Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Rupe, the overflowing standpipe is also a major way to get DO into the sump.
I think if not enough water is going thru the sytem, the this could explain,
low DO and reduced solids pickup.

I will be having a look on Saturday.

Yep ,, if you Ammo a nitrites are zero beds are doing their job ,, therefore filling draining sufficiently.
A $12 air pump and $2 air-stone would ensure oxygen is ok.
Then need look at environmental things, possible poison or metals,, AHH and food , how fresh is your food.

Thanks guys for your input. It is much appreciated. Overnight, we lost another. Although the water looks like it has cleared up last night, but then again, I not sure. Will get DW to check the clarity of the water this morning when there is light.

Yes, Rupe, was set to MAX from the first day I put the pump into the tank, and checked it again when I did the water changes a few days ago.

Well if you know what other factors could affect the system, I would appreciate some ideas to try.

One other thing is that when I did the water changes, I had to resort to using water ager coz I did not have a separate tank to hold the water first, and the health of the fishes seemed to be going downhill rapidly so I felt that immediate water changes were necessary. I don't believe that it would put more stress on the fishes than the water change, but I could be wrong.

Well I did not noticed the sediment building up until I drained the tank lower and left it at that level for a few days. So yes, I will need to stir or somehow agitate the tank occasionally to stop the settled sediments from creating a problem.

I had 41 trouts. started with 1 tablespoons. increase to 2 tablespoons when I found that Ammonia did not change much. When I increase to 2 tablespoons, Ammonia still fairly constant at 1 or 1+. That's went disaster struck. Rain brought some nutrients and algae blooms.

I have not fed the trouts for approximately 4-5 days now. Hope that they are not dying now because they are starving. I actually lost count of how many died (* too painful; subconscious mind has blocked it out *), I have a list at home, but probably got 20-25 still left in there.

I have tried almost everything I can think of and most of the "simple to implement" comments from others, hence I am down to "blaming the settled sediments".

Hmmm... I know your pain... I have been there too
Trouble is also, in that the temps are so low, it takes ages for much to happen
This too will pass

Ammonia and Nitrite are at zero, probably because I did a number of water changes to get the possible toxics in the water that is killing the fishes to a diluted level.

What LPH flowrate are we talking about for the $12 air pump coz at some pet stores, I could get $12 air pumps that can a supply air for a small fish tank.

Not sure about food freshness. Got one from BYAP in a takeaway container. The other bag from Troutman. I would assume that they are fresh??

Food suppliers both know what they are doing , so that discounts food being bad.
I assume food is stored in fridge?

Air-pump, look for biggest you can get for around $12-15 and maybe 3 or 4 large air-stones.
That 20 odd dollar investment at least removes one of the possible killing options ( aeration or lack there of)
I would spend a few dollars more and get one of these,,
http://www.guppysaquariumproducts.com.a ... d_577.html

Ivan your tests would be low because of the water changes, so chappo we can't say the beds are doing the job, I totally agree with C1 that the longer cycles aid in DO and they certainly work for me, rick had a similar disaster and thought his problems were the fish we got from Dumbleyung, but we are almost certain that it was a storm that blew crap into his system, just maybe Ivan has similar issues from his new wall etc, we have to eliminate everything, I have had all the basic *frack* ups so is why I am suggesting basic things, Ivan you system will now have to recycle so you are going to have amm spikes etc again, try and avoid additives and do it naturally, again this worked for me, was close to water changes etc but whilst fish were happy I left things alone and all is fine so far, chlorine and ager will affect the fish, I know ager knocked the crap out of my Gold fish for a couple of days, but they got over it, trout may (never used it with trout) feel effects more so, goldies are much more hardier,

Ivan, What exactly is written on the water ager eg active constituent?
We may be able to determine what effect if any this may have had on the fish. We have never used it, never had to.

The additional O2 will help aerobic bacteria colonise, remove the possibility of low 02 and tend to flocate any unwanted solids.
Best first move in my opinion.

Well I did not want to as well, but I figured that chlorine could be worst for sick fishes. Especially Perth scheme water. Never realised it smelled so much of cholorine until I smelled the fish tank water in the early days before disaster.

See below.
http://www.pondcare.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=24

By the way, another question I was thinking about.

I am still running the water pump 24/7 full on or probably 45mins on and 15mins off, as I felt that a stop in between tends to allow better removal of crap. With temperatures as low as they are going (approx. 5degC air temp), would it create a problem for trout? Bearing in mind that my tank is a 1000L tank that is only slightly more than half full at the moment so that I can see the bottom of the ank. Would it get too cold for the trout causing death?

I think you would be better at 1 hour on 1 off, as GB's will be just be emptying on the hour thus getting added DO and better water turn over and almost empty GB's, trout live in ice cold conditions and I think they will handle it, Fish WA suggest trout will live in water 2c I doubt yours will get that cold, mine doesn't and it's freaking freezing here, Trout grow better in 12-16 deg temps, probably feed less, but after 5 days you should feed something, try a couple of pellets and see if they are interested, if not then leave feeding for a while and remove uneaten pellets

Sounds pretty heavy Ivan, one thing that was on my bottle just remembered was DONT USE WITH FISH THAT WILL BE USED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION or along them lines, don't know if your bottle say's that, I don't know what after effects that it would cause, I had no intension of eating the Goldies so used it anyhow, same as Pond Clear products, same warning, the stuff works though, local garden shop sold me Pond Clear as Goldfish system was green, said he used it in his Marron tanks all the time and Marron were fine, my observant missus read the label out loud as I didn't have glasses with me, Garden Shop owner went greener than my water

Interesting that you mention the ager Ivan... I had a client (name with-held) who had nearly 70 out of 100 trout die after using the same... or similar product...

Reading the MSDS... I'm horrified...

http://cms.marsfishcare.com/files/msds/ ... r_2506.pdf

Not just for warnings regarding the effect on fish... (below)... but cumulative effects on humans... and the suggested advice to physicians...





How, or why this could be suggested for even aquaria usage... is beyond me...

IMO.... DO NOT USE...

It's possible... from the MSDS... that the product may also have had an adverse affect on your growbed bacterial colony...