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HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
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Author:  bobkathy [ Jan 28th, '17, 06:52 ]
Post subject:  HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
Hello:
We may need to shut our AQ system down, b/c all our fish are dying... the water is perfect (amm, nit, nitrates, etc), tried the salt in the water to kill bacteria/disease, gave the fish garlic (pureed and added to their food), made our own homemade healthy fish food, use only natural spray on the plants (all homemade from plants). We started with 50 and are down to 15. We have tried everything that has been suggested by googling the problem and following the many suggestions. If we shut the system down and drain everything, not all the water will drain from the rock beds and will to start to mold and cause big problems. Removing all the rock from the beds would be a huge undertaking. Anyone have suggestions on how to go about this? Thanks for your help.
Author:  scotty435 [ Jan 28th, '17, 11:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
Hi and welcome to the forum :wave:

Sorry to hear about your fish. Best to back up and tell us a bit about the fish and the system and explain what you hope to accomplish by shutting down the system. Since you're new here it might also be worth explaining the problems on the off chance that we know the answer. If all else fails you might consider running the system without fish. Most of the time with a die off like this it's either because of disease or because something like ammonia or nitrites got out of whack and damaged the fish - they frequently die a few at a time after this no matter what you do. System pictures are also a good idea.
Author:  SeanD [ Jan 28th, '17, 13:08 ]
Post subject:  Re: HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
Just because a spray is made from plants doesn't mean it is safe for fish.

Is there any chance you've been spraying pyrethrum?
Author:  bobkathy [ Feb 9th, '17, 00:09 ]
Post subject:  Re: HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
Okay, yes I was using pyrethrum - but at the time, I thought it was okay, b/c I was using 1/5 the amount and was very careful to get it on the plants only, and if some got on the rocks, it would dry on top and break down in 3 hours. Wrong! I think that is what was killing them. I stopped spraying about 3 weeks ago, and have not lost any fish in the last 2 weeks. They look very happy. So I guess I won't be shutting down the system any time soon. I am spraying with a mixture I make from lemongrass, peppermint, garlic, hot peppers, egg, banana peel, rosemary and eucalyptus. Those seem okay?

I need iron in my system - several plants yellowing with the green veins. Anyone try feeding their fish high-iron foods like molasses or sesame seeds (soaked and/or ground up first). I can't get Aquairon here, just need to be creative. Or spraying with a plant-based mixture (directly on plants) that's high in iron. Anyone have experience?
Author:  scotty435 [ Feb 9th, '17, 05:32 ]
Post subject:  Re: HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
I'm not sure what you're feeding your fish but most commercial fish feeds have iron. The problem is often that the iron in the fish food is not usable at the pH of your system water. You can get around this by spraying the iron solution on the plants leaves. This probably will work using plant type iron sources as well. I could see diluting the molasses with water and trying to spray it on a few plants.
Author:  bobkathy [ Feb 9th, '17, 07:31 ]
Post subject:  Re: HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
Okay, thank you I will try that with the molasses.
Another fish died today :( Not sure if it was the pyrethrum after all.
Do the plants I'm using sound okay?
Author:  bobkathy [ Feb 9th, '17, 07:41 ]
Post subject:  Re: HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
So we may end up shutting down the system. I'm concerned that the water left in the beds will start to mold.... I was thinking of pulling the rocks back in the middle of the beds and using a wet-dry vac to suck out the water. Anyone have a better idea?
Author:  SeanD [ Feb 9th, '17, 09:00 ]
Post subject:  Re: HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
For the dregs you can scrape the rocks back and soak the water up with a big sponge, wring it out, and soak it up again.

You'd be surprised how much water a large sponge can pick up
Author:  scotty435 [ Feb 9th, '17, 09:04 ]
Post subject:  Re: HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
Are these beds inside or outside? What kind of fittings did you use for the standpipe?
Author:  bobkathy [ Feb 10th, '17, 06:08 ]
Post subject:  Re: HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
Fittings are pvc pipe with rubber o rings.
Beds are outside in an enclosed tent
Author:  scotty435 [ Feb 10th, '17, 07:42 ]
Post subject:  Re: HOW TO SHUT DOWN AN AQ SYSTEM IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE
That's good so once you've emptied them they won't be getting more rain in them. My setups a bit different on the standpipes so it's easy to pull them and drain most of the water. You might be able to do this but you'd have to be really careful so I think the shopvac might be a better way to go, followed by the sponge for what's left.

If you're just draining this because of disease, I'm not really sure you need to, kind of depends on what it is :dontknow: .
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