Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I think it's partially the lighting, and partially that I had just dug around in it to place the plants. So the wet gravel was churned up to the top. The water stops about 1.25" below the surface. The right growbed, however, has something strange going on with the bell siphon that I haven't quite figured out. About 1 out of every 20 cycles, it doesn't start right away and the water comes up to the top of the gravel before it starts the siphon. I fiddled with it quite extensively, but since it's only happening 5% of the time, I'm not terribly concerned.

Sorry Carson, but it gets worse, soon you'l be watching the syphons, staring at the plants and watching the fish swim around. All while learning about water chemistry, Plant and fish nutrition Etc.

Then you'l want to find ways of increasing the size of you system, more grow beds, more fish, more plants.

Good luck budy, enjoy the ride......

haha blind freddie is on the money there!

Salesmen dont tell you about the repayments on your new car, just the features.

We trapped you good and proper

Eventually everything looks like a prospective grow bed or fish tank..... then the dreams begin

Hehe, can't wait! Question about pH: Portland City water is 8.2. I adjusted the pH down, and waited for about an hour before taking a second reading, at which point the pH was 6.9. Then the next morning it was 8.1. So I adjusted down, waited for 2 hours of cycling through the system, and it was 6.8. Now I'm waiting til morning to see what it is this time. Why would it go up like that when nothing gets added?

Because your city water has a high carbonate hardness...

Adding the acid.... consumes some of the carbonate hardness.. and gives a temporary lower pH reading...

After a while... the system represents the actual remaining hardness level....

I'll bet my house... that tomorrow morning.. your pH is probably back to 8.0...

And if not Carson should have a nice winter vacation home (northern hemisphere winter). Honestly, I would just worry about keeping the pH around 8.0 and let the system naturally bring the pH down. I have high pH water (pH 8.0) and just leaving the system alone has brought the pH down to 7.4.

Awesome! Thank you all for the advice!

Supposedly Portland has relatively soft water, as public water goes, but I don't doubt that something like this could be happening.

The city water might well be "soft" water.... as opposed to "hard water"....

Hard water is high in mineral content.. usually iron, magnesium, calcium etc.... and wont "lather"... and cause problems with laundry.. and staining...

This is known as "general hardness"... as opposed to "carbonate hardness"... which is a measure of the carbonate buffering capacity.. sometimes referred to as alkalinity... and often a measure of the calcium carbonate levels...

To confuse matters.. test kits often measure "total hardness"... a measure of both general, and carbonate hardness...

And to confuse matters even further... all hardness tests... can be expressed as degrees of calcium carbonate....

Clear as mud...

That's a great looking little system!
what are you going to plant ?

Holy crap! Today is only day #3 of cycling, and we're already seeing nitrites and nitrates! At this rate I could be fully cycled in 4 or 5 days total.

Rupe rents, don't trust him

It was a safe bet Luke....

Thats why I like house rules during poker. You can only bet with what's on the table.

Have ibc totes for sale cheapest prices around Portland 330 gallon and 275 a lil dirty but in great condition just need cleaning