Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Consider, adding a buffer material such as shell grit, oyster shells or a lump of pure limestone (not reconstituted stuff as it mixed with who-knows-what?). In the presence of acidic conditions, the buffer will dissolve, but the buffer wont dissolve too much otherwise, hence the buffering against rapidly dropping pH.

Your system is only just starting, don't do too much or push too hard else you'll break something and that usually ends up as a catastrophe; your system will eventually cycle, the pH will eventually find its equilibrium against the buffer material, the water will clear... just give it all time. Chillax, you've done today's water test and that's about all that NEEDS to be done for now, so grab a beer/juice and a chair, sit and admire your handiwork from a distance.


Scott

hehe thanks bunson, the waiting part is the killer.. I'm keen to get some fish in there!

Rushing is the killer... especially for the fish and the plants who are the ones at risk, and of course, your wallet!

There is absolutely no rush. As a matter of fact, you might be better off going really slowly for now. You MIGHT have missed the opportunity to get in a winter trout harvest, so you will probably have to wait until it warms up before installing barra; or if you're going to add silver perch, then there's no real point adding them now as they are pretty much dormant during the winter months and will only start feed well and growing when the weather warms up. Either way, there is no need to panic. Slow and steady wins the race.

Cycling at this time of year can still take up to about 6-8 weeks to complete. A friend here in WA keeps missing his opportunity to get his trout (he's so disorganised!) but has been running his system on Charlie Carp for the entire winter, proving that once the system is cycled, you can still carry on growing awesome vegetables and fruit from a system even with no fish! Accept the fact that if you wanted to have fish in October, you should have installed your system much earlier, but at least you'll be in a good position for when summer rolls in, and I think for us in the West that it's going to be another long, hot, dry affair?

Thanks, i'll wait and see what happens over the next few weeks..
Another quesiton i had, which is really hard to diagnose is in regards to one of my 4 auto siphens.
3 of 4 work perfectly, but 1 really struggles to start - even with an overkill flow of water.

I have 4 GB's in a row, and its one of the outer ones (sump under the inner 2) if that makes sense..
I dont have breather pipes or anything and im using 1" upstands using affenen 25mm to 32mm reducer on top..

Any suggestions i could try? Ive tried elbows on the end, increasing and decreasing the pipe angle/slope, changing water flows, testing with other bells..

Driving me nuts!

I had that problem on my little blue barrel system so i took some silicon and smeared it around the inside of the affnan to reduce it just a little bit more. Mine was more flow related tho so i can't say weather it will work for you



_____________________
I was once young and stupid, i'm not so young now

Pull the bell out and run that bed CF... it will give you a good comparison for the future growth.

Chard and tommies love CF.

Thought about that Charlie.. concerned that without the air/water getting sucked out, how does the air get to the roots?

The oxygen required by the plants is dissolved in the water. BYAP testing showed continuous flood works just as well as flood & drain systems. It's also a lot simpler, and can often require less water and plumbing.

I would add a Buffer to the System..

- add shell grit to a half soda bottle that is buried in a Grow-bed..
This will do 2 thing's You can monitor the amount of Shell grit is consumed by the system..
and yes it will help you maintain a stable pH.. Even thou they say best uptake of nutrients is at 6.5-7 range..

Juergen

in that case, i'll leave the troubled bed CF

Thanks guys

PS: would egg shells be sufficient for PH buffer?
Much easier to obtain

You can get shellgrit from pet stores but Ive heard of others having success with egg shells, put a heap in a stocking and hang it in your FT water or GB feed.

Crushed shell grit is available at any good pet store which stocks poultry feed. 5kg for about $5.00 and you only need a few cups worth every now and then (depending on the acidity it's buffering against)

Egg shells should be oven dried before use and to kill any nasties; 100C for 1 hour, but don't burn them because they really STINK! You can also boil them for 30 minutes, but they should still be dried afterwards.

Thanks guys,

I nuked in microwave for a couple of minutes first.. that sorted them out

Man this water is taking forever to clear up..
Any ideas? Ive got empty potplant pots filled with polyester fluff under each gb tap, tried eggs, done 2 full water changes..

I thought i was being rather patient..