My Aquaponics system.

XLsior · 01-23-2023, 03:24 AM

I recently put together a slideshow on YT regarding my Aquaponics system built during the 'lock down' period.

The pump is a Chinese Jebao DCP-15000 if that kinda makes it
Chinariders-ish.

Not trying to grow a YT channel or anything like that...

Just sharing some stuff I've learned and put into practice over the years...

Might make a slideshow of the XL185/CG250 sometime, though that's a lot of photos...

2LZ · 01-23-2023, 12:23 PM

Very interesting. I had to start dealing with aquaponics shortly before I retired. Aquaculturists were were starting to use aquaponics for filtering the "used fish water" (waste water) in their enclosed aquaculture systems. Large aquaponic beds of lily's would filter the used water prior to being recycled back into the system.

XLsior · 01-23-2023, 04:58 PM

I studied Aquaculture/seafood industry early 2000s got a certificate for it, after that Had a job in a pump and irrigation supply and service center so learned a fair bit about pipes and fittings...
Always had an aquarium in the house and took to rod and reel fishing pretty young too.

Seen many IBC systems made on youtube but I felt I could do much to improve the methodology being shown there...

Not saying my system is perfect by any means. Always room for improvement.

That being said some of the perch are getting close to pan size and Ive had some fresh vegetables available just when all the supply chains and prices went nuts...

The system tells me its using 40watts and other than fish feed inputs and once a week maintenance its little effort.

Obviously there's an upfront cost. But fresh fish and vegetables is the payoff in time.

Havn't had my first fish dinner yet but its getting close.

2LZ · 01-23-2023, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XLsior

Haven't had my first fish dinner yet but its getting close.

Of course, we'll need pics of that first dinner! :-)

XLsior · 01-06-2024, 04:15 AM

Turned 43 today...

Decided it was time to find out what home grown fish tasted like...

Lemon and ginger jacket baked Silver Perch...

With boiled carrot,and kiphler potatoes...Blanched redsnake beans and snap peas...

saute pepper and swiss chard (capsicum and silverbeet)

All home grown.

Pretty tasty way to cap off a 43rd and aquaponic system success.

You wanted to see the end result...

2LZ · 01-06-2024, 12:37 PM

AWESOME!
Knowing Australia is completely different from CA, I ask because prior to my retirement from DFW, one of my many hats was on the front lines of helping to establish aquaponics here. Everyone here was crazy about tilapia. Lilies were the preferred plant for the filtration/recycling of water in a closed system.
....and most importantly, happy birthday!

XLsior · 01-06-2024, 04:16 PM

Tilapia are deemed a noxious pest here in Australia and under biosecurity laws any form of possession dead or alive can be liable for a $200000 AUD fine...

Though from what I understand similar issue with non native cichlids are rampant in part of the USA...Florida mostly...

But yes... if you can use tilapia without breaking the law they do make the self sufficient aquaponic system a relatively easy prospect for the average Joe

That being said Tilapia are very well suited to home IBC style aquaponic systems...

The problem for me is most Austalian native fish a next to impossible to breed and become self supporting...

Which is why I got the Texas Cichlids as they are not on the biosecurity black list here and I am hoping will be viable for domestic self reliant food production in a subtropical climate...

As for the Birthday dinner...It was delicious.

XLsior · 06-20-2024, 04:11 AM

So its been about 6 months...

Think i collected the 10x Texas Cichlid juveniles the day before Christmas.

Now it's almost the Winter solstice here in Australia...

Anyway the Aquaponic system is still bubbling along under greenhouse plastic to try and trap some heat into it during the day to hopefully keep the water temps up over the cold nights...

The Texans are about as big as my hand ...well the males are there appear to be about 4 smaller females which are half as big...

However my plan to get 10 and hope for a pair to form has paid of with results...

With a pair formed and protecting some eggs laid yesterday...

Another female is also showing breeding color...

And surprisingly the overall aggression level has been tame so far...

Debating if I should remove the slate tile with eggs into a separate tank or let the parents have a go holding them for a bit and wait a few days after hatching...

Eggs look fertile...

Also new phone (moto G54) so new camera too

Thumper · 06-20-2024, 09:42 AM

My closest older brother is in a Canberra 'burb. He married an Aussie and took a newborn from Albuquerque down under in ~1986. Now the kid is a physician in Newcastle married with children and an electric car. His daughter is a window washer (highrise business buildings in Melbourne), tattoo artist, sculpture. He is the CEO of Ecospectral, was VP Prototyping at Quantum Brilliance for a couple of years, now he is back to concentrating on Ecospectral. Kind of a super achiever. Inspires me. But I retired before he did, so there's that !!

I love the aquaculture project. Fascinating enterprise. Too bad you can't raise tilapia. Not sure if that would be better, I am just familiar with Tilapia!

XLsior · 06-20-2024, 04:59 PM

From what I have experienced so far the Texas chiclids, Herichthys cyanoguttatus, have been a pleasant surprise.

the growth rate in 6 months has been about 1.5" to 9" which is not bad at all. If you go from a mind set of 2 fish per serve rather than just 1 fish. I have not taken any weights... just went with a tummy grumble indicator.

Fish behavior has also been a surprise especially with other tank mates and breeding pairs cohabitation...yes there's a bit of argie-bargie but no major injuries or belly floaters...

High density stock rates look to be feasible...

Also I would even imagine this species viable for a small scale indoor aquaponic system for someone renting/apartment/unit situation. Who does not have the space for larger scale. As the current 10 fish I have are in a 5ft 300lt/80US gallon glass aquarium are doing fine. So I could imagine with decent filtration in a bare bottom 120gal 25+ fish with a few shelves of grow beds above it would be enough to supplement a persons diet with fresh fish and vegetables grown at home.

And the fish would be less likely to out grow the tank capacity like bigger growing species..tilapia included.

Anyway found this YT content creator catching Texas cichlids and cooking them so thought I'd share as I think he deserves more subscribers...

01-23-2023, 03:24 AM	#1
XLsior Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Australia Posts: 1,327	My Aquaponics system. I recently put together a slideshow on YT regarding my Aquaponics system built during the 'lock down' period. The pump is a Chinese Jebao DCP-15000 if that kinda makes it Chinariders-ish. Not trying to grow a YT channel or anything like that... Just sharing some stuff I've learned and put into practice over the years... Might make a slideshow of the XL185/CG250 sometime, though that's a lot of photos...
	3

01-23-2023, 12:23 PM	#2
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,105	Very interesting. I had to start dealing with aquaponics shortly before I retired. Aquaculturists were were starting to use aquaponics for filtering the "used fish water" (waste water) in their enclosed aquaculture systems. Large aquaponic beds of lily's would filter the used water prior to being recycled back into the system. __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350
	2

01-06-2024, 12:37 PM	#6
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,105	AWESOME! Knowing Australia is completely different from CA, I ask because prior to my retirement from DFW, one of my many hats was on the front lines of helping to establish aquaponics here. Everyone here was crazy about tilapia. Lilies were the preferred plant for the filtration/recycling of water in a closed system. ....and most importantly, happy birthday! __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350
	0

06-20-2024, 09:42 AM	#9
Thumper Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Kansas City Posts: 2,432	My closest older brother is in a Canberra 'burb. He married an Aussie and took a newborn from Albuquerque down under in ~1986. Now the kid is a physician in Newcastle married with children and an electric car. His daughter is a window washer (highrise business buildings in Melbourne), tattoo artist, sculpture. He is the CEO of Ecospectral, was VP Prototyping at Quantum Brilliance for a couple of years, now he is back to concentrating on Ecospectral. Kind of a super achiever. Inspires me. But I retired before he did, so there's that !! I love the aquaculture project. Fascinating enterprise. Too bad you can't raise tilapia. Not sure if that would be better, I am just familiar with Tilapia! __________________ -2022 5 speed Templar X Orange, OEM 51T rear sprocket, 14T front sprocket -NOS 2020 KTM 250SX (2-stroke motocross), less than 10 hours on it
	1

01-23-2023, 04:58 PM	#3
XLsior Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Australia Posts: 1,327	I studied Aquaculture/seafood industry early 2000s got a certificate for it, after that Had a job in a pump and irrigation supply and service center so learned a fair bit about pipes and fittings... Always had an aquarium in the house and took to rod and reel fishing pretty young too. Seen many IBC systems made on youtube but I felt I could do much to improve the methodology being shown there... Not saying my system is perfect by any means. Always room for improvement. That being said some of the perch are getting close to pan size and Ive had some fresh vegetables available just when all the supply chains and prices went nuts... The system tells me its using 40watts and other than fish feed inputs and once a week maintenance its little effort. Obviously there's an upfront cost. But fresh fish and vegetables is the payoff in time. Havn't had my first fish dinner yet but its getting close.
	4

01-06-2024, 04:16 PM	#7
XLsior Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Australia Posts: 1,327	Tilapia are deemed a noxious pest here in Australia and under biosecurity laws any form of possession dead or alive can be liable for a $200000 AUD fine... Though from what I understand similar issue with non native cichlids are rampant in part of the USA...Florida mostly... But yes... if you can use tilapia without breaking the law they do make the self sufficient aquaponic system a relatively easy prospect for the average Joe That being said Tilapia are very well suited to home IBC style aquaponic systems... The problem for me is most Austalian native fish a next to impossible to breed and become self supporting... Which is why I got the Texas Cichlids as they are not on the biosecurity black list here and I am hoping will be viable for domestic self reliant food production in a subtropical climate... As for the Birthday dinner...It was delicious.
	2

06-20-2024, 04:59 PM	#10
XLsior Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Australia Posts: 1,327	From what I have experienced so far the Texas chiclids, Herichthys cyanoguttatus, have been a pleasant surprise. the growth rate in 6 months has been about 1.5" to 9" which is not bad at all. If you go from a mind set of 2 fish per serve rather than just 1 fish. I have not taken any weights... just went with a tummy grumble indicator. Fish behavior has also been a surprise especially with other tank mates and breeding pairs cohabitation...yes there's a bit of argie-bargie but no major injuries or belly floaters... High density stock rates look to be feasible... Also I would even imagine this species viable for a small scale indoor aquaponic system for someone renting/apartment/unit situation. Who does not have the space for larger scale. As the current 10 fish I have are in a 5ft 300lt/80US gallon glass aquarium are doing fine. So I could imagine with decent filtration in a bare bottom 120gal 25+ fish with a few shelves of grow beds above it would be enough to supplement a persons diet with fresh fish and vegetables grown at home. And the fish would be less likely to out grow the tank capacity like bigger growing species..tilapia included. Anyway found this YT content creator catching Texas cichlids and cooking them so thought I'd share as I think he deserves more subscribers...
	0