Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

150 fish in a 1000L GB system? If so that about 100 fish too many.

Hey Charlie. Thanks for keeping an eye on things.
Luckily for the fish, the 150 SP are going into Rendang's system. I don't know the size of his system, but it looks a good deal more than 1000L so they may be ok.

I'm putting 25 SP into my 500lt FT and will be progressively moving the bigger ones in with the mature SP in my 1000L system, as they get bigger. I'm also hoping to acquire another FT and 3 more GB's in the next year so the fish numbers are not too much of a concern to me at the moment. Getting the money to match my dreams IS a concern.
Here's hoping...

Aah cool no probs TeeCeeKay

I have also taken almost two bucket loads of the GB medium from the yellow system and swapped that into the green GB. Hopefully the established bacteria will cope with the 0 - 0.25 ammonia that is in the green system and help spur on the establishment of bacteria in the new system.

you put this in your original post. But suspect you could have simply collected the bacteria from your GB water. Although the bacteria live around the GB media they are not necessarily limited to it, and in fact are active in all parts of the system, as they are in ponds and pools in nature.

So simply dig into GB#1 (even use 90mm to make small access sump) and collect water then applied regularly with a small water can to surface of GB #2.

Probably find that taking water from GB is better than aerated/filtered water from pipe flows or FT
(albeit with the fish contamination risks you note in a later post).


Did you really gain from exchanging the media ?

Thank you dlf_perth. I also have come to a similar conclusion as time has gone by. However, I suspect getting the water from the FT is probably just as useful a source of bacteria as getting the water from the GB. I also believe using the media probably amplifies the benefits of relocation of the bacteria.

By swapping media between the old and new systems, I found the new system seemed to cycle very quickly. Either that or I have had extraordinary luck in getting the new system going and pumping along.

I haven't updated this thread for a while and, as it appears I have killed the venting thread, I thought I'd crawl back here and make an update.

Since getting my last load of fingerling SP from Troutman, everything has gone fairly ok. I've had times when I thought I was again out of my depth with APing, but the general philosophy of leaving well enough alone seems to be working for most things.

I have two systems on the go, both F&D with no filters - one bought new from BYAP/Cheidies almost a year ago and the other bought second hand and apparently being one of BYAP's first sales some eight or so years ago.

The new 1000l FT system, once cycled, has 9 plate size SP and has remained constantly in the low Ph of between 6 - 6.4. I have been adding potassium bicarbonate and, recently, also calcium hydroxide in addition to having a kilo of shell grit sitting in the FT.
This seems to have kept the Ph up off 6.0.
I also had problems with slugs and snails so sprinkled Multiguard (60g/kg iron EDTA complex) sparingly over the GB. This seems to have reduced the slug problem with no apparent ill effects on the system.

Then came the caterpillar attack of April 2015! My wife and I returned from a trip to Brisbane for a week to find, without exageration, hundreds of caterpillars demolishing most of the plants.
By the time I had finished killing all the caterpillars I could find, the fish couldn't eat any more of them, the red paving slabs around my system looked more like an Italian flag and my sneekers and hands where green.
Took another week or so of daily inspections to get rid of them. The surviving plants are only just now starting to show decent recovery.

PROBLEM: I have a kale plant looking as though it has been burnt. Even the new growth is showing this while another kale plant growing right behind it is doing fine. Anyone have any idea of what is causing this? Photo is below.

The old 500l FT system has about 19 x 12 - 15cm SP and has hovered between Ph 7.4 - 8.0.
I have read everything I can find on the forum about high ph and, as stated above, decided to go with the hands off approach and let nature take its course. The fingerlings haven't fed at the surface for well over a month now. I have continued to give them small amounts of floating feed most days. Regular checks of the bottom of the FT usually show some small amounts of uneaten food. Because it has been so long since the last time they surface fed, I am reluctant to stop feeding altogether. The ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are all showing 0 so I haven't felt the system is at crash point. Tomatoes and rhubarb seem ok.
I read the to's and fro's of the solids debate that has been going on and off and on again. I know the old system had quite a bit of plant matter in the media when I bought it so I suspect that this is probably contributing to the high Ph with solids on the bottom. I am hoping that as winter temperatures bring the system into semi hibernation, the old matter will degrade further and be processed by the earthworms. That's my hope.

Hi there TCK, just caught up with your thread. Nice growth despite the caterpillar attack.
Thanks for the description of trout harvesting last spring.

+1 TCK & Rendang - I am having such fun feeding and watching my rainbow trout, and hearing them splosh outside the bedroom window at night, it will be hard to do the deed come spring. I even found it difficult to dispatch the sacrificial carp after cycling, however it was delicious smoke-cooked in the weber. My Dad always used to say, 'There's no room for sentiment on the farm' - this is from the man who would peel peanuts for his cattledog and feed her first before offering any to Mum and us kids, and we have photos of him and the dog sprawled on their backs together on the beanbag having a nap before getting the cows for the afternoon milking .

Just toughen up joc, just toughen up ! (that they are a beautiful fish doesn't make it any easier either)

Started a new job so it has been a while since I've had the time to post on here.
'Tis a sad time for this Byford Ap'er.
Managed to celebrate the anniversary of my systems in June and then I lost my first SP a couple of weeks ago - one of the originals that started with me. Not a good look - sitting on the bottom upside down (I thought they floated when they died!?). One dead SP after a year - not a too much of a concern.
One week later I have lost another!
Everything seems right with the water, though the ph is sitting in the very low 6's. Both systems are salted up to 3 parts per, going by the gauge on my salt testing thingamy. I took a video of the fish recently, before the deaths, and they seemed all ok.
I have whacked a tablespoon of potassium bicarbonate and 3 tablespoons of calcium hydroxide in over the duration of a day and it seems to have increased the activity of the fish.
The smaller SP are in my other, smaller, system and are going swimmingly.
I don't know fish anatomy so an autopsy wouldn't have done me any good. Both fish looked good enough to eat on the outside. Just in case you are wondering, no, I didn't eat the fish - buried the first one and froze the second in case I find some fish innards instruction in my research.
Not the way I would have planned my update of my system.
Plants wise - Tomatoes and eggplants have gone berserk. Will have a ripping good time in the next couple of weeks and hopefully plant out my spring crop, seeing as winter didn't show up.
Sad. Very sad.
But happy I still have what I still have - and that's better than a kick in the crotch!

It comes as a shock when we lose what we are responsible for.. and more so when you cannot see any reason..

What do you see as the result of adding the bicarb and hydroxide.. I assume they raised the pH, so what was it at the start.. you say low 6's... I assume very low.. but I thought that was OK for SP..
..
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Sorry for the delay in replying, BuiDoi - working for the man again and it has played havoc with my play time.

You got it concerning the potassium bicarb and calcium hydroxide - I needed to get the PH up off 6.0 - 6.4 to the low 7s, as my preference. By adding these to the water over a period of weeks I have been able to get it to 7.6. That's a bit higher than I had planned, but I'll just let it sit a bit and see if it settles lower. The fish have become more active and there have been no more deaths.

I noticed from your thread that you certainly can relate to the loss of fish. I'm guessing you've added fish to your new system by now. What have you stocked and how are they enjoying their new home? Kudos for the dunny cistern idea. You seem to have a knack for breathing life into discards and recycles. I didn't get one of them when they were being handed out.