Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Make sure it is the seaweed concentrate - not seasol brand lawn feed or foliar feed. You can add seasol (seaweed concentrate) at any time as it is not harmful to the fish. I would mix up the quantity as per the instructions on the bottle for a foliar feed and pour over the leaves to the point of runoff. ( Perhaps use a watering can.) What goes into the bed will be taken up by the roots. You may reapply weekly or as necessary.

Seasol wont help on the PH front, and adding it probably wont help much with the PH that high. You need to either wait for the PH to drop by itself, or help it down a bit.

My nitrite levels are finally starting to drop . Water tests today are
ammonia - 0
nitrite 2.5
nitrate 10
pH - between 8 and 8.2

I am worried about the pH locking out nutrients. I would like the pH to come down naturally if possible. How long does it usually take for the pH to drop? Are we talking weeks or months? The fish are all looking happy still with no deaths. The silverbeat is starting to take off. The rest of the plants are not showing much growth yet, though they are obviously bigger then when we put them in. I have got a digital camera now and hopefully when I have learnt how to use it I can post some photos.

I am thinking of designing some way of supporting the plants as they grow (eg tomatoes, beans etc). I have BYAP growbeds. Does anyone know the best way to make supports for plants? I have tried to do a serch but haven't come up with anything.

My nitrite levels are still 2.5 today. I am hoping they will start to drop soon... The plants are growing strongly.

Some folks have *carefully* attached uprights to the outside of their wooden growbeds.

TCLynx has hog fence (6mm(1/4")) welded wire panels about 5 meters (16') long bent into a hoop over some growbeds so beans etc can grow up or she can add shadecloth in summer.

I have bent some wire in a half-meter circle (well, arc) and placed it around a tomato. If I had much wind I might install guy wires.

My nitrite levels are finally starting to drop. I didn't even have to dilute the water sample this morning. My results are
ph 8
temp 16
ammonia -0
nitrite - .25
nitrate 10
I think it is nearly cycled. Hopefully the nitrite level will drop to zero in the next few days (it was 2.5 yesterday). Once my levels are sitting on zero what do I do next? My thoughts are that I start to SLOWLY increase feeding. I am currently feeding 1 T a day. Should I add an extra teaspoon for a few days....test and when my water results are zero, slowly add
another teaspoon. What should I be ultimately be aiming for - quantity wise?. I have 75 fingerlings ranging in size from 10 - 15cm. I have two really little fingerlings that don't seem to be growing at all.

I would start giving them a tsp more right now, as long as the nitrite levels do not rise. I'm sure others will differ. *grin*

If you assume that the fingerlings average 50gms... @ 5% feed rate... that would be a total daily feed rate of about 187gms/day....

So yep.... add an extra 1/2 tablespoon tomorrow... and test the next day... if the levels have gone back up a bit... just feed the 1 tablespoon the next day... then increase it again...

When you see that the increase isn't affecting the levels, at least after a couple of days... then increase it a bit more and repeat...

Weigh out a tablespoon.... and you'll get an idea of what 185gm is....

With fingerlings, it's better to feed small amounts often... ie.. 4-6 times a day... rather than just chucking in the whole ration at one time...

And... IMO... it's better for your filtraation/bio-filter as well ...

the first dead batch, always happens each time restock,you get better, the pain will go away

Things are going well. I have increased the feeding rate to 1 1/2 Tablespoons of food a day. My water results today were
ammonia .25
nitrite .25
nitrate 5

I think the plants must be taking a lot more nitrates out of the water. Prior to this my nitrates were always around the 10 mark. The silverbeet is really taking off. The BYAP systems are very easy to work.

One question. Do the pumps in the fish tank and sump require any maintanence?. I have a ebara pump and a second hand one???? should I be doing anything with them? The fish are getting noticably bigger.

Thanks everyone for their help over the last few weeks, I have really appreciated it.

Do you think I have cycled yet? My nitrites were off the scale so at .25 I am thinking that it has cycled....but it isn't on zero?

I think you are 95% cycled* and the rest might take a while. While it is best to have 0&0, .25&.25 is ok. I would keep increasing feed and test to make sure your ammonia and nitrites don't go higher.

I don't recall if you are timing your pumps or using 24/7. I find that 24/7 builds up debris in the pump, but the backflow one gets with a timer seems to clear things pretty darned well.....so far. But you might want to note hte time it takes to pump a certain volume, then check it again every month or three to make sure it has not dropped more than maybe 10% from initial value. One might get large slime buildups that clog things, but mostly in 24/7 pumps and plumbing.

Happy to help out!

*"you have become one of us now!"

Agreed with the 24/7 pumps clogging up with crap over time, I actually have a timer even on the 24/7 pumps, to give them a 15 minute downtime everyday. This gives them the backwash clean.

Apart from that, if you are going away for a decent amount of time, before you go, pull the pump out and give it a clean, I dont know what the impellor arrangement is on the ebara's, but on the pond type submersibles, you pull the impellor out and give it and the magnet a clean, checking the shaft for wear also.

The fish are getting bigger. I have only lost one during the cycling process (It jumped out of the tank on the first day). My water tests are still not perfect but are getting there.
pH 8
ammonia - .25
nitrite .25
nitrate 10
I have increased the feeding rate to 1 1/2 Tablespoons a day (plus a few caterpillars )
I have fed at that rate for a week. I am thinking of increasing to 2 Tablespoons tomorrow and seeing if my ammonia and nitrite stays the same or goes up.

On a side note we have finally harvested bananas from out tree (dirt garden). They are so creamy.....worth the wait

I am working out how to post photos. Here is some pictures from my system.