Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I wish my system went together as easily as this!!! Looking good Curly

I'm actually surprised, since we added about two bladderfulls to the system on Saturday.

Got this email from Dave this evening:

So the following was recorded
High pH of 8
Ammonia of 0.50
Nitrites 0
Nitates 5.0

So is that good or bad?

later

Dave.

>>>>

I said that it was astoundingly good, the ph would sort itself out and that I'd probably 'dose' it again and wait for the marron to arrive.

It takes time for fresh humonia's urea content to convert to ammonia.

You have Nitrate so something is happening, maybe another 6 pack, but cold weather will slow things down a bit, not with the bladder though

It might be a good idea to run tests on some of the plain tap water. It is a good idea to have an idea of what the baseline is. It is probably good to let some of the tap water sit out for a while before doing the pH test though as straight from the tap could have enough CO2 in it to skew the pH reading. (My tap water if tested immediately from the tap will have a pH of 7 but if I let it air out for a while and then test it, the pH is usually 8 or more.)

How long does it normally take for 'humonia' to convert into ammonia (and out of curiosity, what is the process - is it some sort of bacteria that does it?)?

The system was 'dosed' (hehe, such a polite term) on Saturday arvo.

I think the conversion is done by an enzyme of some sort that is usually contained in urine (the conversion will still happen if you were to pee in a bottle and seal it up.)

I believe it can take at least several days to convert completely. (with fresh humonia or urea, ya gotta be careful not to overdose the system since it is such a delayed reaction.)

Pee is Ammonia curly, you have .5 Amm (with fish mine Amm was up to 2 so probably wouldn't hurt to pee it up a bit) should soon start to see nitrite as the amm converts to nitrite then to Nitrate, is strange you have amm and nitrate but no nitrite, well is strange to me anyhow, no doubt someone else will tell us why

Hey Guys,

First post, so i thought it should be about my system. So far everything is going well. I have only lost 1 fish so far. It swam out the drain pipe and into grow bed. But that has been sorted out now.

My back certainly felt the gravel washing.

I am getting marron for the system on Sunday. So what do i need to do to prepare for them? Apart from covering the sump to stop them escaping.

Do not add any more ammonia, you will over do it.

Make some hides for the marron, and feed them next to nothing.

I agree with OBO. If there are any fish in the system or since you are planning on adding more creatures to the system, you don't want to be boosting the ammonia by an unknown amount.

The Nitrate in the system could be from the tap water, it would be good to do a test on the tap water to see if there are any readings on the plain tap water!

Cycling up a new system, (even with the addition of gravel, water, or sludge from existing systems) still takes a matter of multiple weeks!!!!!! Go easy on the feed and keep up the testing.

Definitely no more pee if getting marron, put in more hides than you have marron, don't overstock as they will be pissed off, they climb better than spiderman so make sure cords and pipes have some sort of cover around so they can't climb out and escape, don't over fill tank as they will climb out, they eat nothing much so don't over feed, mine use to eat about 1 marron pellet each a fortnight, unlike yabbies who eat one every couple of days, make sure they eat food or it doesn't sit in tank for 2 long, I found having a small plate in tank and putting pellets on that was easier to see if eaten, I have had the disaster of uneaten pellets in tank
They are finicky little buggers and like pH of 7.8 - 8.2 and if they don't like it then they will do whatever to escape or cark it, an ammonia spike is good indication one or more has kicked it, or smelly water, they stink when dead and will probably make you when you take them out, well did me anyhow.

Jeez, these Marron seem like hard work. I take it by the amount they eat, they're not real fast growers?

Regarding stocking density, how many could we expect to house in the sump IBC? Would they play well in a tank with SP or Trout?

They are hard to grow, I have given up with them for now, first 8 escaped, 3 died in second lot and 5 died in the pot, 2 pure blues also died, in an IBC i would put 2 or 4 Max, they like space but don't fight like yabbies but will either escape or die trying, they take about 3 years to get to size from fingerling size, and will eat next to nothing in winter, if you ever get them to breed you can only still have about 4 so after about a month or so you need to sell them or move them, you can't legally sell them without a license and you can't transport them on the road without a license, as mentioned in another thread, I found this out from the ranger that picked me up leaving a mates farm, only warned me though, as you would be buying yours this wouldn't apply, but get a receipt less chance getting pulled in Perth though, the Trout will definitely eat them, no question and SP eat the smaller ones at mates farm dam, if after all that you still want to try them good luck but they are fun, just not worth the hassle if you want to get a regular feed, you would need a pool for that to happen.

Pics of my blues (RIP)

Dave (and other memebrs, feel free to chime in)

How do you / do you regulate the flow of water coming from the FT SLO into each growbed? Does one bed fill faster than the other and you just live with it? Or are they pretty much the same anyway?



Scott