My pilot project Francois

[Francois Lemmer]

I started messing around with tilapia 2006-2010

2010 - the end of july i had to take  my system down

i am currently trying to get a piece of property to set up a scaled system.

basickly i dont have a system that is running

but i want to share my last 4 years with aquaponics

with members.......

 

[Francois Lemmer]

Phong Tran Cao

thank you again

[Francois Lemmer]

Safwat Zaki said:

I noticed stability in alkalinity and hardness, can you explain how you control these parameters and if you are using RO water or DI H2O?

Cheers.

 

Hi Safwat

This is what i add  and then alternating with lye i made using wood ash......?????

no real control....

i use rain water +-200 every 10 days???

 

[Francois Lemmer]

Hi All
I managed to take some photos of the fish today.
The Male tilapia fingerling I added to the tank.
I have about 3-4 months of really hot weather coming up and I want to see how big I can get them in this time.

2 9 2011 i added 80 male tilapia fingerlings....only +-12 survived

[Francois Lemmer]

 

i removed the pvc pieces from the filter worm/sump and replaced them with these shadenet growbags filled with +- 5-10mm gravel

[Francois Lemmer]

 

peppers

in raft

[Francois Lemmer]

 

the rest of plants

 

[Francois Lemmer]

 

1 raft of beans i removed today to prepare

[Francois Lemmer]

 

i used HDPE lath swarf as growing media and i think it works well.

light and easy to work with.

cleans very easy and you can re-use again.

[Teresa N Florida]

Hi Francois, I have been truly enjoying the narration of your AP experiences, from that first BIG system to the current one. 

It is winter here, and now I only have one last tomato plant growing, (no greenhouse or hoop tunnel yet), so loving watching how your summer and plants progress in South Africa!!

 

[Frank Bet]

Wow...Chapeau bas, Francois!

Thank you for taking the time to post your pics and field notes. Lots of great ideas in your project.

[Safwat Zaki]

Thank you Francois for your reply, I am really impresed.

Francois Lemmer said:

Safwat Zaki said:

I noticed stability in alkalinity and hardness, can you explain how you control these parameters and if you are using RO water or DI H2O?

Cheers.

 

Hi Safwat

This is what i add  and then alternating with lye i made using wood ash......?????

no real control....

i use rain water +-200 every 10 days???

 

[Francois Lemmer]

Hi All
The heat wave we are in now is hectic…temps are in the 30 deg/c and record temps were measured not far from us…52 deg/c
With not too much afford I have managed to keep water temps bellow 28 deg/c …..
I have added an air stone in my pump sump and at night this helps to get the colder air pumping into the water to help cool the water over night.
In the day I cover the tank and bio/filter with white shade netting
The seedlings I have planted are taking strain and I think I will lose some.
To get plants into my system I went and bought 12 seedlings and planted them into the system last night …cooler. I washed all the planting media of roots before planting.
This morning they looked like they grew in the system from day one…happy
I took some photos of the fish in my tank…Kio and tilapia
In the tank I have +-12 tilapia, 15 Kio and +-10 Kio in the duckweed trays.
I have had to cut down on feeding duckweed….they eat the duckweed faster than I can grow the stuff….
I am still feeding 3-4 times a day alternating worms and pellets….as much as they eat….no waste

the fish growth rates good and the fish look happy at feed times...