Friday, July 29, 2005

Water Test 29/7/05

pH 6.6
Conductivity .82
Water Temp 14.3
Air temp 13.2

Class Activities 29/7/05

After beginning work in the computer learning space student management teams were allocated jobs in the ARC...
* continue and finalise Grading of Trout
* construction of biofilter socks
* feeding- Trout, Silver Perch fingerlings, Australian Bass
cleaning
* Water Testing (tests to be published later)
* Mini Projects have been developed for management teams including... Worm Farm, Brine Shrimp, Salt Water Aquarium and Yabbie Growing.

** Lost another 'jumping' Trout

Thursday, July 28, 2005


'Jumping Trout' Batman! Stage 3 students feed Trout and observe Trout Grading.

Class Activities 28/7/05

Yr9 were joined in the ARC by Stage 3 students (yrs 5-6) today to grade Trout and feed fish.
Trout had previously been graded to ensure that each Trout had feeding access to grow at the maximum rate. 3 tanks had been set aside to enable large, medium and small gradings. Today Trout that had been graded as medium (T4) and living in a polyculture with 2 very large Silver Perch were graded to T1 (Large) and T3 (Medium).
All students enjoyed the interaction and learned a lot from each other. Jack (Yr6) took some photos see above.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005


Wyong Shire Councillors visit the ARC

Wyong Councillors Visit ARC

An enthusiastic ‘caravan’ of councillors from Wyong Shire visited the ARC today to get first hand experience of the exciting learning and research venture which is known as the ARC. Councillors were impressed with the underpinning environmental philosophy that the ARC has been built on:
A complete recirculation, commercial standard Aquaculture learning and research centre that uses only rainwater and advanced filtering techniques to ensure NO wastage of water occurs
Research and development of sustainable food production
Effective and efficient use of a small, intensive allocation of land to achieve maximum growth of both native and introduced species
OH&S teaching and learning
Industry partnerships with: Central Coast Aquaculture Foundation, Swimart, WaterCo, Wyong Shire Council, CIBA and MPG Fish Kariong.

Total Clean 27/7/05

Full Clean and Maintenance.
Flushed and rinsed all Tanks
Drained sump, flushed and refilled
Remove and cleaned all Risers
Backwashed and Rinsed Filter
Swept and hosed ARC floor

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Feed and Check

All fish fed well.
Swept Floor
Checked recirculation system, adjusted flow
1 * trout jumper
Used car to roll out/flatten drive way

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Maintenance

Quick Clean of Risers
Drained & Flushed Sump
Refilled, Backwashed and Rinsed.
Filled Sump
Covered some outlet holes with gaffer tape to test reduction of spray onto floor.
Added 250g of Bi-carb Soda and 500g of Salt
Swept Floor
Dead...1 * micky mouse, 1 * jumping trout, 3 * Silver Perch Fingerlings
Used car to compress new driveway
Fish Fed Well

Monday, July 18, 2005


New Driveway, Paths and Parking Area completed

Aim and Learning Outcomes Semester II

Semester II

Learning Outcomes
  • Assesses the potential of aquaculture to sustain wild fish stocks and the aquatic environment
  • Explains why aquaculture provides an economically sustainable source of food
  • Identifies, describes and evaluates the ethical, social and sustainability issues related to the marine environment
  • Demonstrates safe and responsible use of a range of materials, equipment and techniques in different aquaculture, marine and maritime situations
  • Identifies and describes a range of aquaculture, marine and maritime vocations and leisure pursuits
  • Collects and organises data by experimenting and accurately reading instruments, signals and charts and communicates this information

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Future Jobs (Updated)

*** Please add your 'comments' to this list*** (members only)

Complete making filter socks for Biofilter. **(started see photo) Got some more shadecloth.
Seal extremity holes in return to tank PVC pipes to reduce splashing. (Try electrical tape first?)
Build second biofilter **(need more fruit bags, shade cloth etc.) increase flow of water to second biofilter.
Got a big pot to boil up some oyster shells to remoc=ve remains ready for Bio-Filter
Foam Fractionator **(investigating Internet)
DONE! Clean Algae off walls/floor of T1 test to see if filter will take algae out of the water.
Clean out T7 (blue rectangular tank in Lab)
Move 1000l CIBA tank to outside to collect and hold waste water for use in hydroponics.
Setup 1000l CIBA tank inside as additional tank T6.
Move graded trout from T4 to T1 (Students to do first week back)
Do complete water test... including hardness (calcium), Ammonia, Nitrate etc.
DONE! Although need more electrical and wet/slippery signs. Complete signage eg. OH&S in ARC and Lab **(need pins)
Companion Farming- Worm Farming, Poultry- Chook Farm. Investigate with Wyong Shire Council, Commercial etc. **(investigated plans- student project management teams to build)
Bins from Wyong Shire Council for storage and rubbish

Saturday, July 16, 2005


Construction Work on the driveway, paths and parking area at the ARC

Sump Debris- excess feed and faeces (sump internal photo shows drained sump, inlet pipe, debris and shut off switch)

Maintenance 16/7/05

Rinsed primary filter, drained and flushed Sump to remove excess food and debris. (see photos)
Backwashed and then refilled sump approx. 600l of rainwater from tank.
Scrubbed Algae in T2 walls only.
Exchanged 2/3 of A3 for fresh tank water.
Cleaned and replaced filters in A1, A2, & A3.
Swept floor.
Australian Bass fed well on 'new' Silver Perch feed however still consumed all 3 cubes of Blood Worm.
Silver Perch fingerlings fed on 'new' Silver Perch 2mm feed.

** Work continued on driveway and paths to & from ARC (see photos)

Friday, July 15, 2005

Water Test 15/7/05

pH 6.4
Conductivity .68
Water Temp 14.3
Air temp 14.5

** Added to Sump- 400 g of Bi-carb Soda.
Cleaned Risers and Scrubbed Algae from walls and floor in T1, T3, T4, T5.
Added water to A1, A2
** Work commenced on driveway, paths and car park areas. Levelled and formwork in place.

Thursday, July 14, 2005


Silver Perch Starter Pellets* Details as per HACCP requirements

Silver Perch Starter Feed

Silver Perch Starter Pellets Arrive

1 * 25kg bag of Silver Perch StarterFeed Pellets 2mm received today.

This feed will enable us to provide exact feed requirements for the 400 Silver Perch Fingerlings.
Compare the Analysis of the feed eg. Protein, Fat, Fibre to the *Trout* Grower Feed delivered earlier. See photos of label and bag for more detail.

www.aquaticfeeds.com.au
Protein 37%
Fat 10%
Fibre 4%
Digestible Energy 13.5MJ/kg
Ingredients: Fish Meal, Meat Meal, Poultry Meal, Maize Gluten, Soyabean Meal, Peas, Wheat, Fish Oil, Methionine, Lynsine, Vitamins & Minerals.
Bag No. 2881
* Details as per HACCP requirements

http://www.safefood.nsw.gov.au/

Water Test 14/7/05

pH 6.3
Conductivity .68
Water Temp 14.2
Air temp 12.8

** Added to Sump- 100 g of Bi-carb Soda.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Water Test 12/7/05

pH 6.4
Conductivity .63
Water Temp 14.2
Air temp 12.7

Saturday, July 09, 2005

Quick Maintenance 9/7/05

Backwashed Filter, rinsed primary filter basket, topped up Sump. Fish fed well. Made a few more bio-socks.

Friday, July 08, 2005


2* 25kg bags of Trout Grower Feed

HACCP Identity Label

Fish Feed Received

2 * 25kg of Trout Grower Feed 43/26/Pellets 4mm received today.
Crude Protein 43%
Crude Fat 26%
Crude Fibre 1.33%
Pellet Size 4MM
Date of Manufacture 26/5/05
Run # 50196
Bag # 156

* Details as per HACCP requirements
http://www.safefood.nsw.gov.au/

Bio-Socks- [L] 'fruit bag' of Bio-balls, [R] 'fruit bag' of shade cloth to be added to Biofilter.

Water Test 8/7/05

pH 6.7
Conductivity .57
Water Temp 15.5
Air temp 13.7

** Added to Sump- 200 g of Bi-carb Soda and 100g of Rock Salt to balance water chemicals.
Topped up Sump.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Water Test 7/7/05

pH 5.8
Conductivity .01
Water Temp 15.6
Air temp 18.0

** Added to Sump- 100 g of Bi-carb Soda.

Ordered Silver Perch Feed- Windsor

Ordered 2mm Silver Perch Pellets. Delivered via Aust. Post.
Paul's Stockfeeds Ph 0245 772 148

Tuesday, July 05, 2005


The ARC- Aquaculture Recirculation System

Maintenance 5/7/05

Swept Floor ARC & LAB
Water Test
Backwashed Filter
Refilled with Tank/Rain Water approx 500l
Ground native fish food to create dust and crumble (coffee grinder)
Graded Fish Feed/photographed (to be added to Blog)
Topped up A1, A2 exchanged water in A3
Drained and flushed sump (removed over feed & faeces)

Classified Feed

See photo of various fish feeds. Expected delivery of trout Pellets 6/6/05

Water Test 5/7/05

pH 6.4
Conductivity .58
Water Temp 16.2
Air temp 17.4

** Added to Sump- 200 g of Bi-carb Soda and 100g of Rock Salt to balance water chemicals.

Saturday, July 02, 2005


Visual Description of Fish Feed

Silver Perch- Breeding Pair?

A pair of Silver Perch of breeding age where sourced from MPGFish today and introduced to Tank 4 (T4). Polyculture- Trout and Silver Perch in the one tank.
T4 contained the graded Trout of medium size which have almost caught up to the graded large Trout. These will be combined with T1, large Trout in a couple of weeks. We see no issue with the Trout and Silver Perch cohabitating. This is a significant step leading to our first attempts at producing our own fingerlings- more information as Spring approaches. If you are a member of Aquaculture @ Wadalba Blog please add your comments. Photos to follow.