Todd Overton post a few years back about using Tilapia in ponds and how to select and manage your fish. I listened.
This thread is going to be about our wild success raising Tilapia this year in one of our brood ponds. Tilapitopia has always been about the fish. This year, we have more than we can over winter, but fortunately, T5, the current version can handle a lot of fish. The rest will be tasty treats for sure.
Here is a short video of Tilapia sunning themselves today. The water was 74F (23.5C) this morning. We have had to seine this brood pond three times this season already do to the fish load. We now have hundreds of fish indoors in Tilapitopia V5 getting ready for the winter. They will become the stockers for next season for both the large pond, and the brood ponds. Yes Brood Ponds. It's time to go big.
The floating device is a solar powered aerator which also provides a little current in the pond. It will get upgraded next season as well.
By the way we started with five pounds of Tilapia back in the spring.
Very cool! I can't wait to see the scaled up version of the on demand solar paddle wheel! I am imagining something along the lines of a wave pool at a water park!
I was asked about the aerator. I built my own. I use a 10 watt solar panel, a 60 RPM brushless DC motor, and a paddle wheel. I have seen an observable improvement in O2 and circulation.
Discussion: There was a time when envelopes were being pushed. Condello was doing unprecedented things, the Herman's were plowing new ground, fisheries professionals like Grimes and Beasley were achieving new and unheard of results. It was easy and exciting to follow in the 'wake' created by these and other visionaries.
Now, Brian, you've pushed ahead using technology, resources, and good old fashioned hard work!!
I think you guys are on the wrong forum for all that lol. In my experience if you have to ask its NOPE. Kinda like if your with ur other half. If you have to ask the answers NOPE they didn't. lol
Awesome thread highflyer. I would not use the word freak but its clear you are passionate about keeping your fish. So I say you are an exception to norm which kind of make you the valedictorian of the class. That's my take and so clearly Sunil was complimenting you. I am looking forward to the expansion and forks this thread takes ... thanks for getting it started and taking the time to share what you have learned.
"Freak" one of Sunil's terms of endearment. It is a great honor. I just want to see if I could get him to step it up a bit!
I do have a passion for our fish and I can't stop having projects to make this place better. It's in the blood. I also enjoy sharing in the hopes it helps some one else make their place better as well.
Now back to voting!
BTW, Today is our big seine day. We will be removing all the Tilapia from the brood ponds and filling up Tilapitopia the rest of the way for winter. I am hoping for another 50 pounds of fish for the system.
Well today we seined the brood pond and pulled a lot of fish. We added more than 300 fish in the 1000 gallon tank and over 600 fish into the 350 gallon tank. We also recovered 10 of the original fish. They will be delicious.
Yesterday we pulled around 60 pounds out of the brood pond, maybe a little less but not much less (I used water displacement to measure the weights both during the pull and again as I added them to the tanks in Tilapotopia). The original stockers were all over a pound. Most over 1.5. The fish going to the 1000 gallon tank averaged 5 to 6 inches with some over 7 inches and a few over 8 inches. The fish going to the 350 gallon tank ranged from inch and a half to three and a half inches. Then there were the ones we did not keep. All in all, it was a good cleaning out of the brood pond. I have one more pond to seine, that will happen next weekend. But it was a lot of work.
Total weight in the tanks is around 100 pounds. From that one brood pond, we pulled an estimated, 40 then 30 then 30 then 60 pounds over the summer (these numbers are a little conservative). We fertilized several time before and during the summer, and we tossed in something less than 200 pounds of feed (I would guess 170 pounds or less).
Scott, as you know we have a lot of flow through. Right now we have seven to ten feet of visibility using my disk. I do understand there is a lot of difference nutrient loading in different waters. Here I have less, but I still need to manage it. Also, it's fun to learn new stuff.
Scott, as you know we have a lot of flow through. Right now we have seven to ten feet of visibility using my disk. I do understand there is a lot of difference nutrient loading in different waters. Here I have less, but I still need to manage it. Also, it's fun to learn new stuff.
Also the more vascular plants that are in the pond the less nutrients are available for Phytoplankton and FA to grow. They still have livestock grazing on the ground upstream?
Well with all the new fish in the tanks, I figured I had better get out in front of the poo load coming. The swirl filter is now 32 inches in diameter and over 100 gallons in volume. The swirl filter is settling out a lot more poo and very little waist is making it to the final filter. The Bio-reactor tank is also larger now, it is now 28 inches in diameter. I had 6.5 cubic feet of bio balls in the system and now, I can use closer to 10 cubic feet of bio ball protecting my system to over 300 pounds of fish eating well!
Well with all the new fish in the tanks, I figured I had better get out in front of the poo load coming. The swirl filter is now 32 inches in diameter and over 100 gallons in volume. The swirl filter is settling out a lot more poo and very little waist is making it to the final filter. The Bio-reactor tank is also larger now, it is now 28 inches in diameter. I had 6.5 cubic feet of bio balls in the system and now, I can use closer to 10 cubic feet of bio ball protecting my system to over 300 pounds of fish eating well!
Well it's time for an update. I have been feeding the Tilapia food from Optimal. The water is in very good shape. The different tanks are doing their jobs. And the fish are growing and spawning in the tanks.
Here is an extra feeding of test food Optimal is having me try. Our fish are eating it well and the water quality is staying in the healthy range.