Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

System Update:

Ammonia - 0 - .25
Nitrites - .5
PH - 8 - 8.5

So, after looking at my test this AM, looks like my system as started to cycle! Plants are growing very well, got a bunch of lettuce coming in (even tho it will all probably bolt in this heat ill at least get seeds ), chard, pole beans, eggplant, squash, zuchinni, and the peppers and cukes are still hanging in there.

Lost a few more fish over the last week or so, so I think I am down to 9. I will probably add 10-15 more comets when the system is fully cycled and let them ride till after winter before I look into tilapia.

I'll try to get some growth pics when I get home, I'm very impressed with the progress in 2 weeks!

If your lettuce bolts early do not bother about collecting seeds. Early boting will most likely be locked into the genetics. Glad to her the system is going well. Cheers

Looks good !
What fish you are going to stock ?

Wow, so its been a really long time since I posted . The system was cycling, and I really didnt have plant growth or fish deaths to speak of. After about 2 weeks the ammonia went away and I got nitrites. Another 2 weeks and the nitrite were gone. So I thought I was in business.

Last week, I added another 15 fish. I tested the water every day, and I got:

Ph - 8
Ammo - 0-.25
Nitrite - 0-.25

Pretty much what I wanted.

However, the fish are dying like hotcakes. Of the 15 comets, I lost like 7 so far. I dont think any of the original dudes are hurtn but the new guys are getting owned. Not sure if they had some disease, or if the flutuating temps are killing thme (the water fluctuates 15 degrees in a day, but it doesnt seem to bother the other guys).

Also, I am still feeding em natural gf flakes, but i have some real organic pellets on order, wating for them to ship.

Any suggestions? Or maybe this was just a bad batch?

The other issue, is that I have had very little growth. The peppers look the same as they did 4 weeks ago, as do the cukes. Some stuff i planted from seed shot up but is now stunted as seedlings. It could be the brutal august heat, but I think that the feed arent providing enough nitrates to maek a difference (I dont have a nitrate kit, need to order one).

Here are some pics:

Aeration seems good.
http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p56 ... 134221.jpg

Swiss chard still hanging in there
http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p56 ... ce92be.jpg

Pole bean grew to here then stopped. Brown on the leaves not sure what that is
http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p56 ... cbfa48.jpg

Peppers and cukes, stunted
http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p56 ... 3a9056.jpg

Zuchinni from seed, doing ok
http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p56 ... 04f98d.jpg

A whole bed view
http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p56 ... a7a063.jpg

Thanks for all the help everyone, and have a great weekend!

Hi all:

Looking for a little help with the system.

Since my post a couple days ago, I have lost 3 more gold fish. The water tests are still reading 0 across the board for ammo adn nitrites. PH is still in the 8-8.5 range.

Should I do a partial water change? I have not been feeding the fish much, maybe once or twice a week, shoudl I up the feeding rate to a couple times a day?

Any suggestions would really help! Struggling here

Another thing I wanted to mention, is that the water temp is fluctuting quite a bit. Not sure if this could be causign problems, but I've seen it anywhere from 78 to 90 degrees at different times of day, or if it is rainey etc.

Maybe these lettle goldfish cant handle those temperature changes?

Came home to 2 more dead fish. Not sure what I should do, considering a 1/2 to 1/3 water change at this point. Running out of options and fish.

Water test:

8-8.5 ph
0 amm
0 trites

??

Is there any chance someone has used a chemical spray nearby? Just spit balling

I think I may have found the issue.

Had a dead fish inside my pump housing where it has a little filter. Also found a dead fish kinda crumpled up on the bottom in the back of the tank. Wondering if these dead fish sitting in the water for who knows how long maybe had something to do with it

So, I cleaned the pump filter, and did a 1/3 water change, all for my 4 fish! Im going to the store on teh way home from work to pick up another 25-30 fish for the slaughter that is my system .

I have been getting the tiny feeders for 25 cents a piece, but I am considering really splurging on the bigger 36 cent ones, maybe they will be heartier and have less chance to get sucked into the pump

I have a maxicrop question:

I got the maxicrop with iron, and it says especially suited for acid loving plants...uhoh i dont think i have any of those.

Will this mess with my PH or something, or can I just use it and not worry?? I didnt see that little tidbit of info on the label when I ordered it from amazon.

Thanks!

Hey there. I'm an AP newbie and fellow Floridian. I'm not likely to be much help, but I'll be following along with interest.

the maxicrop will not affect your ph.. it will however provide some micronutrients to your plants need, until the ph drops..
you don't need lots.. i used 1 cap full in a 110gal ft/gb (1:1) every 4 or5 weeks until the plants looked like they didn't need it... then i appllied only when it looked like there is a deficiency..
it will stain the water for a few days..don't worry about that

Hi jetman
Can you shade the system to prevent it heating up so much during the day?
Also if you salt to 1gram per litre( pool salt not cooking salt )that should help with general fish health and won't hurt your plants at all. I have around 3 to 4 g//litre and most plants tolerate this quite well.
I add a product called seasol which is a seaweed extract similar to maxicrop to help add some trace elements for plant growth and another called Charlie carp which is an all natural fish emulsion. This converts to ammonia then nitrite and nitrate for the plants. Use very sparingly if you have fish in the system and it has not been cycled for long, I cap full or 10ml is enough every few days.
Alternatively you could add very small amounts of urea, like half a tea spoon and keep testing the ammonia levels.
I have cycled 2 systems with out fish using urea or Charlie carp.
Once your system matures it will be a lot more stable and the fishes health will improve.
Good luck.

hello Jetman,

I am going through the same steps right now to start off my system. I had a few questions about your setup though. what type of drain are you using for your grow bed is it a stand pipe at a set level or a bell siphon deal for flood and drain? Are the fish getting sucked into the pump housing? Has your IBC grown algae on the walls where the sun hits it(can it grow?)?

your tank seems really really clean for being in that much sunlight mine went full green soup stage after about a week with the pump running.

Thanks for all the replies!

I am running a 1.5 inch stand pipe with CF. I have a timer for timed flood and drain, but I have not seen the need to try it yet.

Yes, I had 2 fish get sucked into the pump, even thru the tiny slits in my filter. They were dead in the filter! So, I added some screening around the outside of the filter to help keep them out of the pump. It is a small 400 GPH pump, so its not like some crazy big beast.

I have a thin layer of green/yellow algae all over the sides of the entire tank, but the water is clear.

I wish I had some way to shade the system, but my wife is already not too happy with this big IBC in the yard, so I'm not sure shes gonna go for building a shade house on top of it

System Update:

After doing the WC and getting everything stabilized I added another 25 tiny feeder goldfish in last night and fed them heavy. Got up this morning and 1 was dead, but there were no ammonia, no nitrites, and PH had dropped back down to 8, so my bacteria are doing their job. I fed again this am.

Good news with the plants: After adding the maxicrop a few days back, they have perked up, the yellow is out of the leaves, and I have some blooms on my cukes and zucchini! So I guess thats looking up.

I talked to someone at the pet store and they told me that GF do not do well in warmer water, anything past 81 or 82 will cook them pretty good. So I imagine that the temps in my tank (sometimes up to 90 but def in the upper 80's often in the summer heat) coupled with my high PH is probably contributed to all the deaths.

I am planning to go fishing in the next couple days to try to net some freshwater shrimp and tilapia fingerlings, so I will keep everyone posted on my progress! I want to try to add around 10 tilapia to the system if I can catch them.

I will salt the system to 1PPT (suggested above 1g/L) to see if it helps the little guys out.


Question:

When salting, how do u mix it in evenly? I was planning on just dumping the salt into a 5 gallon bucket of my system water, stirring it up till dissolved, and then pouring it in near the pump. Will this work? Is there a different method?

Thanks!