Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Catfish fry have well developed whiskers early, can be seen soon after hatching. The catfish fry will try to gather in the corners of a tank very often. As they age they will swim up to the surface and whiskers will be very noticeable. Should occur within a week or sooner if water is 80+f.

Look forward to pics.

douh!
I netted a couple of the odd looking fish and put them in a small bucket with a bubbler to inspect them a little closer.

I definitely could not see any whiskers so set them in their bucket with bubbler in the spare room by the aquarium hoping to do some net searching to see if I could find them to identify them later.

Later came and I went to look at them again
Two small fish have turned into two small fish plus several even smaller fish!!!!!!!!!! Ok, obviously not catfish. About all we can figure is that some babies of these things hitchiked in with the duckweed.

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Aquaponic Lynx
Main System
300 gallon System
Tower System
PeePonics

I'm not sure but based on my net searching so far, I think the odd fish might be
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_Livebearer
Heterandria formosa, least killifish or Dwarf Livebearer. I definitely think they are livebearers based on the appearance of fry in the bucket. The two larger fish in the bucket are quite small (two of them hiding quite well under a one inch air stone.) The fry are very tiny and it is easy to see how some could have hitch hiked in with the duckweed without being noticed.

I now have far more forage fish than I need for the catfish and chickens.

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Aquaponic Lynx
Main System
300 gallon System
Tower System
PeePonics

I just wanted to share the aprox price of that new grow bed.
Between 240 and 245 gallons of gravel in that grow bed.
Built with 6-10 foot 2x6 boards and 2-8 foot 2x6 boards
some screws and scrap bits of wood for holding the three frames together and a 51/2 by 15 foot piece of EPDM pond liner.
Cost of liner with shipping would be about $57
Cost of the treated lumber about $53
Under $120 for a grow bed with a volume of over 240 gallons. 50 cents a gallon I think is pretty good for a grow bed!
Since it is on the ground I didn't have to pay for a stand.

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Aquaponic Lynx
Main System
300 gallon System
Tower System
PeePonics

TCL, how are you draining that big new GB of yours?

Love your system btw. Very inspiring

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Obsession: A word used by the lazy to describe the dedicated.

my 100 litre system

The bottom of that new grow bed is just above the normal high water level in the "sump tank" I installed a loop siphon that drains from the bottom corner of the new bed, up and over the side of the sump tank. 1 1/2 inch fittings into a 1 1/4 inch black flexible sump discharge hose.

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Aquaponic Lynx
Main System
300 gallon System
Tower System
PeePonics

I now have in the New Big tank in the Big system
60 smaller catfish (that means anywhere from 4 oz to 1 lb)
40 larger tilapia in a cage (larger tilapia means between 8 oz and 1 1/2 lb)
and a small cage with the larger baby tilapia.

Down in the sump tank there are still 4 large catfish and perhaps a dozen escaped baby tilapia.

I have pulled all the adult tilapia out of the quarantine system (we harvested 8 today and the rest are in the big system or over in the duckweed pond breeding.)

I am not happy with the quarantine system as it is. There is not enough flow or aeration in it (in my opinion) to keep catfish happy and healthy. And that is the main purpose of that quarantine system, to keep the new catfish separate over winter. I need to re-do that set-up to make it CHIFT PIST. I've been having difficulty with the smaller pumps getting gunked up with waste and the flow rate going way down. The catfish stay very happy with constant splashing into the system from a pump getting clean water. Intermittent, weak or dirty flow just doesn't cut it for me. Again I'm just not happy having to clean these little pumps out every other day when they are trying to deal with gunky water. I know if the pump is getting to work with cleaner water, I would have enough flow to manage and I could have that flow splashing constantly into the fish tank and the fish tank overflowing into the grow beds.

So, those two grow beds are linked together and operate with a FLOUT so the sump tank must be able to handle over 110 gallons of water and still keep the pump going so I think I want 150 gallons worth of SUMP tank for that set up. Question is, do I get two more barrels (I have one) to hook together as a sump tank, cost $30 plus extra plumbing bits. Or do I splurge and get a 150 gallon stock tank for $125?

I just can't leave things alone can I I just keep tinkering. But the big system is going so well and the duckweed system is functioning as the perfect summer tilapia breeding system, bugger I can't keep up with enough duckweed to keep them all happy

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Aquaponic Lynx
Main System
300 gallon System
Tower System
PeePonics

Life is hard, but somehow we must find the strength to keep going.....

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This has been a test life. It is only a test. If this had an actual life you would have been given instructions on where to go and what to do.

WARNING: I suffer from ideaphoria. This post may contain untested ideas, errors, and excessive enthusiasm.

The best way to wash gravel is to use an old tire (tyre) attached to a ply wood disk on only one side and mounted vertically to an axle. Add gravel and water to the inside of the tire. Then rotate the tire just fast enough to tumble the water and gravel for 10 -15 minutes without spilling too much out. The gravel will grind itself clean and just need a quick rinse.

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"...you can't catch Mad Cow Disease from eating fish!"

I've found that simply giving a plant basket of gravel a quick swish in a bin of water is usually about as easy as it gets.

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Aquaponic Lynx
Main System
300 gallon System
Tower System
PeePonics

Yep, those little pumps dont cut it and thats why they would never be used in a commercial operation.

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Think Outside the Box, Do your Thinking for Yourself!

I have found that one of those little 258 GPH pumps managed to tick over my old (smaller) quarantine set up quite nicely but that set up had a sump tank so the pump got to suck clean water.

I tried to buy a Quiet One pump (with 1" inlet/outlet) to improve the flow but they didn't have any in the size range I wanted in stock. The new little pump I got should be almost the same flow and wattage but it is more easily clogged. Gotta switch that system over to CHIFT PIST sometime but it may have to wait till later this summer or perhaps fall. I just need to get it done before I need to get any new Catfish which probably won't be till winter again.

Right now I have removed all adult fish from the quarantine system and it is pretending to be a duckweed tank for the moment. If the nutrients all get sucked away, I'll just have to dose it as a pee ponics system for the time being.

This is a good heavy load test for the new arrangement of the big system anyway. 100 big or growing out fish in the new big tank along with babies in a cage and in an aquarium plus the 4 monster cats in the sump tank along with some stray babies and that system seems to be chugging along like a juggernaut now. I just wish there was more stuff that would grow well in this heat since all but the cherry/grape tomatoes seem to be suffering now, hopefully the bananas and papayas take off and start sucking nutrients before I have to pull all the toms out.

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Aquaponic Lynx
Main System
300 gallon System
Tower System
PeePonics

Yep, Im having troubles getting any new plants going in this heat too. I am going to try starting the seeds indoors then transplant. I am going to try some of those southern peas too, now that you cleared up what a southern pea was.

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Think Outside the Box, Do your Thinking for Yourself!

Ah but I think we are into root crop planting time now (well starting tomorrow.) Go for sweet potatoes or maybe peanuts (don't know if they could peg in an AP system's gravel bed though.)

Now if you can keep them warm come fall/winter, perhaps you could plant some jicama. It's a root crop but the plant is a vine and likes to climb. Mine did fine in the cold frame type tunnel last winter, it likes a really long season.

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Aquaponic Lynx
Main System
300 gallon System
Tower System
PeePonics

full moon here TCL

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Give me trout any day
http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv70 ... ?start=all
http://forum.homeone.com.au/