Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So I finally bit the bullet and headed up to BYAP to grab a complete setup.
I went with the courtyard setup to start off with room to expand.
1,000L Tank and 1 growbed at the moment.


Site prepared and setting up.


Plenty of room at the back for a second growbed

Now to fill with clay balls, wash, plumbing, fill, plant, fish, enjoy.
Will be starting the system with some goldies or similar until the time is right for Barramindi. I never thought there would be a time when I could say I grow my own Barra in my backyard

Hopefully everything travels trouble free.

Cheers guys
Rob

Nicely done Rob.

All set up and running now.


Just need to chuck some plants in, get a couple of feeder fish to start the system and wait until its Barramundi time

Looks good rob

Will the water temps get high enough in Bunbury for barra?

Good to see you have allowed some room for expansion too

Might want to monitor your system temps for a little while to see how warm it gets.. You could grow some goldies over summer for the next few months while monitoring your temps, then have a season of trout.. Trout are such fun and they are only a few months off for you down that way..

Just went n got 10 goldfish to chuck in and get the ball rolling
Will that be enough to start off with?

Hi rob. I can't say welcome to the club as I'm still busy setting up my bigger system. What is the size/capacity of that GB?

As for the amount of goldfish: I’ve started with 10 goldfish in my barrel system which is about 150-170 litres and it is now almost 5 weeks and I’m almost cycled. Luckily I had no deaths so far. Look I’m still new to the game as well and I’m no expert but my gut feeling tells me you can go for more if your FT is 1000litres. Do you have a test kit to monitor pH, Ammonia, No2 and No3 levels?

Hey Cobus. Thanks for the info.
Yea I have a master test kit to test everything. Haven't done any tests as yet.
I don't want to go overboard with the goldfish to start with because when it comes time to put something else in (Barra/Trout) I will have to find homes for them.
I have planted a few things in the grow bed to get it going. So much nicer to plant in clay balls than dirt
Will be interesting to watch the difference between the 2 gardens once the system is mature.


I have planted a couple of heirloom tomato plants, Joi Choi, cos lettuce, capsicum, basil, broccoli and a mystery chilli.

Fingers crossed for a faultless cycle

Set up a blue barrel system to house the gold fish, simply.

I agree with Bear. Get a barrel system for them. I'm going to keep mine.

Blue barrel expansion...
resistance is futile...

Tested my water the other day and the PH seems high.

PH- 8.2
Ammonia- 0.25
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0

I have 10 Goldfish in there at the moment. All seem to want to hide around the pump or airstones.

Anything to be alarmed about with the PH?

Cheers
Rob

So I decided I'll sit this barra season out and went n got a few silver perch to keep me going until trout time.



Went and bought 12 from golden ponds and seems though 2 haven't survived the trip and one more is still swimming sideways. Hoping that it will come good.

Tested the water today
Ammonia is 0.5
Nitrite and nitrate both 0
Ph is 8

Planted a few more plants in the grow bed to cope with the extra fish.
Bhut Jolokia chilli, snow peas, lettuce

Hoping to see some growth soon

Fish look alright in the picture... certainly appeared to have awaken from any "clove oil"...

How much aeration did you have in your tank overnight?