Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I've been browsing through some old threads because I've ran out of new content to read and I saw the two posts above and now I'm worried... PLJ did a Dropbear or a Bunyip get you, or did you die from swimming in your fish tank and caught some infectious disease???

Hi PLJ, been away from the forum for ages just catching up and enjoying your thread. Good to see you again.

I see you've taken a 6 month holiday - get back to it buddy!

Martin.

Haha, I'm back!

Thank you, Martin and Rob, for missing me.

Just in case you're wondering, I have 420 trout and 18 large silver perch in my big concrete tank right now.

Having spent the last 2 evenings reading this journey I feel a little inadequate with my paltry trout here in Perth and am hoping you add a little excitement for us wannabes. Very enjoyable thread and nice to see you still around as others post and then disappear into the sunset.


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Thanks for your kind words, Liney. I hope I can come up with a little more excitement for you!

There is no need for feelings of inadequacy; I have the highest regard for peeps who run relatively small systems with tight parameters and are regularly producing quality food for their table. When one has a stocking density of in excess of 200L per fish, as I do, the system is forgiving and one can generally make a few mistakes without paying a high price in terms of fish and plant losses. (I'm tempted to say that my system now runs itself but that statement would surely come back to bite me.)

Good to see you're back PLJ.

What have you been up to this summer PLJ, things slowing down now or just getting started now that water temps are falling for the trout?

I'm glad to see that you have survived the bunyips, dropbears, and infectious diseases that live in your non UV sterilized tank.

It is quite interesting some of the conversations you stumble into years after they happened in forum land.

Good to hear you are still around PLJ

420 trout??? Wow that's a lot..

Greetings Joblow!

Rob, I did the usual stuff over summer - I worked and played. I don't get to go away more than just overnight, though, because I have too many finned, feathered and furred mouths to feed, not to mention thousands of plants to keep alive, and summer is when it can all go pear-shaped quickly.

I didn't drain my big tank before introducing trout this season's trout but left the system ticking over with 25 half kilo silver perch in it to fatten up and to provide nutrients to the plants. I could catch only seven before trout season, hence the 18 large silver perch lurking in my tank below the trout. I don't see them hitting the feed at the surface and doubt any makes it down to them through the swarm of trout, but they'll get by. My main crops were Malabar spinach, watercress and kangkong. I also had a lot of fun and success with Egyptian walking onions.

No UV sterilisation, no salt, no chelates, no additives of any kind go into my system, rather it is basic: water + fish + feed + substrate/surface area for bacteria + plants.

Drop-bears are occasionally spotted elsewhere on my property but generally keep clear of my aquaponics area, fortunately. Sadly though, bunyips have been mostly wiped out in my district.

Joel, 420 trout is far fewer than I planned on growing out this year but is all that I sourced. I had 538 trout, including a dozen browns, last season and I'm proud to say that nearly all of them made it to the dinner plate.

So what's news now in the middle of winter PLJ, everything still going strong? I know the trout love this kind of weather.

All going well here, thanks Martin. I've had zero fish losses, that I know of, and the plants are powering.

I operated my seasonal farmers market stall down in Perth on Saturday, for the first time this year, and my aquaponically grown watercress sold well, as it has in the past. Did you know that research from 2016 showed that watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is more nutritious and healthful than any other vegetable or fruit?

The top 15 on the list are very interesting, with popular health items like blueberries being way down the rankings.

1. watercress
2. Chinese cabbage
3. chard
4. beet greens
5. spinach
6. chicory
7. leaf lettuce
8. parsley
9. romaine lettuce
10. collard green
11. turnip green
12. mustard green
13. endive
14. chive
15. kale.

Here is the article from which I extracted the list. It contains a link to the research:

Kale is often touted as the best of the best when it comes to superfood. But it seems there are more than a dozen other vegetables that pack more nutritional punch than the favourite green of hipsters and health food bloggers.
Chinese cabbage, spinach, parsley and even some types of lettuce are just some of the vegetables that have been found to contain more of certain essential nutrients than kale.

But the veg that you should move to the very top of your next shopping list, is watercress. This delicate and deliciously peppery salad green is the only one to get a perfect nutrient density score of 100. A score assigned by a US research team that identified fruits and vegetables containing 10 per cent or more of the daily recommended intake of critical nutrients, including fibre, iron, protein and vitamins B,C and K. We want to eat foods rich in these nutrients as they have been linked with a reduced risk of developing chronic diseases, including some forms of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Professor Jennifer Di Noia says powerhouse food rankings aim to "provide clarity on the nutrient quality of the different foods and may aid in the selection of more nutrient-dense items within the powerhouse group".

Kale only managed to come in at number 15, and it wasn't the only popular superfood that didn't make the grade. Berries - well loved by those who claim to be in the know when it comes to nutrition - were also way down the ranking list. This is because researchers were interested in specific nutrients and berries didn't contain significant amounts of those the researchers were interested in.

So what is it that makes watercress so special? Well, just two cups contain 212 per cent of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin K (a nutrient important for normal blood clotting and protein synthesis in the blood, bones and kidneys). Watercress also contains large amounts of glucosinolate compounds (which inhibit breast, lung, colon and prostate cancer development) as well as smaller amounts of calcium, magnesium and potassium. And ... it contains next to no kilojoules.

PLJ I was supprised to see that pizza & beer weren't included in your list of healthy food, and I don't think watercress although being healthy would outsell either pizza or beer

I always knew Kale was over rated