Stumble It!Synaptoman is an optimist, realist, sceptic, critic, academic, romantic, thinker, philosopher, raconteur, humourist, pacifist, commentator, sports fan, conspiracy-theorist, futurist, comic, environmentalist, survivalist, animal-lover, chauvinist, classist, geek, meritocrat, atheist, family-man and regular, beer-swilling, nice guy.
You may not agree with my views, but if they make you think, or laugh out loud, I’ve achieved my objectives. Comment and debate is welcomed.
Dear Synatoman,
We have an organic recycling farm in Florida where we recycle waste wood and green vegetation into humus. We are also evaluating raising tilapia on the farm. I went to the USVI school on raising tilapia a few months ago and have a pretty good understanding of raising them, however, I do not want to use commercial feed for them. I have been playing with duck weed and have interest in what you are doing with hyacinths and sunflowers. Can we communicate on some potential synergies?
Regards
Carmel Monti
Carmel,
I will be trialing my Tilapia on water hyacinth from December and will have a good idea of how they like it by the end of the year. The sunflowers are for the oil to make bio-diesel. This is a long-term project but I will report back on my blog. You are welcome to correspond directly with me at aquaculture@knysna.sa.com if you wish.
What are we to do?
I have had similar experience in getting Aquaculture moving. Many lost opportunities and frustrations. We must not give up though. South africa has a large part to play in growing fish, especially Tilapia.
David Fincham
Chairman Tilapia Producers Association
David,
I certainly agree with that. My Aquaponic trial with Tilapia and various vegetables has been a huge success and we are now looking to scale this up substantially.
Synaptoman
Fantastic reading – nice, logical, straight forward thinking written down as I’d like to hear it spoken.
Well done.
tilapia are yum.
Very interesting stuff . I am in Canada and thinking of starting a aquaponics venture ( the cold is my greatest worry )
On a completly different topic i was very surprised when you mentioned that you are in Knysna as that is where i grew up and my father still lives there ( Colin Forster )
What is the latest update on your project
Well Well Well…..Synaptoman…. How are you and your family keeping…. Loooong time no chat….. was given your website address and WOW… am impressed… keep ‘em blog going brother… a motivated brain indeed… Ciao Ciao
Welcome young Debs, great to have you here.
Hey..today is the 15th already… where is my daily fix ? What did the Child Bride pack you for lunch on the 14th ? Whats the latest on those huge pipes you transported ?
“I will be trialing my Tilapia on water hyacinth from December and will have a good idea of how they like it by the end of the year….”
It should have worked like a charm. I have yet to see any kind of water critter , or crazy Cajun for that matter, that didn’t love water hyacinths.
(on a different note…)
A self described funny, beer-swilling, romantic chauvinist, huh…love it!
later!
Aloha! We’re starting up an aquaponics project at my school in Hawai’i. I just found your blog & have just had a most enjoyable browse; we’ll be coming back to see & learn more. can’t wait to try the strawberry tubes… Anyway, perhaps you can help with what i was trying to find out in the first place – how to get the proper bacteria established in one’s gravel beds. A lot of American sites say to get some from a reputable source, but then don’t give any sources. I saw your mention of using inoculum from your home system to start up a bigger one – we’re at the point of getting the first mini-system going – once we have that we’ll be in good shape to expand. Is it like sourdough starter, passed on from expert to novices? Or do we have to just raise fish for a while until the fish poop bacteria have colonized the gravel?
As you can see, we are rank newbs (but humble and eager to transcend our newbishness.)
For that matter, do you know of any kind of basic textbook, or worldwide directory of aquaponicists that we can refer to?
Many thanks for any help you can provide. If you answer back I promise not to become a pest.
Many thanks
Kate
Hi Kate,
Your best source of bacteria is that gunk from an aquarium under-gravel filter. Just go to a local pet shop and ask them to give you a ring when they next clean a tank.
Go to
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com
for loads of contacts, ideas and help. Tell them “Synaptoman” sent you.
Regards
Synaptoman
We are setting up a very small aquaponics system in Arizona. It is a science project. We have a 140 gal horse tank that we are using and two grow beds. One is 8′ x 2′ x 6″ and the other is 8′ x 2′ x 4″. We want to grow some Koi which we will sell later. The Koi will be about 3 inches long when we get them. We are using Koi because some of us don’t like fish and we don’t know how we would get rid of them. We should be able to sell the Koi at a profit. How many fish can we put in our tank?
Your systems are awesome. Keep up the good work.
Best regards,
Kurt
Hi Kurt,
The accepted formula is;
200L of growbed volume
100L of pond water
6kg of fish
This is optimal and both your plants and fish will be happy with this ratio.
There is a brilliant little Excel spreadsheet that I found on the Backyard Aquaponics web site where you just type in all of your dimensions etc and it will calculate the fish load.
Just a word of warning re: Koi. They GROW, so use your expected final weight in your calculations.
I am emailing you the spreadsheet separately.
Regards
Synaptoman
It is amazing to see the progress that you have made over the last six months or so since I visited your site.It is probably not that apparent to you as you do the day today work but to me I just find it mind blowing.I visited your Dublin friends this weekend and they reminded me of your site.I wish you all the luck of the Irish.
Thanks Lex. Nice to hear from you again. Hope all is going well over there.
Hi,I want to start an aquaponic farming in Lebanon,how can you help me?
Hi Alex,
I’m sure we can help you. I will email you privately.
Regards
Synaptoman
Are there any aquaponics enterprises in the Gauteng Province? If so, any contact details for them?
Yes, you will be contacted directly by my Gauteng representative.
Dear Sir,
I wish to know how to build your type of small culture tank to raise Tilapia.
I’m the son of a pioneer of Belgium Congo and now living in California. I’m 74 and can use all the help I can get.
Thank you so much
George
Hi George,
Welcome. 3 steps should be followed;
1. Join the Backyard Aquaponics forum at http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/index.php
2. Gather as much information, giving special attention to systems in similar conditions and climate to yours.
3. START SMALL and stick to the basics.
Good luck
SYNAPTOMAN
Hi again sori 2 hear bout the loss of the elecricals hav u assertaind what caused it?
Can you pleeze help me my stand up pipe in my grow beds keeps clogging with green gunk. and its drilled to your recomended size i then have to clear out some of the gravel and unblock it. i am scared to make the hole any bigger in case it drains 2 fast. HELP. my leaves of my spinage r going yellow how much iron chelate must i add & do i put it in2 the sump or direct in2 the grow beds? i hav a 14000lit pond
Hi Greg,
Electrical fault, spark or something. Either that or overheating battery cells. There was very little ventilation in the battery room. If you have made a push-in stand pipe (ie. you haven’t glued it into the bottom fitting) then you can drill it as big as you like and then just turn it to close it to size(a half-moon effect) If your outer pipe is big enough then you should be able to get your hand in and clean up or turn the pipe without taking any gravel out.
As far as the iron chelate is concerned the recommended dosage is 5g / 10L of water. There is no point using 14000L as a base because it’ll be too expensive. Just mix some in the above ratio in a watering can and water twice a day for a few days directly onto the spinach. You could also bury a piece of old metal (some bolts and nuts etc.) in the gravel near the spinach. The oxidation (rusting) will produce a steady supply of iron to the roots of the plant.
Cheers
Synaptoman
Hey, great website on keeping everyone in the world updated on all your aquaponics systems. I am in The Bahamas and want to start AP in my backyard to grow for friends and family. We have a big saltwater fish industry so I don’t know if persons we be so incline to buy freshwater fish. But I don’t think it would be hurt to try. You mentioned that you are an atheist, can you tell me why please?
When I started this blog I made a decision not to discuss Politics, Sex or Religion. Seeing that I have dealt with Politics and Sex extensively, I suppose that I can’t duck the Religion issue any more. Why am I an atheist? Mmmm, let me think. Let’s just say that I don’t believe in God in the religious sense nor an afterlife (good or bad). My view is that we are just meat, albeit highly intelligent meat.
Thank you for answering my question. Well I went out today I bought a barrel, cut it in half, bought a RubberMaid container for the fish, 28 gallons and built most of the stand to hold the half barrels. I’m very excited see how things are going to work out. We don’t have live Tilapia in The Bahamas so I’m going to start with some gold fish to get things running. Keep up the good work on your blog, excited to see what you will do next.
Good luck. Goldfish are great starter fish and thrive in AP systems. Encourage them to spawn by frequent water changes and once they start chasing each other around put some shadecloth in as spawning mats and collect the eggs. There is always a ready market for goldfish.
Hi there on your home site you are using barrels. I am having problems with mine leaking. I am using platic threaded running nipples with plastic nuts and 40 mm irrigation teas and elbows but cant get hem to seal properly. Can i just use copius amounts of silicone or is there another way to do it? The holes are on the bottom and top of the drums i have cut these in the middle and will be running them in rows of 6. ie 1st has an elbow next 5 have teas and return to sump. hope thats clear.
Hi Greg,
The secret is to cut the hole just big enough for the threaded nipple to screw into with copious amounts of marine silicone on both sides. This should provide a tight seal. If you’ve already cut the holes then “silicone to the rescue”.
Cheers
Synaptoman
thanks will try that and let you know. compliments of the season 2 you & yr family
Hi Synaptoman.
Could you please tell me why you built the 4 x 3 m fish tank with a depth varying from 600mm to 1.2m? What are the advantages vs building one that is at a uniform depth of 1.2m? Thanx.
Hi Wilson,
Good question. Basically for two reasons. The first is that with a sloped bottom all of the solids (uneaten food and fish faeces) will be concentrated in one spot (at the deep end) and the submersible pump will suck them up.
Secondly when I want to capture fish I merely start at the deep end with a 3m wide net and walk towards the shallow end with the net scraping along the bottom thus catching all of the fish in the pond. Easy !!
Regards
Synaptoman
Thank you much for your quick response. I am in Nairobi, Kenya.. want to model a commercial aquaponics system. Been following up your site, it’s awesome work you are doing, Kudos!
Kind Regards,
Wilson.
Jambo!
is there a length limitation for growbeds? would it be ok to have a lenth of 75 feet (23m)?
No, I can’t see any reason why there should be any length limitation. If I remember correctly the University of the Virgin islands has Basil growing in growbeds many meters long.
As long as it is completely level there should be no problems. If your level is out, one end will never drain properly and the other will be bone dry, neither scenario good.
Hope this helps.
Synaptoman
Hi, thanks a bunch.
Greetns from Nairobi. ‘Ope your week is goin well. Q…the fish tanks at the commercial site..looks like wire-meshing and lining..what’s at the base? How do you ensure rigidity so that pressure from water doesn’t rip the tank apart?
Hi Wilson,
The tank merely rests on a concrete slab or even straight onto the earth. We use a geomat under the lining to prevent sharp stones puncturing the lining and to provide some insulation. The mesh re-enforcing is merely a ring around the outside providing rigidity. Between the mesh and the pond liner is a thick PVC plastic wall protector to protect the side walls of the liner. It’s a very strong structure
Thanx for the response, Sir.
Just starting my backyard system from the ground up, do you mind linking to my site please?
Thank you
Kohfe
Hi Kohfe,
With pleasure, done.
Regards
Synaptoman
Thank you
Hi Synaptoman,
Is your manual available as an eBook or only in physical copy? Thanks and well-done on the production.
Best,
~Casey
Hi Casey,
Only as a physical copy. We post to anywhere in the world.
Synaptoman
Do you have an associate in the Jnb/Pta that is closer to us in Gaborone that I can go and visit?
Yes, I have an associate in JHB. I’ll email you his details.
Great work on all levels. I have just started my first small test system and I am building a larger 250 gal system. (in Manila)
I tried to find the spreadsheet for fish/pond/beds ratio on B.A. but could not. If you can link or point me to it I would love to have it.
Thank you keep Aquaponics moving forward.
Larry
There are many links dealing with the ratio of gravel to water. This is one;
http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4622
As the systems get bigger however it becomes increasingly difficult to get a 2:1 ratio of gravel to water, so I try and aim for 1:1. This means that if you have 250gal of water in your system (including your sump) you should aim for a minimum of 250gal of growbed volume. As far as fish are concerned, work on a maximum stocking density of 30kg per 1000L of water (this time excluding sump) This works out at 60lbs / 264gal. This is the final adult size estimate that your fish will grow to and NOT the fingerling weight.
Hope this helps.
Synaptoman
Hi Synaptoman
I stay in Bloemfontein on a 4 Ha plot and is very keen to start with aquaculture , for the love and commercial side of it,your system made me even more anxious .Can you assist me as there are many questions(what fish,temp,return on investment etc) Temp in the kidspool outside is 10 degrees(standup pool of 3.6 x 900)
Thanx for a great site.
Heinrich
Hi Heinrich,
I’ll email you privately.
Synaptoman
hi there you have a great website.
I moved from south africa in 2000 and know living on the Ilse of Man and Ireland.
Were about from South Africa are you from ? ?
Can you please help with a method of braaing crayfish or lobster as they are pretty cheap over here. I braai meat and fish at least 6 days a week but when it comes to the above i’m lost. Please can you help.
Thank you ed
Sorry the crayfish and lobsters only come live and when i was back in South Africa we use to boil them in a pot.
The braai method is all new to me.
Thank you once again.
ed
Hi Ed,
Pop the live crayfish (in a box) into the freezer. It’s a humane way of killing them as they just go to sleep. Don’t freeze them just leave them in long enough to kill them. I slice my crayfish long ways, removing the head contents and rinsing thoroughly under running water. Make a fire and burn until you have a thick layer of coals. Grill for a few minutes on the meat side to seal the meat and then turn over and grill on the shell side until the shell is a bright red. Baste regularly with your favourite sauce. when the meat is white (ie not luminous) it is ready. Pop over onto the meat side one more time to slightly char and it’s done.
Enjoy.
Synaptoman
Hey brother,
Can I use your picture of the autosiphon you created by borrowing from Backyard? It’s for a consumer-level book on aquaponics here in the US.
With pleasure. If it’s one of my images you are welcome to use it without charge as long as it’s credited to http://www.synaptoman.com (c)
Thank you for allowing the use of the image. I am including you in my new book, The Aquaponics Guidebook, as part of the interactive map of world aquaponics projects. I will send you a PDF when it’s complete.
for solar thermal heating and sun tracking devices checkout instructables.com
Apologise for being a pain but where can I view the PDF ebook I purchesed this morning ? or is it yet to be emailed to me?
Cheers
Aleks
Hi Aleks,
Thank you for your order. Your ebook was emailed to you this morining. We’re a few hours behind you here in South Africa. Hope you enjoy the manual.
Regards
Synaptoman