Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thanks for the advice Gordon and Jay . I will try some dolomite broadcast on the growbed as I would for the garden and water it in. It then has to make its way through the growbeds to the sump and through the towers before it reaches the fish tank.

Do your have an Rff? - dissolve in a biker and add to that - see how many solids sink


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great thread seeing your thread and Jayendra,s it just shows what great ideas are floating around ,Congratulations to both of you keep up the good work
P/s would love to see more of your chook setup

Hey thanks Food&Fish

Warning - the following post contains no finned content of any kind, its feathers only folks...

Okay, some pics of 'The Chook Condo' - its ~4 metres long and ~2 metres wide with an upstairs coop ~1x2m. I have 5 Gold Legbar girls who are around 22 weeks old - should start laying anytime now.



The Condo was built into an extension of the pergola which runs along the north facing veranda.




The coop has two nesting boxes and a roosting branch (the 50mm PVC pipe was a bit slippery for them and has since been recycled in 'The Fish Farm'). My OH made the lovely window . There is a 6 litre 'wet-a-chook' waterer and a 3kg 'dine-a-chook' feeder which can keep them going for around 6 days. I have an olive barrel for rainwater from the Condo roof which is plumbed to the waterer so I can refill easily from outside the pen. They free range in the garden when I am home. They get a few scraps (it is a fight between the Labrador, the chooks and the worm farm) and some grain in the evening to entice them to turn over the mulch.

They have an east facing terrace on their coop which is currently open, but will soon have fancy doors to keep them snug in the cooler months. My OH hand sawed and individually sealed each of the wooden discs which came from the silver birches that previously grew there and apricot branches from resizing the tree which is in the run . The Labrador loves to sleep in the dry straw under the coop when it is raining. I have wood shavings in the coop and nest boxes, and straw & mulched prunings in the run.

I made the metal art gate and can't wait to start on 'The Fish Farm' gates.



Thanks Fish&Food for the opportunity to show off 'The Chook Condo'.

Great thanks if ever down your way I would like to call in [its always better in the flesh ]

You would be most welcome, and you should drop into the Yarragon cafe on the way where Jay has his new system. I am over your way occasionally too, used to live at Werribee.

Cheers

Jo

JoC, just love the Chook Condo it's an absolute work of art, well done with that, those chook's are blessed

Fantastic work, by both you and the OH! Now I just need to figure out how to show my wife the chook house without letting her get a glimpse of your grow towers...

Yes definitely I have a holiday auction to take at lakes this year so will contact you when I know more
If ever near by I am home most of the time
My chooks

Nice set up - the olive tree should provide the girls some great shade soon too... I have a fantastic recipe for ash cured olives. I look forward to hearing from you


Thank you Joe - those blessed chooks better start laying some eggs soon! Just checked out your thread - fantastic to see your system develop and grow. Well done you, and very neat work too! Your SLO has got me thinking...


Thanks JimV - remember to keep hold of the mouse and you should be okay

Wow, the chook condo is amazing. Well done


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love, love, love the Chook Condo!

That's awesome on the chook condo front! I've seen that design before with cut off logs and have always loved it.

Top work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very cool

Just a quick catch up on recent messages and an update on the pH situation... Thanks everyone for your kind words about The Chook Condo. It is a great feeling to finish (well, almost finish...) a project and enjoy the results, and have others appreciate it as well

Now an update on the falling pH... yesterday I added a cup of dolomite to half a bucket of rainwater and mixed it to a milky soup. I let it settle a bit then sploshed a 1/3 of it into the ST to circulate for a few hours - pH went from a smidge over 6.0 to ~6.2. I swirled the bucket and added another splosh and waited a few more hours - pH went up to ~6.4. So I sploshed in the rest of the bucket (not the settled solids) last night, and today the pH is a perfect 6.6, however I do have a small ammonia spike that has graduated to a nitrite spike due to upping the feeding rate. I reckon it will sort itself out - will check in the morning before I decide to feed or not.