Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I can get a pic tomorrow if you want, it ran for a couple of hours today, but i might reposition the panel to get more running time. It is just a battery operated aerator, attached to a solar panel where the battery would go. Was going to go to have it run 24/7 with backup batteries, but components seemed too expensive




Yep, The one at the front of the pic is, the right one at the mid left is the thermometer chord, and then the black one is the pipe.


When i move out, i am definately not going to have an inground lined pond...

Why not? I was thinking having an inground pond as an AP tank would at least look nice. Have a pond in the yard instead of IBC's or tanks cut in half.

Nova

Well, it was a pain digging it and lining it, and it now has a leak about 10cm from the top, so i guess thats lucky its not lower. (and if i used the manufacturered pond liners it would be cheaper to get a ridgid tank)
Also all plumbing, pump, etc are in the tank

If i was in an area where the soil was high in clay content i might, but only because i wouldnt need to line it

I'm afraid you would. puddled clay only works until it dries out. Connecting tapwork would be just as much a hassle anyway

I read an aquaculture book on pond construction, where they compressed layer upon layer of clay, as the base, but then i guess they would have filled it and not let it dry out

I was thinking of a pretty big pond anyways, with a monk, and a channel in the middle for harvesting, etc

But i might not bother trying to get a clay pond to work then (if there was ever appropriate conditions)

Pig poop works for lining pond! It's called 'gleying'. But I think you still have to keep it wet.

The problem with digging a pond out in clay soil is the digging part. Husband and I dug out a 400gal/1600liter ornamental pond by hand. He would break the clay with a maddock and I would shovel the chunks out. In the heat of summer. Not one of our wiser projects.

but I'm sure you bonded well over it Janet nothing like a bit of clay digging to bring people closer!

Yeah, gleying also requires the material to stay wet. You can use any organic matter fermented anaerobically - hay, poo, old fruit.

The dewponds of sussex are made by lining with straw then gleying over that - making a pond with low thermal mass for rapid cooling and collection of dew. Not convinced they actually work, though.

Yeah i was too impatient to wait till the weather got cooler, and dug mine in summer too (through abit of topsoil, then rock and clay)


depending on what was used, maybe you could get a good crop of gentsfor the fish when you flood it, as well as waterproof the pond =)

digging holes is where you need to make friends with your local dirt-disturber. Give him a few beers and convince him to use the bobcat/backhoe etc to do the work for you. Then give him a couple more beers and everything is easy

I considered hiring a kanga digger, but would have needed a crane, or to make a dirt ramp to get it to the spot i was digging my pond

On a side note i got 25 little silvers off Monya yesterday, chucked in some lettuce when i put them in and this morning they were dead....................er dead hungry they swarmed when i came to feed them, and they had made friends with the lone goldie (about the same size) that was keeping the mozzie numbers down. Most of the lettuce was gone, they have a very good appetite

you had me there for a minute LOL

I am thinking about adding blackworms to my growbed, so hopefully when the pump turns on, some worms are flushed into the pond where they are eaten by the fish. Blackworms are in no part related to tubefix worms, and are sold at some fish stores. Has anyone tried these types of worms in the grow beds?

Just a QUICK UPDATE:
the fish are going well, plants would be going better if it wasn't for the aphids. I tried a mixture of vinegar, lemon juice, and a touch of chili powder, and "painted" that to the underside of the leaves. All that achieved was that the leaves i "treated" all shriveled up =(

wish some lady bugs would come

Vinegar is a good weed-killer for weeds without a taproot. Aphids should respond to diatomaceous earth or insecticidal soap. Use either sparingly. I have been using insecticidal soap for those aphids I can't squish. I'm careful to just lightly coat the affected area, and not soak things down. So far, fish are fine with that. I am only treating 3 plants like that. Not a whole grow bed.