Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

You have to wait for the nitrites to do the same thing, and the nitrite to nitrate bacteria seem to be slower to develop from what I remember. If you know anybody with a healthy aquarium you can squeeze some goop from their filter to help your system get some population of bacteria faster maybe.

I am going to get some fish goop from a buddy next week. Its from a koi pond, do you think that it will be ok to just throw that into my water supply or should I divide it up and place it into the grow beds?

My Ammonia levels are still high and I don't have any Nitrates yet. Why is Nature so slow?

Just a quick update on the system. The ammonia levels are still at 2 and none of the other levels have risen to meet it. I am looking forward to the ammonia levels going back down so that I can dose it again. The seeds that I sowed last week are starting to come up and the lettuce is actually starting to look good. We have had 6+ inches of rain over the last week and a half so I don't know if that is helping or hurting the system. It doesn't seem to be bringing down the ph levels and the ammonia levels aren't dropping either, so I don't think that the rain is really making that big of a difference.

Ok so I have a quick question. How long do you guys let your ammonia test sit for before you judge the reading? I am still getting very high ammonia levels after letting the vial sit for at least 5 minutes, sometimes its longer. Does anyone read theirs before the 5 minute period?

Just to make sure I am getting proper readings I tested my tap water. It registered .5 ammonia. That is more than I was getting at first when I started my system so that leads me to wonder how long should I be waiting for the test result. If I leave it longer will it change the outcome?

So with that said. Ammonia levels still very high and I don't really see the point of testing for any of the other stuff if the AM is still so high.

Any suggestions?

How long does your particular test kit say to wait? They may vary from kit to kit

Its the API test kits, says to wait 5 minutes. I was wondering if the test would continue to darken after the 5 minutes. Didn't know if anyone had experience with that.

You can usually fudge a little bit time wize but only after you've done this enough that you have a feel for the test. It's been awhile and I usually dump it after the time is up but as I recall the ammonia reading does continue to change quite a bit when it's held beyond 5 minutes.

Hey guys just giving you an update on the system. These are some pics of the overall system, as you can see the lettuce is taking off and I have several seedlings coming up all over the place.

The ph is still around an 8 although I need to get a high range test kit to nail it down. The Ammonia seems to be coming down, its at 1 right now, the nitrates are at 10 and the rites are at 1.

I have a buddy who is giving me some goldfish that are about 3in in length on Friday and I will also get some fish sludge out of his filter and place it into the system. For those who have done this where should I place the fish sludge off the filter? Should I divide it up and place it into the growbeds? or put it into the fish tank and let it get sucked through the system?

I have a couple of seedlings that I have some questions on, does anyone know if this is spinach?

I planted a bunch of things and they are just now starting to come up, but I am not sure where I planted them anymore.

I also and wondering if anyone knows what the mystery plant is. I am getting some odd things coming up that I didn't remember if I planted or not.

i'm not sure but that bottom pic looks like a medicinal herb i heard about once

+1

Well if that's true, that sucks, because there are like 5 or 6 of these seedlings popping up and its really the best growing seedling I have.

Nothing to say you have to pull them out

Check around the area for trees in the vicinity, we have a fair few different seeds pop up in the bed, come look similar to your and we have trees near by that they come from.

Kyle, do you have any elms around? That's what the serrated edge leaves look like to me.

I don't think it matters where you put the sludge from your friend's tank. I think I'd put it under an outlet into the growbed, though.