Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Saturday was another warm day and the greenhouse being fully in the sun is no helping the temperature in the GBs so I was advised to run the water through the GBs only at night time when it is cooler, the airpump ran all the time.
It is all very frustrating in the moment

What size is the air pump (volume)... and what size is your fish tank (volume)....

I am colour blind and short sighted but the gills looked really red. O2 deprivation (most likely); nitrites (normally a bit slower) ammonia spike, probably not, although taking the shade sails down was a daft idea.
Turning the pump off when your GB's are not fully populated, another daft idea.

Look almost everyone has (not deliberately) killed fish. Its a learning curve that you have to live with, try to make it short.

Its hard to tell but the vid Gran posted up gives me the impression that there is sufficient oxygenation. But its hard to tell.

Rupert -
The FT (3/4 of IBC)currently holds about 600 water and I have 2 growbeds (one of the big ones from BYAP and 1/3 of the IBC) on CF so all together the water is around 1000 ltrs.
The airpump I got from a friend is the same BYAP sells (Resun AC/DC aquarium air pump ACD-8800A 220V)

That pump does 5 litres per minute so 300 litres per hr.

With the 1 litre air per hr per 1 litre water capacity - that's not enough however having the pump of reduces the excess that would be needed :/

as it says - good for aquariums 50-200L

The Resun is only a low volume battery backup air pump.... from memory 5l/min.... or 300L/h....

Really you need about the same amount of air volume as tank volume... as a guideline....

With your system pump not running... the air pump was basically the only thing providing any air...

And with a small volume fish tank... warming rapidly.... and warm water holding less oxygen solubility...

I think the fish were basically using more air... than was being provided...

snap

Sleepe - if it is a learning curve than so be it. Idon't mind learning, as long as I know what to learn.
The 5 that have survived until now look 'normal' to me, they are chasing each other around but don't take food.
I considered to loose a few but 20 in 2 days is a concern.
When I bought the big GB at BYAP they offered me exactly that pump.
I doubt that the one on their shelf is different to mine plus somewhere I picked up that the return from IBS straight into FT plus the return from GB to FT is almost enough for air...................
Learning
Well I shall see if the remaining 5 see daylight and I will see that I get more air into the water.

Thanks guys

There's nothing wrong with the Resun air pump Gran.... on it's own in a power outage it'll keep things ticking over for a while...

And normally... with the water return from the grow beds... would be probably be sufficient....

Without pumping... without water return... and with oxygen hungry trout... and a warm day... a confluence of factors conspired against you...

Could there be a lack of water circulation? My new fish are always swimming into the current, against the whirlpool, getting water across the gills. ?.

Im not convinced its a DO issue. The water temp was only 20 degrees, those fish spent a lot of the summer in water warmer than that and if that airpump is working properly which it appears to be on the Youtube video I feel that there would be sufficient DO levels in the water for 25 trout fingerlings to survive.

Keeping the pump going would certainly have helped...

I take it that the pump was turned off.. to prevent pulling heat through the grow beds...

The best idea would be.. (have been)... to cut a tee into the line between the grow beds and pump.... and direct a line back to the tank with a spray bar... (ball valve on each line....

That way the ball valve to the grow beds could have been turned off... allowing the pump to be run continuously....

Sending the flow back to the tank.. through the spray bar... oxygenating....

Normal operation to the grow beds... would either have just been a matter of opening the valve to the grow beds... (if the pump was sufficient)... or opening to the grow beds, and closing to the fish tank spray bar if the pump didn't have enough volume for both...

Fair point Troutman... I thought it must have been warmer than that... as the grow bed cycles had been stopped....

Id have to admit, the air looked ok in the vid's - but as long as the siphon was going and for quite some time - it wasnt. 20 is fine - they love 18 so its near perfect.

Im looking at the pictures you have posted for contaminants. Painted barrels look ok. Nothing on the gb's that appear to be bad, nothing hanging in the water etc etc