Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Mine was 19c this morning too (no heater tho )
arvo 22c (no panda tho )

Well - I kinda lied a bit. The black plastic on the tank is just normal black plastic - so it will have to come off altogether (and get replaced with some panda over the top - but nothing on the sides. The plastic on the sump is panda and will be flipped. Sorry for the hijack Gemmell

No wucckas.

So my beds are filled by 19mm poly hoses which are just using the siphon effect to get water up and out of the tank and into the beds. However there seems to be a problem relying on this effect indefinatley.

The flow rate slows down, and eventually is not enough to set the autosiphon off.

I assume it's because air is getting trapped in there somewhere, but I've no idea how air is getting in there.... I guess it just sucks up a bubble every now and then and it gets trapped somewhere high (i.e. it doesn't flow right through) and then we get a buildup of them. Unless it's something like a fish swimming infront of the hole which slows the flow rate and allows air to get in from the other end....flushing with a hose gets it going again. I don't think its slime buildup because my systems only been going a week.

Would it be better to have the hoses enter the beds vertically rather than horizontally?

Gemmell,
If you have a J at the GB end, the air cannot enter at that end. You could use 2, elbows to form the J on the end of your siphon pipe.

As long as there is a level difference and the fish tank end is below water, ir should continue to siphon into the GB. Flow will be dependant on the difference in level (head) and the siphon diameter and any restriction to the siphon.

Regards,
Tony

Tony, awesome idea, just what I was looking for. I'll give it a whirl.

Ph of 7.8 (which is as high as my kit measures), everything else seems normal.

Whats the best method of reducing the PH?

normally if the plants and fish are happy and there is no ammonia i'd say leave it be at 7.8, nitrification will drag it down anyways.

I'd be happy for dads to come down to 7.8 and let nature takes its course from there

Well 7.8 is as high as my test kit goes....it could be much higher but I can't tell. Fish seem happy enough though.

Taking shape nicely for you Gemmell

Ok, I have some fish health problems:

Fugus fish:



And this one wasn't dead when I took the fungus fish out, but then I noticed him on the bottom later.... I don't know what it died of.




I have taken the fungus fish out and given it a salt bath. No other fish seems to have any fungus. I haven't added any salt to the system, is now a good time to go 4ppm?

We talk in terms of ppt (parts per thousand), not ppm (parts per million).

4ppt will probably kill plants. 2ppt would probably be OK for plants, and would probably be a good idea.

Check your water quality and temperature range. Unsure what your fungused fish is, but is your temperature appropriate for it?

Well if you want some comments about fungus I have had a lot of experience. I treated mine with sea water and got rid of it but not without some plant casualties. If there is a way to isolate your fish from the plants and dose the fish heavily with salt for at least a day, I think the plants would survive that long as long as you don't let them stand in water. Then you can do a 50% water change to dilute the salt. and then change again in the next day or so to where you only have about 2ppt, you should be able to spare your plants from too much damage. I wish you luck!

Ok thanks. I've kept this guy out in another bucket with an airator and some salty water, so I'll chuck him back in and see if the fungus goes away.

I've had 6 or 7 deaths this week. Pretty much 1 a day. Did a 50% water change on Friday, going over to check on it today. Can you help me clarify a few things:

When we're talking "salt", are we talking normal everyday cooking salt? Because the aquarium shop sells "salt" which they package as water hardener.

If I have 1 thousand litres, and I want it to be 2ppt, I put in 2 kgs?

(I just want to be 100% sure before I go and kill all my fish).

not iodised salt, pool salt is good and cheap
2Kg for 1000L for 2ppt