Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Just a thought but would a dedicated topic for a list of suppliers be a good idea. No discussion just details of what they have got, contact details, etc.?

Just wondering?

Stuart

Have a search over at www.permaculture.org.au Stewart. I know that in the past there have been a number of discussions about rock dust. Whether there is reference to a supplier I am not sure. Also I think that AussiePonic may have been doing some research in this area. Can't remember the result.

VB, I have been using rock dust for some time with very good results. I will send a couple of kgs over if you want.

Murray

Might be contributing to your stable PH. The rock dust might have some carbonates in it - that would buffer your system (cabonate hardness / KH). Tell us all more about it. What does the stuff you have sourced claim to do?

here is the site talking about "Rock On" rock dust with many minerals and trace elements. Someone may have posted this before?
http://www.orchidimages.com.au/product.html

AP

I *think* I've seen Rock On at the B shop I've been asking at nurseries etc and been treated like an idiot "but of course all trace elements are organic" was the standard line

Rock On also balences the ph.

AP

Jaymie - from reading the packet, it looks like Rock On is a product branded for OrchidImages, so maybe it wouldn't be available esleswhere. THere would be other brands though. Are you asking for 'Rock Dust' - this is the terminology most will use.

I have done some further research. It seems that your everyday crusher dust that you buy from the landscape shop may provide the sort of benefits we are seeking. Those of us that use gravel (particularly those that do not wash out all the fine stuff - I did wash mine quite thoroughly) will get benefits early on but as the fine stuff is used up, I guess benefits will reduce.

If sieved crusher dust (ie to get rid of the chunky stuff) is in fact what we need - then it is cheap and readilly available so we are laughing.

I have found rock dust difficult to find myself, some rockdusts are better than others from what I've read in the past. I had bought some from a permaculture nursery here in Perth, but they have shut down, and I think the dust they had was from a granite quarry..

In Brisbane there are heaps of granite quaries - and much of the crusher dust sold is granite of decomposed granite.

VB, Info about the really good stuff is on my site and yes, it buffers the system excellently well.
Murray

Righto Murray - I'll take a look.

Checked it out Murray - co-incidentally, that is one of the 2 mobs that I sent inquiry e-mails to today (for which of course I am yet to get a reply, it being a weekend), so thanks for the info.

I am very tempted to just try crusher dust first up, because it is so cheap. I did read in my research today that granite crusher dust has all sorts of good stuff that we need. Will have to think about it some more and maybe do some additional research.

I see that on your site you say that you use a cupfull per square metre per 3 months. In my research today I saw that one of the products (the one Aussie P spoke about I think) suggested 1 kg per 50 litres of soil every year (if used in a pot). If a similar quantity was to be used in AP (it may not of course be the case) then each of my 500+ litre Murray beds would require 10 kg per year. This could turn out to be quite expensive. Of course if one was to never remove any water from their system, it is likely the minerals would be retained a lot better than in a pot type situation, and therefore a lot less would presumably be needed.

Murray - how did you come up with the cup-full per square metre per 3 months application rate?

I use Planters II myself.
My suggestion would be to contact these guys or have a look about their site:
http://www.menofthetrees.com.au/

They are linked from this site:
http://www.remineralize.org/news.html

I do know that a product like Planters II will probably dissolve better into the water than other dusts as it has a higher solubility.

Hayden