Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thanks for that mate......

any time, bud. Figure you needed some type of initiation considering you didn't have to wash 250 kg of gravel


How hard was it NOT to feed the fish?

Not bad, I fed them last night (Mon). They were pretty hungry. The strawberries that I planted on the weekend have already taken off and aren't limp anymore. Those nitrates are very strong.

hey, do another set of tests, adjust your feeding until the ammonia and nitrites are both zero, then you can SLOWLY increase the rate again.

Got home last night to find the upper gravel pipe overflowing (just slightly) out of the peep hole. Thought maybe the pump was on too high, so I reduced the setting. Went out and got back around 9.00pm to find a few inches of water left in the tank and the fish looking pretty freaked out. fixed it all. I think that the weir in the top one became blocked, but cannot remember if we installed a semi-circle wier or a full circle with holes in it. The second option would make more sense as I stuck the hose through the peep hole and gave it a quick blast to remove whatever was blocking it. Water is flowing very freely now. Steve, can you remember what we put in there as I dont want to cut the silicon away and dismantle the top pipe for nothing.

Tragedy averted for now.

the top one where the biofilter is? It had a full circle with slots cut in it. Want me to bring my plasma cutter over?

Definately.

Big dramas over the weekend. On Friday I went to the Kangaroo Grounds fish farm and bought 15 SP. They were so big that we could only get 7 and 8 fish in each oxygenated bag. Even with those numbers, the bags were punctured on the way home but all fish were still alive. Threw them into tank, but unfortunately, due to a mixture of high nitrites, low oxygen and too many bloody fish, I lost 13 of the 15 over the weekend. Its pretty distressing to see so many fish just swimming upside down and looking unhappy. I eventually pulled the pin when I noticed them with red bloody eyes. Two of them are quite healthy though. I will probably get some more this week once I've made sure of my levels and only stock about 5 in total.

Words of wisdom bourne from experience....

A lesson to be learned by others Emir, thanks for posting.

Sometimes it's more important to post our failures than our successes.

Sorry to hear about the fish, Emir!
How much water does your aquarium hold, and how much do the two surving SP weigh?

Sorry for your loss Emir. By the looks of your photos you are in Herne Hill or Bell Post Hill. We may share a postcode.

He is round the corner from steve

As Fredie Mercury famously once said

"Another one bites the dust....." Only one left now. Dont know what to do. I got my UV filter today to get rid of the algae. Now I can at least see the fish dying!

Just did the levels. Amonia is almost nil, nitrites are through the roof and so are the nitrates. PH is 6.8. I havent been feeding the fish at all, so I don't know why the nitrites are so high. Water has plenty of oxygen now that the fish are dead, so are there any tips to get the bacteria working again? Any help would be appreciated.

i'll bring ya some more bacs from one of my indoor aquariums, bastard, i'm not due for a clean............ maybe tomorrow.

sounds like a spike is just around the corner!