Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I just set up a 10-gal aquarium with gold fish in it with the idea of floating a styrofoam tray with sponge pads on it to grow the plants.

Have had the fish part running for quite awhile and everything was ok. Then I added the stryofoam tray -- fit nicely crosswise into the tank and was approx. 2 inches above the water. I dropped one sponge -- the kind you purchase at any WalMart -- into the water to see if the fish would be eating it. Was planning on making holes in the styrofoam and pushing bits of the sponge through it to the water and then planting seeds on the sponge. (Found this idea somewhere).

Well! I did that last night. This morning, all my fish are dead! Any ideas?

If this didn't work, how could floating brillo pads on the water work, along with the styrofoam?

Hey Sonshe:

That sucks. Did the sponge have some detergent built into it or something? The Scotch Brite pads I have been using are just a green plasticky caorase-type material, with no detergents or anything added.

I also would be very suspicious of the sponge. The styrofoam should not be a problem. If you are talking about the soft rectangular sponges, I even think some of those have a bit of soap in them or something to keep them soft in the package. Can you give us a picture of the sponge, or the exact labelling of it?

Was the top of the tank completely covered by the foam? Oxygen problem...
Always boil sponges to sterilize them and to see if it breaks down or has any residues in them.

Good point TimC, Sonshe are you running a bubbler?

It doesn't sound to me like the styrofoam was even touching the water.

Sponge is the culprit. It has a chemical anti fungal additive that prevents mold from growing when it sits wet on your sink.

All retail household kitchen products should be avoided by the aquarist. They do not advertise such chemical treatement.

In a 10 gallon aquarium, one sponge is all it took

Can't give you a pic of the sponge -- SIL has my camera. But it came 3 to a package, were approx 2"x4" and each was a different color. They were stiff when I first opened pkg. Threw pkg label away.

One thing for sure. Makes me wonder what's in a lot of things we take for granted. I have terrific chemical allergies so am realizing that's another product I'll never use.

And on to another subject: I tried to update my profile, but it's still the same. Need someone to walk me through it as I'm not too computer literate. Thought it was a simple enough thing to do but nothing changed.

Sonshe, Click 'Profile' from the header of this page. It's on the right side of the blue bar that is underneath the leafy header picture. That should display your profile. Type in the changes you want, and click the Submit button at the bottom of the page. That should do it. If you need more details, just let us know exactly where you get stuck.

Duh! I was trying to edit my profile with a too-big pic.

On to my fish problems.

Purchased another set of fish this a.m. Looked good for about an hour. Then I decided to feed them a wee bit. They were so lethargic, the fish food actually floated down around them and even slid off their backs.
Naturally, I was alarmed and took a closed look at them. Realized they were quite distressed -- not moving and their fins beating rapidly like they couldn't get enough air.

I quickly put them in another container while I vigorously cleaned out the aquarium and everything that would touch their water. Re-introduced the fish to the tank. Now, after several hours, they look happy and normal.\

Wow, that sponge must have really had something potent in it for fish to also affect the 2nd set.

Question, would aquarium filter fiber work in place of the sponge? Guess I'm leary of brillo pads after this fiasco. How about cotton fabric of which I have tons of it since I'm a quilter.

the cotton fabric should also be washed first to remove the sizing, but it should work okay, for a while, before it breaks down. Maybe multiple layers?

Polyester quilt batting would work, too. Polyester is inert enough. Wash it first, and double-rinse anything you use soap on. Better yet, don't wash with soap.

Careful of red fabrics or others that may not be dyefast.

Mom's a quilter, too.

filter fiber is suitable for any application to the fish and relatively cheap to purchase in bulk. Always stay clear of household cleaning products!!! How much experience do you have with aquariums and fish keeping? I assume you've read all the nitrogen cycle threads? Dave Donley has been through the fish mortality ringer..hehe and could help you. He asks if you are oxygenting your tank. Also, what is your stocking density (lbs. of fish per gallon) and what fish are you stocking? Water temps and parameters fluxuate wildly in a new 10 gallon setup. What filtration are you using for solids removal? A floating raft system will still require some supplemental filtration unles you go very light on stocking density.

I have relatively little experience with aquariums although I had a 55 gal once with African Chiclids years ago.

Didn't know anything about the nitrogen cycle. Guess I need to do some reading.

I have a pump/filter system called Whisper 20 Power Filter which is supposed to be good for up to 20-gal aquariums.

I have been working with gold fish -- started out with 5. Then somewhere I read that I should have up to 10 so I stocked 8 more. That's when I lost everything.

Solid removal? Other than the old method of a hose to suck out stuff from the bottom of the tank, that's it.

Water temp is hovering around 65F.

So this brings up a question. Where do I find good info that's not going to go over my head? Most of what's on this site is very much beyond what I can do at this point.

I'm very much a "concrete thinker" which means I need step-by-step info, how much of something, what it's for, etc. Then I can deviate and experiment but I'm not an innovative person, unfortunately.

Well, theres alot of info on Nitrogen Cycle and it gets real confusing but I will try and simplify it for you.

Imagine you live in a 10 gallon tank, and you occupied that space with five other people, raw sewage would start building right away. Add 8 more people and raw sewage is out of control and toxic and starts to kill your friends, but you are still alive. You must now figure out how to reduce sewage and treat the waste and turn it into something non-toxic to you or others.

1) Reduce amount of food you feed your fish and stop feeding them altogether if you sense they are getting toxic shock. It is them reacting to high amounts of raw sewage in thier world and the more food, the worse it gets.

2) To build a natural sewage treatment plant in your tank you must be patient and let bacteria colonies to establish themselves. They eat what the fish excretes when they are mature, but until they grow (about one-two weeks) the raw sewage coninues to build up. How you encourage bacteria to grow is to wait and don't change too much water (this can kill them all).

3) In the meantime, don't add too many fish, keep the temperature right where you have it, and every now and then suck some of the solids out of the bottom of the tank. I assume you have gravel?

4) Use this time to build your floaty raft and get your pots set in the holes. When a week goes by take some gravel from the bottom of the tank where the bacteria colnies are growing and transfer the sewage treatment facility to your pots where your plant roots will help the bacteria clean out the toxins.

5) In two weeks you can safely add one or two fish....no more than 5 feeder goldfish in this setup.

Good luck;)