Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Tests this morning.

PH 7.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrites between 0
Nitrates between 0 and 5

Makes you wonder how accurate these things can be with a novice tester.

Another Test this afternoon.

PH 7.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrites between 0
Nitrates between 0 and 5

The water turned green over the last couple of days. Sort of happened when we got a couple of inches of rain. Dont know if that had anyhing to do with it.

Fish are being feed on and hand full of Duck Weed each day. I will start with pellets tomorrow when I get them from the shop.

green bloom seems to be natural while eco system establishes

everything else seems good.

Did you have airation in there? How you got the beds going yet?

Airation is more important now as the algae will be using up a large quantity of O2 at night time, and if you don't have any bubbles or waterfall action from a pump then you may be asking for some trouble

Steve,

I have air in there. I got so drunk on Firday night that I spent most of the weekend recovering so I didnt get the grow bed gravel washed and stand built.

I have been keeping an eye on the water quality and nothing is changing so I think I am getting away with my slackness.

Haha, good on ya!

Your tank volume is cutting you some slack in this regard.................:

Don't leave it too long

This is why i say to go for the biggest tank you can justify, it is much slower to "react" to change

I agree with the tank volume comments made by Steve.

I'm currently keeping about 50 small Jades (65mm - 100mm) in a bit over 100 litres of water (the tank is 150 litres but if I fill it to anywhere near the top, the little fish jump out of it) and my life seems to be one big water test.

I'm swapping the fish to a 700 litre tank this weekend and, hopefully, that will suffice for a while. Even then, I don't know if this tank is going to be large enough to grow the fish out to eating size.

One thing is clear.....tank volume = insurance.

Shit Gary, i must have missed those crucial facts! Man i was doing 90% water changes every second day due to ammonia problems with the 40 jade fingerlings in my 200lt aquarium before i moved them. But i didn't have as big a bio filter (a very small one actually )

Got the drum grow bed stand done this weekend. Progress was not as I had planned.

It is constructed with 90x35 treated pine and will hold 4 half drum growbeds and 4 half drums for red claw on the bottom. The posts are 1.5m high so I can string up Tomatoes or other tall plants.

BR - pics don't seem to be working (at least not on my system). I can't see what you have done but I'd be very careful about using treated pine if I had beds below the pine which could end ip with water coming off the pine. The stuff they treat it with is really, really bad.

VB,

You are right. I am glad you pointed that out. Maybe it got to my brain. :shaking2:

lol
very neat looking job, looking forward to seeing it installed and running!

Nice work Big Red

Just went out and fed the little guys. Because of the algea bloom happening at the moment I havent seen them for a few days.

Was lovely to see them zooming around getting the pellets.

uhm... i think I see a fish...
So this is what I have to look forward to is it.. pea soup! But as EB said it is nothing to worry about...
Uhm, lovely shade of green