Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

It actually seems to be clouding up. I may have to drain some water to make room for rain water. That would be nice. I will put some laundry on the clothesline to see if I can coax it to rain.

I have cut back on the feeding to almost nothing. I am sure they are nibbling on plant roots though.

Raining yet? You guys just get the passing showers, right? Not all-day rains like we can get here?

I'm sure its that same in the states, but it depends where "us guys" are! I think in some parts of Oz we get rain for months at a time, in Vic ATM a droplet of rain would stand as much chance of survival as......well you get what i mean

Hey steve did you tell janetpelletier that your lucky in Vic 'cause you get 4 seasons in one day.
sorry for off topic.

Keep you on your toes

rain just went over. Not a sprinkle. When it does rain, during rainy season, it will rain days at a time. But that is generally in july, august, and october. That won't happen till next year. It is supposed to get cold tonight. Forcast says it will get to 20 C tonight. Brrrrr

Well actually, I was referring to 'you guys' in El Salvador. I've got the idea that Australia is big enough to have differing weather

sort of realised that after i posted, but was hoping you wouldn't pull me up LOL

El Salvador is the size of Massachusets, with a population density of about 450 people per km. So we all get wet when one gets wet!

While I have been posting other places, I have neglected keeping this post up. I am cycling......still. Seems the numbers are going the right way... sort of. The ph seems to jump from 7.5 to 8.4. Not sure what is causing the fluctuations though I read somewhere that the time of day may make a difference. I will try to test at same time from now on.

Nitrites 0
nitrates 20-40

nitrates have been as low as 10 but seem to bounce around a bit as well.

I have about 50 fingerling size tilapia in the tank and about 200 liters of GB with some plants floating in the tank. I keep pulling up plants in the garden and planting them in my growbeds and floating them in the tank. They seem to be doing well but still the nitrates.......

I have done two 40% water changes and several smaller ones in the last week but very little change in water quality other than just the first few hours after the changes.

I went to a local lake and got some plants from the lake and have installed them in the system. I got some plants that look like duckweed when it is very small but grows to about the size of a head of cabbage. They are said to be fast growing so I hope they will help with the nitrates as they grow.

I have lost one fish in the last three weeks. The fins were sort of ragged ut otherwise seemed to be fine (except it was dead). The fish are very active, are eating well and seem to be happy. Maybe I am just impatient but I could use some advice. Maybe it is just the size of my system that is taking so long. I could use some advice.

I also planted a handfull of milo maize in the growbeds because it sprouts fast. It is doing very well.

I just wanted to add some pics of the system so far. I have ordered a 1500 liter growbed to go over the tank so I will have to go through all this process agin when I get theh new growbed.

Note the auto siphons working in unison. AlsoI went to the grocery store and bummed som Grape cases. They are great for floating plants on the fish tank. I will get more.

Pretty! Could the PH be due to the lava rock you are using in the GBs? or even the tank? I like the setup.