Tasmania says Hello

[Tony]

Hi All.
For several months now I have been researching the vast array of systems and set ups in the world of aquaponics. We live on the eastern shore of Hobart where it is a maritime climate. Weather ranges from 2 degrees in the dead of winter, and up to 30 degrees in summer, with a whole range of temperatures in between.
I have just installed two 3500lt rainwater harvesting tanks, and I am about to design the aquaponics system once I've worked out where I can source the grow beds and tank from.
Nearly all of the the fish breeding stories I have read on various sites pretty much focus on Jade Perch however..! There are a few on Bream, several on Sleepy Cod, and fewer on Barramundi. But that really is a about it, from what I have been able to find. I think that is because most aquaponics distributors are in warmer climates such as QLD and WA.
Does anyone have any suggestions for suitable fish here in TAS? I have been told Trout, but I think I could only eat this fish for so long. TASAL commercially grow atlantic salmon and I'm wondering how difficult these would be in an aquaponics system? And Bream are caught in our local waterways too, so I'm thinking why not at home?
Also, there is a lot of media reports over concerns of what the fish pellets contain. Is anyone aware of a certified organic or biodynamic fish pellet?
I think that is about if for my questions for now...
Cheers
Tony

[GaryD]

Hi Tony,

Welcome to APHQ.

Jade perch are popular because they come with a whole raft of benefits....they grow quickly, they're hardy and they can cope with many of the inevitable mistakes that novice fish farmers make.....but they do need warm water.

I take your point about trout but they can be prepared many different ways.....and smoked trout is magnificent.

I know nothing about Atlantic salmon but you're certainly in the right state to learn more about them. As for bream (assuming that they are the Black Bream that we hear about), the only issue that I'm aware of that they take two or three seasons to grow out to a useful size.

OBO has some so he's better qualified to speak about them than me.

Gary

[Outbackozzie]

Hi :)

Ex Huonvillian here :)

Your best bet would be a mix of Silver Perch and some Black Bream. Maybe have a couple of Trout over winter to keep the system ticking along. I agree with your not wanting to have Trout all of the time - I personally do not like the hassle of picking bones out for a whole meal.

You should be able to maintain a system temp during winter of around 8 deg c (sometimes dipping to around 5) and a summer temp of mid to low 20's (sometimes gaining to high 20's). I can not see a system on the eastern shore getting above 30 deg c unless it has a very small water volume and is in direct sunlight all day.

The fish you get ultimately depends on what is available to you - there are nnot very many tassie people doing AP, so I will follow your progress with interest.

Salmon - require pretty salty water to grow well - so probably no good. I have not researched them at all, but that is my understanding. All salmon farms seem to be in estuaries or ocean.

What sized system are you looking at building?

[Tony]

Hi Gary and OBO.
Thanks for your feedback. An ex huonvillian hey? Why would you leave.?! :)
I am looking at a tank size of around 2500lts at the moment with around 4 - 6 grow beds. There are only 2 of us to feed however, so maybe this is too big?
The tank will only receive morning sun also.
I am going to keep an eye on the current collection tank temp this weekend as I am intrigued to see what it would be this time of the year as we have had not much warm weather yet.!
A mix of silver perch and black bream sounds good though. If I can mix it with trout that would be ideal..
If anyone knows where to source organic pellets that would be great.?
Cheers and thanks again. I will keep you updated with my progress once I can source the grow beds and other things I need.
For 2500lt what size pump would you suggest? I will end up doing a fingerling tank and duck weed tank too.
Cheers
Tony

[Outbackozzie]

For a pump:

http://www.rockaroundtheblock.com.au/product.asp?pID=608&cID=63

or the 4500 - I have 4 of them.

You could probably get away with 2 of the apple storage bins (line with plastic) for growbeds......Thats what I'd do.

Actually, I would get at least 4 of them, make two of them fish tanks (keep the trout and perch seperated) and how ever many you have capacity for as growbeds.

I have 2400 liters of growbeds currently, and still cannot supply a family of four with *all* of our vegie needs. Put as many in as you can afford / fit. Saves expanding later.

left tassie to join the navy back in '96, been mining for nearly 6 years now.

[GaryD]

Hi OBO,



.....left tassie to join the navy back in '96.....

Another ex-pusser aye! I joined in '68 and was discharged in '74.....and I spent my last three years as a submariner......ex-diesel stoker.

Sorry' bout hijacking your thread Tony.

On a more relevant note, those pumps look interesting (if somewhat expensive)......how long have yours been operating OBO?

Gary

[Outbackozzie]

<-----Stoker too, more like a component changer though, all the good jobs were contracted out *sigh*

The pumps have been operating for around 6 months now I suppose, they never get blocked up, and I am going to pull one out after the Trout harvest this weekend when I get home and see what they are like inside.

3 year warranty - so I am expecting good things. Very low power consumption for the water moved. I dont class them as expensive, 1 of these pumps moves as much water as 4 ebay pumps of the same rating.

[Tony]

Oh oh. I'm surrounded by Navy types.! :eek:
Army here. Discharged from ARA 7 years ago but still active as a specialist reserve officer, though due to other commitments haven't been doing much lately.

I was tested years ago as a submariner (electronic warfare) and spent an overnight tour on a vessel before deciding "no way in ....". Hence, ever since I have always taken my hat off to the men wearing the dolphins and crown as they deserve utmost respect.

Thanks for the link to the pumps OBO. Looks like I'll have to amend my plan if I'm going to go 4-6 grow beds, 2 tanks, a fingerling tank, and duckweed. Its getting bigger by the day.! Not an issue though. I want to set it up properly.

So what is an apple storage bin? Can't say I've seen one before or where we'd source one from?
Gary, is it going to be easier just to source the lot from somewhere like Murray (aquaponics.net)? I may end up otherwise spending weeks and weeks trying to source things from all over the place.
Cheers
Tony

[Hamish]

Hi Tony - I did just that (purchased my system from Murray) and I have not looked back. The system will outlast me and probably my children (if I was ever to have any!). Minimum of fuss and they look good. If you can afford it then go for it.

[GaryD]

Hi Tony,



Gary, is it going to be easier just to source the lot from somewhere like Murray (aquaponics.net)? I may end up otherwise spending weeks and weeks trying to source things from all over the place.


I'm with Hamish.....if you can afford good gear, you won't go past Murray's stuff. I own three of his tanks, four 235 litre growbeds and three 585 litre grow beds. I've ordered another tank (1250 litres) and one each of the 235 and 585 litre grow beds.


Gary

[Outbackozzie]

+1 for buying if you have the money, and lack of time.

I actually enjoy building the system, except when disasters happen :rolleyes:

[echidna]

Tony,

Before you do anything involving freshwater fish in Tasmania, read the IFS website thoroughly and get ready to talk to them as you'll probably need a license to do any fish keeping whatsoever. You'll probably be unable to even buy stock without an IFS permit.

http://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/ifs/

For the species that IFS might permit you to keep, read http://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/ifs/goingfishing/fishspecies

Your situation is probably closest to stocking a farm dam so talk to those people first
https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/ifs/onlinelicence/farm-dam-stocking-application-1

Good Luck and be calm.

[Tony]

Hey Echidna.
I think your comment has caused the IFS some confusion.
I spoke with them last week and to date have not had a reply from anyone.
They think that it won't apply as the tanks are not a 'farm dam' and are not near any water sources such as creeks or run off. But as trout and salmon are fish requiring licences in all other respects, the person I spoke with needs to run the query 'up the line' for clarification.
Great question E, and I'll get back to you.
Cheers
Tony

[Tony]

Hi Echidna.
I finally have heard back from the Inland Fisheries Dept. Many thanks for posting the question.
Essentially, any aquaponics system in Tasmania does require a permit for stocking purposes. And about the only fish species allowable is Trout.
This is to prevent any diseases being imported on other fish species.
The IFS has had around 6 queries for aquaponics stocking in the past 12 months but apparently mine is the first application they have received and it has to go past the director first for approval. They are not sure if it will be approved yet, but it should be ok.
Other allowable species are Black bream but it takes too long to reach maturity, and Atlantic Salmon I am told require occasional salt water flows for best outcomes. Blackfish are also permitted but I don't know about these.
Cheers
Tony

[Murray]

All power to you Tony...You are breaking new ground there in Tassie.
I hope the bureaucrats are open minded enough and do their homework before making a decision on your permit application.

[Tony]

I certainly hope so Murray. I was told today to put my application in without paying the $75 fee just in case it was rejected. I am quietly optimistic as there are plenty of farm dams that stock the fish so I don't see why an aquaponics system would be any different.
A friend of mine owns a trout and salmon hatchery and believes trout is also the way to go as they have twice the metabolic rate compared with Atlantic Salmon. But once set up and established, I'm pretty keen to have another tank with Salmon..! :)
I'll keep you posted.

[echidna]

I doubt that they'd reject you out of hand (but some people LOVE the power that NO gives them). It's much easier for them to control the situation by licenses than trying to combat illegal and possibly careless growers. The fact that other people have approached them in the past means that they may well use you as their test case and learning curve for aquaponics. Once you've successfully raised rainbow trout you could then try to get permission to raise brown trout and crosses like the tiger trout etc, The crosses have hybrid vigour and are usually sterile so they tend to grow quicker and that may give IFS an incentive to breed fingerlings for the home grower - they make money and make it almost impossible for fertile fish to be released in inappropriate waterways.

[Tony]

I'll let you know how it goes Echidna...
The chap I spoke to was really helpful but as it was the first application he had to pass it up the line.
As you obviously know, our sea and inland fisheries here is heavily controlled by permits and I have no problem with that at all. TAS has so far kept out many of the land and water bourne diseases and pests suffered from mainland Oz so I am happy to comply and help out.
Whilst I would be very conscientious with my system, as you mentioned others may not be so, hence the restrictions. Well, in a week or so we'll have the answers.
Cheers
Tony

[Hamish]

Good luck Tony! I hope it all works out and they keep an open mind.

Murray - perhaps we need to form an 'Association' for members of this forum.

So that in situations like this individuals can state their association with an oranisation rather than going into these things alone?

Just a thought.

[Murray]

Have already done that....It is called GANRAD
But so many people gave it a pasting, especially from another place.....I think that we need to give it a name change and perhaps some changes to the articles of association and start again.
I believe we need an industry body, it would be good for everybody.

It is a properly registered "Not-for-profit" association.
Needs a minimum of 3 directors for a board, but 5 or 7 Directors drawn from across the states of Australia would be good.

Any ideas anyone. It is a chance do do something good.

[Oldtrout]

I will be very interested on what the outcome on this is. In the past it was much easier to obtain fingerling Rainbow Trout in Tasmania but the problem was that people would buy them and then hike out to a wilderness lake and release them giving them their own secret fishing lake. As the rules stand now farm dams can be stocked with Rainbow Trout but they can only be stocked by selected people. Once the fish are liberated into a farm dam they would then be impossible to catch in any numbers unlike a tank in your backyard where the fish could easily be caught and then translocated elsewhere. I suspect that if the IFS allow you to have trout they will insist that they are of a size big enough to make translocating them to difficult.

You can grow Salmon out in freshwater, there is a farm in Montana (near Deloraine) doing it though they sell them at a much smaller size (around 1kg)than the ones grown out in ocean cages. Again, I cant see the IFS allowing you to keep these either as in the past they to have been liberated into what were previously lakes which only contained native fish.

The Blackfish could be worth a try though I dont know how they would go in tanks and whether you could get them to take pellets.

[Outbackozzie]

Thanks for that info OT :)

[Tony]

Murray and Hamish.
An association is an excellent idea. I think as aquaponics becomes more popular and even "mainstream", there are going to be restrictions placed on it by other mainland states i.e. fish species, licensing, and so forth. TAS just has such flora, fauna, and aquatic quarantine measures for very good reasons but other states may do the same eventually.
Also, associations gives an opportunity for things like more formal education processes and gives aquaponic enthusiasts - "aquaponicists", a voice into any legislation that may affect us all. Water restrictions is the first thing that comes to mind and is not that far away as we all know.
Setting one up like GANRAD just takes time and a lot of effort from a small amount of individuals.. I'd be interested if other members of this forum (and others) would be keen on being part of an association too.
Cheers
T

[Tony]

Dear All.
FINALLY after 3 weeks and some regular emails, I have approval from Inland Fisheries to go forth and build my aquaponics system..!!
I really didn't think I was going to get it, but as it turns out that because I will want/need to feed the fish that a farm dam stocking permit is not applicable, however there is a fish farm hobby scale licence that can be issued. There are two fees associated with this: a $64 application fee and $64 issue fee.
But, I then get supplied with Brown Trout free of charge in the spring and I can purchase rainbow trout from hatcheries..
How EXCITING..
Thanks Echidna for the original advice to contact IFS, and Murray, Hamish, and GaryD for the encouragement and advice to date. There are a number of people and several commercial groups very interested in seeing the system set up and running here in TAS..
Cheers
Tony
:D

[Murray]

Good one Tony,
Thes gov departments make you wonder....64.00 application fee then another 64.00 issue fee. What a curious sum of money.
Anyway you have jumped through the hoops. The free Browns isn't bad I must admit. Maybe that is what the 64.00 is really for.

Don't rainbows grow better than browns in tanks ?

What have FF and OBO raised, rainbows or browns ?