Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Read the BYAP forum silly until my eyes go blood shot then sleep...repeat

Yea me too ( I didn't have a master test set then )

I've kinda swayed off using my pee to raise the ammo again might wait till nitrite drops .3 or less then rush off to get some cheap gold fish (from paddys market? )

so this morning I wanted to make sure I didn't have any chloramines in the water... shops were closed and I didnt have anything to neutralize it, So I used the household water filter(that has active charcoal) to slowly take out the nasty (4 hours or so)
I hope that wasn't a waste of time (I got the info from wiki)

there was something else I wanted to post, sigh I forget.

I should have made a system thread didn't think I would talk about the test system so much, You guys are great thanks for all the help and positive attitude.

siphonphobia wrote:
Yep! I have the bug BAD! I woke up early today (new years day ) to check on my fishless system

"Take two beers and if symptoms persist consult your local BYAP rep for more equipment.
Welcome aboard"

hahahaha FTW! i no longer feel so badly that im constantly checking empty unplumbed GB's

2 more ales please!

ITS GREEN!!

Last update (I'll make a mems system thread now I have the IBC's)

I have algae in the water so I must be close to a stable cycling system. I added 50ml of wiz ammo and nitrite are high my single tomato plant is growing must mean there is some nitrate (api test kit is coming soooooooon)

best news is I have found and purchased 5 IBC's which will bump start the new system

I have plans to use at least 3 of them (lack of approved space until I get results)

Hi guys, newbie as it gets here.. Long story short, I have been researching and thinking of hydro/aeroponics for quite a while now, haven't had the guts to build anything. Two nights ago I start really watching aquaponics videos and stumble across this website which I have been browsing non-stop since.

I really want to build an aquaponics system, and I think I have the bacteria and cycling down, but I am curious as to how you get the bacteria initially? Can I use water from a friends fish tank or filter or anything of the sort to bump up the process? Hearing that it can take 3-6 weeks really saddened me cause I want to buy the fish and everything tomorrow

Planning on using goldfish, they are cheap, and I won't be morally destroyed if they die..

Planned system:

68 litre (18 gallon) container for fish
35ish litre GB (9 gallon)
Gravel for the GB (Does aquarium gravel work good? I saw it in the store today)
Simple ebb and flow system, I think.

Also a grow light, because I am doing it indoors, too cold to grow outside in Canada currently.


To build up the bacteria, could I buy the fish tomorrow, and whenever I need to add ammo to my GB can I just use the water from my fish tank and pour it over my GB?

I'm sorry about asking newbie things, but I have been reading until 6:20am as it is here now, and I really need sleep, and I would like to buy stuff tomorrow without reading all day again xD And thanks for any help

Welcome Steve519 ...



Short answer .. yes....

Long answer.... the bacteria need a medium to grow on.... in aquaponics we use growbeds for this purpose.... filled with various different media...

The growbeds fill a dual purpose of bio-filtratiion (essentially external bio-filters)... and a medium in which we can grow veges and fruits etc...

Adding ammonia to your water.. will raise the ammonia content (obviously).... but for "nitrification to take place it needs to be "housed" somewhere... i.e. aquariums acheive this within their filter systems...

Continually adding ammonia.... by either dosing it with fish tank water... and/or fish ... alone... would cause problems..

Suggestion.... build your system... then seed it with your (or friends) tank water... it will cut the cycling time dramatically, especially during summer.... and then stock your fish...

Or seed the system, stock with fish... and basically dont feed the fish.... other than small amounts every second day... or feed to match the filtration capacity of the growbeds....

Goldies are tough and forgiving... you should be able to seed and stock without too many problems..... buy a test kit though, so you know just where you are in the cycling process...

Just realised... you quote "gallons" ... so I assume your in the US.... winter/cold water will lengthen your cycling time dramatically.... definitely seed your system, preferably heat it...

Rupe, Steve is in Canada (remember to look at the avatar )

Hello Steve

I see it now... didn't see it scrolling when I replied... hello canuck...

Hello, and thanks for the welcome

I understand the purpose of the medium for the bacteria, and I'm planning on using gravel as I read it works well. As for heating, I'm thinking of grabbing a heater for the water that will keep it at 24C, which is a good temperature I think (Only $12CND so why not?)

I guess the part I am having trouble grasping, is while trying to grow the bacteria should I have plants in the GB as well, because where do the nitrates go when the cycle is finished? Also, do I need to get my hands on bacteria to seed the growth of the bacteria, or will they magically pop-up on their own? lol

Absolutely no reason not to... indeed they will begin using the nitrates... and as the nitrates incease, so will the plant growth... significantly...



The process is a natural one.. the bacteria exist naturally and will "magically" inhabit the growbed media in due time... Seeding, by introducing bacteria, will help shorten the cycling time...

Awesome, thanks a lot for your help, Rupert.

I think I am ready to dive in and experiment It may be just a small system to start with, but it's meant to be a test for myself, if all goes well and I feel comfortable I'll scale it up at a later time. Hopefully I can get everything tomorrow and get going xD

Yea good luck, Next time get your our thread

It might help rupe out too

Ha ha, sorry about the thread hijack

I saw that you made your new thread in the members part and thought my question was sort of relevant so I figured what was the harm?

no harm, they are just teasing