Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

How many trout you got in this season Aqua

20 from troutman in Apr/May, and added the rest of my handful of silver perch into the same tank. I think there are about 5 or so Silver Perch that survived through from last summer too. I think the SP are still there

Hmm.. Must be hungry or making up for lost time. Kid freaked out when trying to take a test tube reading, as she claims a trout come up and nipped her finger as she was dipping to fill the tube.

Black aphid infestation in my garlic chives. Hiding in those leafy shoots. Gave the chives a close cropping to the stems, and on regrowth the black aphids are all back with a vengeance. Resorting to finger squishing for now.
At least it is keeping the aphids from the other plants.
Note to self, mint is making a comeback even though I pulled it out of the GB a few months ago. Time to repeat procedure.

Took out 5 of the trout from the system, to reduce the bio load and also help with the bullying of the 'smaller' remaining fish. This morning, things in the IBC FT looks back to normal, and fish weren't too busted up about losing their mates.

All were 300mm+ length and looked well fed.


Ready for the Sunbeam Vac Sealer. Had to turn on the kitchen light, and gave the fish a yellow sheen

Due to a rush in the morning, I left the IBC bottom valve open slightly when trying to extract some fish water to a bucket.

7 hours later, I returned to check the tank to find this... note gasping trout...silver perch seemed ok though.


The tank was down to about 150Lof water maybe... the airstones were hanging in the air. The Sump Tank was basically empty...

Steps taken :
1) shut off the valve (doh)
2) shifted the airstones so they all were back into the remains of the water.
3) dumped about 200L of scheme water (chlorinated) to bulk up the FT levels.
4) filled up 200L of additional water to separate container to offgas for the next morning.
5) harvested 2 of the largest trout in the tank (350mm lengths) to reduce DO demand. (maybe 4-5 left)
6) turned off the pump so that it doesn't pump more scheme water into the FT, just running airstones in FT overnight.

I note now that the fish are no longer gasping for air from the surface of the water... but..my concern now.... if anyone has experience with situations below, or suggestions..
* will the trout survive the sudden addition of scheme water with all the chlorine?
* will the trout handle a sudden ph change from 6.2 up to 7.4 (due to sudden 100% increase of FT levels with scheme water)?

Someone tell me it will all be ok till tomorrow morning.

Ok, It will all be ok tomorrow morning....

At least there are lotsa bubbles after I made those changes. Looks scary with all that exposed SLO drainpipe to the GBs.

System has recovered with no losses. Nitrite spiked up to 5.0 on the first night after dumping in 100% chlorinated water but has dropped off back to zero with addition of day old scheme water in the following days.

PH has stayed around 7.4-7.6, up from original 6.2.
Nitrate has halved down to around 60-80ppm. Previously well in excess of 160ppm.

Crisis averted...fish feeding has resumed.

Maybe some salt in case they are knocked about and stressed (not from actual experience, just from reading and listening haha)

Yep..1.5kg of salt added to the approx 1000L added back. Will be topping up another 2-400L this week with another 0.5kg of salt.

39 degree Celsius target today. Took out 2 more trout this morning around 20 degrees already, and I think there may be a pair or three left, swimming amongst the SP.

Insulation over the top of the shade cloth covering the FT opening, and fingers crossed the heat transfer from the Grow Beds aren't too excessive, considering there's quite a bit of cover over the media by the plants now.

Sump tank is back to about 600L which should help with thermal mass of water.

Nitrite is zero, ammonia is 0.25, and nitrate is back up to 80ppm.

pH is now back to 6 (lowest reading my test kit goes) - very acidic, I have checked the FT and note that solids removal is ok, so can only surmise it's the effect of the aging of the system. I've been adding ph 7.8 water to the system weekly, but it's still going down to the 'norm' of the under 6.2. Pretty much at a loss on what else to do, as I dump in shell grit into the Sump Tank to help buffer the system higher as well, but has not had much of an effect.

I know mint is a pain in the arse,but trying growing a little close to the chives,Aphids are said[i don’t know if anyone has told them]to stay away from mint and its vicinity,i have put mint in my dwc close to the lettuce,which has been an aphid smorgasbord in the past,shhhhhhhh at the moment this area is clear of aphids.I am trying this companion planting thing in my medai beds,basically just a row of onions at the moment through the middle of the bed,aphids don’t like onions,so they say,mixed results at the moment.My Pok Choi and spinach just got absolutely infested to the point i gave up and took them out,actually felt sorry for them,if you can feel sorry for a plant....

Thanks dasboot for the companion planting tips. I will reserve that GB for mint and companion plants as its a pain trying to get rid of it now.

All the pak choy and lettuce are out, aphids and heat are just not working for them.

Tomatoes and basil are going gang busters.. will be going with these two combos in future.
Also picked up some capsicums on the way.

The zuchinnis I planted went well, but got powdery mildew and will be taking them out. Interesting that the same punnet worth of seedlings was split into normal garden bed as well, and the growth in those are explosive as to the aquaponic version. Maybe zuchinnis don't like wet feet much.

I have had success using foliar MKP against powder mildew on my cucumbers and pumpkin,morning humidity is 90+ so its controlling but not clearing it completely,the plants are thriving well.