Today I Stockpiled...

Discussion in 'Markets & Economies' started by Eureka Moments, Mar 3, 2020.

  1. dross

    dross Active Member

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    Aquaponics is great as you get fish veg and some fruit. Takes time to get going (cycle) but is scalable and once it gets going takes little to no time, only thing needed is fish food & chelate iron from time to time.

    Build your own or pay a fortune for a pre-made one, supplement fish food with black soldier fly, the odd leafy green leaf you grow, any bugs wanting to share your food, worms etc. Uses approx 90%+ less water than traditional gardens.

    Good link for what to plant at what time of the yr and how long to harvest etc. https://www.gardenate.com/
     
  2. Holdfast

    Holdfast Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    dross, which species of fish are you growing? :)
     
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  3. dross

    dross Active Member

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    I had 50 Jade Perch & only lost 2 in the 5yrs i ran the system (when i bought the fingerlings i asked for Silver Perch). I dismantled the system & sold it when preparing the house for sale, did Reno's, then bush fires, floods, now the Wu-flu so the house hasn't made it to the market yet. I want 5-10 arches in south east QLD & will build a new system having learned a lot from the first one but my timing sucks as usual LOL.

    Used to love going out in the morning picking kale, lettuce, radishes, spring onions, tomato's etc. to take to work for lunch then cooking with fresh grown & picked produce each night. When i harvested the fish some were over 2.5kgs each.
     
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  4. Holdfast

    Holdfast Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I must have got your Silver Perch. o_O :D
    Did you eat the harvested fish or did they go to a new home? That system of yours seems to be very productive, well done; I hope, when you get resettled you can start-up again.
    My system is probably pretty different to the normal, I've had Murray Cod, got some to over 4kg, but they were too aggressive, one shredded my finger, (fed by hand) he was only about 3.5kg at the time. I had the cod as fingerlings 3.5cm long, purchased them late Nov 2012.
    Now I grow Silver Perch, had them since 2016, they're a great fish. It's amazing how quickly native fish grow. :eek:
    Maybe we should start an aquaculture thread. ;)
     
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  5. Ag bullet

    Ag bullet Well-Known Member

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    what is the ideal golden perch to silver perch ratio?:p
     
  6. Holdfast

    Holdfast Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Normally 1:1

    If you had a 1 megalitre dam that is old (has habitat / food already established) and isn't under drought stress you could easily stock it with 100 gold bars and 100 silver bars. :p :p :D
     
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  7. goldpelican

    goldpelican Administrator Staff Member

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    Grew up on a farm with dams stocked with silver and golden perch - silvers were by far the easiest to catch, and from memory they reproduced within the dam without needing restocking as often.
     
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  8. Holdfast

    Holdfast Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    If folk have a sizeable dam, they may want to consider stocking but do your homework first. Golden Perch Macquaria ambigua prefer live food where as Silver Perch are omnivorous. Silver Perch Bidyanus bidyanus generally need water flow / inflow to breed so, a dam that doesn't have flow at the correct time of the year may not provide the outcomes you seek. Having said that, you can breed them in an aquaculture setting in suburbia if you can emulate their preferred native habitat.
     
  9. dross

    dross Active Member

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    Yep we ate them in the end & they really tasted great although a tad fatty i think silvers don't have that issue. I was happy to leave them alone just to run the system & didn't really think they were anywhere near the size they were till i took them out (the good old looking down into water effect). System was a powerhouse, toss radish seeds into the hydroton & they were full grown within 7 days, within 3 months i had to cut so much back as i could hardly get into the greenhouse / jungle. Don't plant mint, watercress or lemon grass unless their contained or they'll take over totally & clog the bed. I also had a couple of wicking beds in the greenhouse for things that didn't like the PH level of the system so best of both worlds.
     
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  10. Holdfast

    Holdfast Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Sounds like you could go into production dross. :) Your system sounds brilliant. :D
     
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  11. dross

    dross Active Member

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    I don't know about that, kept it as simple as possible (one pump) & being the first time it was done as cheaply as possible too learn from e.g. pipe hoop house, packing create wicking beds, 200lt plastic barrels cut in half as beds & used as sump tanks etc. Funny thing is the plants never worried about the looks, the temp, air flow etc was another issue. Once i learned more a lot of plants that used to look manky or didn't grow started taking off. Weird weather, unseasonable heat or cold snaps etc make you learn how to adapt on the fly. Here's a clip of the bare bones building stage, being so old the quality's very low and i cant upgrade it sorry.

     
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  12. Holdfast

    Holdfast Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Nice set up! The blue drums and black Hansen fittings look familiar, they are great. ;)
    My set up is very different.
    My bulk tank (Rain water tank) where the Silver Perch live, is fed by rainwater and I have 10 x 200 litre drums (same as yours ) which have yabbies (a few) fresh water mussels, freshwater snails, Rosy barbs (small fish) and structure (red gum hollow logs and pieces) to provide habitat for all the small critters we can't see with the naked eye, I use most of the drums for biological nutrient absorbtion (terminology), some of the drums have increased flow, some less, so that there's niches for those critters that like slow or fast currents and some that like sunshine and dark, I use oyster shells to provide calcium and filtering using a combination of Polyester wool batts etc. It's a simple set up for a complex food web, but I've managed to get things right which is evident because the Silver Perch have bred which the experts said wasn't possible, and the system has been operational for maybe 10 years or so.
    I use plants in the water to indicate nitrogen levels, white sweet potatoes (Shoots / stems) atm, I also use the sweet potato leaves to increase the population of water snails, the Perch love them (snails). I feed with compost worms and when I can get them cheap, supplement with cooked Vannamei prawns. ( I cut them into small pieces).
    My reticulation system is one pump on mains but if the power goes out, the set-up is sustainable for a good few weeks as I keep the system stocked so that the fish and other critters can live without reticulation. I manage water levels with Hansen superflow valves and any excess water goes to the bamboo. I use the boo for food, trellises, shelter from the harsh summers, wind brakes and kindling etc etc.
    Not sure if that makes sense :eek:
    The reason I don't use the water nutrient on my vegies is that I use a low concentration of salt to keep the Perch healthy and other critters happy.
    The vegies get worm juice from the worm far and ........that's another story. :)
     
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  13. dross

    dross Active Member

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    Wow your system sounds great & yes that all makes sense to me, when i get to planning out the new system (once i own & know the lay of the land) I'll have to pick your brains. I know I'm going to have a decent sized greenhouse with separate fish building, solar power back up system & a mix of deep water, flood & drain & a few filtration units with a bio reactor.
     
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  14. JohnnyBravo300

    JohnnyBravo300 Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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  15. dross

    dross Active Member

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  16. Ag bullet

    Ag bullet Well-Known Member

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    so the govt decides what is and isn't non essential now? this is sounding more orwellian by the day.
     
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  17. Ag bullet

    Ag bullet Well-Known Member

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    can't even buy seeds?? to me this is a clear sign that govt hate people who are self sufficient. the govt want you to need them and thus they can control every aspect of your life.
     
  18. dross

    dross Active Member

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    A friend from the USA was telling me yrs ago in California at the time it was illegal to grow veggies at home, even growing cherry tomatoes in your widow would get you into trouble, don't know f its still the same. That is truly screwed up & i don't know how people would stand for it.
     
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  19. Skyrocket

    Skyrocket Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    This is a photo of the dam on my rural retreat when I first bought it. I have since got a dozer in and made it a 4 times bigger but for some reason that photo won't upload. When I retire to my rural retreat one day i intend to make it another 4 times bigger. Anyway, what I want to know is what type of fish would survive in this type of water? The dam never dries up in summer coz there are trees shading it. And I also intend to put a windmill in it to keep the water circulating too.

    44444-min.jpg
     

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  20. Golightly

    Golightly Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I moved out to a property from inner city 3 years ago, had to change my survival plans from bug out in a fourby to staying and maintaining a property.
    Would have had full veg gardens by now as I had the beds ready but the drought fucked us. They are all cranking now due to this warm wet autumn.
    I work in food wholesaler these days so I have plenty of access to bulk staples. You just need to manage and rotate it properly or you open it to find weavels have had a go at it.
    To the point, I have stocked up on legumes, mostly canned (3kg chickpeas $6 odd) and cooked off loads of sauces and vacuum sealed it into the freezer.

    I was the least prepared for something like this than I have been in years (despite being sure we would start a great depression this year) which is annoying, I didnt pay enough attention to the CV BS not realizing this would be the vehicle the gov would use to bring about the depression to hide poor economic management.

    be interesting to see how long they drag this out for..
     
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