New member, new system - lots of questions

Gags

G'day all. I live in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne and I have recently setup an aquaponics system using an IBC that I used to collect grey water in. I managed to set it up without any real issues and my siphon worked correctly right from the first time that I used it. I initially had it filled with just water and nothing in the grow bed for a couple of weeks to make sure that the siphon worked OK and then 2 weeks ago I filled the grow bed with expanded clay balls.

Mistake no.1 - didn't realise that the clay balls would float!!! I needed to take about 2 inches off of the top of the drain pipe and to do this I had to remove the siphon and the pipe that holds the media away from it......let's just say that getting it all back in was a bit of a challenge and I ended up having to fill every bucket, esky, and plastic storage container that I owned with clay balls until I had enough out to fix the problem and reset everything (all good now - touch wood!!).

Last week I put some plants into the grow bed and a few caps of seasol into the water and it has been cycling the water. I will try to get around to taking a few photos on the weekend and posting them up but now for the questions:

1. With media in and a 2400 l/m pump I have a fill time of approx 12 min and a drain time of approx 6.5 minutes. Is this OK in the scheme of things or do I need to aim for a "magic ratio"?

2. Any recommendations for a water test kit?

3. I am considering Silver Perch (in expectation of Spring and Summer) and then might try Rainbow Trout over colder months next year - anyone had experience with these fish in Melbourne? good, bad, or otherwise???

4. Recommendations for fish food? Best place to buy it?

5. Once I have a test kit, what levels do I need to check and what do they need to be before I add fish into the water??

6. Didn't realise how much dust would wash off the clay balls. It has all settled on the bottom and I am going to try to use a length of hose as a siphon to get most of the clay dust out and into another clean container (using the hose like a vacuum cleaner), let it settle, and then transfer the water back into the grow bed (will probably tip the dust into my compost heap). Anyone tried this before? Any other ideas?

Apologies for all the questions in my first post and I will really appreciate any feedback that anyone has to offer.

Cheers,

Gags

Charlie

Welcome Gags :wave1:

Its a good idea to design your standpipe so it can be removed without pulling out the media guard etc, it doesnt have to be glued or anything, just hand tight foe easy removal for reasons you have mentioned.. anyway, lesson learnt there :thumbleft:

1. Dont get too fussed on fill and drain times, it is often mentioned that its good to turn your fish tank volume over every hour. You havnt mentioned your GB and FT volumes but if I assume you have used a single IBC for your set up you may have around 800L of FT, the times you have mentioned will be fine.

2. The API test kit is a great kit, it has your main test bottles in which are for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH. A test kit isnt essential but I find it helps you understand the nutrification process and what water quality you have and what you would like to achieve. You can order these from BYAP.

3. Silvers are a great hardy fish so a bit more giving when starting a new system. Im not totally familiar with what is available in melbourne but someone will chime in and help you there.

4. Aquaculture pellets can be purchased from BYAP, Fresh by Nature, Skretting and probably a few other places closer to your location.

5. Have a read here http://ibcofaquaponics.com/ it will help you with all the simple stuff.

6. dont fuss on the dust from the media, it will all end up in your GB anyway.

Goodluck and keep the questions coming :thumbleft:

Gags

Thanks for the quick reply - much appreciated!!!

My standpipe is glued into a PVC fitting with a thread on it that is screwed into the "bung hole" that was in the lid of the IBC (now the base of the grow bed) - I will have to check on the weekend to see if I can screw it out (I can't remember but I think that I have it screwed in from the inside of the GB and with the elbow on the siphon on the outlet side I reckon I might have to cut it off and start again - lesson learnt as you said!!!).

I think I might get one of the API test kits - must admit that I hadn't explored the online shop much until you posted.

In regards to feed - will I need specific types of feed for a specific type of fish or is it all pretty generic? I seem to recall reading somewhere about floating vs sinking pellets?? Also, I assume that the smaller pellets (3mm) would be most suitable for fingerlings?

I would guess that my setup has approx 750 L or so of water and at this stage just the single 1000 mm x 1200 mm GB on the top. I was thinking of starting with 25 silver perch fingerlings - does this sound like it would be in the ballpark or should I be looking at more or less fish?

Thanks again for the advice.

Gags

Charlie

Pellet feed is specially formulated for max growth of fish and plants, most aquaculture feeds have similar ingredients, they are actually a byproduct of the aquaculture industry. Mainly grains and proteins. 3mm is a good starting point for small fingerlings. the difference between sinking and floating is really just about the type of fish you choose. Most take the floating. Obviously bottom feeders are better on the sinking.

Fish stocking is directly related to GB volume... or filtration volume. We recommend a safe range is about 25 fish per 500L of filtartion (this will be sufficient if you grow them out to around 500g), have a look on the side of your IBC and there is markings for litres, this will help you determine how many litres are in your GB. Photos of your system will help us help you. Until I know your GB capacity Id rather not recommend an amount but Im guessing you may have around 200L so your stock level would be around 8-10 fish.

Get some photos happening mate and we will help you along :cheers:

Gags

D'oh!! Just realised that I put in 7 x 50 litre bags of media so I have a 350 litre grow bed!!! I am looking at getting 25 Silver Perch fingerlings delivered once all the levels in the water are OK - I assume that given they will start out small that they would be OK with 350 L of media initially? I am planning on adding a couple more grow beds (probably a 200 L drum cut in half lengthways) in the next couple of months so I would then be up to about 500 L of growled media which will then be within the ratio recommended below.

API water test kit arrived today so I will have a look tomorrow to see where all the levels are at and hopefully I will get some photos to post up as well.

The plants that I put in last weekend are all looking OK and still standing up. I also put in a bit of Seasol and the seaweed smell has fully dissipated so I guess it has either been used by the plants or has been leeched out by the growled??

Gags

First water test and photos today.

Ph: 8
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

Water has been recirculating for a few weeks with plants put in last weekend with a couple of caps of Seasol. Not sure what I need to do to get the levels correct (not even sure what I should be aiming at) - any advice welcome.

My system is pretty simple IBC. Treated pine sleeper base with a bed of sand for the FT to sit on. I drilled some shallow holes in the top of the sleepers and the cut-off "legs" of the FT frame sit in them to stop it from moving. 90% shade cloth all round. I have used a pump from Masters (2400 Lph with 2.4m head) and irrigation pipe (did put in a valve but have it fully open). I also put in a PVC elbow and short length of pipe in the front corner as an overflow in case the siphon stops working. Autosiphon was made with PVC and irrigation hose (might get a photo tomorrow) and I have 350L of Hydrotron (spelling?) in the GB.

Have put in leeks, peas, a transplanted broad bean, strawberry (bare rooted), white asparagus (will probably end up in the soil vege patch), spinach, lettuce, and rhubarb. Hopefully we will get some warmer weather soon that might be more conducive to vege growing!!!

One of the photos shows the broad beans that we put in pots a few months ago - they are going crazy!!! (plastic fence is to protect them from the chooks!!!).

faye

Welcome to the forum Gags, did you plant seeds in the beds, cause it looks like you could get heaps more plants in that space if you're not waiting for seeds to come up!

Gags

Didn't plant any seeds but it sounds like we might need to do another trip to the nursery for more seedlings!! I guess I am not yet used to being able to plant things at high density yet. The bare section at the back has a couple of rhubarb plants and a couple of asparagus (root stock) but I think these are going to take a while to shoot up.

The main advice I am after atm is in regards to the Ph/ammonia/NO2/NO3 levels - should I be adding anything (season, humonia, etc) or do I just need to let things take their course??

faye

Here is a handy place to do a bit of reading Gags http://ibcofaquaponics.com/

Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics