Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Tlrobb I've looked through the logs and don't see any deleted posts from you.

This statement makes no sense. First this is an internet forum. Anything you post here is visible for anyone and everyone to see. This forum in that respect is no safer or riskier than any other open website. Second you don't seem to have any understanding of patent law. If you publish an idea before you have a patent pending then you are subsequently unable to get a patent and neither is anyone else.

Your a liar. If it wasn't deleted where did it go?

I'm gonna ask nicely once. Will you please delete my account?

Have we been trolled?

Has Tlrobb's account been hacked?

I'd say this was a wind up but he has 188 posts to his record?

I am most certainly not a liar. I have looked and do not see any deleted posts. I defer to the more advanced mods to delete you. Good luck.

About Patents, etc.

If I had never received a patent in the USA, I would have never tried to market my hub design. I would have just made a few for myself, some friends, and then dropped it. I could not afford to develop it without the hope of a profit.

I think that because the USA has a strong Patent system, the USA is the leader in innovation and inventions.

For my idea, I chose to pursue patents in the USA, UK, NZ and Australia, because they have a strong legal system that can protect me and my ideas, and English is the common language. I was interested in Germany and France, but I could not afford all of the interpretation expenses.

Also, getting a patent in a corrupt country, like Mexico, is absurd. You would have to bribe everyone to enforce your patent claims. That is why Mexico is a failed state, it is very corrupt.

In the last 100 years, countries like South Korea and Japan have developed an incredible manufacturing base- mostly due to patent protection and a sound legal system.

Right now I am working with the UK patent examiner. I explained to her that I could arrange to get a small factory set up there only if I could get a patent granted in the UK. I just cannot invest in a country without protection.

But it is not my investment, but the local DIY person / manufacturer in that country that will benefit from a patent, as well as providing employment for various people that make PVC pipe, etc.

Otherwise, without a patent, someone in China will just flood the market.

Australia has a several year backlog of patents. I was able to get my patent granted in NZ in about 6 months. NZ is apparently more "hungry" for investment. The patent backlog is hurting Australia. I am fast tracking in Australia with the Patent Prosecution Highway, and hope to have it completed this year.

If you have an idea, (and it works...) don't be afraid to try to patent it. Almost anyone can get a provisional patent, that is good for a year until you can tell if your idea is marketable or not.

You can also get a design patent, which is much easier in Australia than a standard utility patent.

Mostly, you just need to keep coming up with new ideas and innovations. Leave the competition behind with your sheer creativity. There are a LOT of opportunities in Aquaponics for new ideas.

Aquaponics is the solution to the world's hunger problem. If you know Aquaponics, you are yourself a walking invention awaiting discovery.

So, my next patent will be something to do with Aquaponics. It is an improvement to, well, I really can't say right now. (Gotcha!)

JH

I like your design John - though the material being used (Not UV stabilised, and reacts with greenhouse polymers) is something of a concern.

Your patent content is also a very interesting read, and well thought out - http://www.google.com/patents/US8590216

Thanks for letting use DIYers leverage the design in exchange for a photo, might just take you up on the offer.

p.s. re-shipping via a company like shipitto makes your product relatively affordable in Australia

Well I think it was great of John to respond and I too didn't notice any 'double talk', and I can be pretty 'tin foiled hat' at times.

My main objections to patents is where they would apply to the non-commercial DIYers.. but like John pointed out he does need to cover his butt in his part of the world..

So does anyone here know if patent law applies in the same way concerning DIY applications here in Australia?... I did do a bit of a search but came up mostly with ways of patenting things as a DIYer which didn't relate.

What happens if someone comes up with a unique idea and then builds a house using that particular idea/technique/design and then someone else patents it years later.. would that person need to remove that idea/technique/design from their house? (theoretically)

Yea, saving the world one lettuce sandwhich at a time...



Oh great..

I just looked through the moderator logs, the last time someone deleted a post was on Monday, and it was not one of yours.

Everyone should remember that it is easy for tempers to flare on forums, and it is important for everyone to be respectful of the other members. If everyone thought the same way, then innovation would truly die. Aquaponics attracts people who think differently, and we should embrace that.

Tlrobb, I for one do not want to see you go. Your system is in an interesting climate, and I am interested in how it goes. Not because I want to steal any ideas, but because I want to see it work.

Oh, don't take me seriously.

Everything in Aquaponics is already off the shelf anyway. You can't patent anything in Aquaponics, all of the good ideas that really work are already in use somewhere.

If there is some "new idea", it would be...

1. Something better than a bell siphon that doesn't clog.

2. A self-cleaning media bed.

3. A clarifier design that is nearly 100% effective, but does not need to be cleaned.

4. A breed of Tilapia that can survive cold water.

5. Other types of fish besides tilapia that won't eat each other.

6. A PH stabilizer block that absorbs and releases hydrogen when the PH swings high or low.

7. An aquaponic system that does not require electricity.

8. An aquaponic system that absorbs its makeup water from the atmosphere.

9. Someone with a LOT of money to invest in Aquaponics so that we can teach people that they can make their own aquaponic system without paying anything to anyone.

Any other ideas?

Solar heating for the water would be nice, I know one of the members was looking at a system for collecting the solar heat and transfering it to the water in the tank for winters etc. but the cost of the equipment was a bit high and lots of small problems associated with the systems means you would be spending a lot of time tinkering.

These two would be great for me can you let me know as soon as you've sorted them please

quick, someone patent bluegill

Bluegill are the best cold water fish for Aquaponics I can find here in Tennessee.

But...

My tank started filling up with fish poop, so I bought about 50 catfish to put in with my 200 bluegill.

Immediately, the tank water turned brown, as all of the poop was being churned up.

After about a week or so, the water turned clear, the catfish were gone, and so was the fish poop.

Talk about recycling!