Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi, I was wondering if someone can direct me to a current thread or information on the steps after completing a build. do I start the system with fish and then add plants, the other way around or both at the same time? also looking for info on figuring out the amount of fish to use for the amount of growbeds. thanks for any help and sorry the question is so vague lol

You can start plants now. No rules about when with them, but earlier is better in my opinion.

Next you have to start cycling the system, building up the nitrifiying bacteria. If you haven't got one yet, grab a API test kit, it'll help you watch the nitrification process.

There are a few different ways to cycle the system. My favourite is to before fish are put in, lower the PH to the 6's range (get a small bottle of hydrochloric acid, it's very cheap), you can do it quickly without the fish, the lower PH will help the fish live through ammonia spikes. Salt to 1ppt (so 1 gram of salt per litre), this will help to deal with any nitrite spikes.

Then get some fish (fingerlings), throw them in. If the ammonia/nitrites gets too high, stop feeding for a little while until it's under control.

Other options are to get a few feeder goldfish, throw them in, if they die, they die, but they'll get it going. I did it this way, and all mine survived happily, and are very fat now.

Or you can do fishless cycling, add some ammonia from the shops, just make sure it's detergent free, don't add too much, and keep on topping it up. But this comes with issues as well, if you get the wrong sort, you'll need to flush it out, add too much and it'll stop the process happening, and I'm not sure of the quantities to add.

With the amount of fish, add the amount that matches up to the amount of filtration (growbeds) you have. This thread should confuse you very well
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5023

Wow! that’s a lot more than I did CBB, I fitted the filter and air pump on Saturday, then added 5 Marion, then 10 goldfish, and about 30 seedlings, plus about 100ml of sea-sol on the Sunday, I have just added my 4th load off sea-sol today, 100ml to 900ml off water, poured around the plants not on top! In around five weeks the fish are fat, and the plants are five or more times the size, the PH is 6.5 KH4, GH8, the ammonia 0, nitrate 0, nitrite 0, I must be doing something wrong? Do you think I should buy some PH-up? Or something?

Nothing is wrong at all.

Sometimes the plants take up all the ammonia/nitrites/nitrates before anything shows up.

Don't use PH up, there are better ways to do it. Fill a stocking with egg shells and just let them stay in the sump tank. It'll buffer it up. But your Ph isn't bad, just keep an eye on it.

Cheers CBB, I do random checks at different times of day two or so days apart, ATM, but everything look ok except the algae, but I am working on that, could it be the sea-sol? I have only added 400ml in five or so weeks, total water in system is 1300ltrs,