Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Nice looking growth there Netab... Might have to update your system pics in the IBC manual.. Good work.....

Hi Mantis

Nearly ready for fish now... bacteria werent at big levels after winter after the system pretty much being shut down for a while, so we have been pumping the system till we do the last couple of things before we get them... ie: fish food slurry and Ammonium Sulphate plus a bit of seasol and iron every now and then when we think it needs it. Took a while for the system to cycle again - but not as long as the first time
We reckon it doesnt look too bad considering!



Thanks EB

Kicking along Netab...

From the pashon frute photo doesent seem to have downloaded
i allways new after you sorted out a few glitches that system would boom

Cheers Rupe and F&F

Not having any probs this end F&F... hoping everyone can see the pics OK?
There are a few after that one so it would be a bummer if I'm the only one that can see them!

Yup, the only glitch we have at the moment is the absence of fish...

Looking great netab when r the fish due

Thanks Freo

Hubby just reminded me of the fact that its not exactly a COMPLETE absence of fish... we have FIVE
... 4 goldfish and our 1 still quite happy, but not exactly fast growing golden perch... and over 300 yabbies not counting the babies (however many that may end up being)

I think our checklist ATM before the big fish purchase is...

Buy a float switch,
Find an electrician to fit it,
Fit standpipes into the fishtanks in the fishshed...

so thats pretty much it now... slowly ticking off the checklist as time goes on...
we have sorted the yabby 2 tiers overflowing now as they are nearly all converted to GBs and all are working beautifully (touch wood)...
and the 2 new tanks have been installed... must admit the SLOs are pretty cool... wasnt sure how well they would work but as soon as we turned the tanks on they were perfect - Andrew did well

That's a lot of growbeds, and they all seem to be doing well. Quite a bit of hard work went into this system. Nicely done.

Still have your eye on that roadside stand?

Looking fantastic guys

Thanks MrBill... yep, and I think they are now the fullest theyve been to date which is pretty exciting to see... and still have a fair bit to go too ...but strangely Ive still got to stop myself thinking "if only we had a few more we could..."

Definitely still wanting to set up the roadside stall... thanks for asking ...Funnily enough, we were actually only talking about it earlier tonight!

So, we have decided that at this stage we will wait for the end of packing season which is almost here... then catch up on the farm a bit... then we can get organised so we are hopefully open for business by Easter... just have to find some stumps for "The Shack" and we are away...


Oh, much appreciated Faye, Thanks

Looking good. Better start making kale chips regularly, that clump of curly kale looks good.

Looking Good!

Do you have a rough recipe you could share for the food slurry and Ammonia Sulphate? Looks as if I maybe heading towards a fish less summer if they keep dieing as fast as they are at the moment.

Thanks TCL... first time Ive seen it 'in the flesh' so to speak and love it... but have to admit I havent tried it yet ... tend to go for the silverbeet because I know how to cook it

I have to ask what kale chips are tho? Anything that has 'chips' after it kind of grabs my attention
Sorry to hear that Decal Hope you wont need to, but if you have fish in the system and its cycling now, then you may not need to add the AmmSul... we pretty much lost most of our bacteria over winter which is why we decided to give it an Ammonia spike to remember

The Amm got to 5 from memory, but the Ni and Na went off the chart for a while... still waiting for the Na to settle after the second one and that was nearly a month ago!

We figured that the systems nutrients pretty much come from the fish food, so just mixed some with water and left to stink up the place for a week or two Hubby was also adding pee to it for the hell of it... and to be honest you probably wouldnt need to use another ammonia source if you were doing this on a regular basis. Just dont overdo the slurry...

If you do have to, let us know... Ill get hubby to jump on and help you work out a starting point for the Ammonium Sulphate if you reckon you want to give it a go.
... dont think 'advice'... think 'co-conspirator'

Thanks Netab for the reply.
Hopefully it won't get to that but it's not looking good at the moment.

It's great to see your photos, would love to have a system that big .

Welcome to come for a visit anytime Brett...

Whats actually happening with the fish?
Just looked at your thread but no info...