Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ok,the light brown film is perfectly ok,that is bio film,if it goes slimy or stringy algae is taking over and yes if light penetrates algae will grow,algae should be green if it goes brown it's a sign of things not quite right,but this could something as simple as a high Phosphate or Nitrate level.
A thought for your light blocker down the edges, thickish plastic rolled into a tube and then pushed in the slot,if you get the right diameter it should be a good fit and help push the float on the other side,black or dark colored will prevent algae growing.

My nitrates is somewhere around 80-160. Only feeding fish 260 grams per day. Certainly not enough. They eat eac meal like it's their last. Not many plants in the beds right now. The heat is taking it's toll on the the plants. Cantelope is dying off now. Got plenty of fruit from it though. Some oregano, mints, avocado about 2 feet tall. Needs to come out. 1 Strawberry tons of basil seedlings all over the MGB dill, and few 4-6" basis. Waiting on the seed tray to do its thing to plant out the beds.

I think you can get different types/colors of algae so getting brown or green or blue-green from certain conditions isn't really set in stone for me.

This is usually related to high nutrient levels in the water and I suspect that your phosphorus levels are pretty high since that's usually when I get string algae (aka filamentous algae) here. This fits with your high fish loads as well although many organisms would appreciate having lots of nutrients like this . Bacteria can also do this sort of thing.

Still sounds like bioslime under your rafts and is OK as Andreas mentioned.

Get the RFF online to cut the nutrient levels going to the SUF filters. If lights getting into the SUF filters then shade the filters (you can paint or I've used tekfoil insulation before - looks kind of space age and doesn't involve repainting ). I'd have a look elsewhere in your system to see if it's growing anywhere else including on the walls of the filters. Should help to get some additional plants into the system:thumbright:

The last phos check was 7/13/16 and it was greater than 10.

Still waiting on Tank depot to get the cone tanks in.

The SUF filter video did show some light getting into the tank but still very dark. Nothing was growing on the walls.

A bit off current topic. Know of any success stories of growing banana in a barrel of it's own? Thinking of adding a few barrels to grow a few BIGGER plants in like banana, papaya, and any others I think are just too big for the typical grow bed.

No but I remember TCLynx had a good sized banana plant in one of her systems. I think it was doing great but grew larger than it was supposed to in the AP system. Based on that I'd say you'd have a good chance of being successful but might find the plant grows large. Web4Deb had one in his system as well now that I think of it .

Took your advise and rolled up some white duraskrim creating about 4-5 layers in the roll. I wedged the 8 ft roll along one side pushing the rafts to the opposite end. Worked very well. Still able to easily remove the rafts without popping out the wedge roll. I think this will work well.

I noticed yesterday the early morning pH was 6.3 then in the late afternoon (sunniest and hottest), pH was 6.5. So I do have a bit of a swing going on. Early morning DO has not been affected.

Took some GoPro video of the first SUF before cleaning yesterday. Poop was at bottom like a typical RFF collects. But then there was what looked like algae or slime whipping around with the current i guess. It was hard to tell if it was slime or a filament type algae due to the darkness.

Anyway to reduce Phos level aside from water changes?

I planted out 10 or so basil seedlings that sprouted voluntarily on the media grow bed onto the DWC bed. Last phos was >10

What do you all think about Humic Acid for algae control and general plant health as recommended by Bright Agrotech?

First I've heard of it . I'll be interested to know if it works. I know peat moss is supposed to have an effect and same with barley straw but I've never tried either of these. Here's a thread on another forum with some information about those - http://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/peat-and-ponds.8152/

Coachchris has used it. Couldn't find any specific info if it helped the overall plant health on his thread though.

Here is a link to the product. Gives some info on humic acid

https://www.kelp4less.com/shop/humic-acid/


Here is the video to bright agrotech on humic acid:




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkD2Vt-4rv8

Makes sense it's basically blocking the light to slow or stop the algae growth and it won't hurt the system or the fish in the quantities he's talking about. I don't know how much benefit they'll give you for the plants (AP like compost should already have some of these - older systems probably have more) but stopping the algae would give the plants a boost and anything more is a bonus just don't get carried away .