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LV's aquaponics

20mm river gravel has been added, it was washed. In hindsight I should have washed it again.
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The strapping has bowed more than I expected, hope it holds up.
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The HDPE will be fine even if the strapping does let go i think. Its a very tough product. It would merely make the sides of the "tray" fold in more at the top.
I really should look into making these units for the commercial market as i work with plastics everyday, hmmmmmm

Edit: Tony, what do you expect the final cost to be doing it this way?
 
Novacastrian said:
The HDPE will be fine even if the strapping does let go i think. Its a very tough product. It would merely make the sides of the "tray" fold in more at the top.
I really should look into making these units for the commercial market as i work with plastics everyday, hmmmmmm

Edit: Tony, what do you expect the final cost to be doing it this way?
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Costs so far are as follows:

* 1000 litre IBC - $180
* Submersible pump (4800lph) - $80
* Various fittings, timer and poly pipe - $75
* River gravel 20mm 1/2 metre delivered - $71
* Water Test Kit delivered - $54 got it from - http://www.theaquariumshop.com.au/s...harmaceuticals API Freshwater Master Test Kit

A grand total of $460 to have a system to cycling stage.

Fish will probably be Jade Perch if they're priced similar to the silvers it will come to around $20, food around $10 for 1kg plus whatever I decide to grow in it. All up I expect it to be around $500-$520.

A similar sized pro system goes for $1985 - http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/s...ypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=14&category_id=8
It's a good looking system, more than I can justify spending though.
 
Got it to the fishless cycling stage, had to add some shade cloth after the water went green.

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Also added some plants, only one chilli though a lone Aji Lemon. As well as some cos lettuce, bok choi, sweet basil and italian tomatoes.

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Novacastrian said:
Cool LV. Any idea on when you will be adding the fish or do the plants have to get to a certain size?
Click to expand...

The water has to be cycled first, this means the bacteria has to have time to grow to process the ammonia to nitrites to nitrates. I'm waiting for my 'humonia' to age a bit before adding it to the tank. Hopefully it will be ready for fish in three weeks, I'll be adding Jade Perch hey should get to eating size between 6-10 months.
 
I'm amazed how quickly the plants have settled and grown in the gravel.

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Added 6 Goldfish last weekend and 10 Jade Perch Fingerlings the week before. Haven't seen any dead ones so it must be going ok. :)

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Planning a second system now with 3 X 250 litre grow beds, a 1000 or 2000 litre fish tank and a 500 litre sump tank. Some of the dirt garden has been sacrificed for this planned set-up.

SeeYouJimmy said:
Looks like you've gathered plenty of info already LV, amazing how it's all growing so fast. Best of luck with it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, there is a lot to learn. The good thing is lots of people willing to share information.
 
Cool, great to see that the fish are still alive. I was kinda worried for you that they would drop dead.
Well done LV.
 
I keep filling up my fish tank, never take water out of it. With a 10 gallon tank and 5 fish, there's not a lot of poo. I'd be better off buying fish emulshion or making my own. My wide is Lao, she makes a fermeted fish sauce out of bit's, pieces, guts, and eyeballs. I bet that would be a great fertilizer.
 
The fish poo is part of the process I guess.

The fish excrete ammonia - this is converted to nitrites by bacteria (Nitrosomonas sp.) - the nitrites are converted to nitrates by more bacteria (Nitrobacter sp.) - the nitrates are then absorbed by the plants.

The water going through the gravel medium filters out the above returning 'clean' water to the fish tank. I'm still pretty new to this, found a couple of good forums based in Australia to gather info from.
 
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