Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ron,

You got my curiosity going so a Googling I went:

http://mrbrownthumb.blogspot.com/2013/0 ... -from.html

Guess I'll have to check out the neighbors and road ways around here.

I might try lowering a tomato stem/branch into the ground. Then maybe some of that willow tea....?

Thanks again

Life finally slowed down a little bit and I was able to finish up washing crushed granite. I didn't have any suitable ammonia so I crushed up some pond fish food, about cubic cm. So now I just monitor and wait. I think someone suggested dosing to 2 ppt? I'll have to wait a couple of days and see what the fish food will do.

I figure I'm pumping about 80 gallons per hour over the 5 GBs.

Do I need to put an air stone in each GB to insure enough O in the beds?

You only want to dose the ammonia to between 1-2 ppm that is ppm (not ppt)
Fish food may take quite a while to really convert to ammonia in a brand new system.
However you produce an ammonia source if you are not grossed out by the idea of pee ponics (hummonia) Be ware fresh hummonia will have a delayed reaction and you won't read any ammonia for the first week or so after adding it so it is really easy to overdose on hummonia. (Cycling up my first pee ponics system which was just a barrel ponics system, took like one pee for the first dose and then didn't need to be dosed again for a while. FYI pee sealed up in a bottle for several weeks will give the urea time to be converted to ammonia and by the way kills off things like e. coli.)

on that plumbing idea of putting the pump in the end grow bed. You don't have to have stand pipes in the other grow beds. If you just let all the beds have the same water level in them, you will have more leeway of fluctuation before the pump risks running dry. Of course if you don't keep the system topped up the water levels in all the beds will be a bit low so a stock tank top up valve is a good thing (avoid the metal ones though.)

Thanks TC for the suggestions and the ppm reminder.

I have to take several heart medications so pee ponics is not an option. If I removed the standpipes I'm concerned that the worms I will add would end up in my sump. I do plan on adding a plastic livestock float in the sump like you suggested.

I figure my 50 gallon fish tank is turning over at 80 gallons per hour. So I think I'm ok in that department. But that 80 gallons per hour are split 5 ways. So that means each GB gets only gets about 16 gallons per hour (theoretically). The pump I'm using has an inlet for supplemental air. So air is injected into the water stream as it goes into the fish tank.

Is that 16 gallons per hour turn over enough to supply O in the GBs and for the composting worms I'll be adding?

My worm box is starting to get crowded. So either start another box or put some worms in the growbeds right away. If I add worms now, can I feed them a small amount of coffee grounds while the system is cycling? If that's possible, how many worms theoretically could I add during the cycling phase?

I've ordered some heritage seeds so I'll be planting the growbeds as soon as the seeds arrive in a couple of days.

For startup fish I'll probably start with small sunfish and or blue gill.I'll see if I can keep them alive over the winter before I try another species. Maybe if the crushed feed will take so long maybe I could add a couple of sun fish right now?

Any thoughts on the worms idea? How many small sunfish could I add to start cycling?

If you are using fish feed or decide to cycle with fish, I would add the worms to the grow beds now. Small hand full along with some castings per bed (provided you are not feeding your worms fresh manure) should do ya.

Initial stocking should be less than 1 fish per cubic foot of gravel bed. So take the total amount of gravel you have and divide by 8 to figure out about how many fish MAX you should add. You can always use less fish. Like 5-10 small sunfish is probably plenty.

16 gallons per hour is probably a bit low for turn over in the grow beds. You probably want somewhere between 2-5 gallons per minute flow through the grow beds. However, I expect that people have run less so some trial and error to see how it works might be worth while.

As to the worms, they are going to travel through your system no matter what you do. They will likely choose to stay in the gravel near the water line where the most food and roots as well as good oxygen levels will be available to them. A stand pipe or screen makes little difference to them if they decide to explore out of the gravel. Do be sure to use gravel guards and keep your stand pipes and drains accessible and removable for adjustment as needed.

Thanks again TC,

I kinda had a gut feeling that I may not have enough flow thru on the grow beds, just didn't know for sure. Thanks for the rules of thumb on this thread and your other threads. It's a big help see'ns how not knowing much of anything about this AP stuff.

Life is getting in the way again for the next couple,3,4 days
Maybe I'll get some time at the end of this coming week to do some fishing and tweaking things a bit.

Went to feed the red worms this morning, about a heaping tablespoon of used decaf coffee grounds. When I lifted the old filter in one corner of the box, the area under neath was covered solid white with little white worms. I covered them up and asked Dr. Google what the problem was. It seems they aren't all that bad. Here is a pic of the second time I took a peek this time with a camera. Not all of the worms returned but I think you can get an idea.

Turns out the white worms are good fish food.

http://www.fishgeeks.com/tropicalfishar ... 49/51.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTr3homK ... =endscreen

An update on the worm box.

The white worms are a result of acidic conditions. They don't hurt the red worms. But the acid conditions are not best for the red worms.

Just for S and Giggles, I switched over to feeding fresh horse "apples". Seems like the worms just suck up the feces and leave the fiber behind. I'm hoping the fiber will help keep the bin aerated and loose.

I've got a question on transplanting. Can I move crowded plants? If and when? These sprouts are ice berg lettuce.

Ive moved plants around a bit and they do fair better than moving plants in dirt. Ive found the plants seperate from the media better when using hydroton becuase gravel locks in or packs in so to speak.

Thanks Charlie,

I think I'll try it.

A couple of weeks ago I emailed my friend and neighbor Darrell. I shared with him the BYAP's IBCponics article.

Well today he shows up with 2 IBC's

Now how to clean them

I don't have a pressure washer.

Then do I use both for fish tanks ? I kinda hate to cut them up

I have access to blue barrels so thats not a problem.

What to do, what to do

More pictures of labeling and ports.

More pictures of labels

Bob you wouldn't have to do too much cleaning with those IBC's they're in as new condition the lubricant should just wash out with a pressure spray and then wash a few times with soapy water.