Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi All from South Africa,
I'm brand new to Aquaponics, have had a Cichlid tank for the past 10 years and read tons on Hydroponics, but never quite got that to work. I converted my Biofilter to a Gravity feed- Ebb and Flow- Annan Auto siphon - Sump and Pump setup through a recommissioned 85L container that now serves as my first growbed. The bug bit hard

I would like to start researching my first IBC setup and fish species native to South Africa is a bit of a mystery.

Tilapia seems to be an easy GoTo solution for all it's benefits, my concern with it is that it's more dangerous than good to your health when looking at it's Omega 3 & 6 levels

I wish Jade Perch was available in RSA, specifically in the Gauteng area... unless it is? Anyone know of suppliers?

Any trout suppliers maybe someone could point out?

Any other decent edible and Omega healthy fish I could look at?

Thanx for any help or feedback so long

Welcome to the obsession
There are several other south African folk on here that should be able to answer your questions

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IBC system
Bigger system
Greenhouse system

Welcome to the addiction

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~2010/2011~
~2012/2013~
~2014~
~Backyard farming~

Thanx for the welcome...

I hope some our South African friends will check in soon so they can assist

I hope my fire won't die soon, I've got lots of plans and I'm already busy putting together my 2nd setup, this time something to start with a couple of fingerlings of Feedstock

Be good, if not, take photos

I'm from Potchefstroom and I'm a newbie myself.

I have my first system busy cycling my system with goldfish, seeing as the lady of the house is apathetic towards eating something you fed yourself.

Suppose you could give some fish farms in Mpumalanga a call and ask them for advice as to where to buy fish from and which ones to keep. Check the Yellow Pages for the farms and hatcheries.

Thanx Oosie, will do.

I saw there's an Aquaculture Association in SA which informs quite a bit about commercial fisheries and fish types, I will try find out from them as well and then update here
http://www.aasa-aqua.co.za

Cheers

Further on my comment about the almost toxic levels of Omega 6 that can be found in Tilapia, lots of reading further taught me that the cause of the high levels can be traced back to a Pellets only feeding regime.

The pellets generally have high quantities of maize meal as one of the ingredients,which ends up causing the higher levels.

Two ways to remedy this will be to either introduce Duck Weed as part or complete feeding solution (complete would seem to be the preferred option due to the perfection in this plan). Option two will be to add Flaxseed to their diet

Just as a FYI

N8Wulf where in gauteng are you based ? Im going to be stocking my system with rainbow trout in three weeks maybe we can exchange ideas ?

Why not try a Black Soldier Fly farm and harvest the larvae? You could also grow some duckweed. Tilapia will even eat the discarded lettuce leaves from your GBs.

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Regards,

Mark

It's not the size of your system that counts, but rather how you use it...

Hi all,

I am new to the forum and also to Aquaponics, live in Gauteng and would like to know where is the best and closest place i can get Rainbow trout to stock my system.

aqua_plane where did you get your from in March

Just a quick Hi on this thread.... and to say that all still going strong with my setup. Had to move twice since I originally posted here, but still harvesting lots and lots of really good and healthy greens
Started building a Commercial Greenhouse here in Vanderbijlpark and by using a Mixed Media approach, between my gravel GBs and vertical towers, my design will accommodate 10,000 plants
Hold thumbs

So what did you end-up stocking in the fish tank? I'm getting a mix this weekend of Tilapia rendalli & Mozambique Tilapia.

Want to try and do some trout next winter.

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My IBC System

Awesome to find some South Africans. After reading your post about health issue of tilapia got me a bit scared but then research and found that it is not a major issue as some sites make it out to be. I travel to Vanderbijlpark every second month or so, would be great if I could stop past and see your setup and discuss some plans I have had.

Good Morning..
For reference sake concerning the Omegas... viewtopic.php?t=25235
I'm only stocking with Rendalli at this stage. Plans for future tanks with Catfish are in the back of my head as well though
I will update you on where you can come visit me as soon as possible... Hectic busy building accommodation as well
I'm updating a little bit more on Tumblr with user name JuicyGreens if you are interested in more recent photos concerning our OffGrid in the "Suburbs" approach