Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

The pump in the new IBC system ran for 3 full days... in that time it did a GREAT job in speeding up the removal of chloriene - and of heating the water up too! The IBC was 6C warmer than the wheelie bin, and the wheelie bin was just on 2C warmer than my IBC's which are in the ground...
Basically, if there had been fish in that IBC they would be very unhappy, if not dead, right now (36C is just too warm )

i'd agree, and the DO level would be shitefull due to temp

Bugger, I forgot about that
(which reminds me that I need to lay in an air line to the IBC from my air pump...)

problem is, at higher temps the water can only "hold" so much o2, doesn't really matter how much you pump in............

True - I just promised the students I would supply air to each system they put in - they however need to supply the airline and air stone...

I was wondering what else, that forms a vine, people might grow in AP.... Cucumbers, pumpkin, some toms, beans... ???

Grapes!
Hops!

Use of vines in satellite grow-beds is something well worth incorporating into the systems. I was just telling Les the other day that next year I will grow my yearly pumpkin vine out of a 200 litre satellite AP container (filled with gravel) as an experiment. I expect it will grow well and predict the following:

- Although the bulk of nutes will come from the system, pumpkin is also likely to set roots into the ground
- it will use a lot of water (high transpiration level due to all the large leaves
- root system will be massive, may have clogging issues
- Will be successful, though unlikely to replicate the achievement of getting 60 Jap Pumpkins from the same vine (which I did last year).

I will also grow various other vine type plants (cucs, zucs, mellons) in a simialr manner - though probably with less issue regarding root invasion. I will use trellises where possible.

PS - AM, I have done a similar thing with seeds. Chuck the whole packet in because it is due to expire and end up getting every one of the seeds come up in my gravel bed in a 20cm square area .

hops won't grow up here AM, sorry it's too warm. Axl was going to try it, but I think they need cold to set flowers etc

Yeah, hops grow really well in Tassie, Qld may be a stretch.

How about passionfruit? I want to put on in as they are delicious.

Nova

I have it growing already - and it seems to be doing well so far (it has been growing for about 2 months now

I like the idea of vines ....

Can be trained to provide shade over the fish tanks...

vines plants can really do a good job of sucking away them nitrogen compounds.

Choko's make excellent jam preserve when boiled with sugar and a little ginger! mmmmmmmmm....

do you know that Australians are practically the only people to have even heard of chokoes, let alone eaten them

chokoes - the plant I wanna put in?
I want to see how their project goes as they have ME interested (and here they thought I was going to guide THEM through AP
The small shed behind their systems would be PERFECT for growing vines over - and with this many cucumber plants and other vinse so close together pollination will not be a worry...
My passionfruit is takeing off now that I have poked a hole through the shade cloth for it to grow through (it definately prefers FULL sun light)