Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

My wife was at Drovers on the corner of Wanneroo road and Joondalup drive yesterday and told me that had setup up a AP setup in there with NFT and growbeds with Barra in the tank.

Is this something they are now trying to sell or is this a satelitte setup by someone?

I've heard a few mixed reports, they had seomething then it crashed and was empty, then filled with water but no fish... Dunno, only second hand reports..

If I get a chance i'll go down and take a look and see if they are seling them.

Don't forget photos Wallnut, we lurve photos

if i'm allowed to.

Was next door to Drover's today playing mini golf for a childrens birthday so I took advantage and checked out the Aquaponics system on display.

It is 'on special' at just under $3500. It includes a single shallow grow bed with stand (estimate 200L of filtration and about the same amount of planting area of the BYAP growbeds) with hydroton some NFT channels (would estimate about 12 metres), a 1000 litre fish tank and a big power hungry looking pump.

It looks more like a hydroponic setup transformed into Aquaponics but not really suited for the function.

I think they're dreaming.

Yep.... and yep....

Wow, so costs more than our 2 bed system, with less than 1/4 of the clay, and I bet it came with those poxy aluminium tube frames with plastic joiners. And that's "on sale"?

I'm only going to start worrying when people come out with better quality systems at a lower price...

It certainly was an aluminum tube frame. Didn't look at how it was joined up but more than likely plastic connectors. I remember thinking to myself that it didn't look all that strong.



I guess you won't be worried for a while.

I got some photos, but haven't had time at home to post them, he wasn't happy with me taking them but oh well.

He still has barra in there and if you feel the water temp it is really cold, he reakon he could have barra for another month.

Ok,

You wanted photos so I sneeked these while I was there and no staff were around.




Sorry one is sideways

Fixed.

The more I hear people say it is a combination of hydroponics and aquaculture- the more I think that it is way simpler than that, or can be if you know what you are doing and how nature works. People who see that setup will get put off. It is the hydroponics people or aquaculture people going here is a system taa daa. That is exactly what you get when you run aquaculture with hydroponics- what we do is neater, simpler and more productive- they really just do not get it.
The set up at the royal show last year was just that- they grew all the plants hydroponically and then filled the nft trays for the show- they had baby barra hiding in the tank which had a mechanical biofilter I think it is a croc- to make money they just don't get how it can be sooo simple. They do not seem to be able to get away from add this- alter that, why not let nature do its thing?

Your comments remind me of the industry I work in: IT.

Many people think because their cousins, boyfriends, best friends son who plays games on-line, that he can fix their computer for them.

The system at Drovers reminds me very much of this.

Wow... on sale at $3500... usually $4500.... they're not just dreaming... they're delusional....

And I see that the pump directly to their NFT.....

No bloody idea... total rip off.... and the sort of thing that will give aquaponics a bad name...