Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I plan to start my system in the coming 2 weeks and want to make sure my understanding is correct regarding the sequence of events.

My fish will not be available for at least 3 weeks so I want to start my system with fishless cycling so I can at least get it started.


-Get the hardware set up, including growbeds and media, fish tank, pumps, aerators, plumbing, etc.
-Start up the system to check for leaks, proper water levels in the GB, and any other errors
-Plant plants in the media. The plants should be seedlings at this stage.
Here is the part I'm not 100% sure about
-These newly planted seedlings need nutrients. When I start the fishless cycling there is a delay or lapse of time when my added ammonia is not yet turned into the nitrates the plants need. Will they survive until the bacteria catch up, or do I have a critical misunderstanding, and do I need to start my plants after the cycling?
-Once water stabilizes in nitrates and PH I can add fish in the proper ratios to gallons and volume of grow beds.

Advice or re-assurement of my understanding would be great!

It is not an exact science.

Once the system is running (water in pump on) and you have started cycling either with fish or without you can throw some plants in.

The thing is even if you wait until you have fish or even delay putting plants in for a week or few the plants will take a while to get going. Leafy green things will tend to grow better in the first year but fruiting plants can be grown if you are willing to learn how to recognise nutrient deficiencies and how to correct them.

Generally people say get started and then be patient. People generally are not so we often say be patient repeatedly.

Do you have a test kit for pH, Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrite?

Do you have a source of ammonia?

I'd be looking for stabilized "nearly zero" nitrite and ammonia.
Nitrates will climb until your plants use them up.

Yes you need a test kit but whether you have fishless cycled or not when you add fish you need patience.

There are lots of threads that discuss this but mostly they boil down to being careful and patient. When you add fish don't feed them for a day and see if there is any detectable ammonia or nitrite. If yes wait and see how many days until it dissapears. If no then feed them a tiny amount and see if you get an ammonia reading. If yes feed the same amount. If no then increase the amount your feeding by a "bit".

Then repeat until you are happy or the fish are happy with how much you are feeding them.

The problem is most people loose patience over feed and the there are HSMs one after the other.

It helps to add the fish in small groups rather than all at once.

I know this is not always practical.

I cycled fishlessly (hydroponically) ... with a product called charlie carp and seasol - I think that might get the plants through the first stages when nitrate isn't around.