Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

From what you say it appears too be working OK, I'm not sure about the stopping for that minute, what should happen is that it should start to drain slowly for 10 - 20 seconds then kick into full flow until the water level drops to the holes or slots in the bell and then stop draining.

You control the flow into your GB using a ball valve, not enough flow and it wont siphon, too much flow and it wont stop.

Yeah sounds like it's working correctly then. Is there any problem with the fact that it is draining every 3 minutes? I thought most peoples was at least a 5 minute break between fully draining or something. I don't have a problem with how it's working as long as it IS working.

What is preferred is that you turn over your volume of water once every hour give or take a few minutes.

Is there a way to determine that, other than pump size? I went with a larger pump then my tank needed since I plan on expanding to have more growbeds and a dwc later as well, so I believe it is turning over more than once an hour possibly...

Is it preferred to turn over more or less than the recommended amount?

Once an hour is the recommended turn over but twice an hour to once every two hours still work ok,depending on stocking to wet media ratio.

@celkins - You might want to read this thread, viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24121 . It is very informative comparing the different draining methods for your GB.

Regards

Read through it, very helpful, thank you!

Just an update! Anxiously waiting to get my seeds in my growbed. I'm going to sprinkle them on top of the hydroton that I have in there, and then plan on buying another 2 inches of hydroton to put on top. I'm also going to start some seeds in a mini green house to get some seedlings going in case that doesn't work. It'll be cool to see which ones do better!

Sorry for the long hiatus! Cycling tookbquite a while with my three goldfish, but it finally leveled out. I directly sowed some seeds as well as transplanted some seedlings I bought. Which was a mistake! Brought leaf miners in with the lettuce I bought
So I seeded some cilantro, oregano, basil and spinach. Cilantro, basil and spinach are doing well. Oregano hasn't grown much past the initial sprout... Possible because the roots haven't reached the water yet? I'm not sure. I'll try and attach some pictures.

I bought red romaine and green. They've had it rough with all the leaf mining... But still alive.

Jalapeño plant I bought has grown tall and sprouted flowers. Cherry tomatoes have started producing fruit! So far so good.

Basil on left, oregano on right. Using Tapatalk on my phone... Not sure if photos upload correctly?

Spinach


Cilantro



Red romaine, and leaf miner damage



Romaine lettuce



Jalapeño


Tomatoes

Let me know how those pics show up, and if you notice any discoloration in plants or anything else that I might need to keep an eye on? Thanks!

@celkins - Looking good, might be the lighting, but you might have some slight deficiency issue. Btw what type of fish food are you using? Read the attached links for help on plants.

http://trueaquaponics.com/deficiency-guides.html
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=25056


If you find a way to rid yourself of the leaf miners please share. I had the same problem, but i just remove and destroy whatever is effected.

Regards

I've just been pinching the worms out of the leaves when I see them. I don't remember the name, I just got it the pet store. Its supposed to be a high quality pond food, just sold in bulk. Might just be that I don't have enough fish to plant ratio, only three goldfish right now. They should grow quite large so haven't added any extra yet. Hopefully they bulk up soon.

@celkins - You might have to look into a better quality food, take a look at the advice cookie gave me, I used to feed pet shop quality fish food too, the only contain high protein and fiber and you need more than that for your plants. BTW what is the water parameters of your system currently?

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=15742&start=150

Regards