Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

This morning's readings....pH 7.2......Ammonia 2-3....Nitrite 1.5....Nitrate 5. The ambient temperature is 10 degrees C and the water temp is 19 degrees C.

Since the ammonia and nitrite levels are beginning creep up again, I change another 30% of the water tonight (the water is too cold at the moment).

AA....while I share your view of duckweed's feeding preferences, the fact is that my duckweed gets a flow of fish water direct from the tank (independent of the bio-filter) so it will always have ammonia and nitrites in it since, as you are aware, it's the trip through the bio-filter (and exposure to the bacteria in it) which effects the conversion from ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate.

GD, What are your target limits for ammonia while you complete the cycling and after for the duckweed? Seems your fish are glad to be done with the road trip and in thier new home, tough little buggers.

GF, i've only ever seen a fully functioning bio filter maintaining the ammonia at zero. its not something you can sort of regulate unless you have a chronically undersized biofilter and then you live life on the edge......having to measure your ammonia incase it spikes.

AS garry said, the duckweed will probably be snapping up the ammonia as soon as it leaves the fish's gills, and i also remember him saying that they only require very small amounts of nutrients

Tonight's readings.....pH 7.2.....Ammonia 3...Nitrite 4.0....Nitrates 10. The water temperature was 22....the ambient temperature was 21 and the min-max during the past 24 hours was 10 and 29.

I did a 50% water change on a tank volume of about 120 litres which saw the pH remain constant at 7.2.....Ammonia back to 1.0....Nitrites back to 1-2.

My water is pH 7.8 out of the tap so I'm cutting it back (before it goes into the fish tank) with pH Down to reduce the impact of the high ammonia and nitrite readings.

Unless I'm mistaken, my bio-filter seems to be kicking in based on the increasing nitrites and nitrates.....which suggests that the bacteria are starting to increase in numbers.

GF......it's largely a question of instinct. As long as the fish don't die and the nitrate figures continue to increase, I guess I've got it about right. Whether it works for fish or not, I'm not sure but my usual approach is to be guided by the livestock. If they look happy, chances are they are OK.

The other thing I should have mentioned are that I have a couple of small airstones belting out bubbles.

Steve (re your observation about how quickly this system seems to be cycling) remember that it's been going for 3 weeks and I've been feeding it with dirty fish water out of wife's aquarium......and I've added some "bacteria in a bottle" too.

sounds like its comming along GD

I remember now about the fish tank water.

Its probably more the fact that you had some bac in your biofilter captured from the fish tank water just waiting for the "green light". The fish tank water wouldn't have contained much ammonia. Regardless, the proof is in the probverbial pudding

You're handling it just the way i would.. Good that you have the air stones in, as the nitrites impair the fishes O2 uptake. Ph has no effect on nitrite toxicity. Chloride ions do, so salt added at a certain rate will inhibit NO2 absorbtion. But just keep belting the O2 into it and do your water changes.

Thanks for the updates it will be a good thread for newbies to read. like a "here's a cycled system i prepeared earlier" LOL. As long as people remember that a completely NEW setup will take 4 weeks minimum.

You're already producing nitrites, so i'd say that you're at about week two equiv.

Keep the results comming

Steve

Could you name the BB's in a bottle please Gary.

This morning's readings.....pH 7.2....Ammonia 2.....Nitrite 2....Nitrates 5.
.....and the fish are all swimming the right way up.

AA.....the "bugs in a bottle" are from Science Products (www.cpv.com.au) and it's called AquaCycle.

Thanks Gary, I searched the site and didn't find it. Then google....

I like bugs in bottles i will need them as I progress on my journey. Shopping around...

Tonight's readings......pH 7.2....Ammonia 1.0...Ntrite 2.0....Nitrate 5. Ambient temperature was 20 and water temperature was 22 degrees C.

No water change tonight.

Hi,

Yesterday, I changed my fish from the 120 litre tub in which I started to a 780 litre mega bin.

Today, I spent most of the day cleaning oyster shell. For those of you who are inclined toward a little grizzle over washing gravel, try cleaning oyster shells. The tips of my fingers feel like they've been through a garbage grinder.

Anyway......tonight's readings pH 7.8.....Ammonia 1.0......Nitrites 5.....and Nitrates 10.

The nitrites are confusing me because they weren't that high in my small system (largely because I was doing water changes daily). I put all of the original water from my old system into the new on and added an additional 400 litres. I tested the nitrites on both my rainwater and mains just to be sure that they weren't somehow the cause of the problem - negligible readings.

Very neat (system and workshop!)
Those mega bins do look real neat and professional like...
GD, what's your trade again?

For what it's worth, once I had loaded the oyster shells into the drum (about 2/3 full), I topped it up with expanded clay aggregate from my original bio-filter. I'm hoping that the bacteria will colonise the oyster shells more quickly that way.

The next developments for my system will be to load the second bio-filter with oyster shell and to set up a handful of plants in satellite pots (using the clay aggrate out of the bio-filter as media) in anticipation of rising nitrate levels.

I'll have to get another pump when I introduce plants into the system. The poor little bugger that I'm using is only good for a trickle out of each bio-filter outlet much less what I'll need to get water to the plants....and to expand the system to its ultimate potential of about 1400 litres of grow space volume.

While the nitrite levels worry me (particularly at a pH of 7., I'm hoping that this system will begin to cycle quickly from here on.

AM.....these days, I'm a training manager but I started off as a diesel fitter (a long time ago).

The workshop doesn't look too tidy once you get past the mega bin. It goes in cycles......I clean it up then make a stinking mess and then clean it up and then make a mess, etc etc.

The structure to the right of the mega bin is the Quail Hilton.....our quail breeder set up.

Gary,
Love the mega-bin, I have been collecting a few addresses to check them out, intend having one in my next system.

Les

Les,

I bought mine from Malcolm Paul Sales at Rocklea. They have a very comprehensive range of plastic ware - the largest container is the mega bin. See http://www.malcolmpaulsales.com.au/ ......their web site includes price lists of all of their products.

I like the recycling aspect of using IBC's (and they are cheaper) but their height is all wrong for gravity feeding grow beds back into the tank. The mega bin is much better in this regard.