Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thanks Charlie, yeah i tend to dive into new projects pretty hard, no point doing things in halves lol.
Yeah the media was a surprise, i had already researched locally and decided what i was going to use but when i was ready the local supplier had run out and was a couple weeks from getting new stuff due to a damaged bay in the yard and turns out no one else stocked same pebbles locally, i sourced them miles away in Brissy but when i turned up to get them i found those nice white Byron Bay Pebbles, really nice to work with they are.

I use Dolomite to adjust my PH up, a cup at a time in the sump. Test each day and then give bottom of the sump a sweep to move the dolomite. After 3 days add more if required and when it starts moving up just sweep the sump to keep it dissolving until you get the level you want then just let the remainder sit in the sump as a buffer. Systems looking good cheers.

So got a bit more done during the week, i must say i've just about had enough of the whole project (mainly the green house), time and cost beginning to blow out, plants look crap and this bloody rain means im working in slosh all the time. It was good to see Nitrites and Nitrates though, needed that little boost to stay motivated.
Ph steady at 7.8, Ammonia has been steady at 0.25ppm, Nitrites gone up to 5.0 and possibly higher, Nitrates are about 30ppm. Ive added some egg shells to the sump to assist in bringing the PH down but will obviously bring it down before i add fish. I have added egg whites to the system to try help clear it, i found a big lump of clay in the sump, not sure but think 1 of the kids must have put it in there so cleaned it best i could but sludge in the entire system, guessing it wont clear for a while.
Water temp 17 degrees C or i think that is 62 F, any feedback on water temp much appreciated.
Started the lid for the FT's and setting up Fingerling tank.
Stage 2 sumps in the ground and linked, tables in and will be levelling them today and painting the other 4 GB's.
Stage 2 FT filled, SLO and inlet inc venturi fitted ready to be plumbed.
Greenhouse coming along, had the clear sheets delivered last week, insect mesh arriving this week, steel will be finnished this week planning on meshing and roofing Fri Sat next week. (not looking forward to that job)

Heres a couple progress pics

Ok so my fish supplier is telling me 17 degrees bit cold for Jades, he suggesting 20 degrees, any ideas on what to do about this, anyone here got Jades??

I have about 75 Jades and 25 silvers been in between 5/ 7 months, temperature in tank has been down to 13 C in tank. Mostly between 15 c and 17 c. How fingerlings will go I do not know as this is my first year.

Have had no loses other than the fingerlings which took an express ride up the SLO to sun bake in the grow beds. They were not sun wise.

You could keep the system going for the next couple of months on maxi crop or similar and a bit of fish emulsion. Hoping water will warm up in September.

Hi ccBear, what size are your Jades, the supplier only has winter stock so not sure how old they are but they are 6-8cm which would suggest they are maybe 3-4 months old?? I could bring the temp up a couple degrees by adding some hot water to the system before i add the fish and then let it come back down naturally??
Whats the reasoning of having the 25 silvers??

Just an estimate from what I can judge looking in the tank, oldest 25 about 150 mm, next 50 100 mm plus.

Silvers about 100 mm, just wanted to try some silvers knowing they will take two years to grow out. Plan to build a 2 IBC fish farm that Paul demonstrated a couple of months ago. Hope to have done by end of September then will sort out the Jades and leave the silvers in the main tank untill I restock in Febuary.

Mate just done a quick re read of your thread, are you still planing to order 100 jades. You say you are only setting one fish tank up, if so you will be well over stocked even if you had both tanks set up. Max water in tank 800/850 litres with a lid on. Max 30 in each tank would be my feeling and a ratio of 2:1 GB to FT MIN.

Like some other advise on this stocking level if you are still ordering 100. Cheers

Hi ccBear, my plan is to pick up 100 jades, the other tank and 4 beds will be ready next week, i have the tables in place and beds painted will install once roofed next Fri as it will be in the way.
Each tank is approx 850l but also running 2x 500l sumps holding 350l each so in total i am running approx 1500l each system feeding 4 X 400l GB's utilising 1200l of GB media each system. Fish per litre is approx 1 per 30l which is similar to 30 fish per 850l.
My plan was to hold the 100 fish in the 1 system for 3-4 weeks until second system cycled then shift 50 over. Once settled in the warmer months was planning to add some red claw to the sumps and some additional grow towers for some strawberries and 1 or 2 duckweed baths/tanks.

Its not ideal to run 100 jades for the 3-4 weeks but i expect they wont be available much longer and run the risk of not getting them and although its not my intention i have seen systems apparently successfully running 1 fish per 10l so i figured i could get away with it for 3-4 weeks???

Whats your thoughts.

For short time only, Murrays dream of 1 fish per litre is just that from my reading, min 25 litres per fish is reasonable for systems running through grow beds.

That should read... "seemingly running 1 small fish per 10L.. successfully... for a short period of time"...

Having barely cycled your system... and with nitrites at 5...

I'm sure that adding 100 Jades to a 850L tank.... will certainly bump your ammonia back above toxic levels...

If even you aren't feeding them.... and at 17 degrees... they wont probably be eating bugger all anyway...


If you're really determined to get 100 fish.... and have a second tank... then why wait... split the fish 50/50...

And treat both tanks as cycling with fish... as you will be anyway...

mmm never thought of cycling with fish, will search it but would imagine lots of water changes?? If i can cycle with fish then stage 2 can be cycled that way avoiding 100 fish in stage 1.

Oh and although the tank is 850l, with the sumps set up the way they are the system will actually hold 1200l excluding grow beds at any one time.

I expect my nitrites should go down over the next few days?? My worry is that there wont be enough plants to use the Nitrates??

Cycling WITH fish is the way most of us have done for many years. Fishless cycling is an encouraged newbie safe way of going about it. Theres no water changes required if you know what your doing and 100 fish in an 850L FT is pretty much a great way of not doing it right. Sorry to be blunt but Ive read this story a thousand times and it never ends well.

Thanks guys for the advice, is there a good article or thread on cycling with fish and in particular fingerling rather than replaceable starter fish? i had a looksy and didnt find much at all.
From what i understand you need to obviously monitor water carefully, minimise feeding, and use a duck weed tank possibly after the grow beds to use up the excess ammonia.

Is it an option to hook the 2 system up in series to assist stage 2 in cycling??? I could link the 2 overflows and pump to 1 tank overfilling it to overflow into the other tank. I would just have to be careful with the over full tank. After a month or so, disconnect the overflows and reduce water level tank 2.