Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Got inspired by the airlift bio filters so I have built one! Pics to follow. I filled it up with cut up black pipe and a sachet of activated carbon for luck. I figured as I was pumping air I may as well get some more filtration going. It is installed in my greenhouse system.

Got more TROUT! Yeeha! I feel whole again. Got about 100 fish average weight about 150 grams. Lost 8 on the trip.

Shame for the 8. You gonna eat them?

Mine seem to be fine now. (after losing 5 out of 40 )

To the readers of this thread, since Brian did NOT tell the whole story , we went to the trout farm together today and brought back a buncha trout. We had a noisy-as-hell air pump on the back to aerate the goods.. We had one HELL of a lot of air going in. But we still lost a bunch of them. And the temperature was quite low. I guess it ended up at max of maybe +18degC when we got back.

Is there anything we are doing wrong? How can you transport fish without losing so many (upto 10%) of them?

I know you get special medicine for livewells designed to calm the fish. It is made for bass (for catch&release fishing). Will this work on trout? (or will it kill the trout) Will lowering the temperature by adding ice help at all?

I replied in your other thread also, but adding ice would have saved the fish most likely.

Ahh. Will do that next time..

Read the other thread

I had ice but from chlorinated water so as the temps where still cool did not add it. Next time I'll be more prepared on that front. I have masses of fish in the tank now (not sure how many exactly) so losing 8 was not too bad.

This morning's HSM: my staff said they found 3 trout flopping around in the sand next to the tank! Jumped clean over the little fence I had up so had to make a higher one this morning from some shade cloth. Trout where returned to tank and seem to have survived!

Its actually better now as the water is shaded from the sides and the top.

Would post pics but can't as can't seem to do it on my bb.

I have a huge pile of compost cooking up a storm. My Tilapia are getting cold

So was thinking to plumb a coil of pipe through the compost heap from the bottom of the fish tank through the compost pile which will need to be relocated and then back to the top of the fish tank. Only thing is the water may get too hot. Will probably need a thermostatically controlled valve or something.

Another thing would be getting the pipes plumbed to the tank with it full of water and fish. perhaps I can use a plumbers mate to isolate an area of the tank for drilling and plumbing.

I wonder if I can just put a inline ball valve on the coil and kind of restrict the flow to control the temperature. By the way my greenhouse is now closed up on the sides. I just need two panes of glass and then it is totally closed. Then I will probably need a fan and thermostat for temp control in the greenhouse.

I guess I should get the greenhouse working properly first and then do the compost thing if it is still too cold for the fish.

Will take some pics when I am back up there.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awi_4aKJSak[/youtube]

some pics of the trout pick up....

Cucumbers coming along great. These are the first successful cucumber plants I have ever grown. Not for lack of trying...

Congrats Brian - I still haven't been able to achieve that - (sigh), try again next summer...

Big thread, took a while to read.

looking good.

regards
Matt