Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi Dave,

My buddy's system isn't up and running yet, he is waiting to see how mine goes, particularly in regards to design specs, etc.

The water is Melbourne tap water, I would imagine it has chlorine or something in it. How do I test that? Chloramine, not sure what that is? :S

You might want to call your water department and ask them what they put in, I got lucky as ours is only chlorine and I can off gas that in a tub in a few days then use the water. If it is chloramine then after the chlorine is broken down you get ammonia, which can hurt fish with the ammonia load that results. Try searching the forum for chloramine, there is a lot of info here about that. If you can collect rainwater that is great because then you don't need to worry at all about using it immediately.

Also be aware that the aquarium-style de-chlorinator products are mostly not safe to use for AP, a lot of times the bottles will say something to that effect.

Some folks go ahead and top up systems with plain tap water if it is not a significant amount relative to the total water volume. But starting out with an empty system you should read up on that probably. HTH!

My water is provided by South East Water - Source is Cardinia
http://www.southeastwater.com.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Residential/Water_Quality/Typical_%20Water_Analysis.pdf

Doesn't appear to have Chloramine, which is good news I suppose.

Hmm, I don't know from reading that whether it does or not. Maybe try calling the office? With you system outside and a good rain you might be able to use a majority of rainwater to fill it?

Dave, it is already full and running with plants and fish

Ok that's my cue to go to bed. Happy Thanksgiving!

Some more pictures

Some more photos

Had a fish throw in the towel today. I am hoping it's just a case of being young. They are still only around 50mm.

Does anyone else have any comments on a PH of 6.6? Is this going to be okay for both fish and plants? or is this too acidic?

like you i seen a picture on the net ad was sold on the idea, 3 weeks later my fish are still alive and my veg's are doing well. good luck, FYI a salt bath is good for the fish (do your research on amounts etc )but give the fish a salt bath in a different tub opposed to their home tank that way you dont have to empty the whole tank.

A PH of 6.6 is fine Idzy, its usually PH swing that does the damage so dont mess with it.

Its not uncommon to loose a fish when starting out so dont get too alarmed. It all looks great so be patient and stick with it.

Test your water once a day and this will give you good indication of how it is travelling. Make sure you follow the instructions correctly on testing your water too.

On a side note, with regard to the Melbourne water. go to Melb water and check their website and they will tell you the quality of the water and what it contains..

I found the site that deals with my water and my water is fine.. Only chlorine and a few other additives.. so in general the water is fine.. It just needs to have the chlorine out-gassed, and check the pH..

It will seem high but after a few days of running air thru the water it settle down to fairly neutral pH, So our water is fine..

Best of Luck, with your water..

Juergen..

Most folks on the forum use the blue plastic barrels. Are those metal drums sturdy enough on the sides to keep from bowing out?

Have you had an algae blom yet? It causes the water to turn green. The tank can be covered with shadecloth or something to keep the sun from hitting the water. If you have enough filtration in the growbeds, the water probably will clear up on it's own eventually.

Other than that, looks good.

Thanks for all the comments guys, the water seems to be getting clearer; but all the same I have created a gravity feed bio-filter for the top of the sump. This is more for making the water clearer than any other bacterial benefit. But hey, I'm not complaining if they enjoy living there.

I have just used a big tub that fits in the top and added about 16 packets of scrubbing pads. The good thing is they are machine washable, which I tested, so it will make for an easy clean too.

I got the idea from looking at some Koi filters. Pictures to follow, bit dark at the moment