Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

When is it best to give Aquaponics tanks a water change? .How much water should you extract from tank.?

Hiya John, great question, I've often wondered myself. Being a closed loop there are surely going to be build ups of excessive nutrients and minerals over time. How this would be measured I wouldn't know, possibly electrical conductivity and whether it would be a problem? Who knows.
Having a system out in the open it would get flushed each winter however in a green house this may not happen.
Provided the fill water is the same temp and pH any amount is possible.
Why do you want to change your water?

The reason two fish have died from a fungal infection which I have treated ,P H ammonia nitrite nitrate levels are OK could be minerals although I refill with rain water .Changing the water I would take about a quarter of water out of the tank -hopefully this will remedy the problem.There are two sump tanks I shall empty one tank refill heat water to the main fish tank temperature .

Fair enough. I know nothing about fish fungus however I would imagine the fungal spores would be travelling in the water, and please someone correct me if I'm wrong,
Have you added salt? And, what are you using to buffer the pH?

Hi I have added salt given a water change ,to buffer using tap water P H about 7.5 ,the gold fish are quite used to high P H they where bread in this area containing a high P H Ammonia 0.25 have taken plants out of the aquaponic system[album][/album]

Planted Azalea from garden to over winter -using a cut out bucket scoop out hydroton inset plant pull bucket out easy way to plant

Adding pictures for reference.

Well the system doing quite well ,found a very small goldfish in the sump tank ,so it shows the fish must have bred .looking outside the box I found a person named Allan Savory talking about holistic methods to green desert conditions ,where scientific ideas have failed ,he used herbivores to fertilize the desert ,very interesting lecture ,the reason I mention this, if anybody living in arid conditions- holistic methods could completely change from desert to a green an environment .please check out on YOU-TUBE allan savory.com

Not much going on at the moment- system doing OK ,What is the best way to plant seeds this time of year? don't seem to be having much luck- had large tree thinned out to give me more light. Bought a Pillar drill for workshop -when cutting out using a hole saw, found it to be quite dangerous ,the hand drill flew out of my hand twice !! that was enough ,at least with the pillar drill drilling is much safer

Hiya John, I like the way you incorporate the flowering plants into the system, something I need to do more of in the future. What are you having the most success with?
Yep pillar or pedestal drills are great, love to have one in my workshop/mess...
Are you growing veggies in your system as well?

Hey John, did the salt and water change clear up that fungal issue you had with the fish?

Hi, still have problem with fish ,I have given a water change- added medicine ,will put fish in separate aquarium.We had branches taken down from a large lime tree to give more light .Going to New Zealand in the New Year,so will keep plants that need very little maintenance during the six-week period .how is your system getting on ?Good to hear from you .Cheers

Hi, over winter geraniums seem to do well in the system -my sister in law gave me an azalea last year doing very well in the aquaponic system- put the plant out in the summer. I would recommend buying a pillar (bench drill) purely for safety -they are reasonably priced from £98.00 upwards which does me quite well the safety aspect is the all important thing -as said having a drill fly out of your hand using a hole drill was quite dangerous to say the least.Plant I am having success with rye grass -roots and grows quickly , when buying celery I cut the stems off and use the root to regrow them -lettuce ,basil finding bugs are destroying these plants .Rye grass seems to be quite resilient to disease -good root growth balances out the nitrite and nitrate levels .Good to hear from you. Cheers

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HOAN NGOC, a medicinal plant from Vietnam, does fabulously well under AP...
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