Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I had an idea or 3 for closing chicken doors. The simplest one was to put a spring on the perch that allowed the perch to move down once the correct amount of chicken weight was on board. (We only have 2 chickens so it would be easy to calibrate). The downwards movement would drop a pin into a loop on the door locking it until they got off the perch.

I never tested it because a fox took our chickens.

I realize how likely things like this are to fail but it was the simplest of my ideas. The rest were even more likely to fail, but included revolving doors, or zig zag corridors, that wouldn't allow anything longer than a chicken to enter, and a small solar pump that pumped water from one side of a balance beam to the other. When the sun comes up, water would pump from the reservoir to the other side of the balance. Once full to "door opening weight" the water would overflow back into the reservoir. There would also be a slow leak back to the reservoir. When the sun went down the slow leak would slowly close the door over say 10 minutes.

Any one of those wacky ideas could only be improved with the addition of a linear actuator:)

Or there's the glass dome over the entire country.

Or ... there's this other idea I just had called a fox crusher. You get your actuator, and the biggest boot you can find.......


But perhaps most importantly, would there be any chance of buying/begging a 1/4 cup of duckweed? I've been looking everywhere for it and all the shops sell something they claim is duckweed but isn't. Yours looks like the real deal.

Yeah, that's great looking duckweed there Scott - for some reason I have a lot of trouble with it.

woops.

auto duck/chicken door.....
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_timedt ... UcsgHgYJIM

(my first Youtube vid - can someone remind me how to embed the video)

Hi All,
I haven't been round these parts for a while (4 years )

My system is still ticking over, but it has been a while since it has seen any fish.

Anyone know where we are getting Silvers from in Adelaide these days ?

Scott!!

1aquaponics sell them, or mail order as far as I know.

I could go some perch if you want to go halves.

Can you guys raise any fish, or do you have to purchase each cycle? We're spoiled with tilaipa, although I prefer trout to tilapia on my plate.