Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Murphy's law kicked in a couple days ago. My wife called me at work and said one of the pipes had popped off and about all the water had been pumped out of the fish tub! We were lucky it happened when it did because we had been gone all weekend. I had left the pipes un-cemented because I didn't have any other way for them to be adjustable. I should have looked into some screw-type fittings I guess.

I had also known that I should put the pump on a riser so that the tub is not emptied completely if this should happen (it does not have a float switch on it like the other pump), but of course I hadn't. One reason was that I was being sensitive to what materials I put in the water and I couldn't think of something at hand that would be OK to be "in circulation". After this I looked around at some planters I had saved and a couple of them were a sturdy black HDPE at just the right height, so the pump is now raised up off the floor and won't pump it dry if something like this happens again.

I added brand new water, and for some great reason our tap water isn't alkaline like it had been when I did this before. It had been a stubborn 8.5. It may be due to the heavy rains we have had in the last week? Anyway, after the water change all water parameters are in great shape - pH 7 or 7.5, no ammonia, no nitrites, although I am wondering if the bacteria were shocked?

I have about a dozen 2 inch-long goldfish in there and I suppose they will produce enough ammonia to get things humming again?

I am adding this occurence to the mental log.

Dave, as long as the grow beds didn't dry out completely then the bacteria should be fine. They can not take drying out.

Only other problem i can see that might have reduced the bac. population is re-filling your complete volume. I'm assuming that you used tap water? I' don't usually worry about de-chlorinating when i'm doing partial water changes, as i figure that there is enough biological material to use up the chlorine, but 100% waterchange? dunno. If your town uses simple chlorine then exposure to srong sunlight and good airation can destroy / gass off the chlorine quite quickly, chloramines are much more stubborn.

After an incident like that i'd keep testing the ammonia every two days, if you see it rising, then you know that you may have damaged the bac. colony.

Steve

I understand where your coming from Dave, had a similar problem last week after a friends kid was climbing over one of my systems and knocked a pipe loose... Discovered it just in time when there was about 20cm of water left in the tank.....

Hi Steve, yes, I de-chlorinated it while I was adding it in. I'll keep a close eye on the levels. Can the bacteria population be reduced permanently if the ammonia level suddenly drops?

EB, my four-year old has helped a lot in proofing the system.

our kids are great instrament for showing us where we need to improve or adapt our system - my 2 year old daughter has "helped" onmany occasions!

Dave,

I'd say you are fine, don't forget a completely cycled system will show ZERO ammonia, becasue the ammonia output is matched completely by the bacteria converting it. Worst case they will have nothing to eat for a day or so. If the water was de-chlorinated and the gravel didn't fry out then they should not have been affected. Besides, look at it this way, you still had a little water in there i assume (you didn't say anything about all your fish being dead ) so any ammonia they were excteting would have been in a higher concentration due to the small water volume. When you filled it back up then it would have been diluted back to normal. Don't worry, everything will be fine

hey Dave,
just noticed that we're both in the same neck of the woods (i'm in akron ohio) and i was wondering what you're planning to do with your system this winter.

Hey AF!
I am from Lancaster OH, all my family still is in Ohio. Went to OSU - Go Bucks. Wife went to Kent State for part of her college career.

I am planning on shutting it all down, moving a maintenance system into the basement to keep the bacteria alive (been waiting way too long for it to cycle, don't want to wait as long next year), and maybe tinker with it during the Winter. Planning a bigger system next year. MacCourt (http://www.maccourt.com) who makes the plantainers I am using from Lowe's also makes larger ponds and planters out of HDPE that I could use to build a bigger system. I have my eye on their 250 gallon round pond and their mortar mixing tub that is 3' x 5' for a few grow beds - plus towers of course!

I don't have a greenhouse and so I'm not planning to try to keep it going. Maybe it could go into December with some cold weather plants...

p.s. I tested the nitrites tonight after work and they _might_ be down to 0.5 ppm. I am hoping this is finally it!

Sounds like you'r pretty much there!

Checked again this morning and they're definitely 0.5 ppm now.

Dave,
tthat's funny, i drove past kent state today. live about 3 mi. from tallmadge cir. usually stop at mike's for lunch if i'm in the area.

shame ya can't keep your system going. a recent artical said that after 6 months the system is more established, and growth rates actually surpass chem hydro.

if you're looking for a maintenance system, ya should have a peek at "my new toy". the bio medium could be transfered into a larger system come spring. plus indoor aqua is pretty cool too.

Hey AF:
(nitrites 0.25!)
This is our basement, next to the sump. The paint cans will be removed and a vertical maintenance system with grow light will be on the shelving instead! (Just like LB's Eany Meany system) If any accidents happen the floor slopes into the sump. Mom and Dad have their old 30 gallon tank in the garage holding junk, so I will look into stealing that, and probably use the 20 gallon plantainers for the gravel. These shelves (Gorilla) are like $50 or $60 at Sam's Club - we have three of them for food and appliance storage (and one for my workbench which is an option when you put them together), and they're definitely strong enough to hold the weight.

I am going to try hard to get everything started quickly in the Spring. I have been wanting to get a scooter to ride to work to save gas, and the weather in our area is fine from mid-May to mid-October. The weather here in central PA is clearer than in Ohio, and definitely not like lake effect! Even a wimpy plastic hoop structure and a heater might allow me to get stuff going after mid-March, I hope. Maybe I'll try to do a phased move-out from the basement to the back yard. It will be fun to strategize it.

Rock On! Nitrites are 0!

Good thing because 23 more teeny ones were added today.