Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have got about 25 tilapia Mozambique in the FT , we are getting into breeding season now and normally the male selects a spawning site and hollows out a 'nest' in the sand/rock , some of the fish are already displaying there color .I thought it would be cool if they were to start breeding in the tank , so when it became time to harvest the mature fish , the little guys would already be established.

I am planning in taking out a pair and housing them in a separate fish tank , hopefully I can get some luck with them

Good day,
The system is running well, fish are eating, water is clean and plants are doing well.
I have got 25 Tilapia in a 800L FT, the fish are still small, do you think that the system will support another 200L GB?

I would like to add some worms to the GB , would the worms survive in a constant flow GB?
With the water being at a constant height would they not drown?

Worms absorb oxygen through their skin, so they wont drown so long as the water is well aerated, which is also what the plants require.

+1 on not adding gravel to the fish tank. I find anything on the bottom collects fish waste and starts mounding it up. I had a stainless steel ruler in the bottom to measure my fish against, and it managed to create a fish waste hill. Some aquariums get away with it by sucking water through the gravel from underneath, bbut it would be a dangerous thing to try I think.

And on worms...

I have a bucket that gets all the water before it flows into a growbed (ie the bucket is sitting on the growbed and overflows into the growbed, (it housed last years tomato plant over winter) and found this many worms in the bottom of it. (its constantly flooded and was around a quarter full of media)...




Thats quite a few worms to be living totally underwater for six months in only 2 litres of gravel

Thanks for the reply guys;

I will defiantly try adding some of the red wriggles to the GB and see.

And thanks for the heads up on the gravel on the bottom of the FT ( last thing I need is extra work) ,My little system has been an absolute please with almost no maintenance ( only occasional pump filter clean) , what I think I will try is to put a temporary shallow bin filled with some fine media , to try to tempt them to breed , if it does not work I can always remove and clean!

I have a hide in my tank, but I just suspend it with fishing line a few cm from the bottow to allow the solids easy passage.

That sounds like a better idea, did you suspend a box/tube or something similar.

I have chucked some guppies in a spare fish tank and now the tank is full of the little guys! I am considering adding some to the Ap system, but I need to make some hidey holes for them first , or they will not last the day!

I put in an upside down colander strainer bowl shaped thing

Kitchen stuff is good for stainless steel fish tank junk

Nice work! Where are you in South Africa? i am guessing tropical kzn??

Howzit Brian , yip I live in KZN.
Buy the look of the sand I guess you are close to the Karoo.
Nice work on your systems, very inspiring and good to meet up with a fellow Safa! Most of the local guys I spoke to before I found this site are more interested in taking your $$ than helping out!

This is the system after 3 months with no intervention( Exept some pump filter cleaning).
The plant growth has been phenomenal.
Both the plants and fish are happy and healthy!

isn't it wonderful how aquaponics often thrives on such little attention.

closer look

First water test today.

pH = 6.9
Ammonia = ?
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 0ppm

The system is very happy healthy , should I be concerned with these readings?