Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Lava rock and hydroton. 1:1. My plants are happy and pH stable at 6.6

If you are worried. Try mixing the two together in a bucket. Rinse and drain several times and then check the pH.

I saw a question of your('?)s somewhere and made a note to bang on about it. Something about seeing nitrites and no ammonia, so here is as good a translation of my handwriting as I can figure. I have no idea what it applies to (I'm coming out of anaesthetic, and just finished 1/2 a scotch and coke on a 3 day empty stomach )

It doesnt seem to apply to anything going on in this thread

but just in case ...

as I was cycling, my results looked like this...



I saw lots of tests where there was no ammonia reading.

I'm guessing the ammonia eating beasties have a fully fledged civilization when the nitrite eating beasties are still climbing down from the trees (or off the back of the next turtle down, depending on belief system).

Further to not really knowing much about what I'm talking about in that last bit, I'll add...

I dont know chemistry (as well), but I think 1 ammonia makes a stack of nitrites, makes a stack more nitrates. Or at least it looks like it from my graphs.

Perhaps someone who knows what those little numbers in chemistry equations are for can confirm this. If this is the case, it might just be that not all sectors of your population of nitrifying bacteria have grown sufficient numbers to show up on the census.

Hmmm... I just re-read that, and hopefully that thing about a picture painting a thousand words is true, and my graph says something.

If that didnt mean anything to you, and you dont know anyone else named charlie, try to put it out of your mind and forget it all together.

I probably will.

you shouldnt drink and post bullwinkle haha, but yea I kinda get your drift, or not, hang on yea......ummm nup.

Nitrite bacteria take far longer to establish than the ammonia bacteria.

Half a scotch and coke

Guys, a little help please, Im half way into building my expansion and Im wondering if this will work?

I had posted recently about introducing a 2000L FT and change to a CHIST PIST but I dont think I can fit the tank in place so Im considering this.

So basically Im looking at building a replica of what I already have and set it up next to it but incorporate them as one system. The pump in original FT will supply both GB's, they will both syphon to new FT and I will set up a SLO to move water from that FT back to original tank, this way the water is moving through both tanks and I can seperate the fish species too.

Your thoughts?

should work fine your first FT will fluctate though, as water is pumped to the GB, so maybe go CF on one or more beds to reduce this

Thanks FB, Im not completely familiar with CF so will do some reading.

Constant flood

Ok done some reading, couple of questions.

1. For a 400mm deep GB, how tall should the stand pipe be? 350mm?

2. I read that a lack of aeration in a constant flooded GB can cause issues, should I be concerned or how do I manage this?

1- yeh about that, mine i think is about 30mm below the gravel.
2 - i have never had a problem, just make sure you are turning over your FT volume often enough. you could also fit a bell siphon without the cap on the bell, so water is sucked up from the bottm of the GB

Cheers FB, your a ledge. Im all excited about this CF idea, new for me so cant wait to see it in action and the different grow rates Ill have between the GB's.

With the SLO between tanks, from what Ive read it should be 90mm pipe, take in mind this wont be feeding GB's, just one tank to another. I think it would be best to have a connecting max overflow between the two in case of some kind of failure?

I can almost see the silvers begging to be seperated from the trout, they huddle in one corner together while the trout line up around them! Its freaky to see, its like they are just staring them down all day, poor things.

went to the hardware this arvo, I have to say 90mm for the SLO piping seems so big? Is this right?

Yes.

Boc mining supplies sell the 3" bulkhead fittings that match up with 90mm pipe well.

SLO's have very little power, so they need the extra size,