Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So excited Bushy you posted 3 times! or were you just making sure he could hear you?

Man those spikes make me cringe... Keep getting an image of tripping over and falling on them...

Fordy, I love the look of this system well done.

Very impressive system Fordy. Love the pic of the dead rat, hilarious.

DOH !!!....didnt notice....puter chucked a twirly. maybe someone will be kind enuf to remove for me..

Still having a little trouble with the rats but starting to see some great growth. Things will only improve as we move into spring. Fish have doubled in size but at this stage won't be contenders for this years trout competition - maybe next year.

Apart from the rats I have another pest issue. See second photo below. Aphids. They have restricted themselves to the spring onions and garlic so apart from eating my plants they also have really smelly breath. Any tips for removal without the need to lose the plants would be appreciated.


Photos taken 22 August 2011


My aphid farm

By the look of it they are on spring onions and yes, it is that time of the year. I would cut the tops off and remove the pesky varmits, the spring onions will grow back in a short period of time and probably be pest free.
You could spray them with a chili and garlic spray or even try worm juice as a deterrent. There are yellow sticky traps that have been designed for for aphids.

we also use a garden hose ( spray at a high pressure ), to whack'm with......it works

Ants farm the aphids so try to get rid of the ants

I recieved a new camera for farther's day so I tested it out on the aquaponics. As for an update - I have eliminated the aphids by totally removing the effected plants and I used the extra grow bed area to put in tomatos. I've also added some extra filtration to the system - I'll post some photos soon.

As for the trout, I think it will be a race against the warmer weather. While the biggest is not far from the pan, the smallest is some months away.



The warmer weather is helping with the plant growth though.

Looking sensational Fordy

Does the temperature affect that area next to the house enough to be concerned for the trout? Sniff, sniff. Do I smell trout cooking on the grill?

Seriously, do you have a plan to keep the trout going over the summer months or will you change out to another type of fish?

I am concerned although the temperature hasn't gone over 18C yet. Mind you we haven't had enough warm days in a row to really get an idea of the effect. The plan was to always change over to a different species for summer. I put the trout in late (July), so the size isnt great. The biggest is about 200gram. I'll keep the trout going as long as I can. My plan to keep the water cool will be to use block ice and aquarium fans.

Mate 200g is a perfect smoker size. Don't be afraid to start harvesting.

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Trout out and cod in. With the warming weather there has been some extrodinary growth. Clearly I need to thin my planting.