Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ok, so after a week of my test results being...about the same for the most part. I'm starting to grow restless. I thought the cycling would've started by now.
I've got 10 Shibunkins and 9 plants...I'm not going to could the 3 avocado seeds because they're not doing much but sitting there. Do I need more fish?
All my ammonia is around .25ppm, Nitrite is around the same, and Nitrate tested to be around 2.5 ppm. I'm not so sure these readings are accurate...I don't think I should be getting Nitrite or Nitrate readings since it doesn't seem there's much going on.




The plant haven't died yet....guess that's a good sign!

Anyone have any ideas? I think I need more fish to..kickstart the cycling..am I right?

Stay your course! You don't need to add any more ammo. If you can read any, that is enough.

I added 2 grow beds, in the last week. I've got a small amount of ammonia showing up, a good amount of Nitrates, but still no Nitrites yet...






I let out our newest addition for a photo shoot...

You don't want any nitrites. Mine are always zero.

patience

So, I'm having some growing pains it seems:

Here is my newest growbed....I had to transplant the swiss chard from our regular garden due to the cold snap. I'm hoping it doesn't eat up all the nutrients. I went and got 15 2-3" goldfish in an attempt to compensate.


Here is the second grow bed I setup, approx 3-4 weeks after setup. Everything seems to be growing ok...nothing fantastic.


Here is my oroginal grow bed, I've had to replace one tomato plant already because it just stopped growing and the stem got brown, like the one in the left rear corner in this pic. That one is doing the same thing. First they started wilting, like several of the others in the pic, then they will eventually die. What am I doing wrong?


I've noticed an 'infestation' of sorts of these beetles. Anyone know anything about them?


My system is approx 6 weeks old now. My most recent readings are: 0ppm ammonia, 50-60ppm of Nitrate, 0ppm Nitrite. What's going on?

If your nitrates are high and your ammonia and nitrites are 0, you've arrived! Congrats! Ideally, any ammonia your fish create will (more or less) instantly be converted to nitrites which will instantly be converted to nitrates.

My inexperienced guess on the tomato is that the roots aren't getting enough oxygen and are rotting... Are you doing flood and drain?

I'm doing constant flow...and it's still tricky to keep the level constant...hence the side drains, because my power strip is causing the pumps to fluctuate. I'm getting there, though.
There have been numerous occasions where the grow beds have flooded, before I noticed what the problem was. Do y'all think that's why? Should I try and keep the water level a little lower?

I run flood and drain, and not all of my tomatoes survived either. I think that some are just not suited for Ap, or some just die. Plant more till you get strong ones that live.

I'm running flood and drain, too... The problem with constant flow is keeping the water oxygenated. My understanding is that as long as there is dissolved oxygen in the water, the roots are cool. Once the go anaerobic, they turn brown and rot. If that is true, then your water level really doesn't matter too much, I'd think.

So, I'd think that increasing the flow rate and aeration of the water would solve the problem. Increasing the flow rate would bring more oxygen to the roots since any depleted water will be moved away quickly. Or you can put the pump on a timer and do a timed flood and drain if you're having trouble getting the beds to drain at your current flow rate.

Thanks guys...I'll think of a few ways to up the flow while maintaining the water level.

Greetings Tamatt27,

I keep hearing about aeration being a problem with Constant Flood and yet with the trial systems thread it wasn't. In my Constant Flood system it isn't either. There are lots of people running constant flood but I haven't noticed anyone with this issue. Constant Flood systems are a lot like rivers, as long as the water is moving the air levels should be good.

The water looks to be running at a reasonable rate and the mixing is pretty good also. I don't think this is an aeration problem. I doubt there's been enough time for you to be able to build up much in the way of solids in the growbed (so no anaerobic areas) with as few fish as you have (unless you've been drastically overfeeding).

What I think is happening - Lack of light and disease because of splashing onto the plants. Your tomatoes in the original bed have skinny stems for their height so they probably aren't getting enough light.

What I would do for now is;
1. Add more light and lower what you have, much closer to the plants. You probably have some light coming from other areas but I'm betting it's not enough for the tomatoes.
2. Reposition/Change the outfall to the growbed so the plants don't get splashed. I see you're working on a distribution system - that will be a huge improvement. Just a single spigot pointed down near the surface of the gravel would work as well. This should help discourage disease issues.

Hope this helps.

I think I pruned the tomatoes too much...I had another tomato casualty, so I planted my grapes in its place. Here are the results so far:



Good news, though...the brocolli is taking off!!