My "Other Investments" - Aquaponics at Home

[malachii]

I am doing the exact opposite, as I said I am doing solar, > battery then to mains backup.

As for fish, I am going with a mix, Sleepy cod for some, these are to sell as each fish is worth around 100$ when fully grown (2 years). THe others will be spread amongst Talapia, Bream and Barramundi all of which have be done by another local, that means I will just need to jump on the boat for flatty, snapper, whiting, squid and flake, strap on the Scuba tanks and I can hit the scallop fields and chase the crays, could get abalone as well but I am not a fan of it. Take out the bang sticks to get quail, duck, deer, pigs, goat etc then its just a matter of getting all the veges to grow a little better. This year is the 5th year for most of the fruit trees and the results are really starting to show, we will in the next few years be getting 100KG+ of most fruit and given the 4 bee hives anything between 120KG and 200KG of honey

NOTE: These figures are averages

Talapia are illegal in Australia - worried about them taking over the waterways like the Carp (however you can find them in some of the Sydney waterways already - not sure about Melb). Big fines if you get caught with them in your tanks.

We are in Gippsland so we run Trout during winter and Barramundi during summer with a slight overlap during Autumn and Spring. It means you get a slightly smaller fish than you would if you grew them out longer but this way we get 2 types of fish a year out of the same tanks so the kids don't start going "Ahhh - not Barra again - can't we have something different like hamburger mince" (I kid you not - this was a direct quote from my 13 year old at the end of last summer!).

malachii

 

[ausau]

Hi Austacker,
Sleepy cod reach about 40cm but they are aggressive towards each other and may be difficult to keep lots of them in one tank plus they may not survive a Perth winter. They will also eat whatever will fit into their mouth (like most fish).
Silver perch and yabbies is a good mix but just be careful because as the perch grow they may eat the yabbies particulary when the yabby molts, I would not be too bothered about setting up pairs of yabbies as one male will mate with several females, it may be better to have 1 male to 4 females or more. Using lots of 20cm lengths of uPVC pipe all over the bottom of the pond helps stop predation by the yabbies on each other but also from the perch eating the yabbies, leave some pipes open and block others off that way expectant mums can hole up in the pipes without getting harrassed.
A good way to help provide safety for baby yabbies is to make fake seaweed: get some shadecloth about 45cm in length and cut it into strips about 1 inch wide, do not cut it the whole way down as you want multiple strips to be joined at the base, anchor this to a heavy PVC fitting and it should float vertically like seaweed, the yabby fry can clamber all over it but as it doesn't support the weight of the parents they can't chase them around on it.
Silver perch will also eat baby yabbies so it may be a good idea to set up 2 fish ponds and seperate them.
Be careful using too much gravel on the bottom of your pond as the fish waste can end up trapped in that rather than being put into the GB.

If you need some expanded clay, I have 5 unopened bags of the Van Buuren stuff if you are interested in swapping for silver.

Cheers,
Blake.

 

[petey]

+1. Awesome!

If we're not talking about precious metals, this is the sort of thing I want to see more of on SS.

Kudos and well done, make sure you keep us updated!

This is the sort of topic that is perfect for the "Preparedness and Sustainable Living" forum (which everyone can access for the low, low price of 1oz silver ) So far DanDee's got the highest rating thread of nearly any on the whole site.

Any idea why that section you need to pay for and this one you don't?

 

[ShadowPeo]

How many Cod could you get in your tank, how big do they get ?

The guy I am "following" down my way started with 40ish, have not been to see him recently so no idea how many he has now but they will be about reaching maturity now give or take

Talapia are illegal in Australia - worried about them taking over the waterways like the Carp (however you can find them in some of the Sydney waterways already - not sure about Melb). Big fines if you get caught with them in your tanks.

Interesting, I am sure this guy said it was Talapia he had in his tank (only one of the 4 tanks, one were petch, one was barra, one was sleepy cod and one was I cannot recall now, but I will check) there goes that idea then, just put another perch tank or barra tank in

We are in Gippsland so we run Trout during winter and Barramundi during summer with a slight overlap during Autumn and Spring.

Interesting combination, cannot stand trout myself, but given the area that I am looking to move to (western part of the state) it could be a viable thing to do Atlantic Salmon. mmmm fresh salmon straight to the cold smoker for 96 hours of smokey goodness

 

[SilverSurfer77]

Nothing to do with Aquaponics but I did just start to grow my own tomatoes. Just a very basic set up from Bunnings and quite inexpensive. 4 pots about 450mm Diameter, 4 bags of potting mix, fertilizer and a punit of 4 seedlings that were about 8cm tall. All up it was less than $50
Well this weekend the tomatoes have been in the pots for 4 weeks and holey snappin duck sh!t, they are nearly 2 foot tall and covered in flowers I will take some photo's and post on here so everyone can see there progress. Both the myself and my better half are stunned how fast they have grown and I have to tell you it feels awesome to be able to grow your own food. This is something I think everyone should try and from my experience so far at least, tomatoes are easy

 

[bordsilver]

+1. Awesome!

If we're not talking about precious metals, this is the sort of thing I want to see more of on SS.

Kudos and well done, make sure you keep us updated!

This is the sort of topic that is perfect for the "Preparedness and Sustainable Living" forum (which everyone can access for the low, low price of 1oz silver ) So far DanDee's got the highest rating thread of nearly any on the whole site.

Any idea why that section you need to pay for and this one you don't?

Have to ask GP about that.

It's also got a copy of the "alpha strategy" on there (and now there's zombies :lol: )

 

[petey]

This is the sort of topic that is perfect for the "Preparedness and Sustainable Living" forum (which everyone can access for the low, low price of 1oz silver ) So far DanDee's got the highest rating thread of nearly any on the whole site.

Any idea why that section you need to pay for and this one you don't?

Have to ask GP about that.

It's also got a copy of the "alpha strategy" on there (and now there's zombies :lol: )

So it's private because of pirated content then?

It's more of a curiosity thing - I've ran a fair few forums in the past and done quite well out of them. It was always my view that forums are paid for by ads and sponsors. At the most users with say 50 posts might choose to donate to get trading access. Loyal long term users who add content (which, lets be honest is the #1 most important thing on a website/forum, as without content, you don't have any traffic, and without traffic, there's not much clicking happening on those ads and the sponsors aren't selling much) get free access to everything (obviously aside from an Admin/Mods section).

Anyway, just my 1gr.

 

[bordsilver]

Any idea why that section you need to pay for and this one you don't?

Have to ask GP about that.

It's also got a copy of the "alpha strategy" on there (and now there's zombies :lol: )

So it's private because of pirated content then?

It's more of a curiosity thing - I've ran a fair few forums in the past and done quite well out of them. It was always my view that forums are paid for by ads and sponsors. At the most users with say 50 posts might choose to donate to get trading access. Loyal long term users who add content (which, lets be honest is the #1 most important thing on a website/forum, as without content, you don't have any traffic, and without traffic, there's not much clicking happening on those ads and the sponsors aren't selling much) get free access to everything (obviously aside from an Admin/Mods section).

Anyway, just my 1gr.

Hmmm. Don't really "get it" and is probably just a case of different site owners will do different things. A 1oz fee for "members in good standing" for "lifetime" membership does not seem excessive in any way (to me at least) whilst setting a hurdle so that people don't get something for nothing (as a result the trolling and personal attacks are nearly non-existent on the members-only forums, which is very nice).

I can sympathise for the argument for loyal long term users who add content getting free access but it is highly subjective in how you define "loyal", "long term" and especially "content" (1000 posts in Welcome thread for example).

 

[Sargeant Argent]

Cool thread Ive worked on a lot of self sustainability skills lately. Got a seadoo and having been crabbin and jiggin for lings and snappers and rockies. Been pickin wild mushrooms and have learned more about ocean edibles sea asparagus, mussels oysters ec. Even caught my first salmon in 20 years!

 

[errol43]

Is it only 1 oz silver for lifetime membership or 1oz p.a.? ^^^^^^

Regards Errol43

 

[bordsilver]

Is it only 1 oz silver for lifetime membership or 1oz p.a.? ^^^^^^

Regards Errol43

Lifetime of the forum.

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[steve.rsa]

Source:

Back on topic .....There is a huge amount of free info if you Google "Recirculating Aquaculture"

 

[Naphthalene Man]

Cool thread Ive worked on a lot of self sustainability skills lately. Got a seadoo and having been crabbin and jiggin for lings and snappers and rockies. Been pickin wild mushrooms and have learned more about ocean edibles sea asparagus, mussels oysters ec. Even caught my first salmon in 20 years!

I'm surpised that you manage to catch anything if you go on the noisy stinky seadoo. You can hear those mosquitos for miles and miles.

(i know, negative post. I'll stop being a negative nancy now).

Squid jigging is the best fun i reckon, trawling across seagrass beds.
Also having a bet with the mates who can catch the most crabs by hand. We used to get dragged behind the boat in Geographe Bay (SW West Aust) with the snorkel on and drop off when you saw a crab. The rule was you caught it by hand and then threw it at the driver when he wasn't looking. The driver obviously drew the short straw :lol: :lol:

 

[Sargeant Argent]

Its a 4 stroke and Im jigging in deep water for ling cods and rock fish and halibut. Much cheaper and more fuel efficient than a tinny I can go fishing for three go outs for 30 bucks which is about it costs to run a 16-18 ft tinny for one trip its not as much space but it does butter in rough seas and when it turns to shit u can get home quick. but enough about that aquaponics look sick Im hoping to one day build a green house in the back yard not the same as aquaponics but its a start.

 

[Austacker]

A good way to help provide safety for baby yabbies is to make fake seaweed: get some shadecloth about 45cm in length and cut it into strips about 1 inch wide, do not cut it the whole way down as you want multiple strips to be joined at the base, anchor this to a heavy PVC fitting and it should float vertically like seaweed, the yabby fry can clamber all over it but as it doesn't support the weight of the parents they can't chase them around on it.

Silver perch will also eat baby yabbies so it may be a good idea to set up 2 fish ponds and seperate them.

Be careful using too much gravel on the bottom of your pond as the fish waste can end up trapped in that rather than being put into the GB.

If you need some expanded clay, I have 5 unopened bags of the Van Buuren stuff if you are interested in swapping for silver.

Cheers,
Blake.

Hey Blake

Cheers that is some good advice.

The fake seaweed was a great idea. Except I thought I cleaned it well, then I saw tiny black strings floating in the water argggg so out it came, clean the gunk. I am going to wash it more thorough and try again over the weekend

I will be able to separate some of mums, so that will be OK I am building a house for them to hatch and be safe, hopefully.

How much gravel would you suggest in the bottom. I think that may be a problem ATM. I am using 20mm slotted pipe in the base and probable have 75mm + gravel ? Should I half this and have it just above the PVC ?

The bags of clay I could be interested in. I need about 3 more to do the next grow bed. PM what you would want as an idea ? Not ready yet or sure if I want to swap but let me know anyway also are you Sth or Nth ?

Thanks again.

 

[DanDee]

I got my IBC for $65 from eBay but there was no lid to it so it is no use as a growbed! We are turning it into more rainwater storage instead!

I had the same problem, no lid. I ended up turning it upside down, and using the bottom cut off an old plastic bucket, stuck on with sikaflex. the weight of the rocks ( I just used blue metal) held it down till it dried, and it worked fine.
Also, an old mesh orange bags screwed up with a rock in them work really well as a hiding place for baby yabbies.

 

[ausau]

Hi Austacker,
I will PM you some details over the weekend if that is okay?

If anyone is setting up an Aquaponics system please remember that whatever materials/food/plastics/rocks etc you use in their you will indirectly be eating as it will be absorbed by the plants and fish, it won't be as bad as Basa from Vietnam but keep an eye on what you use!

I am not sure of the use of slotted pipe in the bottom, is this so you draw the water down through the gravel so the gravel acts as a filter? I have not seen this method before, most aquaponics systems have no gravel in the bottom that way all of the fish waste ends up in the plant bed.
Generally the fish area is left bare bottom but with yabbies I would use enough gravel to just cover the bottom and I would also move the yabby hiding pipes etc around every week or so to dislodge any trapped sediment.

Blake.

 

[SilverSurfer77]

Nothing to do with Aquaponics but I did just start to grow my own tomatoes. Just a very basic set up from Bunnings and quite inexpensive. 4 pots about 450mm Diameter, 4 bags of potting mix, fertilizer and a punit of 4 seedlings that were about 8cm tall. All up it was less than $50
Well this weekend the tomatoes have been in the pots for 4 weeks and holey snappin duck sh!t, they are nearly 2 foot tall and covered in flowers I will take some photo's and post on here so everyone can see there progress. Both the myself and my better half are stunned how fast they have grown and I have to tell you it feels awesome to be able to grow your own food. This is something I think everyone should try and from my experience so far at least, tomatoes are easy

Ok as promised here are some pics of my Tomatoe plants and just noticed this morning, my first Tomatoe
So this is just 4 weeks from a seedling into a pot, so stoked about the results and how fast they grow.

Source:

Source:

 

[dross]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axd0oiR0Mwk[/youtube]

 

[malachii]

Love it!!

When are you cooking up the goldfish :lol:

malachii