Murray's new Flomedia demo system

[Joey]

Hi

I have been running my system now for two years. Starting off with a home made basic flood and drain as promoted on Murray's Video. I added floating raft grow beds after seeing Murray's early photos of his now promoted flomedia Grow beds, I also added additional filtration so that water pumped out of the fish tank would filtered prior to the floating raft grow beds.
Later I added a home made RAS where the water is pumped out of a sump into a bio filter where it flows into a fish tank. The fish tank which has a cente drain pipe which lifts solids into a set of swirl filters and then back into the sump. The RAS idea was based on the ideas suggested by Gary and Earthan Group, while the Swirl filter ideas were posted by Daveoponic.
I think anybody thinking of going commercial should do what I did and that is suck it and see6 (That is build and run a small system first.) So far I have seen nothing in aquaponics that would make make me want to go commercial. At the same time I have found a great interesting hobby which has produced fish and lots of vegetables at home and what can be better than that.

I thank all the forums for the information they freely make available to all.
Cheers

Joey

[Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabado]

Glad to see another Joey here, I making a small system in my backyard and you better believe I am adding filtration. I am a total novice at aquaponics, but have been in the aquaculture world for about 8 years. I know from research that ammonia isn't going to convert itself, and that solid waste buildup is just another way of saying solid ammonia. Gotta filter the solids and convert the ammonia in an efficient and reliable way. You don't want that nitrification conversion happening at the root source, but rather in a dedicated filter so that only nitrates are flowing over the plants. From what I read, it does seem that Murray is chugging along as he goes. Let's hope he doesn't pawn this "revolutionary" information as his own. Stick that in your Flomedia!

[Pugo]

Welcome to Aquaponics HQ. You are right it doesn't take much knowledge to figure out that Mechanical filtration is a must. But murray does seem to attract Aquaponic Zombies..

[DaveOponic]

Yes. I can't agree more. He also has a little gang of thugs who will keep you in line should you make any criticism of his systems or his politics (to the right of Genghis Khan) I was booted off his forum yesterday after having the temerity to criticize his CHOP2 system on the forum and suggesting that he was not the expert that he likes to think he is. The big fella doesn't take criticism too well. Even from a loyal member of over 7 years membership of that forum. Another member also voluntarily signed off this week after being harassed on the forum by a couple of Murray's stooges.
Practical Aquaponics? Practically Brain Dead Aquaponics.

[Oswego]

I found that forum before I found this one. In fact after reading that one for a few days I started looking for another forum. I have raised tropical fish off and on all my life and I could tell they just did not understand fish over there.
It almost seemed like a cult with blind followers of the master.

[DaveOponic]

Yes. The forum has all the characteristics of a cult. It seems to attract its share of right wing looneys who blame the Gillard government for everything from their business failures to their fish dying. Anyone who expresses an alternative opinion is ostracized, censored by having their post removed or told in nasty private messages that they should look for another forum to join. Murray seems to be appealing to the doomsday cult types in the USA but recently a very intelligent academic type Texan joined the forum wanting to know more about Aquaponics. What he didn't know was that people with a sense of humor or independent views are not welcome on Murray's forum. He was basically driven out as one by one Murray's sycophants tore pieces out of him in their replies to his posts.
There is no attempt at moderation on the forum. One of the moderators is anything but moderate. He recently launched a very personal attack on me after I mentioned the death of my sister due to kidney cancer. The post was in reply to another member who had lost a loved one. This "moderator" suggested that I was looking for sympathy by posting about the death of my sister. It was her birthday for christ's sake!

dave

[Ravnis]

Yes. I can't agree more. He also has a little gang of thugs who will keep you in line should you make any criticism of his systems or his politics (to the right of Genghis Khan) I was booted off his forum yesterday after having the temerity to criticize his CHOP2 system on the forum and suggesting that he was not the expert that he likes to think he is. The big fella doesn't take criticism too well. Even from a loyal member of over 7 years membership of that forum. Another member also voluntarily signed off this week after being harassed on the forum by a couple of Murray's stooges.
Practical Aquaponics? Practically Brain Dead Aquaponics.

Cheer up Dave, I couldn't even get in the cult. It sounds like I didn't miss much.

I'm so sorry to hear about your sister.

[GaryD]

Hi Dave,

There is no attempt at moderation on the forum. One of the moderators is anything but moderate.

Your first sentence probably summed it up best. There are no moderators on PAP......except in name.

RupertofOz was named as a moderator but he recently revealed that he had never actually had the powers of a moderator. Hallam changed his title soon after......and, in so doing, confirmed the fact.

I thought Yabbies4Me's treatment following your mention of your sister was disgusting, too.

Practical Aquaponics was always a bit lax when it came to matters of human decency. I recall a discussion on "coons" (a racist reference to indigenous Australians)....and other similarly inappropriate material.....that has popped up from time to time. Even Hallam (a church elder no less) posted a joke that started off with the line....."What do English Women do with their arseholes?"

The references to PAP being like a cult are interesting. Having read a bit about cults, I found some useful parallels between them and some forums.

Cults attract a band of hard-core followers (sycophants) who attach themselves to the 'master'.....and do his dirty work in the hope that he'll look on them with favour.

There's also this really stark division between love and hate that is dished out to cult members depending on their attachment to the cause (or lack of it).

Anyway, let's enjoy all of this while it lasts. I have a feeling that the thread that I just started on "What makes for a good online community?" is going to put a stop to these sorts of posts.

Gary

[miloponic]

Dr Wilson Lennard has just released a "Fact Sheet" about media beds and sizing them with a discussion on hybrid style commercial aquaponic systems. Interesting reading, with a good amount of science involved. Check it out www.aquaponic.com.au

[Pugo]

miloponic
You only need to post something once. it almost feels like spam when I keep reading the same post on different threads.. Trust me almost everything thread is read by everyone on the forum. And Dr Wilson Lennard is well respected and nothing he writes goes unnoticed.