Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

moved a pair of growbeds into the basement, using three 55 gallon glass tanks on the floor, finished last night (two weekends to get the water gassed out..blah blah blah.. anyways, had a few jump out today while i was at work (left the netting for today, they were so well behaved)
here's a few pic's
the most colorful lost fish;

the biggest;

the lineup;


added the netting tonight
added minnows yesterday, i'll try to get some pic's of the system, this camera is killing me, but i think we're getting another (something about those online deals)

What sort of fish there Keith ?

4 of them are bluegill, the one in the middle is a yellow perch, but his stripes were pretty faded after laying on the floor for a couple hours..

i might get 20 more perch this weekend.. still debating that or red claw crayfish

i did some cleanup outside, drained the rest of the stock tank, drained the duckweed pond (only 15 gallons or so) and found a crayfish that dug a little hole into the wifes pond lilly, so he went into the tank with the only other 2 remaining crayfish (all three will have to go if i get redclaw)

i tried taking some pic's yesterday but didn't get a chance to download them. since the mrs might go to visit a friend tomorrow (if she is feeling ok, she's going to jersey), i should have some time to see if they turned out, and if not try taking a few more..
gotta harvest 2 of the brocholi before it flowers, and plant something else to take it's place..

i put insulation under my tanks yesterday, and managed to get a good count on the fish..
i started with 30 yp, 4 or 5 died over the summer, i think the water got too warm..
anyways, down to 10 yp, but still have 15 bluegill - i purchased these first and the guy told me he threw in a couple extra, i had one jumper over the summer and 4 the first night in the basement before i got the net over the top, so he must have given me 20..
the bg have one tank, the yp have one tank, and i have rosy red minnows (bought 30) and 3 crayfish in the 3rd, still no luck with the pos camera, i'll try to borrow one and get some current pic's
i cut off one brocholi plant right at the bottom of the stalk, and it's growing again, one plant i harvested a bunch of brocholi off of has strarted new bunches - i left the plant because i wanted something to suck up the nitrates while starting some more seeds.
i'm going to try to re-plumb the pump today, it's kinda hard working in a basement that i can't stand up straight in! i'll have a few more bumps on the noggin before i'm done with this phase

got a half decent camera (the wife won it online)..

here's what i come home to every night (feels like it's been like this since thanksgiving!);


the backyard is under there somewhere;


but in the basement, there is some green.. i planted these radishes on january 29th


got more to post later

At least you have some colour in your garden Keith The blue barrel makes a lovely contrast with the snow. Love the radishes, they are sooo quick.
Well done on the camera win

a few more pic's
some oregano and a couple carrots, i took 2 cuttings from a plant outside (of the oregano) when i brought these gb's inside and threw in leftover carrot seeds

green onions planted on the 29th starting to sprout


planted more carrots on the 29th as well;

Radishes are a favortite of mine too, quick and easy. Add nice color to a salad.

Keith, the top pic of fish looks a bit unusual for a bluegill. Kinda looks like a green sunfish. As someone that has grown several hundred thousand bluegill and in defense of your supplier. Its not unusual for a green sunfish to get dropped into a bluegill pond by a bird. The will readily interbreed together. The one in your top pick looks pure.

the house is about 60 years old and has had additions (we rent) the basement has a low ceiling, and i'm constantly bumping my head on pipes/ducts/beams etc

it was a tight squeeze for the flood tank;


bluegill


yellow perch

it was kinda hard to get any shots of the whole setup, right now i have foil hanging from the lights and it makes it kind rough..i'll be experimenting with the new cam though, and i'm pretty sure i can do better,

heres and end view of the tanks (3 55gal, bg on the left, minnows and crays in the middle tank, and yp in the right tank)


side view


the overflows (no hole solid lift), i have to reset them maybe once a month - one of the bluegills made it over to the yp tank 3x so far

the radishes are a french variety that grows long like a carrot...
there is one cantoloupe between the oregano and carrots in the pic above..

i was never very sure about the bg, especially after seeing how different a couple were/are

hoping to get 25 yp next week, if it works out i'll move the bigger bg into the yp tank and put the new yp with the smaller bg, since i'm hoping to get 2 to 4" fish, but not sure yet

i'll get the foil down to take some more pics, one of my flourscent lights crapped out this am and wouldn't light (thats what i get for spending 9.50 at walmart) - but i still have the receipt and will swap it out this weekend

It's easy to see you have put a great deal of work into your system, even if its a bit blurry. Could you put a piece of screen or net over the ends of your tank "bridge" so the fish don't go for a walkabout?

there's netting across all 3 tanks, put in the second (doh!) day after moving it all inside.. that's how i ended up letting the other commit suicide

not used to the delay between snapping the pic and it being taken with this digi cam, but i'll work on it.. it does have the ability to record videos as well, but only has enough memory for 2/4 minutes depending on quality

pretty rough lighting down there too.. especially with all the foil draped around the gb's!

Keith, Your system looks great! I hope that your indoor project works as expected. I have to ask... where are you going to get the redclaw crawfish from? I have been wanting to grow them myself, but have not been able to find a supplier online.
Thanks, Joe

still not sure about the redclaw, but there is a guy in florida, "stick fin farms"...

http://farmingcrawfish.com/

They like the water warm.. it's been pretty nippy here lately and with one 300watt heater and the tanks being insulated, the lowest the water has gotten is 66f (18c).. which is a little cool for redclaw.. (at least if i want them to breed!) ... i think the stars would have to align perfectly for me to be able to get everthing i think i'd need

gotta file my taxes, and hopefully get a refund to "cover" expenses of a small expansion..