growth and also i'm guessing the fact that I had some decent fish in the system this year. ie trout!
Pulled out a lucky dip couple of weeks back and got a 27cm 280g, perfect plate size!
Smoked him up for some lunch and had some salad from the AP too! beautiful! had a slighty pink flesh also which was a pleasant suprise might have been the feed that Mattry was using. He sent me home with a small ammount of the screeting pellets but then I switched to some of Quachy's barra feed. I took some photos and have actually written all this and posted them before this but something stuffed up and booted me out and wiped the lot! I'm having some serious computer problems atm.

Anyway now time for the bad news!
With water temps rising 2 weeks ago, I decided to turn off the bubbler so I could see if the SP were feeding or not, I have also followed Quachy's lead and gone from constant pumping 24/7 to only pumping during the daylight hours in an attempt to keep the water temps up.
So after forgetting to turn my aeration back on and the pump being off over night also, it meant that at some stage during the following day one or more of the trout went belly up!
I noticed the following arvo as I bent down to grab the feed container that there was water on the ground and then looking up noticed the outlet from FT2 to ST was not flowing, dreading the worst I lifted the lid on the tank to find it overflowing and one trout stuck to outlet pipe, 3 floaters and 3 sinkers!
That was all 7 of my remaining trout since I had removed one the previous week.

So now I'm seriously looking for a summer fish. I'm wanting to get at least yearling stock. something with a bit of size already. Not sure what though Jades if I can get them to table in one season or maybe Cod or Yellow belly?
Any thoughts??

Pulled out a bit of useless vegies today. All my celery went to flower, extremely annoyed about this. What is the cause of this, overcrowding, climate? How do you overcome it?

Pulled out some lettuce also since I have an abundance of lettuce in both the AP and Dirt garden. With all the rain we have had lately the dirt garden is really going well.

Pulled a few carrots too, these had also started to shoot long stems and not really producing good roots at all, I have left the ones that seem to be still growing normally and I also have a second crop in the second GB which seems to be going okay.

I have some new radish and beetroot seeds sprouting and my asparagus is actually growing too!
Anyone else tried asparagus in AP??

Corn is sprouting in the 3rd GB, but my persistance with capsicums still doesn't seem to be paying off. I planted each GB out with some young seedlings this year and also planted some in the dirt garden and one in a pot. Also bought 2 advanced Capsicums, one is in the dirt and the other is still in its sale pot. Would like to plant this one in the AP but it doesn't seem like the little ones are enjoying it much in any of the GB's.

Lost all my first planting of cucumbers so have planted some more, wait and see with these ones. Have also planted some seeds, so again wait and see.

Water temps are still down lower than I would like for my SP, which makes it even more devastating that I lost my trout. Nice sunny day today and water temps are still below 16C.
The cold nights are what must be doing it, that and the fact my tanks are all shaded and insulated. Really wish I still had some trout.

Finally two days of warm weather! water temps yesterday arvo 20.2C, warm night last night and water temps this morning 7:30am 19.2C!! water temp was actually warmer than ambient temp in tank under shade.

My digital thermometer is cliped to the side of FT just out of the water but under the timber lid, and I switch it on and then place it in the water and test. Normally the ambient temp is at least 2degrees higher than water temps but this morning was 1 degree cooler than water temp.

Fed last night and got some action from the SP if I threw the food in towards the back of the tank. My SP tend to stay toward the back in the dark. This morning started thowing in the food and gradually bringing them out from the back, good to see.

Still looking for some larger stock to keep the system kicking along. Maybe 5-10 200mm+ fish, either Jades, Yellows, or Murry's, any one know where I should get some.

harsh luck with them trout buddy, how are you keeping the plants going without the fish?

16ºC won't bother the SP at all BB - just will slow them down a little.

Yeah mate I know it wont bother them too much, it just bothers me! temps got down to about 7-8C over the peak of winter and only lost 2-3 from memory, but 16C was the best I was getting in the arvo up till the last few days. SP are finally interesting again! water temps 19+C for the 3rd day straight and with the warmish nights have not been dropping more the 1-2C overnight. They actually rose up in the water column today to meet the food as it sunk, even the littlest ones.

Wait 'til your water gets up around 27 BB.... mine bloody near jumped out of the tank this arvo...

Mind you they hadn't been fed for a day... or two....

I have upgraded to a sump pump with a float switch lately, pumps alot more water and also put a 100m coil of 25mm poly laying on the ground to help heat the water.
Was away for the hot days recently so not sure what the water temps reached?

My thornless blackberry that I recieved from Quachy, has been ripening in the last few days so have some frozen berries in the freezer untill I have enought o make a blackberry liquier.

I have a theory on the celery going to seed, Could it be the depth of my GB's?
I heard recently that celery in the ground needs good, deep, nutrient rich soil to produce nice stalks. My shallow IBC GB's may not be deep enough so will try some in the larger GB to see.

I have now got no more lettuce as both my dirt and AP lettuces have all gone to seed. Will need to plant some more in the next few days.

I have plans to catch and transport some Redfin into my system and before everyone jumps down my neck about them not taking pellets I am hoping I can use enough alternate feed to get them to grow. Will be a good summer experiment since I will not be getting any more SP or Trout untill next winter

Sounds cool, and keep us up to date on the reddies.
Dunno about your celery as mine went berserk in a blue barrel (in half length ways) and black tubs of about 35cm deep. None went to seed. May have been a wrong variety for your climate or something.

Might be the water temp getting high??
Keep us informed of the black ploy heat exchanger.

regards
Matt