Aquaponics updated

April of last year Jono constructed our first aquaponics system, touched on briefly here and I thought it would be nice to revisit the set up almost a year on. The trout that we initially used proved to be temperamental (translates to challenging to keep alive). Because of this we opted to try Silver Perch, reputed to be suited for aquaponics systems and so three months ago we travelled to nearby Glenburn to a native fish farm to purchase enough fingerlings for the system and for release into our lagoon. We watched the tiny and translucent perch being packaged up for us to take home and they have been a huge success and can even be spotted in the tank now having taken on a more fish like colour and appearance.

With the size of the fish increasing so to will be the nutrients available to the plants. The tomatoes are flourishing and having spent weeks attempting to stake them upward Jono finally suggested to just leave them and they have been cascading happily downwards since, supported nicely by the frames for the grow beds. 

The time spent working on the system seems to be paying off nicely for all.