Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Nitrate is the stuff plants soak up, maybe you don't have enough plants in?

You prolly already know this but algae is driven by wetness and sun. You cant remove the wet, but you can somehow shade it... a tarp? lid or some kind of heavy duty shade cloth?

Algae to fish is like grass to a dog, it's only healthy to eat in small quantities, not as a regular meal. Maybe you're not feeding enough?

Am really interested in the development of your system!!

Hum, could be something to do with the water at your new place. What was your old water supply and what is the new one?
When you get a chance, you might want to pick up some oyster shell grit like they use for chickens from a farm/feed store. That should help you stay buffered back near 7.6 if you feel the urge to do that.

Hey thanks for the reply's

i have changed their food and added some more fish to make up for the lost ones and a few more ( my loving girl friend went and got the extra fish and the food for them today

and have added a foam tray over the top of some of the water ( will shave one side and put some holes in it for some baskets in the next couple of days )

i think the adding of the shell grit will need to be done as the system is back to 7.4 today ( should stop it bouncing around so much )

and i have nil nitrate nitrite and ammonia so i dont htink i will need any more plants
but i will need to find my camera so i can share some pictures with everyone

thanks again for the advice
Mal

Are the plants on the foam raft going into the water with fish in it? If so the fish will eat the roots.

Hey OBO
yes the raft is in the fish tank and yes the fish would eat the root systems ( have not put any holes in the raft for pots yet maybe later
i have revised my ideas and have incorporated a nft pipe to see how things go in a different filtering system and im using the clay balls in the nft pipe for the moment

i will try germinating my own seeds for the rest of the system in the pots
should be easier than washing the roots of dirt started plants

plants are doing ok growing a little slowly at the moment so i have added 2 capfuls of maxicrop to get them moving again

i have also so added 2 handfuls shell grit and will add some more over the next couple of days
i have a 25 kg bag of the stuff so i wont be running short of it for awhile

and i have few new seedlings in my system too ( basil, pear and apple )

photos tomorrow
Mal

What size is the nft pipe mal? Anything smaller than 300mm diameter (especially when using gravel filled) is very prone to getting blocked up with roots.

thanks OBO

the pipe is 90mm and i have been reading about the roots bloking the pipes in other threads and i am only planning on keeping a strawberries and some lettuce in the pipe and i will be keeping an eye on there root systems, im using net pots in the pipe so i can remove and insert the pots as i like to check on the roots , planning a few holes in the raft in the fish tank so i can prune the roots too without to much hassle

Sorry ran out of daylight for the photos and it is nearly midnight now so maybe tomorrow if i get time and get this compost bin finished so ican use it for the lawn and the tree prunings too and maybe it could end up with some food scraps from the aquaponics system in it if they dont end up in the worm farm first

photos soon i promise

A quick system update as i have to be organised for christmas

here are the photos i promised

still having ph swings 7.8 to 8.8 ( top of the scale for the test set i have )
i think this is from adding tap water as a top up

have been feeding twice a day to get the nitrates to register finally got it after 3 days
and it came with ammonia and nitrite spikes too ( so have dropped down the feeding qty until the system catches up )

other than that this has been a boring week for the system no new plants and no new fish and fairly stable too

Merry Christmas to everyone

a couple more

Looks like the move didn't set things back to badly Mal... good to see

Dont be stressed about the growth

It will come back - a move is pretty stressful for multi-celled organisms, let alone bacteriA

Hi everyone

i have been away for a few days and have had the father in-law looking after my system ( he just fed the fish ) and the water level dropped by about 4 inches ( ~ 10 cm )

i have included a couple of pictures so you can see the growth ( i have picked the lettuce for salads already )
and have planted more too

my tomatoes are going well with the execption of 1 which is being attcked by mildew like the pumpkins and zucchini too .... is the milk spray the best way to get rid of this ??

hmm i think i shrank the photos too small

sorry if the mods can delete it i will repost the photos in a better size

Thanks