Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi guys,

Thought I'd share some photos of a small trial system I've been running for the last few months.

I had some questions which screamed for some answers, such as:

How would European carp go in aquaponics?

I already knew they were a tough fish, but how little oxygen and pumping could I get away with to sustain them?

Could I run it all off just off a single solar panel and get ok plant growth and keep the fish healthy?

Here are the specs:

- 700 litre fish tank IBC

- 750 litres of growbeds (3 x 250 litre cut down IBC's)

- 2 carp, line caught at Wyagala Dam (approx. 400mm long each)

- 40 watt solar panel

- 1360 lph low voltage pump (Reefe DC 1360), running at approx. 17 volts

- Feedrate: 1 generous handful of feed per day


The fish:





Very short vid of the carp:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jX5mXSmTEQ

Plants:








1 growbed is running constant flood, the other two are running auto-siphons

Freaking awesome man. But, I hope no fisheries guys read this. Translocating carp anywhere in OZ would be frowned upon me thinks

The pump only runs during the day. It is directly connected to the solar panel. There are no batteries.

I intially ran a 240 volt air pump overnight (on a timer), just to make sure the fish were ok.

I gradually toned down the use the air pump over time by adjusting the running times on the timer, and the carp seemed fine, in fact very happy.

So it's now left off most of the time, unless we have a really dull spell of weather over winter then I may turn it back on to be safe.



So far so good.

We have been running this system with these fish for about 6 months now, constantly eating salads out of it every 2-3 days.

They were my intial concerns too.

However I did a lot of research into it before bringing the carp in, just to make sure. I wanted to do this responsibly.

In NSW, as far as I know, it is permitted to keep carp in enclosed aquaria, as long as you don't release them into any waterways and prevent them from spreading.

The following from DPI website:

Legal status

Carp are listed as a Class 3 noxious species in NSW under the noxious species provisions of the Fisheries Management Act 1994.

Unlike Class 1 and 2 species - which are subject to different rules - Class 3 species such as carp may still be kept in aquaria, garden ponds and farm dams, and may still be bought and sold. This listing recognises the fact that wild carp are a commercial fisheries species and koi carp are an important ornamental fish in NSW. However, Industry & Investment NSW aims, through education and awareness-raising, to prevent the further spread of carp.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/pes ... ment-doing

These fish will definately not be released anywhere, and will shortly be eaten.

The next test is how will AP carp taste?

Normally, caught in the wild, they taste horribly muddy, as they literally troll along the bottom of the river bed sucking up mud and spitting it back out (they have no teeth).. much like a goldfish in an aquarium

but by keeping them for a few months in an aquaponics system, in clean water with no mud, we are effectively purging them out

My wife and I did a similar experiment with wild caught Mullet (sand mullet) whilst living back in Sydney. Mullet are also considered a rubbish fish, with no bag limit, usually used for bait

however, wild caught then raised in AP for a few months they tasted delicious! Like the best whiting or bream I've tasted. We served them to a few friends and visitors as well and all agreed they tasted great.

So going on this, I want to try the same with these carp soon.. Will keep you posted

Wow, never would have guessed!
I live interstate so it doesn't affect me but that's pretty cool. Imagine how massive they could get.
Gambesia seem to also be okay-ish in NSW.

"Class 3 noxious fish

European carp, common carp, carp, ornamental koi carp
Cyprinus carpio (Cyprinidae family)

Eastern gambusia
Gambusia holbrooki (Poeciliidae family) in the greater Sydney region"

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/pes ... vegetation

Wasn't aware of that about Gambesia. I've never seen any of them anywhere nor would know where to get them.

Oh dear what have I started.. everyone is now probably looking up "noxious fish" to keep in AP

If you do, please do it responsibly people, and read the DPI laws very carefully

I keep an eye on the rules in case they ever change them on me

In the case they did, it would promtply be curtains for these carp

In the dark ages back in the uk the monks raised carp in ponds for food,they purged them in a wooden trap placed in a stream for a few days to purge them,putting them AP would purge them as you have discovered,i have one carp in with Tilapia i put in there for the extra feed i could put in the system as they are basically pigs with fins. All day long the Tilapia bully the crap out of him to the point i was going to take him out,but feeding time when i splash the water he is there mouth open through the surface,i could almost pour the food straight down his mouth.
I reckon carp make an excellent AP fish,i did think of having one tank just for Koi,bit of a cash fish grow them on and sell them, a 10 inch Koi here with reasonable colours fetches £40,i suppose its just the growing time.

So true dasboot. I have found the same with my carp - they have an absolutely insatiable appetite

I initially planned to keep a few more carp in this system, but after seeing how much one of these fellas can eat, I scrapped that idea.

Feedrates are the limiting factor in this system, not fish.

These two carp could eat 3 massive feeds a day, and still take more.

The two of them eat more than my 30 silver perch and 30 odd goldfish combined, but they are quite large