Bundy Bear's New Systems Expansion.

BNDYBEAR

I've really got the bug again big time.

Syphons have really been annoying me lately, just being too tempramental. I read a thread last night that was talking about syphons and a good rule was thrown up.

If it wont start - not enough flow
If it wont stop - too much flow

I like this theory so obviously my pump is not working to its original capacity any more because nothing else has really changed. It used to pump a lot more water and I had given it a clean out only a week or two ago.

I have decommissioned the AP3000 for now and re - installed the sump pump with float switch again. I was running this (well similar) pump during summer to heat my water for the SP through a coil of 25mm poly.

I knew I had a couple of trout still in the ST2 and it was in need of a clean out so I isolated this tank and drained it down to find one nice size trout and a small SP!?!?!?! not sure what he was doing in there. This is where the sump pump is now located.

I then reconnected the 12mm pumpline to the 25mm poly line and installed a brass ball valve on the end instead of it circulating back to the sump as it was before for heating.

Does anyone know if Brass is bad for fish????

chillidude

BNDYBEAR wrote:

Does anyone know if Brass is bad for fish????

Copper and zinc ? Absolutely bad for your fish

earthbound

Take your bell off, leave the standpipe, run it constant flood, I reckon you won't look back. :thumbright:

mantis

I think we have a constant flood convert eh EB

Loving my CF beds btw

BNDYBEAR

two if the beds have pretty much have been running CF for a few while now since the syphons have been playing up. I notice good growth of lettuce in one bed but not such nice looking beetroot in the other.
My guess is that root veg do not like CF???

I have just been flicking through the BYAP trial and found it very suprising. I have found that my system has been running higher than I would like in the ites and amm tests. This is also the findings on the BYAP trials right?

BNDYBEAR

Well I had to go and play with things didn't I! whats the old saying if its not broke don't fix it.

HSM this morning! Pump not pumping, so plugged back in to the AP3000. Not sure what made me do it but decided to have a look in the SP tank. Quite a few are swimming around slowly! Even odd for this cool temperature, they normally huddle in the corner when I come along. Notice one is swimming in circles!!! and another is coming to the surface alot. They have got the fungus again. Most that I can see are showing signs, the two that were acting weird have it the worst.
The one swimming in circles has it all over his head, eye and gills.
The one coming to the surface has a huge patch over his mid section.
Managed to catch the one with it on his head. He's now a gone-a.
Salted to god knows what, just isolated the SP tank and moved the GB inlet to GB2.
(I'm pleased with how easy that is to do)
Basically diluted 3/4 of a domestic plastic bucket of salt and gradually dumping it in the fish tank. Would have at least been 3kg in 700lt of water. Then not much more I could do and really needed to go to work so just left it.

come home this arvo and they seem to be behaving a bit more normal. Hope I got it in time. Bit concerned about the one I couldn't catch. He wasn't floating but he is probably on the bottom. The bottom of SP tank is quite filthy even with an SLO due to the lack of movement provided by the fish and my sticking syphons doesn't help either.

I am considering placing some eggs in to clear up the water a bit so I can see the bottom.

This was all caused I reckon from pumping the extra run off from the sump directly into the SP tank. That coupled with the fact me nitrite reading have been slightly higher than 0 too.It was a recipe for disaster.

BNDYBEAR

Here's some photo's;

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You can see the dark spots on this guy where the junk from the bottom of the tank has stuck to the fungus.

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Just a GB shot showing my cabbages red and green, and cauli and brocoli. The third row is a mix of cauli and broc planted from seed. not sure which are which they all look the same at the moment. These seem to be going a lot better than the rest which were planted as seedlings maybe a week or two later.

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This is one of the beds that has been playing up and basically running CF, lettuce seems to be loving it. There are carrots planted from seed at the back of the lettuce. they are just poping there heads up.

BNDYBEAR

Heres another shot of the dead SP. You can see behind what my test results are showing. It really is only traces but I would be much happier to see 0 readings.

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and here is a shot of the pump I have now put back on. This is not the one that packed up this morning but the one I was using all summer to heat the water. Its actually a really good pump (touch wood) bought it for $99 at the local hardware for an emergency septic tank repair.

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Really interesting discovery uploading these photos too. Going back through a few photos on my phone of the last time I had this problem and the date was the 20th of May!!!! Co-incidence?!?!? Heres the pic dated 20/05/10:

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BNDYBEAR

Just dropped an egg white in the SP tank to see if I can clear the water to see the bottom, sucked up the second SP off the bottom with a syphon hose before, could just see something on the bottom that didn't look right and sure enough.... bigger than the last one too!
Hope there are no more!

mattyry

EGG

How does that work???
fill me in.

Regards
Matt...

BNDYBEAR

Check this out.....http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=6907

Bushy

Great thread BB...read the whole thing from front to back...gawd, that takes a long time,.....but Ive learnt so much, ummmm, sorry to say this, but from your mistakes ... :whistle:

Thanks for putting it all in, warts n all.

JORGY

Hey BNDYBEAR, didn't you know the 20th of May was National Dead Fish Day :shifty:

BNDYBEAR

jorgy your lucky I have a sense of humour, its looking pretty grim at the moment reckon I could lose the lot! :cry:

This may be my last straw when it comes to Silver Perch. I really think that my winter temps are just way too low for them, and when that is coupled with me playing with things and slightly high readings and solids build up up pops this desease again.

Also my temps all year round must just be too low to get any growth from them although they are (too me anyway) getting big none are more than 120mm. I was actually really looking forward to this coming warm season to really pump up there feeding time will tell no more dead today but some looking pretty crook. pulled out one that will not make it he is in the shed tank with my redfin. Only had to run the net through the water really slowly and picked him up, couldn't really see him though. Egg didn't seem to do much either.

BNDYBEAR

Quote:

Okay guys, been following AP for a while now, ie: reading websites & forums. Then began my experimenting with a prototype system consisting of:

approx. 200ltr FT (glass aquarium)
approx.50ltr GB (polystyrene box) filled with 20mm agi screenings
11 goldfish
8watt aquarium pump
and appropriate plumbing for flood and drain system.

I spent months of tinkering trying to get the bell syphon to work but once i mastered it I started to cycle the system for a couple of weeks then added the fish and some lettuce seeds and off it went.
This system is in the garage under an open window and laserlight roof sheet and growth was slow to start but once i removed half the filter from the aquarium pump the lettuce grew franticly. It now runs with no filter just a piece of pantyhose loosely over the intlet to the GB.
I have some small problems with this system but will deal further with this system later.

Now for the bigger system. After viewing pictures of everyones systems mine is actually quite small in comparison and makes the prototype look like a miniture.

I decided to use the IBC with the top cut off and placed ontop as a GB system design. I am a big fan of the KISS principle and felt 1 FT/1GB/1pump was the most cost effective and simple system to construct and the girlfriend is a bit wary about me turning her entire backyard into an experiment.

The second system has been running now since mid October and I began by transfering 6 Goldfish from the prototype to cycle and then after 2 weeks I purchased 50 SPfingerlings.

The system now consists of:
600-700lt FT
100lt GB filled with clay pebbles
50 SP fingerlings 40-50mm
4 goldfish 60mm
1 8watt aquarium pump
plumbing for bell syphon

I added seeds very early in the cycling process and from all the seeds that were planted I have one puny zuchini seedling, one puny green been seedling, 2 tiny spring onion shoots, a couple of miniture capsicums seedlings, and a small sunflower seedling. I also have a large soil vegie garden and planted zuchini at the same times. I have just picked my first Zuchini from the soil garden but have not had a chance to cook him up yet (cant wait Yum). As the soil garden began to sprout some of the seedlings were thinned out and planted in the AP GB.
The transplanted zuchini's have not increased in size but seem to have adapted to the change from soil to AP but have yellowing leaves and fruiting and flowering seems dormant.

So now you all have a bit of a back ground on my experience and my systems my main concerns are the slow, stunted and yellowing growth that i'm getting from the GB in the second system (sorry i feel a little silly calling it my "BIG" system ) I have tried to read up on all the possible causes such as nutrient deficiencies but seems there are more than one cause for the same problems and I would like a more systematic approach to solving my problems.

I can post some pictures tomorrow for you all to get a better visual of both my systems, I will even post some of the soil vegie garden for you all to enjoy.

Hope some one can help thanks.

BB

Looking back this is the first post on this system when I was just starting out............

I have had these SP since early November 2009!! Not even close to fish fingurs let alone plate size.
Really disappointing.

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Bundy Bear's New Systems Expansion.

Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics