Hobbies gone wild...

I have a tendancy turn normal hobbies
into business...

So last year sometime I bought a fish tank – a fairly simple, innocent and normal purchase I feel. But then the bug bit... well actually it wasn't so much of a bite as a savage maul. I got a second tank, then a third. Before I knew it I found myself sitting in a lecture hall in Grahamstown attending a course in the hopes of becoming proficient in Aquaculture Systems Management...? And yes, I did qualify.

How did it get to this? Well I truly believe that farming (veg, fruit, nuts and now fish) close to home, or at your home, is the way of the future. We're going to need to be more aware of procuring sustinance withing a 100km radius to reduce our individual carbon foot print... But anough green talk, we need some action!

So this is what my double garage at home looks like now.


A view of the recirculating system in the double garage.


A Some of the spawning and grow-out tanks.

It's fundementally a recirculating aquaculture system (or RAS) which supports a wide variety of ornamental species (which I sell to pet shops and fishkeepers), and some good eating Tilapia (O. mozambicus) which should be ready for harvest around Feb 2010. The RAS uses vary little water (evaporation replacement) and power, which makes it the ideal protien farm than can be run indoors and in a very small space. Furthermore, the solid waste collected from the settlement filter is used to fertilise the garden veg and the wife's flower garden. Good green fun!

Anyone interested in Aquaculture can visit www.aquaafrica.co.za - a great, intensive course and well worth the money spent.