Urban Aquaponics

Our New Web Site

2009-05-30T08:57:00.001+10:00

In late May 2009, we launched our new Integrated Backyard Food Production web site - www.microponics.net.au. Pay us a visit - you'll probably find it worthwhile.

The Urban Aquaponics Manual

2009-05-30T08:55:00.000+10:00

The most up-to-date publication of its type in the world, The Urban Aquaponics Manual is a comprehensive how-to on growing fish and plants in your own backyard.

Want to know more? http://www.urbanaquaponics.net.au/urbanaqua

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 25th Nov. 2007

2007-11-25T17:22:00.000+10:00

We've enjoyed good rains during the past week. Our 10,000 litre rainwater tank is now full.
The downside to the wet season (as it used to be) is the emergence of just about every kind of insect known to man.
In the past week, small grubs and aphis have invaded our NFT lettuce and herbs and our tomatoes are being stung before they reached 30mm in diameter. I've already spotted the first leaf hoppers for the season. We've purchased some mosquito nets but I think it's probably too late for some of our plants.
Vegetable gardening in Queensland is a year round activity but it becomes much more challenging at this time of year.

Ausyfish Fish Hatchery

2007-11-18T19:47:00.001+10:00

If you're looking for freshwater fish fingerlings, I recommend that you try Ausyfish.
While they're based in Childers in Queensland, they ship all over the place.
They're my preferred supplier because they ship disease-free stock and dealing with them is easy and hassle-free.
Ausyfish proprietor, Bruce Sambell has over 20 years of experience around fish.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 18th Nov. 2007

2007-11-18T19:20:00.000+10:00

This week saw the failure of our washing machine, refrigerator and the heater element in my electric incubator. The silver lining in this cloud meant that we replaced our old top loading washer with a front loading (much more water efficient) machine. As for the refrigerator, I modified the door, saved $320 and crossed one more gouging appliance dealer off my Christmas list.
Last week's setting of quail eggs had to be discarded when the heater element on the incubator failed but we're hoping that the delay will be short.
We've begun harvesting the 3 week-old lettuce from our NFT system.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 11th Nov. 2007

2007-11-11T19:58:00.000+10:00

Today, we put a square foot garden together. The brainchild of American Mel Bartholomew, square foot gardening is a waterwise, space-efficient gardening system. I'm using water from the fish tank to irrigate our little 4' x 4' bed. It's not aquaponics but it's just as efficient in its use of water and space......and it will grow a range of vegetables and other plants that won't grow in a gravel grow bed.

We put a setting of 50 Japanese quail eggs into our electric incubator. We expect the arrival of the chicks in about 16 - 17 days.

The lettuce that we planted into our NFT system a fortnight ago are growing very well.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 4th Nov. 2007

2007-11-04T13:56:00.000+10:00

Today, I removed the float switch that controlled the pumping regime on my 1000 litre system and replaced it with a timer.
Float switches are excellent for larger aquaponics systems but, for the 800 - 1000 litre systems that I favour, timers and tuned standpipes offer a greater capacity for control. The only more reliable arrangement is one which recirculates continuously - like my 800 litre system.
We planted out the first punnet of lettuce into our recently relocated NFT System.....which is now attached to our 800 litre unit. As fate would have it, the weather is unseasonally hot so it will be interesting to see how the seedlings fare.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 28th Oct. 2007

2007-10-28T18:47:00.000+10:00

I re-assembled my NFT salad system today. We removed it from its former location over the main tank because, while the idea of stacking backyard food production systems has considerable merit, this particular arrangement was less functional than I wanted.

We moved our 800 litre system outside of the shed where it has lived up until now. It now contains 87 juvenile Jade perch. Nitrification is facilitated by the two 65 litre trickling bio-filters. These small units have operated flawlessly for the past 18 months.

We've attached a duckweed tank to soak up the nitrates on this little unit. The NFT unit will also assist in this role.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 21st Oct. 2007

2007-10-21T19:52:00.000+10:00

Today, we set up our 800 litre aquaponics system at the southern end of the shed. We also relocated the duckweed tank (previously attached to our 1000 litre tidal system) and connected it to the smaller unit.
The small NFT set up that we removed from the tidal system will also be connected to the 800 litre system....to assist in soaking up the nutrients generated by the 87 Jade perch accommodated by the system.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 14th Oct. 2007

2007-10-14T16:45:00.000+10:00

From the time we set up our most recent system, the fish tank has had a makeshift cover on it - to keep everything (kids, pets, leaves, too much sunlight, etc) out.
The makeshift cover made it difficult to access the tank in the way that I wanted so I fabricated a new top. The two hinged doors now allow unfettered access when I want to feed the fish, or clean the tank, while keeping the system secure at all other times.
I'm keen to grow as much of the food for our fish as I can so duckweed is an important plant for us. While it can be dried, it's easier (and more practical for our purposes) to freeze it so that we have year-round stocks. After harvesting, we squeeze most of the water out of the duckweed and place it into small plastic containers. Once it's frozen, I turn it out of the container and store it in plastic bags.
We discovered that, by feeding it out frozen, we avoid much of the mess that otherwise occurs in the tank. A quick tap with a hammer reduces a frozen block of duckweed to a handful of small pieces. When we throw these into the tank, the fish chase them around eating the duckweed as soon as it thaws and breaks free.
Our two gravel grow beds have been very productive during the past few weeks. In less than 4 square metres, we've grown as much silver beet, bok choi, coriander, thyme, oregano, parsley and lettuce as we can consume. In fact, the chooks have been giving us hand to sort out the surplus.
I've pulled several of the silver beet plants to make way for a wider range of vegetables. While the beds are looking a bit patchy at the moment, I'm confident that, in three or four weeks, they'll be bursting at the seams with more fresh produce.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 7th Oct. 2007

2007-10-07T17:24:00.000+10:00

Today, I spent several hours fine tuning my aquaponics system. I pulled out the drains and opened them up so that my gravel grow beds drain faster. The NFT System that I mounted over the tank impeded my ability to access the tank to the extent that I want (for cleaning and watching the fish), so I've removed it.
I have about 85 juvenile Jade Perch in an 800 litre tank in the shed so I'll attach the NFT unit to this system.
We processed the remaining 13 broiler chickens in our most recent batch. They averaged 2.5kg.
The chickens yielded 750gm of chicken livers. Normally, I reserve the hearts and livers and fry them in a little butter before serving them on toast. Today, however, Jan made chicken liver pate.....and good it was, too.
While we have a 10,000 litre rainwater, a couple of the gutters on our house still ran onto the ground. To enable us to capture more rainwater, we set up a 200 bin with a submersible sump pump. A hose transports the water from the bin....under the house.....to the tank. Tonight, our new system got its first test when a brief thunderstorm passed over our area. Several hundred litres of rainwater that otherwise would have run onto the ground, found its way into the tank.
Our aquaponics system runs completely on rainwater so the new capture system is a welcome addition.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 30th Sept. 2007

2007-09-30T07:08:00.000+10:00

We've just processed half of our most recent batch of meat chickens. Our ability to produce clean, fresh chicken meat is a cornerstone of our food self-sufficiency program.

The past few days have seen a rise in day-time temperatures that is having an obvious effect on our growing systems. While our tomato plants are still quite small, they are already fruiting up. Our mini-greenhouse is providing in abundance.....more than we can use. Our chickens and breeder quail are enjoying a daily salad of silver beet, herbs and even marigolds.

My book continues to sell well which is both satisfying and exciting. We're also attracting a good measure of very positive feedback.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 23rd Sept. 2007

2007-09-23T18:06:00.000+10:00

Our 90 Jade Perch fingerlings are quickly outgrowing their current tank so a move to larger quarters is on the cards for next week.

Our focus on small systems means that we can move fish and tanks quickly and easily.

During the coming months, the hatcheries will begin to sell fry and fingerlings for a variety of species and I want to expand the range of fish that we keep. To this end, our next Aquaponics system is on the drawing board.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 16th Sept. 2007

2007-09-16T10:26:00.002+10:00

This week, we moved our latest batch of broiler chickens to their growing space which comprises a small hut (for night quarters) and a large strawyard.

To offset the gloomy conditions in the shed where the quail are housed, I've set up a light on a timer to provide an artificial day length of 16 hours. If you can control the amount of light to which quail are exposed, you can manipulate their breeding cycle.

In response, our new quail hens produced their first egg, and the distinctive call which signals the onset of sexual maturity in the cockerels, is becoming more frequent.

Recent rains (a rare thing lately) and the onset of spring weather have produce a flush of growth in the grass and weeds around our block.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 9th Sept. 2007

2007-09-09T19:02:00.000+10:00

Just five weeks after planting the seedlings, our mini-greenhouse and grow beds are yielding coriander, bok choi, lettuce and silver beet.

The 42 Jade perch in our fish tank are providing more nutrients than we can currently use, so I've added another growing system. To our existing gravel grow beds, NFT salad farm and satellite pots, I've added 4 Autopot units.

We've assembled a small group of Japanese quail to use as breeders. The increasing daylength will stimulate egg laying so we'll be dusting off our little electric incubator in anticipation of some fertile eggs.

Our latest batch of broiler chicks have just reached three weeks of age and no longer need supplementary heat. In another week, well move them into a small hut and strawyard for finishing.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 2nd Sept. 2007

2007-09-02T10:55:00.000+10:00

Just four weeks after we planted out the seedlings, we're harvesting bok choi and coriander aplenty. Our transplanted oregano and thyme plants are also yielding well.

My new book is exceeding my expectations. We registered our first international sale within a couple of days of releasing the book.....without any marketing at all. I'm amazed at how quickly the search engine robots find something and put it out there.

All of the seedlings in the new NFT installation have survived. We can expect rapid growth of these plants as the days become warmer.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 26th August

2007-08-26T08:21:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, I installed a nutrient film technique (NFT) salad deck over the fish tank.

The salad deck will accommodate 48 plants at any given time and is watered from the same supply as the satellite pots.

We planted this growing arrangement out to lettuce, coriander, silver beet, spinach, marigolds and bok choi.

The plant growth in the new gravel grow beds is excellent......... we've harvested bok choi just three weeks after we planted the seedlings. The silver beet and coriander will be next.

The new meat bird chicks are growing quickly and the Japanese quail have just begun to make their distinctive call.

The release of our first book.....The Urban Aquaponics Manual.....this week, was an important milestone in the development of Creek Street Micro Farm.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 19th August 2007

2007-08-19T06:45:00.000+10:00

After weeks of waiting, we finally took delivery of our new Japanese Quail breeding stock. It's been about nine months since we cleared out our last breeders and, while our new Aquaponics system has dominated my time in recent months, I'm keen to resume breeding and raising these amazing little game birds.

The new Urban Aquaponics system continues to exceed our expectations. We erected a mini-greenhouse over our two gravel grow beds and we're delighted with its performance. The plants in the mini-greenhouse are healthy and are growing quickly.

Eating clean, fresh chicken meat has become a habit, so we've purchased another 24 day old broiler chicks to supplement our dwindling supplies.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 12th August 2007

2007-08-12T07:52:00.000+10:00

Our new Aquaponics system is ticking over nicely. The seedlings we planted in the gravel grow beds have survived the periodic flooding that they have experienced as we fine-tuned the float valve that controls the pumping cycle.

The satellite pots that I attached to the system last weekend, are functioning as they should, too.

The duckweed tank that is a feature of our new AP system has provided us with our first harvest. Duckweed grows best when the water temperature exceeds 20 degrees C. The warm conditions inside the cold frame that covers the duckweed tank are clearly to the tiny plants' liking because it had developed into a thick mat. We harvested a month's supply (at our current rate of use) and froze it.

Last night, we ate Aquaponic potatoes......an experience that everyone should enjoy. While I've grown potatoes hydroponically in the past, this was our first crop of potatoes grown in an Aquaponics system.

The cold weather has caused us to lose several of our Jade Perch fingerlings in recent days, so I moved them back into the fingerling tank. I've put a heater into the tank which has raised the water temperature to 25 degrees C. The fish have stopped dying and are feeding strongly again.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 5th August 2007

2007-08-05T05:57:00.000+10:00

Having filled them with a gravel/expanded clay mix, I converted my the remaining five satellite pots to continuous flow.

They are now fed by a 20 watt pump directly out of the duckweed tank. Each pot is connected to a drain line which returns the water to the duckweed tank. The pumping cycle is controlled by an electric timer which has the pump on for 15 minutes and off for 15 minutes during the day. During the night, the cycle moves to 15/45.

We planted several seedlings into the new-refurbished pots.......tomatoes, cucumbers and capsicums.

My larger Jade perch received their first real feed since I moved them into the new system over a week ago......it's been too cold.

The Jade perch fingerlings have suffered most during the recent (largely uncharacteristic) cold snap. I've lost several of them through continuing to feed them when it's too cold.

The seedlings we planted last weekend have all survived although some of them are looking a bit ordinary through being periodically flooded while I've grappled with float switch adjustments.

Creek Street Journal - Monday 30th July 2007

2007-07-30T16:27:00.000+10:00

I tested the water in the tidal system tank...........perfect.

We had started off with a very high pH reading of 8.0 which I resolved by the addition of 200 litres of water from the other fish tank plus a litre of fresh lemon juice. It's now around ph 7.2.

Interestingly, we already have a respectable nitrates reading of 40+......probably the result of the water transfer and because we'd used the gravel/expanded clay media (from the square metre grow bed) to fill the satellite pots. I'd also tipped the contents of the pressure filter into the grow beds a few days earlier.

The float valve that controls the pumping cycle on the new system is not working as well as I want at the moment.

Creek Street Journal - Sunday 29th July 2007

2007-07-29T07:13:00.000+10:00

We planted out our new gravel grow beds today with silver beet, bok choi, coriander, lettuce, parsely and thyme seedlings.

Today, we reconfigured my satellite pot growing system. It had taken a belting during a recent sub-zero cold snap and the tomatoes had frozen.

The pots were filled with coco peat which we had hand-watered using the nutrient-rich water from our fish tanks. The problem was that I'd forget periodically and the tomatoes would dry out. Notwithstanding my inconsistent watering, the plants grew and had useful quantities of good sized fruit....but they drew the line at the cold snap.

I've decided to connect the pots to the pipework from the fish tank and to have them drain back into the tank. We'll replace the coco peat growing medium with expanded clay topped with some drainage gravel. That way, the pots are light enough to handle but will still provide a good anchor for the plants.

Yesterday, I assembled a small Ell-Gro NFT system. It was a breeze to put together. I've mounted it on a Kube-Lock frame. We'll connect it to the main Aquaponics system once I've had a chance to grow some more salad and herb seedlings.

We transferred our 42 plate-sized Jade perch into our new tidal system. We also moved our 90+ Jade perch fingerlings into the 700 litre tank that they vacated.

A Pocket History of Aquaponics

2007-07-25T19:45:00.000+10:00

While most people know that Aquaponics is the combination of Aquaculture and Hydroponics, rather fewer know much of how it came about.

The notion of using fish wastes to fertilize plants (the fundamental premise of aquaponics) has its roots in early Asian and South American civilisations. The ancient Aztecs built ‘chinampas’ (networks of canals and stationary artificial islands) in which they cultivated crops on the islands using nutrient-rich mud and water from the canals.

The ancient Chinese also employed a system of integrated aquaculture in which finfish, catfish, ducks and plants co-existed in a symbiotic relationship where the ducks were housed in cages over the finfish ponds. The finfish processed the wastes from the ducks. In a lower pond, the catfish live on the wastes that have flowed from the finfish pond. The water from the catfish ponds was used for irrigated rice and vegetable crops.

The New Alchemists are probably the people principally responsible for Aquaponics, as we currently know it. In 1969, John and Nancy Todd and William McLarney founded the New Alchemy Institute. The culmination of their efforts was the construction of a prototype agricultural “Ark”……a solar-powered, self-sufficient, bio-shelter…..designed to accommodate the year-round needs of a family of four using holistic methods to provide fish, vegetables and shelter.

In the mid 1980’s, Mark McMurtry (a graduate student at North Carolina University) and Professor Doug Sanders created the first known closed loop aquaponic system.Effluent from fish tanks was used to trickle-irrigate tomatoes and cucumbers in sand grow beds which also functioned as bio-filters. As the water drained from the sand grow beds it was recirculated back into the fish tanks.McMurtry’s research and findings confirmed much of the background science that underpins Aquaponics.

In the early 1990’s, Missouri farmers Tom and Paula Speraneo modified the NCSU system and introduced their Bioponics concept. They grew herbs and vegetables in ebb and flow gravel grow beds irrigated by the nutrient rich water from a 2200 litre tank in which they raised Tilapia.

While gravel grow beds had been used for decades by hydroponicists, the Speraneos were the first to make effective use of them in Aquaponics. Their system was practical and productive and has been widely duplicated by Aquaponics enthusiasts throughout the World.

Around the same time, at the University of Virgin Islands, James Rakocy PhD and associates developed a commercial-scale aquaponics system which comprises four 7,800 litre tanks feeding six deep water culture (DWC) troughs.

Most large commercial aquaponics systems are premised upon DWC or NFT growing systems.Americans Rebecca Nelson and John Pade commenced publication of their quarterly Aquaponics Journal in 1997.

In more recent times, Canadian research Dr Nick Savidov has undertaken further research around the productive potential of aquaponics.

Through the efforts of these pioneers, Aquaponics…..a modern slant on an old idea….is enjoying a renaissance.

My First Aquaponics System

2007-07-24T20:32:00.001+10:00

This is my first real Aquaponics system.

The system consisted of an 800 litre mega bin, a 250 litre fingerling tank and a 200 litre sedimentation tank. Two 65 litre bio-filters were used to nitrify the fish wastes.

It had a total water capacity of 1000 litres and, at its peak, it housed 44 plate-sized Jade perch and a further 90+ Jade perch fingerlings.

My growing systems comprised a small gravel/expanded clay ebb and flow grow bed and a collection of growing trays and satellite pots.

This unit is now being used to grow out about 90 advanced Jade Perch fingerlings.

My experience of this small system provided the design criteria for the first Aquaponics system in Australia to be designed specifically for backyard use.

My New Aquaponics System

2007-07-24T20:23:00.000+10:00

This system is designed to grow fish, vegetables and duckweed.

The unit features a 1000 litre fish rectangular fish tank. It also has 2 x 585 litre fibreglass flood and drain gravel grow beds, a 250 litre fingerling tank and another 585 litre duckweed tank.

The fingerling tank is supported on top of the fish tank and is intended to extend the productive capacity of the whole system by allowing me to rear fingerlings at the same time that I'm growing out a batch of fish in the main tank.

It features an innovative tidal arrangement where nutrient rich water is pumped up to the two flood and drain gravel grow beds. As the beds fill, the water level in the fish tank and the duckweed pond drop simultaneously.

Once the grow beds fill to a predetermined level, the float switch shuts off the pump and the water drains back into the fish tank. As the level in the fish tank rises, so does the level of the duckweed tank.

This action imitates the ebb and flow of a tidal estuary.

This unit is designed to produce in excess of 60kg of freshwater fish per year. It will also produce many kilograms of clean, fresh vegetables and herbs.

The duckweed tank will assist in the management of water quality and provides high quality plant protein for the fish.

The new system is capable of supporting a variety of other growing systems so we will, over the coming weeks, attach several satellite pots and a small NFT salad farm.

An Introduction to Backyard Aquaponics

2007-07-24T00:55:00.000+10:00

Imagine being able to produce your own freshwater fish and salad – simultaneously – in your own backyard.

Well, you can…..using Aquaponics.

Aquaponics is the combination of intensive aquaculture and hydroponics and is among the most efficient of all food production systems.

The three important elements in any Aquaponics system are plants, fish and beneficial bacteria. Put simply, you feed the fish, the bacteria turn the fish wastes into plant food and the plants clean the water for the fish.

Arguably, the nitrogen cycle is the most important thing to be understood about Aquaponics.
The waste produced by the fish breaks down to produce ammonia.

When the ammonia levels in the fish tank reach a certain level, bacteria (Nitrosoma) begin to colonise the system. As the numbers of these bacteria build, the ammonia (NH3) is converted to nitrite (NO2). As the ammonia levels drop, the nitrite levels increase. The nitrites (like ammonia) are toxic to fish.

When the nitrite levels in the water reach a certain point, other bacteria (Nitrobacter) begin to colonise the system. These bacteria convert nitrites to nitrates (NO3), which are less harmful to the fish.

While the microbiology associated with aquaponics is complex, the equipment needed is very straightforward.

To produce freshwater fish in your backyard, you’ll need:

A tank
A pump and some fittings
A biological filter

That’s it! These three components comprise a basic recirculating aquaculture system. You just add water and some fish......and start doing some water tests.

In a conventional recirculating aquaculture system, nitrates are removed through water replacement where a predetermined volume of water is dumped each day. In a conventional hydroponic system, inorganic salts are used to provide nutrients for plants. Once the nutrient levels drop below a certain level, they are also dumped. In both situations, the wasteful disposal of nutrient-rich effluent creates environmental issues.

The addition of a hydroponic growing system to a basic recirculating aquaculture system (tank, pump and bio-filter) is what creates the microbiological miracle that we know as Aquaponics.

Our original Aquaponics system comprises an 800 litre tank, two small trickling bio-filters and a couple of small pumps. We house the system in our shed which enables us to control the production parameters more effectively and to stop leaves from blowing into the tank.

A diverse range of hydroponic systems can be used for Aquaponics. Since they all grow plants, the choice of a particular system boils down to personal preferences and the availability of resources.

Regardless of the choice of growing option, Aquaponics is sustainable on several fronts – it requires less water and it does not pollute the environment – and nor do we need to purchase expensive inorganic salts for our plants.

The smallest traces of herbicide, pesticide or even garden fertiliser will prove toxic for fish so these chemicals have place in Aquaponics. Clean food is the result.

We use a combination of flood and drain gravel grow beds and non-recirculating coco-peat tubs and trays. We also use bio-filters to optimise the colonisation of our system with beneficial bacteria.

Fish

The list of Australian freshwater fish that can be produced in a backyard includes:

Barramundi
Golden Perch
Silver Perch
Jade Perch
Honey Perch
Sleepy Cod
Eel-tailed Catfish

While Rainbow Trout is not native to Australia , it can be grown in cooler climates and is an excellent eating fish.

Freshwater crayfish include Yabbies (Cherax Destructor), Redclaw and Marron.

We chose Jade Perch for our initial fish production efforts. They are hardy natives that are well suited to backyard Aquaponics.

Pelletised rations, specially formulated for native freshwater fish, are available from fodder stores. We supplement the pellets with duckweed and Soldier Fly larvae.

Plants

Many plants can grow in an Aquaponics system. Last season, we grow lettuce, soft herbs, silver beet, bok choi, beetroot, onions, tomatoes, capsicums, broccoli and zucchini. We were eating bok choi and coriander within three weeks of planting the seedlings and we began to harvest silver beet a week later.

Our experience of Aquaponics has been overwhelmingly positive.

The secret to its success is the way that it mimics nature in its integration of fish, beneficial bacteria and plants. It’s a tiny eco-system where the only ongoing inputs are fingerlings, seeds, fish food and far less water than would be required for any other plant growing method.

Each day, we harvest useful quantities of clean, fresh vegetables and herbs and, whenever we feel the urge, we eat Jade Perch.