Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I'm sure they have the technology to count my fridge magnets -- but with all the other interesting things to spy on, I doubt if they have the time to worry about my backyard.

wow, looking good and HUGE!, not to nit pick or anything but I think you can fit another (6) 2'x8' beds right down the middle plus a few dozen towers here and there

-Stevo

Yep, it is about 12' between the GB's -- I'm thinking about making two low tanks -- say 6' x 24' x 1' high, and making that my sump -- then I could do raft culture in my sumps -- using the rafts for lettuce, basil, and other fast-growing crops and plant the fruiting vegetables in the gravel. The gravel GB's would then be my primary filtration system and the raft-covered sumps would be my quick-turnover plants. I like the idea of high frequencym transplanting into styrofoam holes rather than gravel.

...all that gravel and not one piece washed in the traditional AP manner

something to be proud of Em

Either you have a very large apetite for salad and veg, or you are gonna feed a third world country with that system! Oh how far this group has come in such a short time! Well done Ems

I check my Tilapia often and I noticed some strange behavior in the "male" tank last night... One had a mouth full of eggs and was being chased around by the others. but instead of hiding, she kept racing back to the biggest male -- who was bright pink with splayed fins -- beautiful fish. I decided to net her and put her in with the other females. She spit out some of her eggs but maybe she'll hatch a few. -- we'll see

It's good you got them going during the oh-so-short tilapia breeding season!

I must not be feeding my tilapia enough -- I had my females in a tank with strawberry plants above on a raft. As soon as they released their eggs, all the roots disappeared. (and shortly after that, so did the fry...) I've been feeding them two or three times per day -- like a teaspoon each time for 5 fish -- but they still are munching on the roots.

I can see why predator fish would be necessary under rafts in commercial culture -- a few tilapia fry could devastate a lot of roots.

I'm still trying to figure out what cash crops to grow in my greenhouse.

Perhaps she was looking to the male for protection. Or maybe she wasn't done spawning. hmmm.

Your brooder will turn nasty toward the other females in about another week. When the eggs start wiggling and she knows she has to let them out soon, she will start to try to defend an area that will be safe. Keep an eye on them.

she spit out a lot of eggs (I was impressed at how many eggs she had in her mouth) so she may not have any in her mouth. She probably wasn't finshed spawning but I want to positively identify all the males and females -- just for my own education -- and to facilitate further breeding when I have space and time. It had been relatively peaceful in the "male" tank up until yesterday. there is one fish in the male tank that has zebra stripes on his? body but is very large and agressive.

I was reading that if the Tilapia are crowded enough, they won't breed. My observations are indicating that they breed but the females get harrassed so much that they spit or swallow their eggs before the fry hatch.

Excellent progress Joel. You think you will have it all covered by fall?

You have some nice toys, er I mean tools there.... I like that Bobcat. Did you rent that or is it yours?

I hope so. I changed jobs and I've been helping my wife get her flower business established. We've been selling hanging baskets and bedding plants at the farmers markets on the weekends. I'm hoping to have it covered before fall -- but I'll need a very good reason to heat it all winter.

I thought of growing basil, but one of the guys at the farmer's market ran an organic produce delivery service and went out of business because the restaurants preferred to ship all their herbs and produce in by mail. Perhaps if I could generate consistent produce year round it would skew the odds in my favor -- he was (understandably) discouraged and saying that he could only sell produce if he undercut Safeway and Walmart prices....

oh, and no, I don't own the bobcat -- though I've certainly helped finance it with all the money I've spent on rentals.

I just noticed a green tomato on one of my AP tomatoes -- it is the size of a golf ball. Pretty exciting day for me -- I may get to eat the first Alaskan AP tomato!