Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Nice Bodgy, would be interested to know when you settle on your choice. I think you're right the bream seem pretty straightforward if you can keep the supply going. The other choices could be interesting.

If you're concerned bout the size of your system you might have to consider expanding?

Yep Martin's got it in one.
Current FT=new ST.
Get a big-ass pond or empty spa for cheap on Gumtree like mine to keep the scrapyard theme going
And then another big-ass rectangle pond for another growbed :-) if tho can get them secondhand they are sometimes considerable cheaper than the IBCs even. At least that's been the case in WA.


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Oh jeez I'm not even going to correct all those spelling mistakes - sorry!


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Space is at a premium at the moment but expansion is always an option!

Trying not to expand just yet, this system will most likely have to be moved in the future to get more sun. Still haven't made the space for it yet, it's a bit like "The Castle" here, one car is gone but still need to move on a few more things before the system can relocate.
I'm also not sure if I'll be working away somewhere down the track. Which will mean mothballing the system or modifying things so someone else can easily keep it ticking along for me. Expansion should wait until I know where I'm going to be or how often I'll be home. But I guess extra GBs wouldn't hurt at all.
I was offered a very cheap spa recently though... but no, the spa isn't coming home with me.
I've had another early day today (site not ready again...) and went out to give the fish a morning feed - I finally have some germination! No idea what though, I have high nitrates so I scattered a lot of seeds over the bed to get as much green as I can to try to suck them up. By the looks of it it'll be pak choy or maybe kale, once the plants have come up I'll harvest them as baby greens until they're thinned to a sensible spacing.

Nice Bodgy. I think you should build your system on castors so you can just wheel it around to where you need it to be.

Great work on the germination, I am sure you will get lots of harvests.

I know how it is when you don't know where you will be. I've been in that place for the last 3-4 years. It is very frustrating. With our big move coming up now hopefully we can settle somewhere with a space for some AP magic.

Regards, Martin.

Funny that you say that, I almost scored two 500L deep freezers for free that had been used as giant party ice boxes and had castors attached. Really wanted both of those but they were available before 'stage one' of my cleanup and I couldn't add to the clutter without removing some first...

They send like pre-insulated grow beds to me?

Yep, you got it sussed Martin.
The 'scrapyard' theme was going to be discarded deep freezers as FTs and fridges as GBs, but things don't always go to plan. I thought they'd be insulated, food grade and easily clad for appearance.
Any expansions will hopefully return to the original theme though.
Missed out on some huge freezers while I procrastinate finishing my yard clean up...

(Not sure why I said "send" instead of "sound".

Strangely I didn't even notice the typo.

Gotta say, these bream are eating better then I am, fresh prawns might be a bit of an extravagant feed ration.
The three that are left are fat belied things, living like kings.
One is almost feeding in front of me now, races up to a prawn piece and then realises that I'm there and stops inches away from it, staring at me until I leave. When I come back a minute later the prawn pieces are gone, shouldn't be long until I can get a video of them feeding I hope.
Wish they'd eat pellets though, no obvious sign that they are doing that yet but if prawns are falling like manna from the sky I don't imagine they'd often bother to eat such paltry offerings...
When I run out of prawns next, I might try pellets only for a week and see what happens. Blend up some prawn heads and pre soak the pellets in it so the pellets smell more appealing perhaps? Sinking pellets would be better then the floating ones that I have too I guess, since bream aren't particularly built for surface feeding.
Prawns are fairly cheap right now at $16 a kilo but it'd be expensive if I have to buy more around Christmas or Easter... It's not cheap fertiliser but at this stage I just want to make sure these first bream survive the trial. Maybe I should check what price the trawler boys will sell prawns to me.

That's cool, Bodgy. I so totally didn't think this would work. I'm glad I was wrong.

Oh yea of little faith Charlie!

Bodgy I was backing you all the way.

Thanks Charlie, I'm pretty chuffed at how well they are going. Well, except for the one which swallowed the hook.
I'm still not going to be too confident until the weather warms up a bit more but so far, so good.

One thing I didn't mention and forgot to check before putting the new ones in the FT was that the larger one appeared to spit the hook when I caught it then I noticed that the tip had snapped off the hook. Hoping that it isn't stuck in its jaw or it might cause an infection so I'll have to get onto making my fish net to catch it out to check on it. It is definitely feeding well but it is also the most cautious of the lot and is almost always sulking at the back of the FT.

It's all good Martin The doubts were fair since they're a marine species but I'm pleased with the progress to date.
They're kinda flighty, wall bashing fish when they're frightened unfortunately. Slowly getting less reactive though, not much but they're slightly better since when I appear it means food half the time.

Great stuff Bodgy, been enjoying watching how things have developed in your system.

Martin.