Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ao,
Thanks for the tip about the snails.

I think Abdul suggested Basil beccause it grows very well and quickly in AP and I needed something to put in to use up some nitrates.

Almost everything is still alive in the tanks this morning, 2 Cats managed to jump out of the tank despite the cover, damn things are so determined to kill themselves!

I saw one of the crayfish with a claw around a small Pleco yesterday he actually cut the poor little thing in half.

So, 3 deaths so far, none of them water quality related.
Fingers crossed this time.

I made a spray bar for the return to sump to increase aeration, very simple, just a piece of pipe with a lot of holes in it, but it is very noisy.
Any one with tips on how to make a quiet aerator, the neighbours haven't complained, but I suspect it irrirates them.


Cheers.

Dui.

Hi DuiNui

Check out this link to Affnan.s web-site, He tries a heap of different things to help silence his system.

http://affnan-aquaponics.blogspot.com/2010/08/silencing-aquaponics-part-1.html

Might help you out?

Thanks Decal,
My spray bar was horizontal, turned it vertical into the tank, big improvement though noticably fewer bubbles.
An acceptable trade-off though I think.

Hey Duinui, make sure that spray bar can't siphon out your ST, and regards the bubbles, try adding a venturi by using a T instead of an elbow.

I said basil would show system status as basil growly weakly/slowly/dieing shows that system isn't cycled and isn't happily, basil growing like mad means system is fine and happy. Not exactly a precise method of measurement but beats having nothing

Abdul,
The incomming water to the ST is higher than the water in the ST, no chance of siphoning, but thanks for the warning
One of the catfish in the FT was looking decidedly under the weather today, barely able to move.
As I have the FT covered I moved him to the ST where I could more closely monitor him and remove him if he died, which judging by his behaviour he surely would.
While he was in the ST the bigger of the 2 Crayfish grabbed him and started to eat him, while still alive!!!!
I couldn't sit and watch that, though to be honest it was weirdly interesting, I took him out, whacked him on the head and put him back in for the crayfish to eat.
It brought up a question in my mind, what do you guys do when you see a fish that will surely die, do you put it out of its misery?
Or let nature take its course?
Of course it may have recovered, but I have seen enough Catfish acting like that to know that it wouldn't have survived.
Didn't realise these Crayfish were so agressive, another thing learned today.
In other news, water tests all good, am stepping up feeding slowly, water temp hit 31 later this afternoon, perils of having a small system all above ground.
Plants all seem to be doing well, time will tell

Cheers for now
Dui

Silly multi post bug.. 2nd post removed :p

When I've found fish that were dead already I've fed them to the crayfish, that is nature taking its course I feel

If the ST is higher then make sure it won't siphon into the FT

Hi Decal

That's interesting link. There is a system in thailand.

Thanks
ao

Four more dead today
Crayfish seem fine as do the plecos.
Trace of ammo, everything else is normal.
They didn't get fed today, have been out since 5am, so don't know when the 4 died, they may have been in the tank all night and all day.
Will test again in the morning, gonna be pulling my hair out if they keep dying for no apparent reason.

Dui.

sometimes fish just die.....but keep an eye on the system and it's parameters Duinui and a reason may just present itself

if your tap water is acidic, then could it be the high (low?) ph that is killing your fish? i have spoken to some aquarium guys here and they reckon a ph lower than 6 will start killing fish??

very tidy looking system by the way

Thanks for the compliment
PH is stable at around 7 perhaps a little higher.
Last time I put fish in, they started dying at 3-4 a day and increased until 68/70 were dead within a week, it's all very odd.
But I will keep at it until they either stop dying, or I find out the reason and fix it

Cheers

Dui.

keep an eye out for metals in the system. I think i remember reading something about catfish and copper.

or even poisioning further upstream?? i.e. at the water source???
you said the water tanks were concrete . . any chance they could be the problem?

Thanks for the replies guys.
Kroz,
No metal anywhere in the system, everything PVC.

Freo, the old 8000L system was concrete this smaller one is all PVC, and whatever the tanks are made from.
I see these tanks all over TL in markets and aquarium shops, I doubt very much the tank is the problem.

The initial water fill was roughly 50% tap water (well water stored in a water tower) and 50% rain water, then I did a 50% water change after the first lot of fish died and then they stopped dying iirc, since then I have not touched the water, nothing added, nothing changed.
Have lost about 10% due to evap and transpiration, am due a top-up soon, will do it tomorrow if I get chance.
I have had a mini system around 100L, a small system 285L FT and 250L ST, and the big 8000L system with exactly the same results in all 3.
1000km apart, different water, different weather, but loads of unexplained fish deaths.
There is a folklore in TL that says some people are unable to plant things and grow them successfully, nothing to do with knowledge, it's a spiritual thing, perhaps I am spiritually unable to keep fish
I'm sure I'll get through it, or at least find out the cause of it, but damn it's annoying.

Dui.