Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Anyone??

Yeah... you could about call it cycled..

Thanks for the reply Rupert.
Tested today & amonia & nitrite & nitrate were pretty much zero.
My plants havent done much though, guess they will take off soon.
I'm certainly glad I can start feeding the fish a lot more.

System has been running for 9 weeks now.
Plant growth very poor compared to dirt garden. (About half the size.)
(except peas which are a bit bigger in the grow bed.)
Had to pull out a number of lettuce that wilted & died in the grow bed. Grow bed water level seems ok.
Sytem appears to be cycled as amonia is 0, nitrates & nitrites 0, and all had previously peaked then dropped off. Sometimes amonia registers a bit if I feed too much.
Fish are extremely happy & hungry and growing well. Not one death. I am feeding them a few handfuls a day at least.

When can I expect this wonderful plant growth that I see in other systems?

One more question, can you stop pak choi seedlings from bolting? Mine always bolt after a few weeks in the dirt and in the grow bed. Maybe they need to be grown in shade??

Plants in AP systems often languish behind soil plants for the first 3-6 months... after that there's no comparison .. IMO..

I've found that most nursery Pak Choi seedlings do that... perhaps because they're old stock... or poorly watered/managed... stressed...

IMO... they need to be grown fast, with plenty of water...

For best results... grow from seed... planted at the appropriate time of course...


Even then... pick early... and don't crowd ... or they'll also bolt...

They grow well in hydro for the reasons above...

Wow. They look good. Cant wait for that type of growth.
What is the right time of year for pak choi?

oldute ,, nothing wrong with now for pak choi. I put mine in dirt garden about 3 weeks ago (seedlings) , powering along.

Yep... I'm sowing more seed tonight... in fact tonite is a GOOD time to sow seed or transplant seedlings...

I've tried large seedlings and small seedlings all of which bolted within a few weeks.
I'll try seed instead of seedlings then, see how it goes.

Get them in within the next day or two.... for best germination...

And hand water them for two to three days....

I noticed my trout have started turning on their side every now and then (at the bottom) and then quickly uprighting themselves as they move forward.
Never noticed this before.
Is this normal??
Been feeding them a lot lately, water tests have been all zero for a while since cycling (apart from ph) but have started to show again.

Water Test:
Ph between 6.0 and 6.4
Nitrite 0.5
Nitrate 5.0
Amonia 0.5

Hey Oldute,
If they are scraping themselves on the bottom of the tank this is commonly known as "flashing".
First step is to ensure salt in the system at 3ppt- (parts per thousand)
1ppt = 1kg salt 1000litres water.
3 ppt = 3kg salt per thousand litres water.
Cut back on feeding and make sure there is no build up of uneaten food or waste on bottom of tank.
Faye

Hey people
Decided to do a water test as the fish didnt eat like they normally do and was surprised at the results.
Amonia 4.0

So I thought I'd better stop feeding.

2 days no food did complete water test
Ammonia 2.0 to 4.0
Nitrite 0.5
Nitrates 5.0
Ph 6.0 or below? color is some sort of yellow.

Whats happening here?
Sytem was running fine or so I thought as Ammo was pretty much 0 and so were nitrates & nitrite most of the time.
The Ph has gradually been getting lower & lower though.
I read someone said somewhere that "there sytem was heading for a crash" Is this what happens if the Ph gets too low??
I have some shell grit that I give to the chooks sometimes, should I put this in the tank?
Hoping someone with more experience can shed some light for me.

"Flashing" is a sign of irritation... usually from a parasite such as "Ich"... the fish is literally trying to scratch/rub them off...

But can also be a sign of discomfort from "burning"... due to acid pH....

You need to bring your pH back.... the shellgrit will work, but slowly... some calcium carbonate would work much faster, but you don't want to change it too fast...

As would Sodium BiCarbonate... (NaHCO3).... "baking soda".... and in your case as the slime coat mucus production might be being compromised... is probably the best option...

As the Sodium (as in salt) will help stimulate mucous production... and the "BiCarbonate" will buffer your pH...

Your Ammonia levels could also be causing "irritation" and could be toxic... depending on water temp...

Another option , that would both lower your ammonia... and bring the pH back.... would be a 30% water change...

If you're going to salt... wait until after you do a water change....