Howdy,
I'm from northeast ohio, no pond, but i started a small aquaponics setup in my yard this spring after finding backyardaquaponics. using a 110gal rubbermaid stock tank for my ft, and 2 55 gallon barrels cut in half for growbeds.
i started cycling the system in may with minnows from the bait shop right down the street and after the biological stuff started happening (ammonia being converted to nitrites, being converted to nitrates for the plants) i added 15 or so Bluegill mixed sized from 2" up to maybe 4", and 2 dozen crayfish in june. in july i added 30 2 to 4" Yellow Perch. Im not sure what kind of bluegill, i'll have to get some pics when i move them indoors (hopefully this weekend, already moved 1 pair of growbeds, and have 3 55 gallon aquarium tanks in the basement)
i found this site when i was searching for information about fish, and have been pouring over info for the last few days..
it looks like a couple of the bluegill are carrying eggs (i've never seen bluegill that wide!) but after reading a bit here, i'm thinking the bluegill are just regular bg, (at least 2 with eggs out of 15?)
anyways, i'm looking at it all as an experiment, and a learning experience, i might get some red claw crayfish to try out this winter as well, read a nice article about growing them out in 8' kiddie pools 18" deep, in a production facility a guy was raising 500 in each pool to grow out size (growout size is 1 to 1.5 lbs)
i'm also starting to look for a bigger fish tank for the yard next year, and try polyculture with yp, bg, and tilapia..

thanks for all the great information and research that i've read about, and i'm looking forward to learning from you all

i think i may have 15 or so yp left, i only had a couple mortalities when it got super hot, but when i went on vacation, i came home to fewer fish (the tank is covered with bird netting and a tarp)

Hello Keith and welcome to Pond Boss.

thanks, lots of great info on fish here..
i'll try to get some pic's of the basement system when i finish it this weekend (thats the plan anyways)

Howdy Keith:

I'm interested to hear how your setup is working. I'm a newbie too, with a 8' round tank in my backyard. I've put in a few tiny green sunfish and wondering what else to add to the mix. I'd thought about crayfish. How are yours doing? Do they do ok in a tank without mud to dig in?

Revill
Austin TX

Howdy Revill..
my setup is in my basement to get through northeast ohio winter, but is still going well.
down to 2 crayfish, i used "local" crays, and think most of them killed each other but a few may have been eaten by the fish, provide plenty of hides and food if you go with the crays..i'd really like to try "Red Claw" crayfish, but have to wait for warmer weather, they supposedly do ok in higher densities
i added a swirl filter to go with my growbeds last week, and finally got a half decent camera, but my photography skill are a little shakey, here are a few pic's (before adding the filter)
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8354
the minnows are doing well (rosy reds), i moved the larger bg (5+") to the yp tank, and hopefully will be able to add more yp soon

That's a lot more sophisticated system than I'm working on! Thanks for the photos. I'd thought of buying eat'n crayfish at Fiesta, since I doubt there's a grower willing to ship a dozen or so. Maybe in another month, when the danger of another frost is past.

Revill

Keith I don't think those are bluegill. Maybe one was. I couldn't see the pics very good on my phone but looked like green sunfish to me..

Agreed, the pics of the fish that ended up on the floor are GSF. (at least the top 2 fish of the 4 in the one picture).

i didn't think it was very sophisticated when i built it.. yeah, i heard sunfish on the forum i posted.. one of the fish on the floor (the middle one) is a yp..
the fish farmer i bought the bg at first said they were hybrids, but when i got there to pick them up he said he wasn't sure but thought a couple were hybrids, and a couple were not. i asked for 15 and he gave me 20, didn't really cost to much so i got my first dozen crays from him and one "sucker fish"
it's really difficult to take any pic's in the basement(that and it's a new digital camera with shaky hands), but after a couple are ready to eat, i'll get some pic's before cleaning them..

hoping to add some yp within a week or two

Pic's are kinda fuzzy, but the middle one is not a YP, dont know what it is, but it is not a YP!

really, it is a yp,, it sat on the floor for a few hours before i got home from work and was quite faded in color.. i finished putting it all together and moving the fish in late at night and didn't get the net over the top till the next day after work..

They look like they are all GSF to me...