Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

AMEN! I doubt this is super related to the original topic, but that was a damn good video.

Would have thought a thread about becoming pellet free was about breaking from the shackles of a capitalist system.
One of the most seditious act you can do in a capitalist system is not shop.
The system wants needs you as an individual to only have 2 functions, shop and work.
If you own your own house, grow your own food,collect your own water and barter your excess for what ever else you need you become a bad shopper and a bad worker.
So how can someone exploit you for their profit so they stay the 1% and you remain the 99%.

The reason we have such a good quality of life is because we have the "division of labour"
This means it is more efficient to get a builder to build your house, a factory to make your water pumps, pipes, clothes, electronics, companies to build and install the wires and equipment needed so that you can access the internet and voice your opinion
It is human nature to trade with each other, and it's more efficient if we specialize in something.

If we did EVERYTHING ourselves we would be living in cow poo huts like the Masai in Kenya eating only blood and milk, or living in grass huts, fighting off animals with spears and barely finding enough food to survive.

Capitalism gives us cheap, good quality products and services that improve our lives.
CORRUPT capitalism like the video defines, destroys our wealth, our economy and society. It causes wars, famine and funds brutal dictatorships around the globe.

Doing some things yourself is fine, you can save a little here and there. Spending beyond your means is always a bad idea. The mainstream economists tell us that spending helps the economy, this is infact a lie. Throughout history it has been clearly shown that saving is good for individuals and the economy.

Love your enthusiasm and your simplistic dreams of the magic pudding.
The fantasy of the high standard of living requires, slave labour in 3rd world countries and the stealing of poorer weaker peoples resources for the benefit of a few.
Its unsustainable growth un-realistic standards of living that require perpetual growth to maintain the delusion.
The cornicopian fantasy is just that.
Capitalism didn't give us a good standard of living
access to cheap oil did
and the dream is about to run dry.
The only thing keeping it cheap is global recession.


To be able to close the loop in terms of food production for your aquaponics is one step in the right direction
Obviously to close the loop on power use and production would be another great step in the right direction
Localisation will be the new future as transport costs drive manufacturing and food production back to where its needed.

did you catch this on the ABC





http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3417345.htm






if you want another great but long video check this out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WBiTnBwSWc

Simplistic because I was responding to a much more simplistic and absurd statement

"The system"? What is that specifically? The human race, markets, capitalism, corruption ?
Lumping everything into "The system" isn't that helpful.
What is the alternative to working? sitting down watching the stars and eating insects that happen to fly by? Humans will always work, they have to and they want to. Humans also have the desire to constantly improve the quality of their lives, which is precisely why we have have a high quality of life. Shopping is simply exchanging an individuals work hours (pay) for someone elses. If you need a fry pan you don't make it, you buy it from someone who is good at making them. It is not possible to have our current standard of living without the division of labour.
Do you actually propose an alternative to working and shopping?

No it doesn't.
Cheap labour (which most of it is, most people disagree with actual slavery) is just part of trading with a poorer country. Cheap labour means cheaper goods, which means a growing export market for the poor country, which leads to a growing economy and an improving standard of living. That is why China and India both have a growing middle class (quite rare today). There is no stealing of resources (except if a govt actually forces a country to giving up resources, which is part of the purpose of war)

I think you are getting a little confused. The unsustainable growth in our economy is specifically created by the central banking system and fiat currency. When a government is in control of the banking system they ALWAYS (has not been a single time in history when this has not occured) debase the currency. Whether it is by adding copper to gold coins like in the Roman Empire or by making it law to use paper money (unbacked by gold etc) so that it can be printed at will. This rapid expansion of the monetary supply and the manipulation of interest rates is the reason for booms and recessions/depressions.


Capitalism is the ONLY thing that gave us a good standard of living, regardless of oil. The alternative is socialism(and all its forms). The standard of living in North Korea and the Soviet Union was terrible, everyone was very poor, production of any goods was terrible, food shortages etc. What a disaster.

Your point about the oil however is somewhat valid.
I agree that because oil is such an incredibly cheap and diverse source of energy we have had the rapid increase in our quality of life. Without the abundance of oil we still have today we would not have had the advancements (good and bad) that we have had.
Also the price of oil is closely linked to our economic activity. A significant rise in oil price is almost always correlated to economic downturn (not a contradiction of above, they amplify the effects each other)



Maybe so...
So yeah, as oil gets more expensive our quality of life will be reduced. No doubt about that.
There are no viable alternatives to oil (meaning all alternatives are very expensive)
When you add to that the economic crises that is going on it becomes apparent that the next decade or two will be very different to what we are used to.

oops, I just realised I covered some of the points about oil/economy that was quoted above..

This might help some of those trying to make their own fish food for Tilapia. It's a doctoral thesis that I found posted online... I believe the person who wrote this thesis also authored a couple of books one called "Fish Farming in Your Solar Greenhouse" and the other was called "Growing Under Cover".

Thanks to whoever posted this thesis - a bit of a read but parts are very interesting - enjoy.

http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui ... sequence=3

I like you

So through all that babble I didn't find much of a scrap for making fish food without pellets minus one or two posts. does making fish food exist is there a successful method or is it a pipe dream.

Coz SV keeps side tracking conversations onto Libertarian political rants... But he's not doing that anymore....

I think ultimately it's possible, but not simple, you would need a well planned approach and a variety of sources.. Supplementing is perhaps more achievable.

You say rant, I say educational posts

For my 50 channel catfish how many pellets will I need to feed them if I have BSF, Duckweed, moringa trees, and AQ clippings?

How many pellet supplements will I still need to give if I have, BSF, duckweed, moringa trees, and AQ garden clippings?