Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I've see 4-6 weeks as the norm. I'm going on 8 weeks and still not cycled. Wondering if I'm not doing it right or something went wrong.

I have about 20 plants in a 14 square foot pea gravel grow bed one foot deep,
and about 35 2" goldfish in roughly 80 gallons of water.

PH 8.2
Ammonia .25 ppm
Nitrites (were high but post 70% water exchange now show 0 ppm
Nitrates 0 ppm

I got what must have been some false positive nitrate readings earlier on but nothing for the last several weeks.

A week ago I added some rocks from a local creek that I "proofed" in a bucket of water and detected nitrates.
The plants are surviving but not thriving.
The Goldfish are happy even though the ph is a little high.

If I'm unbalanced in favor of the plants will that slow down the cycle process?

At this point I'm starting to second guess everything.

Someone talk me off this ledge.

I'm just a beginner like you and my results are similar.

Cycling takes time and is a test of your patience. 4-6 weeks is an absolute best case.

Step back and just let it happen.

I'm in 7 weeks and I'm starting to see declining of ammonia and nitrites.

It shuffles along in a circle I rekon

Begining:
High PH
High Ammonia
Low Nitrites and Nitrates

Middle:
High PH
Medium Ammonia
High Nitrite
Medium Nitrate

End:
Low PH
Low or no Ammonia
Low or no Nitrate
High Nitrate

I'm currently between Middle and Ending stages with readings of the following

You may have slowed your progress by changing water at the high nitrite point - the fish produce the waste, high in ammonia, so that is step 1. Then the bacteria to process the ammonia colonise and start changing the ammonia into nitrites - step 2. Then other bacteria colonise and begin to change the nitrites into nitrates - step 3.

As the colonies build up they begin to process more and more of the chemical they use, so shortly after the nitrites spike you will begin to see nitrates, and the ammonia figure will decline (the step 2 bacteria are increasing and handling more of it) Then as the step 3 bacteria increase in numbers the nitrate climbs, the nitrites decline and the ammonia will sink to zero - the fish are still producing it but there are more than enough sgtep 2 bacteria to deal with it. Then the nitrites drop to zero for similar reasons.

So, by changing out your water when the nitrites went high, you probably interrupted the cycle process by crashing step 2 - the sudden reduction of nitrites meant the step 3 bacteria suddenly had no nutrients.

You might also want to check water temps - I'm presuming your location is the Victorian Mansfield? If so, you're probably getting a few cold days and nights about now...? Low temps slow the process.

35 goldfish is pretty high stocking rates in 80 gallons - be prepared to lose some or maybe add filtration (solids and bio) to deal with the high levels of ammonia produced by them - they tend to be large-scale poo-producers.

Had the same prob. Replaced 50% water when amonia got high. After the 3rd time I just left it and jip it happend. (12 weeks) later. Lost 50% fish in prosses.

If your fish are happy/ok or you are fish-less cycling then there is no need to perform water changes.

Water changes can mean rapid changes to pH etc and that will upset the fish.

Also, I believe the bacteria we colonise predominately on the surface of the media.

Way too many fish in 350L of water. You need to build a system slowly and build it up from there. I would halve the number of fish and stop changing water

Damb, I am getting grumpy and abrupt like the guys that told me the same thing 3 years ago

All good Mantis. Its shows you are passionate. Nothing wrong with that.


I think the words impatient and aquaponics dont go well together and it breaks me to see the result of this year after year. If I learnt anything on this forum it would be to 'stock low and take it slow'.... its a great phrase. Not everyone is good with this approach and when you browse through the forum and look at thread after thread of systems that are going nuts and bulging at the sides with plants it can get frustrating that your new system is looking like a struggle.

I can understand the frustration. It wasnt that long ago I was in the same boat so I still remember it freshly. Aquaponics is like a puzzle... it takes patience, time and commitment and when all the pieces fit correctly... you can sit back and enjoy the picture. A dam cool picture.

The begining is very full on... your testing every day, you spend all your time pacing around the system and staring at the fish. Anything that is slightly out of whack you freak out and try to work out how you can adjust it or change it etc etc etc. Eventually there will come a time when you throw a handful of feed in now and then and catch a fish if your hungry. But until then... Stay calm, let nature do its thing and in 2 or 3 months you'll be wondering how the hell your going to fit all that veg in the crisper.

I completely agree Charlie,

Just be patient guys, you will loose some fish, your plants will yellow but slowly slowly things will come together. And before you know it you will have happy fish and heaps of Veges!


Will

Journeyman, Nope I'm in North Texas USA. Pretty warm here.
I know the fish density is going to be too high based on mature weight but since I'm not seeing ammonia at all and haven't in a month I figured it couldn't hurt.
I bought feeder fish for the cycle intending to replace them later with Tilapia. I'm not sentimental about losing any.

Not to throw her under the bus but the 70% water exchange was an accident courtesy of my wife while I was out of town.

I'm sure it will all work out eventually.

You should tell her 'Thanks for giving me an opportunity to learn..." Early on is the time to work out your testing, so at least a part of the 'new system syndrome' is useful. It is early on that things change quite a bit so you can get used to using the test kits and see the process going on.

Unless your fish don't eat at all, no ammonia is not possible. So, either your nitrite producers are dealing well with it all or your testing might need to be checked.

(yeah, I saw another post of yours a bit later where you recommended a US flange site and realised there must be another Mansfield )

Gunnyart,
Anywhere close to SW OK?

We are a suburb south of the Dallas Fort Worth area. SouthWest OK is a solid 1 1/2 hour drive.

I have seen ammonia early on and trace amounts lately. So I suppose that's a good thing if it means my nitrifying bacteria are dealing with it.


The expiration on my API kit is 2018 and I test carefully per the included directions. I am assuming that the test is accurate.