Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Whoohoo ! how does that look! Beautiful.....

What's next ???

Pete.

now that is looking much better, bit like a light bulb moment....
now just got to get something using the nitrates and you are away.

If stays like that or better tomorrow I think you would be OK for your fingerlings as long as you stock conservatively.
nitrates a bit high so introduce carefully - and salt the FT when you add them after giving them a salt bath.

[edit] keep taking water for your WB's from the AP. Help keep the nitrates (and pH) managed.
40-80ppm is a nice place to be - particularly before adding a fish load.

cant really do much about the pH so leave it there and see what happens.
presume your top up water is in the 7's ??

Thanks Darren,

how does high nitrates effect the fish?
Arn't the plants consuming the nitrates?
I was thinking of 22 trout to begin with, what do you reckon?
I hadn't added or removed anything since after the test on the 31st.
PH is in the low 7's.

I found a plastic float I can install into the sump tank on the W/E. But I'll need to insulate the copper pipe to keep it cool.

"If stays like that or better tomorrow I think you would be OK for your fingerlings as long as you stock conservatively.
Nitrates a bit high so introduce carefully - and salt the FT when you add them after giving them a salt bath."

So should I put them into another container with fresh or FT water? With how much salt? Prior to putting them into the salted FT.

Pete.

I think what you meant to say was you'll need to insulate the poly pipe to keep it cool! It's best not to have water passing through or sitting in Copper pipe before it goes into your system.

>> how does high nitrates effect the fish?

it doesn't in the sense that ammonia and nitrites do, but if you have elevated nitrates and then add fish you run risk of nitrogen overload. People run higher levels of nitrate but its better not to if you can.

while there is nitrate demand your conversion is always going to be optimum.

>> Arn't the plants consuming the nitrates?

yep but they are only little tackers, over time you will have heaps of demand.
just not at moment - small plants = small demand etc etc

>> So should I put them into another container with fresh or FT water? With how much salt? Prior to putting them into the salted FT.

seperate tank/tub whatever... with air.

should attract various opinions on that one. People here with lot more experience for fingerlings.

If it were me I would have a 3ppt salt bath and transition them with bit higher salt, then ease back on salt in the system unless I needed it. System should be anywhere from 1ppt-3ppt, but does affect what you can grow veggie wise.

your issue will be introducing the fish up to your system pH (8.2) and system water generally.
so that will be a bit challenging as needs to be done gradually - I think you said delivered at 7 ?

may be optinions on whether to salt bath then introduce or introduce then salt bath - salt will help with some of the stress and knock any parasite issues. I would salt bath up front but may depend on fish type & fish size.

varying comments about 1-3ppt appear around forum for tank generally.
Recommended salt / quarantine baths are 3-5ppt I think (but not sure)
search finds one or two mention the 10ppt area but that sounds a bit extreme to me.
throw it to the masses...

1ppt = 1kg in 1000L water. (1g/litre).

** there is a great thread for discussion in the making but no-one has added to it... viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27356

p.s. quarantine and transition is same for my thinking... usually quarantine'ing anyway except you have a new system.

Our water is delivered via 120 m of 3/4" copper pipe from the mains out in the street - is the last 6 or so meters of 1/2 "going to make any difference?
As I understand it from previous discussion it's the FT water that's exposed to the copper that causes the copper to oxidize and harm any living critter, not the buffered town water flowing through it to the FT or in my case the sump tank.

Only about a couple of meters will be insulated the rest will be underground.

Pete.

So if all goes well tomorrow and the nitrates continue to fall I should be able to get 22 trout shortly?
I don't have to do another ammonia run test?

Pete.

Yea, if the town water is high pH, it shouldn't dissolve much Copper. Do you see blue stains in the bath or sink?

Be a lot of dead fish if the copper pipe in the water delivery system was an issue. And the brass in the water meter. And all the other metals used between the reservoir and the tap in your yard.

No stains Gordon.

Its easier that way but if it turns out to be a problem I might have to filter it some how.
I'm going to construct a colourbond lean to over the 3 IBCs to help control the water temps, might even fill in the walls.
I could use the water collected off that roof for the top up.

By the way when I fire up the second system can I pump the system 1 water though it to help populate the bacteria?
Or do I have to start from scratch again?

Pete.

scheme water is fine Pete - mine all comes from copper pipes as do many others here.
It is managed for minimum Cu gain.

As Guna notes you only really have an issue if you get blue (copper) staining in bathroom etc.
Does happen - but most Australian recent city stuff is OK. Usually only older systems.
(actually did have an issue many years ago in South Perth but they fixed it eventually - water tasted like sh&t)

Brian sums it up - he means....
Be a lot of dead fish [all over Australia and this forum] if the copper pipe in the water delivery system was an issue

>> I'm going to construct a colourbond lean to over the 3 IBCs to help control the water temps, might even fill in the walls. I could use the water collected off that roof for the top up.

polycarbonate, laserlite or acrylic would be better.

>> I pump the system 1 water though it to help populate the bacteria?
Or do I have to start from scratch again?

Take a few bucketfuls from the media beds and dump it in, it will happen quickly.
Need to settle it for about a week with pumps running.
using media is a bit of a myth - can be done with just the water fine.
I just tap the GB outflow.

Thanks Guys,

using media is a bit of a myth - can be done with just the water fine.
I just tap the GB outflow.[/quote]

Why shouldn't I just cycle with FT 1 water a few times to get things going?

After salting the FT should I continue to do that periodically?

Pete.

>> Why shouldn't I just cycle with FT 1 water a few times to get things going?
presume they are not connected ?? why would you have them connected ?
Hence a GB dump from system 1 poured into system 2 will be fine.
a GB dump will have lots of bacteria in it.

oops see possible issue "Take a few bucketfuls from the media beds and dump it in"
actually meant bucketfuls of GB water not media.

>> After salting the FT should i continue to do that periodically?
you will probably have to keep salt up anyway for types of fish you are talking about.
Need someone like Guna to give you some pointers on what to run the FT at for trout.

( presume you are still going to try and carry trout fingerlings over summer ? or going to SP ?)

Yes, 22 trout fingerlings I've come up with some how.

I designed the plumbing so I could pump one or both FT's into either of the GB's. I did it this way in case there becomes little or not enough load in either GB. Also the separate FT's can support different sized fish.

Attached to the second system will be the WB Mk2 version which will consist of 4 - 370 deep IBC's in line and in the same position as the experimental WB. I plan on using a float to provide system 1 or 2 ST water to the WB at a depth of 50-70 mm.

Thanks, Pete.

It depends a bit on what you want to grow- if strawberries, then you don't want much more than 1ppt salinity, which is fine to maintain indefinitely. Chard, celery, bassicas etc can handle 2-3ppt ok in my experience.

You wont need to keep adding salt, unless water is removed from the system by means other than evaporation.