Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thanks Darren, going Constant Flood to begin with, no siphon, I set the standpipe 75mm (3in) from the media top. I have plenty of small pipe for playing around with different heights

Bit of an update.

It's not finished yet but is cycling. I have 10 SP & have put some seedlings in.

The fish feed well on sinking pellet, and the homemade venturi works well.







Still to do;

Connect CDM
Rip apart another 10 pallets for cladding
Move connection for ST's to the bottom valve

Nice work Urrazeb, very neat.
How big are the fish?
Might want to check with the high range Ph if you haven't already.
How's your sump access?
I'm interested to see the change in water parameters once you add the 'seeded' media.
Very impressed with your recipie btw, looking forward to giving it a go.
Might finish the night with a nice whisky on ice now.

Hi Skeg,

The SP's are 10-15cm EA. Yeah I'll check high range tonight, I'll let it go for a week and try gradually bring it down a point if it doesn't happen naturally.

Sump access is crap, I have to cut the HDPE on the far side of the shot for an access hole.

I planned it, wrote it all out, spent weeks considering different assembly etc but there are just a few things that you don't think of for a first build.

Don't ask me why I put the sump connection at the top either... because I don't know

Yeah let me know how the recipe turns out. I'll chuck it up in the recipe section now.

Has the media got any colour on it yet?

Hiya Urrazeb,nice sized fish to start.
Now you have the fish in probably best to leave the Ph be, it should drop as the nitrogen cycle develops however it may take a while but isn't a big problem really at this stage.
If you have penetrations at the top in your sump perhaps use a SLO in one to the other to save cutting more holes.
IMO it would be best not to cut the side if the sump for better access and perhaps raise or shift the gb's back off the sumps a bit for access as the more water volume in your system helps with temp stability, time between top ups and of course more flexibility with the inevitable expansion...
The clay doesn't really change colour as it ages, more just gets waterlogged and sinks.

Turns out Jacqui doesn't like raw fish as much as i do but does like basil pesto....

Nitrites have shown up



Plants and fish doing well.

Growth comparison

26/1


1/2

Checked nitrites again yesterday afternoon and they had spiked to somewhere between 2.0 & 5.0.

Fish went off their feed, so I ran down to the big B (well drove actually ) and got some salt. Salted to just under 1 PPT.

1800L total water volume, added 1.5kg salt.

I'll keep an eye on nitrites and if they keep rising I might add another 1.5kg. Fish are going to do without until nitrites drop.

Does this sound about right?

So much info on this forum - thanks to everyone who has posted their experiences!

Tested again this afternoon and nitrates have shown up

Seems to be moving along quite nicely.

I hope this rain we are having doesn't affect it too much

Nice one, if you want to pick up the media and add it, it may help with the nitrites but yeah, stop feeding the fish...

Does anyone know what these little grub like things are?

They are growing on the sponge where the water hits the GB.



Click for Video of wrigglies!

I couldn't get the video to embed from Photobucket so it's a link sorry

they look scary?

Yeah I'm a bit concerned that they came from the fish

I might give them a call if no one on here knows

Hiya Urrazeb how's the system going?

Ok about time for an update then Skeggs

The system is fully cycled now with all reading 0 and pH at 7.4 and slowly dropping about 0.2 per fortnight.

I made up a lid for the tank to keep the 2yo from scaling the side and sticking her head in to see the fish, this was made from pallet wood and some leftover ply, I had the hinges and screws so it cost me nothing. Just needs a coat of oil and it'll look the goods too.

Anyway - time for some pics