Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

In DWC, all nutrients should be in solution. very different from a GB with media where they have to trickle thru and get caught up everywhere. That is why some plants do so well and constant in DWC. They all have the same direct access to food. When I look at a commercial DWC, I see all the same lettuce plant sizes as if they were made by a machine. When I see GBs I see every head of lettuce a different size. Who gets fed better, grows better.

Yes, so I made them parallel instead.

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I got minnows instead cause they where alot cheaper and will produce alot of waste in a small space. I also added a bubble for extra oxygenation, but I'd like to know, can I over-do it? It's under an awning behind a north facing wall so it's not getting any light yet. I plan on installing lights tomorrow"


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Minnows are good and if you have a cat or turtle they also make a nice snack. I think I have about 80 Chinese minnows right now. We need to figure out what they are. I have never seen them for sale anywhere. Ok, maybe Alien minnows. They have a red dot over the eye that scans us.

This morning at 4:30 (I'm only up for work this early lol, construcion worker/ laborer) Will wait until over 3 inches tall before I call it done and sell at a break even price to do it all again.
This is wheat, I also have some pinto beans and a transplanted pinto and zuchinni, they're both on day two and both growing slowly,
I need to test again, my first test the other day showed virtually no nitros, but plent potash (whatever that is) and adequate phosphorus. I may have to go to a gardening or hydroponic supply store for ammonia test.

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Lol, I want 'em! I caught mine so I'm a lil worried about diesease. They all seem healthy and spotless so that's good. I noticed today they stopped swimming as a group untill they see movement outside.

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Yes most fish will do that if there is no current. My Gold fish will sleep right on the bottom of the tank for hours. The green minnows have now taken up this practice. if I turn the light on and wake them up they start to swim again. I almost think that any fish collector will want some of these. They are local mountain water fish and not every where. It may be a species local to this one mountain range only. I have been to a lot of spots so far and only this one area has them. Most of the other mountain ponds have a fish that looks like a Jack Dempsey or a Blue Gill. The big ponds have all carp.

I think the Pot ash should be the K in NPK, potassium. It may be why the wheat is growing so well. I bumped up my P&K and all stalled plants took off over night. The tomatoes have now added over an inch in a few days. Ready to transplant. 3 days ago I thought they were headed for the trash.

I think it's all done save for lighting. Looking for a powercable for some rgb dimmers

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Also, the wheat is a syrian/ persian variety.

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Haji baba wheat

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That's a lot of water in the first photo. Over the top of the rocks. I am surprised you are not drowning them.

Can you go into a bit more detail on what color LEDs you are using. My T5 is bright enough but it seems to be lacking the reds and blues the 80/20 mix.

The lights suck. They have about an equal mix of red green and blue, brightness is weak though, even with a 500ma stronger power supply
Good paycheck comin', I'm gonna get some real bright led strip lights and a pump I don't have to smack with a wrench to get it going.
I can lower the water level as the roots on those pinto beans start gettin' deeper.

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I'm thinking about putting an ultraviolet light where water drains into the fishbowl

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potash gets its name from the fireplace ash it is derived from. Check out a fire-pit after a rain. The potash is on the surface of the water.

I may be all wet on this (pun intended) but IMO the roots will drive down deeper if they have to search out the water. Most every test I did in a flood drowned them dead. All of my seed root drive down 2 inches then they sprout. Some how you managed to grow them right in a flood plain. Like rice plants do. Interesting to see what happens.

A UV light will kill all sorts of bacteria. I am not sure if it will kill the bacteria you need. Probably. But I had one on my FT in line with the filter for years now but it is not hooked to plants yet. Someone who has/had a working system and then added one would need to chime in to see if it helped or hurt the eco system. If you put it in on the water back to the tank it should wipe out the plants bacteria before entering the FT. I guess if it was after the Ft to the beds you would take out any beneficial Bacteria going out to the plant beds and possibly halt the nitrogen cycle. Again, you need a pro here for the correct advise. I have never had a UV light strong enough to kill all the bacteria on one pass. If the tank gets hit with say an algae bloom it will take days to recover with the light.