New System with backup needed...

[fisho]

Hi there All,
I have been reading your posts and now have a sytem with pictures that may be worth showing and getting input on.

The plants were put in last Friday.

I have two fish tanks 2000L (troughs) and four of the same for vegie beds.

It gravity feeds to a sump point which sump pump pumps through two inch poly (attempted the solar idea over 100 lineal metres - does not seem to have much effect)

The water goes into the vegie patch through 20mm blue metal and then goes out 100mm down from the top rim. This has been done so that when I 'loose' my pump on a 35 degree day the vegies have some water to draw on.

I have two keep alive bilge pumps which work off the solar panel and 12v battery.

I have the waffle pods filled with lettuce to do a few things, keep any heat in , keep the light down for algae and fish happiness that a cormoront is not perched on the tank edge. I think the peat others have been talking about may be better filling it to the top of the poly and just having a drainage hole in it. Thoughts on this one ?

I had a six foot tank which I lost some lovely barramundi when the power went out (boiled fish anyone) and so even though the system is not 'properly' made it will give me some redundancy.

This leads to me to backup systems questions, can anyone give me best value for dollar effective system?

Regards,
Richard

[GreenCow]

Welcome....can't comment on a backup system. We use gravity feed from the growbeds to the fish tank, in case we have a power outage. The GB's will continue to drain to the fish tank and provide some aeration to help with the oxygen needs. Power ususally doesn't stay off too long.

What type of plants are those? Recognize the lettuce, but the others are different.

Keep the pics coming.....like the use of the tanks on the slope.

[fisho]

Hi,
Thanks for the welcome.

The plants are silverbeet, red cabbage, green cabbage, lettuce - I went for some heavy feeders to try and get the balance right quickly.

Once every six months they do a half day maintenance session on the power.

Keen to hear anyone that has bought from

http://blueyabby.com/en/Products/default.htm

and getting hold of them...

[djs-sa]

half a day without power? um maybe a generator but automation is the costly part, battery power with solar is also expensive, I think our back ups we are using wouldn't cope with 6hours and if so hate to think what the battery will cost plus extra pumps etc. so option 1 and 2 aint that dear if u value ur hard work, that could be lost within minutes not hours.

[GreenCow]

Couldn't find too much on the company contact, but here is the address....

Australian Blue Yabby Aquaculture
6 Scott Avenue
St Albans, 3021

[GaryD]

Hi,



half a day without power? um maybe a generator but automation is the costly part, battery power with solar is also expensive, I think our back ups we are using wouldn't cope with 6hours and if so hate to think what the battery will cost plus extra pumps etc. so option 1 and 2 aint that dear if u value ur hard work, that could be lost within minutes not hours.


You can use a backup power switch of the type sold by Murray coupled with a battery, trickle charger and 12 volt pump. You could also use an ordinary genset (I bought a 750w unit from Aldi for $119) and a backup switch which drives an alarm.

While you'd have to get out of bed to start the genset (which I'd prefer anyway), this arrangement would still be a lot cheaper than an auto-start generator.

Gary

http://www.aquaponicshq.com/forums/images/misc/progress.gif

[Hamish]

Hi,

Keen to hear anyone that has bought from

http://blueyabby.com/en/Products/default.htm

and getting hold of them...

Welcome! Nice looking system you have built - well done

Those yabby people are really hard to contact - I sent them multiple emails without response - was not untill I sent them an email complaining about the lack of response that they finally gave me a phone call.

[fisho]

I had a cynic the other day say that they fish would not grow past plate size or 700 grams in my sixe tanks, has anyone done this ?

It now gives me incentive to do it.

Any thoughts on floor space versus feeding amounts that actually 'allows' them to get bigger.

Thanks for the tip Hamish.

Richard

[Hamish]

Yuo should see the silver prch in Murrays system - monsters.

[Murray]

I should add that the Big Silvers that I have are only a few that have reached that size. Much better luck with Jade Perch you will find.

My currrent batch of Silvers is like the first batch, out of 150 approx I would have 8 or 10 that are approaching plate size.
They were fingerlings late last October.
Some of them are still very small.

Silvers are a good tough forgiving fish, but Jades do much better in growing out quickly.

[GaryD]

Hi.

Aquaculture farmers report difficulty in getting silver perch to much over 450 grams in well stocked tanks.....although it seems that they will grow much larger in ponds.

It might be different if you only have the tank lightly stocked.

Ausyfish mention the problem on their web site.....here (http://www.ausyfish.com/back_yard_aquaponics.htm).

Personally, I wouldn't bother with them if I had to start with fingerlings. In my opinion, there are better tasting fish that grow much faster....Jade perch.

Gary

[fisho]

Managed to get some Goldens last week.

Found some information about weaning them onto pellets.

http://www.aaq.com.au/golden_perch.htm

Has anyone recently got any Jades ?

Can someone tell me what temperature their tanks get to in summer ?

[Murray]

I have lost about 35 of my Goldens. The remainder have settled down and appear to be doing fine. Evidently the Goldens from Aussiefish need the same conditions as Jades.
I would not bother with Silvers again.
They are a good starter fish but not enough of them get any size on them as opposed to Jades where most of any batch grow out very well.

[Outbackozzie]

have to disagree with you djs, 1 x 100AH landcruiser sized 12v battery will drive a 65watt 4500lph pump for 20 hours via an inverter.

[djs-sa]

outback,
what brand inverter are u using and what size wattage is the inverter rated at.

what size is ur battery(big bugger i bet, worth ****loads) and the cost? cheaper running multiple batteries set up in a battery bank!

with my inverter 150w at 220volts using my laptop out on site for work using 75watts lasts bugger all until I have to switch my van on and running the motor to charge the second battery
(dual battery fitted 4 this purpose as I used to work in remote area's installing satellite inernet and the likes)

so mine would not last that long,
so state some brand names and prices outback, dont want to give false hopes to people do we.
I'm speaaking on my experiences only

[Hamish]

Isnt there a simple calculation for this?

[djs-sa]

I will find it for u hamish but the losses involved with the inverter is what i'm thinking is the diff. ???

[Outbackozzie]

I have posted this info elsewhere through this forum too :rolleyes:

My backup system drives 1 x 65watt, 4500lph pump, running through a spraybar. This runs continuously.

Consists of 2 x 100AH (700CCA) N70ZZ Batteries - $150 each.
1 x 300watt 12v - 240v inverter from D!ck smiths - $80
2 x 4A Battery Chargers - $25 each.

The inverter draws 5A @ 12v, so at 50% max discharge (100AH) I get 100/5 = 20 hours of running time to 1/2 battery charge. You dont want to discharge the batteries below 50% for longevity.

I reckon I would get at least 30 hours before the inverter goes into low volt beeping mode.

Cheap as, reliable as, and you always know it is working.

[Outbackozzie]

so state some brand names and prices outback, dont want to give false hopes to people do we.
I'm speaaking on my experiences only

And I dont appreciate your wording - I have done nothing but good things for AP, I dont knowingly spout misinformation on any forum.

I'll stop now before I get super moderated :mad: