Leo LL's System

[leo living legend]

Hi,
A friend and I have been lurking around aquaponic posts for the last couple of years intending to start an aquaponic system. Now reams of paper later, we can throw everything out and actually start with the real thing.
There was a bit of friction over the location because the best north sun was out the front and we had just finished doing "things" that look native out there. Anyway by the end of January this year we both had arm problems so threw all the heavy glass away and ordered a poly greenhouse, chopped back a side of a backyard shade tree and excavated into a bank.
We have inserted a large fibreglass ex-fishtank which is to be reborn as a dam linered fishtank. Most of this is under the floor of the greenhouse with a hatch to the outside world for fish retrieval. The greenhouse itself has concrete pavers on the floor to try to act as a bit of a heat bank. There is no history of frost in the last 13 years and the shade tree will also still supply some shade in summer.
The rectangular growbeds are to built out of timber framing and lined with dam liner. They will have a slight angle towards the front and an end and the water will be directed back to the fish.
A fresh water tank up the hill will replenish water levels in the fish tank.
We have trouble getting a water tank up the very steep site and around the side of the house so we are looking at getting a second hand swimming pool, unfortunately ours went out in hard rubbish a few years ago in the short lived celebration of kids leaving home. If nothing turns up this week we may build a concrete and timber affair with dam liner which is to live just up the hill a bit further (it has to be low enough to receive roof flow, in the hills you really need to make agreements with neighbours about water, it would be easier to share).
Our plan is to stock rainbow trout, and to tell them to grow quickly. We have a panel which we still need to reglaze which will aid water warmth over winter.
Next weekend the greenhouse will be erected. We are planning on placing some reinforcing mesh along the south wall and up following the hoop shape. This is for tying back to and drooping cucumbers, etc.
Whilst I love diversity I know how little we actually consume and how much a garden can produce so we will be putting in sweet potato, carrots, parsnips in coconut peat
Bok choy, Wom bok, Spinach, Garlic, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Pumpkin, Broccoli, Tomatoes, Chillies, Basil in Clay balls (at this time of year)
We planning on adding a duckweed tank and then a yabbie frame tank once things are settled. I will dry the duckweed for future use since keeping things frozen requires high energy usage.
It looks as though we will have to start breeding maggots or Black soldier flies for fish and future bird food.
When we have enough fish and vegie refuse we will purchase a breeding pair of khaki campbells who will live in our existing vegie garden (too much shade) and recycle the house recycled water that goes up there.
Since we are about to take down a long chicken wire fence to reuse we may also house a breeding pair of eating bunnies once food production can be predicted.
So much for the dreams - we still have to purchase - water aeration, submersible pump, piping, clay balls, trout, Starter food.
Well this could all happen just like magic. We are hoping to only be two weeks away from "almost ready".
Anyway, we hope not to fail, as this is a major project.
We will be back here asking for a little share of everyones knowledge as we get into the nitty gritty of actually "growing"

[fishfood]

Welcome to the AP madness for trout you wont need to heat the water they like it cool your main trouble will be keeping cool over summer

[leo living legend]

Hi fishfood,
Sorry its hard to address that name - it seems a bit inanimate and flakey.
Thanks for the response. It's a while since I checked out the temps for the trout. I like water warm so I assume that all sensible creatures do. I suppose the temperature of the Howqua at this time of year would be about right? I have to be awfully desperate to swim at that temp. but you see trout when you do.

[twintragics]

Hi Leo, good to have another Vic on board. Sounds like u got it covered. Plenty work between now and 'here fishy fishy' but it is all good fun. Just check ur water temps next few days. Don't buy trout til ur water drops below 20C, they will stress. It sounds like ur still a couple weeks away from getting fish, so temps may have dropped a bit by then.

With ur expanded clay balls, I am a hydroton agent and keen to look after people in the AP world. If you haven't already purchased it, gimme a buzz on 0407 485 753. My price will be a lot sharper than those in the hydro business.

Welcome and best wishes, Darren,aka TT.

[leo living legend]

Thanks for the offer TT.
The 2 grow beds are each 800 x 8400 x 300 deep = @ 2 cubic metres.
If we cannot get out of the expanded clay cheaply enough we may have to change our construction materials.
G. worked through the heat of today trying to get the paving finished since he has to go West for a couple of weeks just after Easter and we want to get things moving.

[leo living legend]

Well time slips away.
Last Wednesday the system passed on to new hands. I had little time to dedicate to the system over the last couple of years but it kept ticking over. The main trouble was during open for inspections and visitors on more than one occassion dropped clay balls into the syphons causing drainage problems. All of the mechanics of the system worked well with minimal energy inputs athough the diaphragm failed twice on the Baccara zero pressure valve which allowed the gravity fed return water to be timer controlled. We had immediate loss of life when we tried keeping fish in the top tank without prefiltering, this followed death of our initial fingerlings due to G spraying CRC on hinges, which the rain then washed into the tank. It remained the sole realm of the two initial goldfish, no wrigglers ever developed. The highest temperature ever recorded in the trout tank was 24C. During house inspections someone interferred with the fish feeder and it double fed resulting in deaths.
Mint was always a good standby for maintaining quick growth to aid filtration. It then provides lots of mulch for the garden as lots of growth and roots need to be completely removed.
The plastic of the commercially procurred greenhouse became more opaque as it aged which is of benefit to summer growing but not winter.
I had duck weed in the top tank for some time but then found it tangling the filter to the drain pipe to the growbeds. I then kept it in large buckets in the greenhouse and watered it with growbed drain water and threw it to the fish as a treat and to the glutonous ducks when they were lucky. I grew maggots in a mucky mix of bran and meat under the duck house which we fed to Murray Cod and Silver Perch in the early days. They also were fed daily on worms from the garden compost. It was all quite labour intensive with picking up of boxes of vegie waste from the greengrocer on Saturday mornings, division into seven boxes to feed ducks each day. The boxes were stored in an old freezer. Excess vegies were put into the compost bin and manure (duck and horse) added and straw. The ducks also benefitted from the large numbers of worms. They had no idea how spoiled they were.
I moved from growing directly in the clay balls or cocoapeat to filling the beds with soft drink or fruit juice bottles with the tops cut off and holes all over (soldering iron used). These were back filled with the growing medium. Seeds were planted in these individual containers. I had found that seeds and seedlings often were easily disturbed by other work when planted directly in the bed.
Slugs, snails, White fly, Mice, Mite, Grubs, Millipedes - all were unwelcome visitors and required immediate action to remediate the problem. The slugs and snails were made welcome with home brew in shallow bowls all over the place. The ducks had no objections. Lavender prunings laid on the beds, along with Marigold plantings helped keep other bugs in check. Vigorous spraying with rain water followed by a seaweed mist helps with others. A water bucket with a peanut buttered roller controls mice.
I found that we enjoyed the reliability of the food production from the aquaponic system. It lost very little water from the system and was a very efficient garden. The new system will be in a different climate and take a completely different shape.