Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Wow really......

There is some great work being done around Australia in regards aquaponics and I am surprised to see that you guys do not know about it. There are some huge projects happening around Australia which I find somewhat exciting.

You are right aquaponics, can not win an award but the work being done with aquaponics can. None of this work has anything at all to do with me or our group, though we support the work being done 100% and look forward to future developments in integrated aquaculture.

I feel sorry for these guys they are even having copywrite issues, the image at the top of their history page which is of "Tilapia in Portable Farms Aquaponics Systems" appears to have been used by another website, here, i'm guessing with out their consent.

As i have said elsewhere, for all i know they could offer something of use to people, but not sharing anything more than a list of topics, and having no reference sites. To me they are miss leading people at the very least about their experience in setting up systems.

Don't be feeling sorry for them Edward, Istockphoto is an image site where you buy images if you don't have your own images. They would have bought the tilapia picture from Istock. At least that's one good point about them, I haven't seen them using other people images like many other AP sites. Paying for them is what everyone should be doing, thats how it works..

We use a few Istock photos in our magazine for filler pictures. When you're running an article on a particular vegetable or herb, you use a few of your own images from plants growing in systems, but then for some of the quality close ups, or really well lit images, you draw on sites like Istock.

I may not have quite managed to convey sarcasm as well as i may have liked. Using iStock photos is a quick and easy way to put together a website, and as you suggest a good way to suplement your own images. It was more the claim that "Tilapia in Portable Farms Aquaponics Systems". It seems odd that if its a photo of fish in their system they would need to buy the photo from iStockPhoto. Just my oppinion.

Ohhhh, sorry....... Yeah need to include some smilies for sarcasam...

I haven't seen a picture of their systems really full of plants, nor fish harvesting...... Perhaps they just haven't had time to take the photos....

They would appear far more credible if there were some reference sites, but this far all i have seen is what is in their back yard. As with all business getting the first customers when you have not got the references is the hard part.
Only time will tell if they do that, from what i have seen on the interwebs there are no suppliers similar to your selfs in the US, if that is a gap they could fill they have a great opertunity. No offence intented here, but the style of their site to me seems typical for an americain business, we may all be proved wrong in time, but they need to really get their product out there and a establish brand reputation, before they should be expanding into teaching. But thats just my view on how they should run their busniess, and i'm not a consultant in how busniesses should be run.

you need to tell me about these things. I can't be everywhere

(need to decide which organisation to be a superhero for during *this* time period )

I've read your threads for a while and I've learned a lot. But, I can't figure out why you guys want to be so negative about Davis' Aquaponics University. he's got great aquaponics systems that are popular in the US, he's an honest guy who works hard and has been involved in aquaponics since thej 1970's. Why can't you guys be happy for somnebody that's doing his best to make aquaponics more mainstream? Is it a sin to make money from aquaponics? At least he's trying to make it more mainstream which helps everybody whether they've got a garage system or a commercial system. Seems like we should be supportive of anybody who is willing to work in the field and add to the knowledge and not do a smear campaign on ANYBODYS system. I find it very disturbing that all these negative posts will do harm to this forum and to people who may be interested in aquaponics.

I think that's partly due to the fact that many are "private"... either research funded, or funded by organisations or businesses.... and not widely publicised... at least not within "aquaponic" cycles such as the forums... and often constrained by "non-disclosure" clauses...

You might have greater awareness of some of them due tom your contacts within aquaculture, academia, or funding circles Paul....

I'm aware of a few... some of which look promising... but I'm also aware of a few that are being promoted... with little chance of success....

Problem is when threads are started on several forums at once to advertise someones business and then they get offended when people don't jump on there bandwagon. We even get new members that's first posts are not about backyard aquaponics or there own system. But more in defense of this SPAM.

Although this thread was started on several forums, it was not in any way an advertisment, reading back through a little bit and you will see paul / earthan group has zero involvment with the site origionally linked. Seeing the tone some people took with replying to him after he simply shared a link was in my oppinion not exactly this forum showing its normaly helpful side, especially given what a helpfuly guy paul is.


I really would like to put the reason for all the negitive things that have been said down to the fact that there appears to be very little infomation out there about the Aquaponics University, or the portable farm product range, and that starting to teach before you fully establish your brand and reputaion seems somewhat premature, and is asking the paying public to take a pretty costly leap of faith.

Sorry Daren... but much of the negative comments probably relate to this very claim...

Nobody had heard of ANY involvment in aquaponics by Mr Davis until a few years ago.... and his initial postings regarding his first systems belied any claim to experience at all... let alone decades of such...

He was for years a business coach and mentor... his wife a marketing manger... no criticism as such....

But his whole approach since his "debut" has been one of marketing very shoddy systems (initially.. they have improved consuderably)... inflated claims to production... obvious lack of practical knowledge and experience.... and expensive products, licencing, consultancies, etc...

There are comments regarding his systems... from those that have brought them ior dealt with him....and about his business approach... that aren't very favourable...

Because it's NOT a university.. Is he an honest guy? Has he been involved in aquaponics since the 70s? Who knows... But trying to pass yourself off as a university, running courses on how to operate their systems they sell on-line is pretty crap...

Daren... do you have one of the Portable Farms systems???

Can you post some pictures of it with plant growth.... or of anyone elses Portable Farms system...

This was at the TOP of Colle Davis portable farms big newsletter yesterday saying nice things about you guys in Austrailia and costa Rica.

“When experimentation and failure are repeated enough times, knowledge is born. However, after you’ve experimented and failed enough times to find a simple solution, that’s real wisdom. That is what we have done with Portable Farms. We’ve proven over and over again that the answers to aquaponics growing is based on our willingness to continue to experiment and collaborate with engineers, experts and our own customers long enough to simplify our systems to produce maximum yields.

"Yes, there are many different types of aquaponics systems available here and around the world and all of our systems add to the need for future sustainability. We applaud those who are active in aquaponics in Australia and Costa Rica as forerunners in the field of both aquaculture and aquaponics." - Colle Davis, Inventor, Portable Farms