jimbojames 285 Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 I have been testing the waters with an Aquaponics setup . I first heard or read about the concept on the computer and done some research into the idea and funnily enough it coincided with a possible purchase of some fingerlings . In my research i also decided that i did not want to have to pay for the power that a pump and aerator can consume in there continuous demand being on 24/7 . So solar power was going to have to be the way to go . First things first i had to source out a water proof container , that was large enough to raise some fingerlings to a decent size . Back into some research i found some IBC's , as they are called on Gum Tree for just over a $100 , a bit more hunting around and i found out i can get some cheaper if i went second hand and cleaned them out myself .This was not such a good idea as after i had spent over 8 hours cleaning them i would of been better of buying them clean . I then went and bought solar powered Water feature pump that i quickly found out just wont cut it with the little solar panel and tiny battery , so i had a tinker and asked around for some bits . Got a car battery from my Father in-law and i had a house solar panel that was earmarked for the Mully Magnet but i thought it would be better of , and more productive powering the Aquaponics . Next thing to do was to source some media and put things together . I dug the tank into the ground a touch so the grow bed was at a good height , had a few dramas with what was strong enough to hold the grow bed in place but ended up going with what was mentioned on youtube (what i should of done in the first place) . Then i filled it with 250kg of cleaned media and turned the pump on . I had researched up on the Bell Siphon but with the flow i had i had to tune the pipe lengths to get it to cycle properly . Had a few issues with it not starting and then starting and not stopping . Got this sorted but the had to figure out why my pump kept turning of . The pump unit i have has a control unit that has two settings , one for solar power and one for battery power . I first had removed the original battery and wired the solar panel and car battery to the terminals but with it in battery mode it didn't work properly , so i then rewired the solar panel and car battery into the solar power inlet and put the original battery back in . This has finally worked with the settings on the unit on solar power mode .After all this i finally have the system working 24/7 just on a solar panel and car battery and entirely off the grid . wooo whoo . Next thing was to source some gold fish to condition the water before i put my fingerlings in and i maneged to get 20 of Gum Tree for $100 . Then me and the wife went up to Bunnigs to get some plants . And now i have a complete set up that , at the moment , seems to be working no problems . Chief, rotare, Allroy and 6 others 9 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
archerfish 685 Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Good work, jimboLots of progress reports expected... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tinker 1,645 Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Top effort Jimbo, will be interesting to see how it all turns out.Sounds like you have done your homework so you should get some good results.What species of fingerlings did you have in mind? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Del 245 Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 top work mate! looking forward to to seeing results! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Just Me 0 Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 That's impressive JJ. Good effort. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Just Me 0 Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 Excellent segment on Vasilis garden ch44 today JJ. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimbojames 285 Posted August 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 Cheers fellas . Well hopefully i will be able to get all 3 up and running but the first lot of fingerlings i want are going to be Cod , but not sure if this is a positive as yet . If not then maybe some Silvers and then Goldens and i am hoping to get some Trout after summer . Not sure what time the Vasilis Garden is on ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Just Me 0 Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 It's on after Adventure Bound. The lady had a small tank with gold fish and a 3000lt tank with Murray Cod and Trout that they also ate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keenfisho 1,416 Posted September 15, 2014 Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 sorry to bring up an old thread but been thinking of setting up a aquaponics garden and remembered this post from awhile ago. any updates jimbo and what was your approx overall cost to set this up. thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
baitwaster 202 Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 yeh love to see any updates as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimbojames 285 Posted September 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2014 G'day peeps . Well the set up costs were about $100 each IBC , I think it was $180 or $200 for the solar panel , gravel was $25 , goldfish came to $150 , water pump around $180 , solinoids were $20 ish each and car battery i got given . So for about a $1000 once you add every thing together and all the little bits like plumbing and stuff . This set up did really well and ran non stop for over 10 months before it packed it in . I did have to give the pump a clean every now and then but the plants went bannanas . In the process of moving the yard around and builing a bigger set up using the other IBC . i did go the cheap way with the IBC and bought ones for about $30 - $45 dollars that needed cleaning but the time and effort that has gone into cleaning them i would sooooooooo recomend just bying the clean ones . Havent got any photos of the interem sorry . Fish are still doing very well tho . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keenfisho 1,416 Posted September 25, 2014 Report Share Posted September 25, 2014 thanks jimbo appreciate the info. jimbojames 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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