Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Can't speak for the actual real life energy use. I figure most companies fudge a little.

If you haven't looked at the GPH of this pump, at whatever head you plan on running at, then I would check the manual - they are online from the link I gave you.

Same company I got mine from.

I got a question about locating the pump of anyone wants to help, the pump shouldn't pump via the bottom but always into the top? I was thinking the pressure of pushing water out of the way would decrease pump flow as compared to just dropping the water into the tank. But I was thinking of the pump put water at the the bottom it would create a current at the bottom to move the waste towards the drain. Doing it the way I just mentioned would mean less lift, but I could seriously jack up my tank should the pump have failure and allow the water to flow out through the pumps location. I'm just trying to figure out the pumps actual lift. I was trying to decide if I should bury the st or not. If I use a ibc for the sump and it's not buried I wonder if it could actually fill up from the beds or not, but if I bury it the pump will pump less but would guarantee that the ibc could truly fill and actually contain fish. I'm still deciding on if I should ad a vortex filer at the end just to catch any remaining solids that might make it through. I was thinking for the solids to use one of those bottles they use on the water dispensers usually found at businesses. It has a nice neck and slope in it to allow for a good. I plan on starting to build the tank pretty soon probably as early as Monday. I'll order the liner a bit later and the pump. I have a 6.5 hp gas pump do you think I should hook it up as a backup pump just in case of brown outs? I mean having it pre-plumbed. I'm still working on the wood I should get for the tank. Would you build the bottom of the tank with treated? I plan on using treated for the legs and for the structure itself regular 4x4 pine or Douglas fur which ever is cheapest. Osb on the inside and probably pine or Douglas fur for the 2x4s. I need to really look into solar water heating for the winter season as I would like to attempt to keep it around 70s for warmer type fish like tilapia. I'm gonna build a hoop house over the tank and probably build some raised beds in it. Since I have such a large tank with low fish stocking. Using the formula forgot what it was for fish to tank I came to 127lbs so I'll probably get a breeder pair and just breed them should I go with tilapia. Question is it a bad idea to just grab a cat out of the local ponds? I wanted one for bottom cleaning. They are pretty easy to fish up around here. But I was reading someones post about having a hard time with catfish because the water wasn't murky enough. Any thoughts on this would be great.

Interesting to check out what a possible pump could cost per year, cool website I used to figure out my pumps -
http://www.electricity-usage.com/Power-Meter

I used the USA average of $0.125 just some food for thought when one considers their pump price.

Laguna PT-352 Max Flo 4200 gph Koi Waterfall & Filter Pump
Price: 199.95
Running 160 watt pump 24/7 cost per year: $174.72

Beckett 7114310 waterfall pump 3500 gph
Price: $139.95
Running 300 watt pump 24/7 cost per year: $327.60

So buying the more expensive pump would save me 152.88 and almost pay for the more expensive pump. It also pays for the price difference twice.

I wouldn't add a cat at first and I don't know if they would really help with keeping the bottom clean. I do know that they will eat small fish like blue gill and probably tilapia so might be a problem for the breeding pair

The price of electricity is one of the reasons many are interested in low energy AP.

Remember you need to get aeration and the cheapest way to do this is letting the water splash. If all your outlets are underwater there won't be much aeration and the fish will suffer.

I was going to keep the breeding pair inside the house in an aquarium. But after doing a little searching I'm deciding on these fish now: Channel Catfish, bluegill, green sunfish, Albino Channel Catfish, and Sacramento Blackfish.

I was reading bluegill make excellent meal, and green sunfish and can cross with bluegill and make a 99% male ratio. The albino channel cat was going to be for looks. The fish nursery is 43 miles from me, and I wanna double check I can feed these guys duckweed and easy to grow type foods.

Sacramento Blackfish is one I haven't heard of. Keep on plugging away Markymark. I know we have information on Bluegill and catfish here.

This is the prices he charges for the fish he has available:

bluegill 2-3" $50 per 100
Silver Carp 3-5" $75 per 100
Channel Catfish 4-6" 100$ per 100

So if I go by the figure 127 lbs of fish *Max* for my GB sizes, how many of each should I get. I'm not sure if I'm going to eat the Catfish, but more so interested in the bluegill.

Any opinion on silver carp?

I won't be getting them soon considering the stuff needed to just keep them in a holding tank, so considering the math probably 100 bluegill would be the choice, so I plan on increasing the GB over the summer so the 127lbs is just a temporary number.

Also what's the cheapest temporary tank to bring the fish home in (also do I need to degas them etc)? I've been communicating with the fishery and they said before I leave they will pump whatever I have with pure O2 and that should last me a few hours. I'm gonna inquire more about the Sacramento blackfish.

I can get 55 gallon food grades barrels for $15 around here, would that be a decent way to bring the fish home?

Silver carp is an invasive species in many areas, check out this video for an example.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfG4vsJ5_xI&feature=player_embedded#!
[/url]

I would skip these .

You might want to look at this - [url]nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=3252[/url]
it's a pdf telling you which species you can have without a permit.

Check out TCLynx thread I know she's been trying bluegill and catfish. Keith and Ryan would be good sources of information as well. I'm not certain what DecalsbyJT has but I wouldn't be surprised if he has one or both of these.

The dude I'm buying the fish from is listed on the DFG website, but I was thinking forget the Carp they cost more than the bluegill either way.

I'm very sure DecalsbyJT did catfish and bluegill, I remember reading that he pulled a 13 inch cat from his tank and had a nice dinner.

What do you think about the 55 gallon tank for transport. I was thinking hey, might as well turn them into a raised bed once I get the fish home lol.

How are you planning to get the fish into the tank? Interesting things happen when you come to a sudden stop with a tank full of water in the car - especially when you had to remove the top. If you can get them in through the small opening then it would work well. I can tell you that a round container like this is better than using a square one. I would recommend something with a tight fitting lid to keep spillage to a minimum.

I think some people use coolers. 5 gallon buckets with tight fitting lids might be a good cheap choice as well. These can sometimes be had for free from bakeries or restaurants as used items. Either way rig up some aeration for them. If the containers not insulated try to keep it out of the sun or cover it.

I've got a large soda/beer cooler, not sure how many gallons but would something like that be viable? It's not the small one it's one of the biggest they sell at Walmart. You talking about those 5 gallon paint buckets? I can get food grade for free. Maybe those would be better. I plan on buying the 100 for $50. You think 100 is enough or should I consider more?

No more than 100 at first. EB recommends 20 - 25 fish per 500 Liter growbed (based on 500gm growout size) so 100 is about right for the 20/500L mark. Don't be tempted to get more. Lots of fish kills because of overstocking on these pages so go easy till you get the hang of it.

Well, i was figuring the math of 1.27lbs x 100 would max my tank out presuming I don't add grow beds. That's the number I was going with. So how many 5 gallon buckets should I use bringing home the 100 fish?

What are you going to use for filtration.. if you don't add grow beds???
(Sorry if you posted it somewhere else)



Get them to "bag" them for you. with oxygen.... and put the bags in foam boxes, with lids taped...