Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Izzy was so excited that she didn't want to go back inside, even though Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl was on inside, and Mom made pizza for dinner.
The system is now in a state that I can let it run continuously. I'm sure the plants will be even happier now too. I picked up some hardware netting today too. I will be looking into how I will attach it soon. There are a lot of crows, cats, and other fish hungry predators around that I need to keep out of the tank.

Cut a small notch from another piece of pipe which will fit into the T-piece you have there already, and which can be pushed the way to the bottom of the inlet pipe. The notch is on the low pressure side. As the water forces its way around the obstruction, air will be drawn into the water flow. It's quite effective if not a little noisy. You can fine-tune by adjusting the height of the vertical part.


Scott

It is a pre made Venturi fitting, like those used in hot tubs. If I close the ft valve all of the way, I get quite a lot of bubbles, but the 1" standpipe can't keep up with the flow. I think that between the auto siphons, the spray bar, and the return line in the sump, there is already a lot of aeration. I figured that since I had it, I might as well put the Venturi in the upper grow bed as it will be a raft system.

Ahhh... I could have told you they're not that efficient at low flow. Been there. Tried that. Removed it!
If you cut it out from where it is now and place immediately after your pump, it will work a lot more effectively, and gases inducted by the venturi will spend longer in contact with the water and under (slight) increased pressure, so improves the gas exchange.

Another water test.
Ph: 8.2
Ammo: .5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: oranger than 0 but yellower than 5.0 ppm
Odd, I was not expecting a drop in ammo yet nor a rise in nitrates. Nitrites should not be zero if there is ammonia, and I know that it has not been cycling long enough for the second type of bacteria. I'm not going to read too much into it as at this point the tests are really for practice.

Well, I'm down to three test tubes in my fresh water master test kit. I must remember not to squeeze the caps so hard when removing them...

Ron,
Is that an olive tree I spot in one of the barrels?
Congrats! Hope it works out for you, we have tons here where I live and we make a pretty decent oil too.
My system is actually partly under an olive tree in my garden.
There are many studies on how planting near or under an olive tree (in the soil, I mean) makes for very productive crops (tomatoes esp.).

Very nice and congratulations!

While I have kept up with the thread, I can't recall what fish you are planning on keeping...?

Tojo

Wow Ron! I go on vacation for a week and you build a whole system. Looks great!
Can't wait to see how the trees work out for you.

well ron....

looks like your an official aquaponisist.....

the system looks good and Im sure its running well.... looking forward to seeing the progress of the trees......

jT

Thank you to everyone! Yes that was an olive tree. I am at Starbucks in Yuma AZ on my way back from camping at Lake Mitri, getting ready to stop by the Salton sea on my way home to San Diego. There I will get tilapia. If I can not just net them, I will swing by a live bait shop for them.

The tilapia trip was a success. Probably too much of a success. I went to a few places to find them. First I checked out a few irrigation ditches that flowed to the sea, no success. Then I tried the red hill marina. A lot of dead tilapia, but no signs of living fish. Next I tried to see if the general store knew where to get live bait, no dice. Finally I ended up at Bombay Beach. There I saw little silver flashes not too far away. At first I went slowly with the net. They're too smart for that. So I patiently surveyed the water. When I saw a spot with a lot of silver flashes, I scooped my trout net quickly across the gravelly bottom. When I pulled the net up it was full of tiny little tilapia fingerlings. I put them in my bait bucket, carefully extracted the ones caught by their gills, and called it good. On my way home I picked up an aquarium net so I could scoop them out without catching their gills, and count them as I put them in the tank. The problem is I lost count at over seventy. It is too late to put them back, so if any one in the San Diego area needs some, don't hesitate to ask! Hopefully they are still small enough that they will thin out themselves, but who knows.

Btw, did a water test before putting them in
Ph 8.2
Ammo 1.0 ppm
Nitrite .25 ppm
Nitrate about 5.0 ppm

Now thats a good days fishing.....with a little adventure along the way

You now have an aquaponics system!

Great catch Ron!
...must be nice to be able to catch Tilapia in a net for crying out loud....grumble grumble grumble