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View Full Version : Hello from Pretoria South Africa



grantmcd
08-05-2010, 04:19 AM
Hi All,

I have a small backyard system in the eastern suburbs of Pretoria.
I have been researching aquaponics for a few years now and finally got round to building a basic system last year(2009).
I am extremely passionate about it and I would love to learn more from everybody here.

You can check out some of my videos on my system build here: http://www.youtube.com/user/grantmcdonogh
Enough for now, I will post again soon.
I would love to connect with locals, so any aquaponacists(new word) in Pretoria give me a shout.

Grant

JCO
08-05-2010, 10:35 AM
Welcome to the show....pull up an easy chair, relax and stay awhile. New voices are always a welcome addition to our family..! Whatever questions you have on you mind, this is the place to get the answers. :mrgreen:

Oldandfound1
08-05-2010, 03:43 PM
Welcome from another new Aquaponicist. We also have goats and drink Ki fir. Cool separator you have. Is it a simple evaporation reduction to get the Ki fir cream cheese?
Best regards,
Dennis
Oldandfound1

grantmcd
08-05-2010, 11:54 PM
Hi Oldandfound1
We just hang it up in a cheese cloth over a bowl until all the weigh has filtered through and we are left with the cream cheese for lack a better name. By the way the goats milk cheese was from the store. We live on a tiny suburban lot(+- 400 Square meters of garden) and between our veggies, chickens and aquaponics there is no room for goats. I would love to have some though.

Do you have photos or video of your setup?

jackalope
08-06-2010, 01:07 PM
Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here! Questions are always welcome, don't be too skeeered to ask, we don't bite (well, maybe one or two of us, but not all of us :lol: :lol: ) We love questions, and we especially love photos ;)

We have a great FAQ (http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/faq.php) button for figuring out the website controls, etc. at the top of the page, next to the "Members" button, please check it out if you haven't already done so.
We also have another FAQ (http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/faq.php) section which contains many of the hints and tips that have been collected along the way ..........
Before posting any URLs or emails, please take a look at the Forum Rules (http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/showthread.php?127-Forum-Rules) .....
If you see something that you would like added to these FAQs, please let a moderator or admin know, and we'll discuss it and possibly add it to the list!

BTW, we have a special section for off-topic conversations called "The Sump" (http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?76-SUMP) to hopefully avoid crapping threads and keeping things on topic ;)

Once again, WELCOME TO THE FORUM :!: :!:

grantmcd
08-08-2010, 03:28 PM
Thanks Jackalope,
I just read them all. I really do feel welcome here already :D

Biggles1212
08-18-2010, 12:18 AM
Hi Grantmcd,

Thanks for the cool vids you posted on youtube. I've been messing around with filter ideas and the batting you used looks like it will work perfectly.

I stay in Phalaborwa next to the Kruger National Park. We've also been looking at Aquaponics for a while now, but only started to build in the last two months. Problems were locating supplies and the local guys use transport as an excuse to triple prices. So I buy directly from Joburg.

It'll be great to see how things progress on your system. I stayed a while in Joburg and my wife comes from Pretoria so it'd be interesting to see what fish you can keep. Perhaps some trout.

I used to fly fish in the river that runs past the PPC cement factory, there were Vlei Tilapia and some huge Barber. Never ate the fish as the water was down stream of the effluent plant. I have Red Breasted, Mozambique and Nembwe all in the same 5000L tank, I don't know if they will interbreed, but if they stay alive for now and feed my veggies I'm happy. I've also veered off course from the bell siphon and used a Cashbuild issue toilet valve to control my flood and drain. So no matter how fast or slow the pump is, it will fill and drain. I got tired of tuning valves.

All the best with your system and hope to compare notes with fish.

grantmcd
08-18-2010, 02:44 AM
Hey Biggles1212,
I though about trout for a while and it can work because of the low temperature I am able to get if I shade my system a bit.

As far as filters go I have moved away from those that I had on YouTube. My problem was algae and I found that a UV sterilizer worked much better than any filter I was able to design. If your problem is not algae but just murky water I would suggest you use the batting to filter and also try not to let any fish waste pass through your pump. The pump breaks up the fish waste into tiny particles which foul up your water, this may require some redesign of your system but it is worth it to me.

I would love to know more about the Cashbuild issue toilet valve, could you post a video on YouTube showing exactly how it works? I also got tired of tuning valves and tried a timer on my pump with a small drainage hole, this caused huge problems and I nearly lost all my plants when the timer failed and I only noticed it 2 days later. I am back on the bell siphon for now.

Biggles1212
08-18-2010, 04:29 AM
Hi Grantmcd,

I posted a How To on the flush valve at Cistern Valve Flush Control (http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/showthread.php?485-Cistern-Valve-Flush-Control) I hope it helps. Thanks for the tip on pumping the "poo". Never thought about that one. I am definitely going to have to build a filter before my pump. I've been thinking about sinking it in the ground next to the green tank and allowing the head from the Fish tank to push it through the filter. I've got some batting available so I want to make windows with batting inside for the water to push through. This might also be a bit of a biofilter. My tank is sunk due to the heat we get here. It works just as well for winter if it gets cold.

JCO
08-18-2010, 04:29 AM
If you post it on YouTube and it's Aquaponics related, please post it here also so we can see it also and don't have to chase it down :mrgreen: