Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

What size sump VB... and what sort of overnight temperatures have you been getting....

Be interesting to compare your results and overnight temps, with those that Chappo gets when he does his experiments.... be able to relate/extrapolate both results to where I am down south of Sydney.

Shit - just doing the tests now. Colours still developing, but looks bloody scarey already. Gotta remember also that the ammonia and nitrite levels woudl have dropped from what they were when the water from the sump (at least 300 litres - probably 400) was mixed with the tank water

Okay - ammonia at least 4ppm and nitrite at lease 2 - after a couple of hours of pumping and the mixing of the sump water with the main water. I fully expect to see dead barra when the water clears. Will test again in a couple of hours, but I think a water change will be in order. Much harder for me now that the water line down to the shed is broken though

ans ph is quite high. Temps have dropped to 20 due to the pumping, but temps had been up to 26+ at one stage this week, so a lot of toxixity in that ammonia. I'll be shocked if these fish are not fracked.

pH is down at 6.6 or 6.4, so that is kinda good in the circumstances, though nitrite is more dangerous at lower pH (opposite of ammonia) apparently. Nitrite may be the danger here - I'm not keen to have to add salt right now, but will do so if I find the nitrite spiking anymore (which is possible as the ammonia is converted). I think a water change will definitely be in order. Will probably empty the sump (pretty much) later and refill with neutralised water.

bugger

No dead fish at this stage. At 8pm tonight - about 9 hours after I discovered the pumps had been off for 4 days - the ammonia has dropped to between .5 and 1 and the nitrite is only .25, possibly slightly higher.

I've not needed to do a water change. At this stage the pumps are still running, so temps are dropping. I will set the timer so that the pumps run for another couple of hours but then turn off until morning. Given what the levels were earlier, I don't think the current levels are going to kill the fish, so no point freezing them tonight. I expect 5 degree temps tonight out here in the sticks.

I was thinking they may survive them levels ok, only weak ones may die....

ive done worse

Can you route/bypass the pump so that it is running just for aeration in the shed?

How are things this morning VB ??

Haven't tested today - but I expect the ammonia and nitrite would be under control now. No obviously dead fish. Temps are a worry. At midday - only about 21 and that was with 3 heaters running from sometime yesterday.

Needless to say - I've not got around to building the structure yet. Wife was onto me about whipper snipping etc. I did have time yeaterday to test a bit of my theory as to how I would build it, so I'll probably be able to progress things a bit at night during the week. This will be important I think for the temp side of things, but will not be near enough to get me out of trouble.

Dave - aeration at night is via a good size air pump in addition to (less so) the return from the small biofilter I have over the tank. The supply of oxygen would not seem to be an issue given that this was all they had for several days this week and at one stage temp was over 26 degrees.

3 heaters? man the power supply over here at the moment couldn't handle that, what keeps your power meter from bouncing of the wall? don't say Steves paper clip either!

VB, any chance you could try a night without the air pump, using a spare water pump to aerate instead? This decreased my temp losses overnight by 2 deg c

OBO - noted that when you posted it last time. I will give it a go, but just haven't had the chance to rig something up yet.

I think my biggest problem with temp loss is the morning pumping through cold gravel.

sorry to hear your dramas veeber.

on a positive note, while cleaning up the house for Jaymie and Axl, i found an un buggerized 240V BC-9090. will test it tomorrow and get the boss to whack it in the post.

Will call in the LOAN one day as i'm sure its the last one i have

heh didn't even remember I had already posted it