Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well it's been a couple of weeks now but nothing new to report.

Plants are growing well considering the cold, we've had a few frosts but the GB's have escaped any serious icing.

No new fish yet, still waiting on some more goldies but I'm considering a different species as the goldies don't really hammer the new food.

I can't feed them very much as I just ends up on the bottom of the FT. They prefer to eat the bio film. Consequently they aren't growing very much but seem happy enough.

As the water temp is avge 8-9 °C I'm thinking of getting some trout but is it too late in the season???

Any suggestions are welcome.

Water tests haven't shifted but low temps and not much eating I'm not surprised really.

I guess to sum it up the plants are healthy and growing, the fish are healthy and surviving ... so all is good

New fish finally

10 Silver perch added on Friday, water buffered with crushed limestone (bit excessively actually). No fatalities so far.

Had a bit of an issue during the week when a small leak in the system turned into a large one. Didn't quite empty the sump as the pump switched off and the fish still had water and air ... go CHIFTPIST.

The flipside to this relative 'get out of jail' was that I had to fill the system directly from the house water tank as my top up supply was empty.

The result of this is a rise in ph and I guess a reset on the systems cycling, which was at a standstill anyway.

So now, leak is fixed, new fish added, water is warming, more sunshine hours on the grow beds ... something might start to happen.

That's a rad idea , I'm adding one of those bad boys for sure.

System looks great

Cheers bentaz,

And cudos for the funniest avatar I've seen on this site so far .

Well I think it has finally happened

There is ammonia in the system.



I have lost 2 goldfish in the last fortnight but no losses to the silver perch. The perch are now eating (in secret when no ones looking).

I tried a trick recommended by 'earthbound' which was adding goldfish in the perch tank to show them how to eat from the surface... it seems to be working

Plants have come back a bit and even some bonsai broccoli is starting to form.

I'm starting to enjoy this.

Hello mate, yeah I've found the produce is smaller and compensate by bulk planting. I am expecting it to improve as the system matures. Were they planted as seeds?
Time to get some summer plants in.
Plant it out and hide that gravel.

Hey Skeg,

All were grown from seed in trays then transferred to the GB's except for the silver beet. That grew as an alien species when I first started the system. It must've been left over seed from previous owners efforts. Notably they are doing the best of all so there might be something in that

As I write this the summer list is being tabled and hopefully in the seed trays by next week. What plant are on your list? I'll be going for a carpet effect as you've suggested.

My GB location is quite open to the east wind and we all know what that mongrel does to vegies in summer.

Any thoughts on potential windbreaks? I was thinking shade cloth but I'll consider all suggestions.

Hey Al, what's going down?
bump