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Comment by Jim Fisk on April 14, 2013 at 3:42pm

Brad, just as a follow up in case I didn't mention it, I have had far better luck with the trout so far. Lost most of my cats over time. Haven't figured out why yet. Could even be a contaminated tank or something or the cat and bluegill source fish farm (4 hr rnd trip). The water there was nasty whereas the trout come from a local trout farm with pristine mountain water. I'll try cats and bluegills again but I think I'll wild catch them this time around and I'll separate them into the 2 temp zones I mentioned. Even the plants will appreciate 2 zones for sure and it just works out that the raft crops tend to be cool lovers. Nice when things work out the right way for a change This 2 zone thing just came to me this weekend. Changing the plan AGAIN.

Comment by Jim Fisk on April 14, 2013 at 7:07am

Hi Brad, just a thought 1 year in raising cats and trout, I am considering dividing up my system into 2 systems so that the trout fts flow thru a bio-filter and to raft beds and a separate sump as those don't soak up the sun's heat the way media does. That way your fridge or in my case chest freezer (with overide T-stat) idea might stand a chance in Summer. The cats and others can have their warmer water. Who knows I might even break down and try Tilapia with such a set up using an insulated sump as our grnd temp is between 55 & 60F here (great for trout). Also planning a 3rd system which will use compost tea and no fish. There is no end to the possibilities.

Comment by Tom OBrien on April 13, 2013 at 10:18pm

Hi Brad,

Good luck with your project. I wasn't real happy with the last batch of fish but I have to say trout are an awful lot of fun (when they aren't dead).

I don't know how hot the temperatures get in Oceanside, but keeping the water cool enough for trout during the summer months even with insulation may be a challenge for your refrigerator. It sounds like an interesting project though. Good Luck!

Comment by Brad Moreau on April 13, 2013 at 9:38pm

Hello

I'm Brad out of  Oceanside, Ca. starting up my system, going to be using  two ibc 275 FT w/ a 300 gal sump, four raft beds - 4' x 8'  eight 1/2 barrels w/ gravel, flood & drain  ten vertical towers. FT's one trout, one catfish. trout tank will have 2" rigid foam insulation board on sides & top. cooled by 316 stainless  1/2" soft tubing 100' long ran through a small refridgerator. ( thats my plan anyway) still workin the bugs out .this is my first try @ aquaponics, so its a learning experence 4 me, any feed back would help !!! my ft's are cycling for the first time, so I have a couple weeks or more to finish build. will post pic latter when more is donehttp://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif

Comment by Tom OBrien on January 13, 2013 at 10:21pm

Looks like I'm on my way to killing off my latest batch of trout.

I have a small (150 gallon) tank in the basement and this is my second try with the trout. I kept most of the first batch alive for about 4 months.

The water tests I can do with the test kits (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH) all look pretty good. The water temp is 64 F. The fish initially were feeding aggressively. But now the fish have stopped feeding and I've lost about half. Several of them had pale spots and had lost scales. Does this sound like a problem with DO levels? The aerator setup I have seemed to work OK for the last batch even though the water temp got over 70 F for the last month or so. But obviously something is out of whack and I don't have a DO test to check this.

Comment by Derrick Kerr on October 27, 2012 at 9:48pm

Does anyone know of anyone is selling trout fingerlings north of Seattle, WA?

Comment by tallim on February 13, 2012 at 10:47am

Is anyone growing Rainbow Trout in Orlando, please

can you give me some tips.

Comment by Neal Westwood on October 28, 2010 at 8:14pm

Now you ask the hard questions, can you make money in temperate climates. I know my hobby system is expensive as winter heating is my #1 cost. Nelson and Pade are in the same climate, but I haven't seen any data from their demonstration greenhouse. Probably your best bet for info is to visit GrowingPower.org, they claim to be doing it. They are next on my list to visit.

Comment by Sylvia Bernstein on October 27, 2010 at 9:59am

RupertofOZ, good to have an example of an Aussie who is actually doing this. I don't think I was saying it was not possible, but rather that you need to "start with a bigger fish to begin with". Your plan of starting with yearling fish is certainly an importantl factor here.

Comment by RupertofOZ on October 27, 2010 at 8:49am

Theoretically it's possible to do so Sylvia, at least here in Australia, as we do have species which can be grown out in 6 months, Trout and Barramundi.

However, both have temperature tolerance ranges that mean in reality you need to be prepared to heat, in the case of Barramundi, or possibly chill in the case of Trout, your tank water.

Trout fingerlings when stocked are actually "yearlings", 9-12 months old, and can easily be grown out to plate size (400-500 gms) in six months.

As can Barramundi, if you can source them early enough above 100 mm and you get a good summer temperature range, and/or heat them.

All fish are oxygen dependant, but Trout are highly dependant.

I pump, via 12 air stones, 6000 L/H of air into my 7-7500 L Trout tank.

It is possible, as myself and a few others have found, to grow Trout well beyond the 1 kg mark, even through summer.

But only with highlevels of oxygenation, careful water management, low or no feeding, and constant observation.

The trouble is, as your tank temperature rise through summer, the oxygen carrying capacity of the water naturally diminishes, at the very time when the size of your stock, and fed rates are approaching their highest level of oxygen demand.

But it can be done...

Here's a couple of photos of 1 kg + Rainbow Trout

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