AQUAPONICS!!

I'm finally writing a post about my (my family's) fantastic Aquaponics system!!! :D

I really think everyone should have one!

We got our system just after Christmas if I'm not mistaken and after a few months and some mysteriously missing fish later its up and running and producing some wonderful veggies!

What is an Aquaponics system?

It is a hydroponic garden bed which gets its water and nutrients from a connecting fish pond.

  

Image: backyardaquaponics.com

Once you get your fish in and your plants in, all you have to do is feed the fish and pick the produce. The water from the fish tank cycles through the growbed, the excrement from the fish acts as the nutrients for the plants, and then the water drains out of the growbed back into the fish tank to be recycled by the fish and so the cycle goes on and on.

Which type of fish do you use?

Our Barramundi

Well at the moment we have Barramundi, but you can have a whole range of fish. Depending on which type of fish you choose they can usually be harvested every 6 months and eaten. As this idea is a bit unsettling for some (eating a 'pet') you can get non edible varieties such as Koy and Goldfish instead which should last year round.

Barramundi are used to the warmer months and so are usually harvested around this time, as ours are still runts and didn't grow very much we will have to try and find a way to keep them warm in winter. Currently we are using a pool blanket.

Other species include:

Catfish - Don't have scales so they need to be skinned, they are quick growing and have a good food conversion ratio

Carp - Not easily obtainable, and often there are high fines and fees for keeping them

Jade Perch - Has the highest levels of omega three oils of any fish species in the world, require warm water and consume an omnivorous diet

Murray Cod - Quick growing, and a great eating fish. One of the downfalls is that they must be kept at high stocking densities, and kept well fed otherwise they cannibalise each other

Silver Perch - Take 12-18 months for fingerling's to grow to plate size, Perch are omnivorous and will happily eat green scraps as well as Duckweed and Azolla

Tilapia - Easy to breed, fast growing, withstand very poor water conditions, consume an omnivorous diet and are good eating but require warm water

Trout - Have extremely fast growth rates and excellent food conversion ratios, prefer water temperatures between 10°C and 20°C.

Which plants work best and are there any plants you cant grow?

You can grow almost any vegetable, herb and leafy green in a grow bed, you can even grow root vegetables such as carrots and potato's.

For us personally we have found Basil to grow phenomenally well!! We don't have a Basil plant we have a Basil HEDGE!! When you have an Aquaponics system plants will almost grow before your eyes.

What worked?

Cucumbers have done exceptionally well for us with countless very large cucumbers, but you have to be tough with pruning because the vine can take over. 

Basil as mentioned earlier have just been amazing with shopping bags full every week of basil leaves.

Parsley it took a while to establish because it was a bit of a weak plant to start, but now its come good and just taken off.

Tomatoes were okay, but they are okay in almost any condition, but be aware that they can poison the other plants when they start to die.

Celery we are yet to have a harvest of Celery but its growth rate has been amazing as well.

Capsicum, now I grew my Capsicum plants from seeds at the beginning of the year and I am getting my first crop now, they were very slow growing and I think that might be to do with the temperature, so anyone growing capsicum..winter is best.

What didn't work?

Corn We didn't get one harvest of corn unfortunately and had to pull them out after they started to die

Lettuce We haven't had much luck with lettuce, it either hasn't grown or has been very bitter

Eggplant The eggplant seems to have stopped growing, it has one baby eggplant on there at the moment but it has been the same size for a few weeks now.

Some of my produce!!

Capsicums



 

Tomato's





Basil

Our System when we just started :D



I would write much much more but I think this blog would go on forever.
I want to thank the http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/ website for the information about the fish.

This is also the company that we bought our system from so if you want to check them out they will answer all your questions. They are located in Jandakot, south of Perth.

Happy Gardening!!

Em