Aquaponics -

Back last year i got sick and tired of having worked up the Vegepatch to a perfect condition only to then become to tied up in other projects or work to maintain the patch and spray/ water and weed.

I was so dissatisfied with the outcomes of rotted Cauli's and half eaten brocolli heads that i did a bit of searching and found heaps of info about how to create an aquaponic unit that will produce fresh vege's in the harshest summer while producing table fish or other tasty fresh water creatures!.

Tara & Amy in the mud "helping" :-)

I purchased

- 2 IBC's ( Intermediate Bulk Container, approx 1m * 1m plastic container with metal frame) cost $110 each. Then I had to clean all the insides which involved scraping and hosing off the dried glue

- Cut the top 1/3 off the IBC's - refer pictures here

- 2 simple aquarium pumps that have 2200l per hour capacity

- 80l of course gravel to put into the top of the tank

- cut up some 19mm black irrigation tube lengths to form the spray ring to irrigate the top of the gravel and spray the nutrient rich (fish poo) water across the top of the gravel.

The theory is that you feed the fish, the fish transfer 2/3 of the food into their own body weight the remainder of excrement is sprayed across the top of the gravel, good bacteria in the gravel transforms the waste into plant food and acts a big gravel filter for the aquarium, the plants thrive on the waste.

In the end you have healthy plants, happy fish and fresh produce straight from the back yard.

So i got the tanks up and running and rushed out and got 50 silver perch from SEQ Fish http://www.seqfish.com.au/ took them home and within 3 days they all died!!

Why did they die, because i was an over eager idiot. I have kept fish for years and know better and should have put in some cheap feeder goldfish, built up the nitrogen cycle and made sure the tank was running... but i didn't.

After 3 weeks of having goldfish in the tank the plants started to grow nicely and now i have small red claw growing out in each of the IBC's rather than silver perch and the system is running perfectly.

In 2 more weeks time i will be getting some more perch (after we have eaten the crayfish) and I will track the progress of the fish here.

IBC 2 Picture showing the piping the drainage pipes and healthy bok choy and lettuce

IBC1 showing the toms that ended up clogging the piping with their roots. Tip for new players in aquaponics! Some veges have huge root systems that seek out the piping and then clog it with their roots.

IBC's 1 & 2