Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

just cause i took so many pic's.. the tilapia - with my luck they're all male - i probably said that once this thread.. but i can't help thinking it;

already staking out turf;


back to the perch (there are rosy red minnows in there too.. i moved the crayfish to the sump)

more perch;

overall shot of the pool.. one of the pots is full of minnow eggs, and will be moved tonight or tomorrow

a shot of the growbeds from the pool


as i was posting i was thinking about the small system with the big fish, and the big system with the small fish.. i think it's time to plan a fish fry.. i have 10 or so yp from my first year (2010), 10 or so bg from my first year, and 25yp from last february that started at 3"..
then i'll replace the small system with a single tote (no sump) system for the tilapia! - i'm already heating the 2 55 gallon tilapia tanks with 3 heaters, with a little insulation, i should be able to keep 150 gallons warm enough

Great work Keith...
Fingers crossed for some female Tilapia for you buddy!!
Those are plain shop lights over the grow beds correct?
Brian

yup, 32 watt t8's, i use 1warm and 1 cool bulb in each fixture, 2 growbeds have 3 pairs, the gb with the tomato plants has 4 pairs,, the fixtures are about $12 from walmart

Everything looks awesome Keith! I was wondering, what is the white powder I see in some of your grow beds? Is it something to help keep the bugs away? Or maybe just some iron?

I have an indoor system myself. And I am really struggling with some aphids that love my pepper plants. I was told that a garlic/chili powder spray would help keep them off (this is not really working). Do you have any tips to keep the bugs off of your indoor plants?

thanks, i'm quite happy with how things are progressing, but still have lots to do
the white powder is de (diatomaceous earth).. i've been looking for bt as well (bacillus thurgensis)
i've had trouble with aphids and fungus gnats.. if i see the aphids starting again, i'll order some ladybugs as they have worked well in the past.. also, i got nematodes last year, and they helped for a while, but i forgot about the sponge in the fridge, i'll probably get more and populate the new beds soon

yikes! here's my HSM of the day
don't use milkcrates to support half IBC tote growbeds, (someone already asked me if i thought they would hold up.. here's the answer)
nothing went all the way down, but one side of gb2 (far left in photo img0257) did drop several inches when the milkcrates on the wall side crunched, rushed around and got 2 car jacks, and was able to get masonry blocks under that side..
so i need to get twenty 8x8x16 blocks tomorrow, ten 4" caps, and 12 2" caps,, jack each bed up from a couple points and replace the other crates
the big fish did make their way into the pool tonight, so i can decommission the barrels and replace with a tote

kinda hard to see it, but this is what happens if you use milk crates,, not the best pic, but you get the idea;


so today i'm borrowing a friends truck to go get masonry blocks, car jacks to jack the pallets up, and replace the crates;


the rest of the crates are holding up because i was more careful with placement, but with the flood and drain cycle, i think it will take a toll;

on the plus side, i found another pot full of minnow eggs and have it separated with the male to keep the eggs clean;

and the perch are settled in, no fish losses since last wednesday, the skinniest of the yp are eating flake food and blood worms, as well as ground up pellets, so i think as far as getting them on feed, i'm good.. not bad for the fish being seined out of the pond a week before i got them

the plan was to decommission this system this weekend, and replace it with a single tote system for the 10 tilapia;


i was trying to get a picture of one of the yp i named bendy because he's got a crooked tail, he's to the lower right of the upper pot;


and i still have to clean up this area, marmokreb tank on top, glass shrimp on the bottom, my duckweed tank on the floor, and you can see a curious tilapia to the far right;

This is very inspirational! Living in an apartment i do not have space but i am lucky enough to have a decent size basement /storage area with a window too! But makes me think i would actually be able to have an okay size aquaponic garden down there!

HOws the noise down there?m

one of my siphons is kind of loud when it breaks, but my wife and i sleep on the first floor, basically above the system, and we're not bothered by it

what a weekend! i replaced all 3 growbed stands with bricks, using a couple of jacks got the job done..
today i just finished dismantling the blue barrel systems, got the last of the minnows out of the tanks and put them in the pool, found a bunch of eggs under a rock but didn't have time to mess with it.. the rock is in the pool and if there are eggs tomorrow they'll go into one of the other tanksall three 55 gallon glass tanks are out on the patio, both barrel halves are empty (gravel/hydroton in buckets for a rinse before re-use)
no i just need to take down the frame for the beds/flush tank, clean up the area and start setting up another tote system!
but i'm too tired to do much of anything else, except shower, have a few beers and watch "Game of Thrones" tonight
i'll take some pic's this week as i progress