Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Damn, that's a shame CD.... I did wonder about you the other day when that crazy weather was coming through..

have you thought about having one big air pump that can service all tanks at once... We have that sort of problem here during long power outages, many tanks with fish in and you have to make sure they are all ok...

If we weren't demonstrating them as individual standalone systems with their own individual backup air pumps, I would be setting up the one big air pump with air distribution everywhere outside.. Then you only have to worry about 1 air pump... Still need a genny though I guess....

Ahh well, back in the saddle mate...

Yep, that's my next step too - other backup systems (12v, relays, etc) are really just a bandaid, is the conclusion that I've come to.

I've had power out a few times before for 2-6 hours, and that is not a problem even without a backup system, unless you have your system stocked to the limit (which to my mind is overstocked).

The other pisser was that I didn't get to eat those fish, as by the time I found them they may have been sitting in 25°C water for 12 hours - no way of knowing, so didn't chance it. They certainly boosted the production of BSF larvae a few days later.

EB, yep, it already runs off one big air pump (120L/min), and I have a spare, just in case.

Yeah, back on the horse - certainly could have turned out a lot worse, that's for sure !

Just have to find a source of fish to fill the capacity I now have.

And on a more positive note, the GBs are producing veges at an astonishing rate.

Got home Monday from a long weekend at Ledge Point and found these ready to pick - not bad after I'd picked a nearly equal amount on the Thursday before I left. Lots of moussaka and eggplant curry in my near future !
Didn't take a photo of the chard and Ceylon spinach I harvested at the same time.


Overall, the GBs are running amuck and will be brought back under control this week.

What a bush!

Yeah, it's been chopped back a bit now Abdul, to make room for more seedlings

Your plants are looking real healthy CD...well done

Yeah, thanks Gnash - everything seems pretty happy, but what IS driving me up the wall is that I still cannot get cucumbers/watermelon/pumpkins to grow at all !

Buggered if I know why, given that everything else seems to flourish.

From seed or seedling CD?

either - both have failed for me numerous times (like around 8 times)

Maybe try growing one in the dirt until it gets to a decent size...other than that I have no idea other than the plant cant get the right nutrients for some reason

Do you put salt in you system Chillidude?

If so I think this is the problem, for the first year of my system I only ever put 1ppt in on the first day I got fish, I grew more cucumbers then I knew what to do with last summer and this summer. When my fish started dying a few months back I mistakenly thought it was disease (it was lack of O2) so I salted to 2-3 ppt and the cucumbers gave up 3 days later.

Coincidence? maybe.

I also have trouble with those plants. Mine get going fine but seem very suceptable to Black spot and powdery Mildew.
I have not produced a pumkin yet but have a couple of watermelon but they are pretty small.

Not regularly and certainly haven't for quite a while, but I guess it could be sitting around 2ppt as I haven't changed any water out for months.

Very peculiar, CD - I'm in the same climate as you, and all three have worked for me. Cuces, watermelon and massive Rockies - well - until the rats get to them just days before harvest. I have zero salt in my system. My biggest rocky would have been over 3kgs - pre-rodent. I was so devo'd by them attacking it, that I was tempted to cut out the rat gnawings and eat it anyway. Needless to say, I have trapped about 5 of the bastards since. 1 still eludes me - manages to snaffle the bait outta the trap without setting it off! Best bait I've found? Skretting Classic 5mm!

Nice eggplant.... I reckon the salt could be part of it. I remember reading about a commercial cucumber grower and how they moved to where there was very good quality water with very low salt levels.