Bushboys new system

[bushboy]

Hi all - registered yesterday - this forum is a great source of information

I am going to see an aquaponics setup tomorrow at a nearby suburb but
so far I am still in the planning stage - my rough ideas are to use an already purchased 500l water tank
(on special at B -actually bought 2) for fish and 44 gallon drums cut in half long ways for grow beds.
I know they will probably rust out fairly quickly but they are here on my property and were cheap (as in free!)
I think 4 grow beds initially for this water volume?

My wife and I already grow quite a bit of vegies/fruit and we have 3 chooks. Harvesting pumpkins/cauli/tomatoes/
lettuce/citrus at present
Aquaponics looks way better system though
Fruit fly is a pain around here but Wild May and Eco natralure seems to keep them down ok

Bushboy

[Hamish]

Welcome!

Can you tell us more about the Wild May and Eco natralure? Sounds interesting.

Make sure that the tanks you have purchased from bunnings are food grade - or safe for potable water.

I looked as some round bunnings tanks on special ($70 I think) green with lids - and was warned they were not for potable water.

Cheers,
Hamish

[bushboy]

Hi Hamish - the tanks don't specify food grade or suitable for potable water
I realised this after I had got them home - is there really a problem with leaching of nasty chemicals (or is it a function of our paranoia?)

re fruit flies - they are a b..dy nuisance -they even sting my citrus fruit.
My basic programme for control is to have 4 bait stations on each corner of my orchard which is the size of a basketball court approx. At each station I hang a container with about 2cm of "Wild May" - this is a pheromone that attracts the male fruit fly - they proceed to drown in the liquid. For the females - Eco Natralure is another product that you mix up (10ml to 60ml Water) - this I paint on to my bait station posts weekly - this works as the female fly needs a protein feed prior to mating/laying the eggs - she feeds on the lure which contains a bacterial toxin (can't remember the name) that kills her. Tuesday is my fruit fly day - it only takes a few minutes to check the 4 Wild May traps and paint on some new Eco Natralure. It is a pain that the Eco Natralure needs to be done weekly but I have found Wild May on it's own is not enough

The whole fruit fly thing is quite interesting and there are other solutions
including bagging your fruit - I refuse to use any sprays on my fruit.
Plant hygiene is also important - picking up fallen fruit and disposing of to
try and reduce them breeding

Hope this is useful and not telling you all something already well hashed

[Hamish]

Not 100% sure if it is paranoia or reality on the non food grade situation of those tanks. I think some tanks are made with recycled plastic which may have something to do with it. Others may have more ideas than me on this. They are nice looking tanks and very cheap I thought they would make nice fingerling tanks for my system which is why I was interested in them.

Regarding the fruit fly - thanks for the detailed description. Is it possible to put the Eco Natralure in a container like the male attractant thus avoiding having to reapply each week?

[bushboy]

Hi again Hamish

the tanks I probably won't use now - I can use them readily elsewhere in
my garden . Means I'll need to get something else - probably 1000litre size better anyway - probably will lash out and buy a "proper" one

I hadn't thought of putting the liquid Eco Natralure into a container -
the male trap needs a 5cent sized hole to enter - a bit like goldilocks
-too big and they fly out again - too small (they don't like their wings touching the sides of the hole) and they won't go into the trap.

It is quite a good idea - the EcoNatralure dries out - it smells and has the consistency of liquid cow manure - they actually say to spray it on the base of your fruit trees - I actually paint it onto the posts of my bait stations that have a small corr iron "lid" to keep rain etc off/out of my traps

Since being diligent with both ingredients my rate of loss to fruit fly is way less - we picked some Lemonade fruit this am and they were all fine
whereas last year they would all have been stung and had grubs in

The bacterial toxin is spinosad - my brain finally clicked in!

[Murray]

Have a look at this thread,
http://www.aquaponicshq.com/forums/s...ight=black+fly

The Black Soldier Fly also helps control fruit fly in an area.

[Hamish]

My BioPod seems to be breeding vinegar flies - seems the Black Soldier Fly larvae have not yet worked their way to the top of the heap yet - but they are not far off it - I just went out and looked with a torch and the whole top layer of food is moving - so I think they will burst through in the next couple of days and devour any vinegar flies, egs or opposition larvae that cross their path.

The liquid that collects in the jar at the bottom of the BioPod really smells - and I am wondering if a little of this mixed with water and sprayed on fruit and plants would deter pests - or perhaps attract them?

It seems that the BSFL are being used for all sorts of things - they are even processing them for make up and skin care because of the antibacterial secretion they give off. Maggot makeup!

Anyway - would be interesting to see if a spray made from the liquid would do anything positive for plants and fruit if sprayed on - any thoughts Gary?

[Jim Bedford]

Hi Hamish,
I was quite into aerobic/vermi digestors years ago and, although I have no experience of the Bio unit you use, from what you've said I'd suggest you've got too high a veg to BSF larvae ratio at the moment, probably due to the cooler weather. This results in an area in the digestor becoming anerobic, the liqiud from which is putresible waste. I wouldn't use it as a biocide, nor as a 'vermi-liquid' as some people were prone to do. We used to pour it back onto our system, unless it was already too moist and dust with a very small amount of lime or hardwood ash. I'd look to dispose of your green waste elsewhere for a few days, or until the system looks in balance.
Cheers Jim

[bushboy]

Thanks for the info re BSF larva Murray and Hamish - I'll get that going as well as I have
access to plenty of stable manure from a neighbour. I inspected an existing system last week
- it looked one of the backyard/patio systems. There were several things that struck me about it that
I need to do more reading on - the system of dispersing the water over the gravel beds ,
why the 2 return tanks, heating the water ( she had none), backup power (need generator almost
immediately I reckon) , a system of dispersing excess water from rain and a few other bits and pieces.

cheers

[Murray]

Did you get some photos of the system, if so can you post them. Perhaps we can help you sort it out if we can follow your description a bit better.