Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

just planted lots of seeds to get some plants ready for the dry season. little bit early but that gives enough time to go for a second round if the seeds don't turn out well enough.

I have my eyes on a aquagarden 6000 pump from Tiger pots in Darwin, does anyone have some experience with this brand? Surely Chinese made, 6100l/h, around 5000l/h in my application/head setting, 65 Watt Power consumption, 3 years on pump and 2 years on impeller warranty. solids handling up to 6mm with vortex impellor. $289... I know I could get the pump for $199 plus 10 for freight on the Internet but I lost once $400 on another item and feel better to receive the product when I hand over the money.

Another plan for the future is to get the first solar panel installed (260 Watt) to run the aerator and all network equipment in the house with battery backup. Next time I need a new aerator I go one size up and share to air between ft and waste water treatment system to get this 50 watt aerator which runs 24/7 of the mains. Only issue I have to solve is reducing the voltage from modern solar panels 24 to 36 Volt down to the required 12 Volt for the pumps and equipment.

You need a decent Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller, and a battery. The MPPT CC needs to have a max Voc input of at least 45V for a standard 72 cell "24V" panel.

Hello Gunagulla

Thanks for the tip, i gonna install a small solar system (0.5kw) on Friday for work, my own one has to wait a little bit longer as i just invested in a new aerator and water pump after my Hailea ACO-003 blew up for the second time in 6 months... But the guy from the shop where i bought it will organise another replacement for me.

I am just waiting for the delivery of a Hailea V-60 air pump and an Aqua Nova Eco NCM-6500 which will give me at the calculated head at least 1.25 water exchanges per hour on the new tank.

During the NT Black Wednesday i lost 2 barramundi, both around the 420mm mark because i had to go to work when the power went out and it took me 9 hours before i could get home and start the generator to get the water flowing again and some aeration. 35 fish left...

Hear it is out in parts of Darwin again.

but luckily I am not on call... and I have already installed some conduit between container and house. pretty soon even my missus can start the generator and switch everything to emergency supply.

I will be on call 3 of the next 4 weeks... gives lots of time to replant and fit the new pumps.

the first new item has arrived. a hailea v-60 air pump. 60l/min at 35 Watt. But the air stones are in the next parcel, so installation has to wait.

Couple of update here.

The aerator is installed, makes a hell of bubbles, pressure wise just a little bit weaker than the 12VDC compressor but also much quiter in operation.

The new pump went in today, runs at calculated 5000l/h, can handle solids up to 6mm and uses around 65w/h, plumbed using 32mm pvc and layflat hose for easy servicing.

I have started on the solar system but the solar charger from Jaycar is a little bit on the crappy side and i am waiting for some prices for a Morningstar TriStar MPPT-60 and after that i am thinking of installing another 3 panels to make it 1kw, i already got battery storage for 5kwh, so even on a cloudy day i should be able to put some charge back in the batteries. The system will not only run the aquaponics setup, it will also supply power to all my phone/tablet chargers, network equipment and all the media players in the house. But that will be a while before this project is completed, running the wires in every room, installing all the 12VDC / USB outlets.

During the last weekend i also started preparing the GBs for the dry season, removed all the unproductive plants, we had a good harvest of winged beans, it was only one plant, but it filled the trellis behind all three GBs and the chicken loved every little bit of it, beans, leaves, stems.

Currently planted are some cucumbers (they already bear fruit after 2 weeks in the aquaponics, type: Suyo long, Spacemaster and Gympie Gold), Eggplant Black beauty, Kang Kong, Chili, Capsicum and lettuce (i am trying these seeds which are layered between to sheets of thin paper and i hope that helps direct sowing into the GB, but i also have some conventional sowed ones in dirt)

I have also the first fruit on the orange tree (Washington navel), lets see how this ones turns out. I know the tree looks a little bit weak, but i hope for the best.

before and after shots of the eggplant (on Medium heat on the Barbie with some thyme, salt and pepper for 12 minutes) with pork ribs with homegrown birds eye chilli flakes.

grreat eggplant
love your photo

at lunchtime I stopped at top end Hydroponics to have a quick look what items they stock. I got some net pots for the soon to be built dwc. They also sell canna clay for $60 per bag.

and on the way to the check out I got bitten by the owners dog into the leg... Don't you hate when that happens?

btw my missus made a 100% water change two days ago, the hose was hanging on the side of the sump from the refilling on the day before. She opened the tap didn't use the hose and forgot to close it again...

When I came from work I first thought one of the pipes had a leak but than I heard the pressure pump and our 8000l water tank was nearly empty and completely pumped into the ap.

But so far luckily no dead fish and they are still eating happily.

Thats a bummer about the water.. one of the reasons I made my top up tanks out of two 200L barrels, that way I don't lose more than 400 L.. good to hear your fish seem fine though!

I thought I use the water in the full sump tanks for a system extension. build out of moulding angles and coreflute over a 300mm ibc off cut. The 80mm net pots are half in the water and filled with clay pebbles. planted with some lettuce, mizuna and bok choy from the big b as my seedlings are not ready yet, looks like the seeds from last year aren't any good anymore.

second picture shows the Walkway between container and tank which was finished some weeks ago.

Last one... Some new eggplant and cucumber are on the way, but I have a bit of a fight with green caterpillars on the cucumber plants.

The job for tomorrow will be relocating the solar panels as the current locations has a shadow casted over the panel during most of the midday and during that time the current going into the batteries is only 2 amp, in the morning is was already up to 12 amp. Time to get the bigger solar controller and add some panels. current draw for pumps and aerator and some other thing like radio and freezer controller are 9 amp. That means the solar system running saves around 2.5kwh per day.

I know, long time no update, but at the moment there is nothing exciting happening.

Tomatoes and lettuces are going good, Kang Kong grew better during wet season, i got the first capsicum plant which survived more than a couple of weeks, no flowers yet, but the chili Anaheim next to it had a couple fruits already. Eggplant went back to lots of flowers but few fruits. The cucumber need replanting after approx. 15 cucumbers at nearly 1kg each, the plant is exhausted and at the end of its life-cycle, i guess the caterpillars didn't help either, but Dipel worked good.

We have planned for this afternoon to throw a couple of lines in and get the first fish in the pan, i estimate them to be close to 500mm now. Sometimes during feeding time the all group under the window right on the surface of the water and you can poke them with your finger and they don't flinch... maybe i should just grab one while they wait for food...