Day 40... FISH!

I was thinking about throwing some goldfish in the fish tank and continuing the cycle with fish.  I've been looking at hatcheries that grow native Louisiana brim since I started my aquaponics setup.  Tilapia requires a permit from a state agency and I just don't want the hassle just yet.

During the week I started thinking about the ponds in my area that are maintained by the city.  There is one in a nearby neighborhood, so I decided to go by and check it out.  I brought a bucket, a small net and some stale bread from Walmart.  Ducks.  2 ducks, both all white and annoying as hell.  They wouldn't let the bread hit the water.

Soooo... what about the pond in my own neighborhood?  The pond is 6 or 7 years old and was supposedly stocked with brim and bass when they dug it to build up the properties around here. 

I don't live on a lake lot, but the "green area" that leads up to the pond is right across from my house.  I walked over, walked out on the pier and threw a piece of bread into the pond.   Dang it.  A couple of Canadian geese saw me and started over.  BUT, the bread chunk is being devoured by dozens of brim. I dropped a couple more pieces of bread in the water and leaned down with the net.


TWO SCOOPS.  I kid you not.  Two scoops of the net and I now I have 10 brim for my aquaponics setup.

Day 35... Something Odd. Chlorine Up / PH Down

Eggshell Container

The cold last night doesn't seem to have done any damage.  Heck, the water was 62 deg. at noon today.

The water has consistently been testing with no chlorine.  Yesterday, chlorine registered on the test strip.  I thought that it was just a fluke.  The test showed 1 ppm today.

The PH has dropped to 6.2 - 6.4.

What is different?  I have been adding a 1/4 cup of ammonia every other day in the morning.  On the afternoon that I add the ammonia, the strip shows 1 ppm.  The next afternoon is .5 ppm.

I added a bag of eggshells to the growbed this afternoon and took a bunch of pictures.

Day 34... Freaking Cold For Louisiana

It is March 2, 2013 and the high today is supposed to be 55 and the actual high was 45.  Since my son is home for a few days from college (Louisiana Tech, Go Dogs!), I asked him to help me add a layer of plastic on the hoop-house.  2mm + 2mm ought to hold a little more warmth.

Last night got down to 32 (4am to 6am).  At 2 pm the outside temp was 44 and the tank water was 62.  The odd thing was my 75 watt bulb that I use for heat was out.  Not burnt out, but blown out.  It had to have blown after 4 this morning because I was up for a bit and noticed the light was on.  A half inch hole right on the side of the bulb.  Now I'm on my last 75 watt bulb.

The interesting part of putting on the new sheet of plastic was feeling the heat of the water coming up from the top of the tarp.The tarp is connected to the edge of the growbed and the plastic is on the outside of the tarp.  The heat rises and along with the light bulb, the plants are keeping warm.

Tonight is supposed to be right at freezing or slightly below (31 or 30) again for two or three hours. 

Update: It was below freezing for 10 hours last night with a low of 27 for 3 hours.

Day 33... Thinking About Adding Fish

Tilapia or brim (sun perch)?  The hybrid brim is known for being hardy, but has a problem with breeding only males.  Not really sustainable, is it?  Louisiana requires a permit ($25 from Wildlife and Fisheries) and a sealed environment.  ie. a greenhouse.  I have that, don't I?

I found a cool article on adding fish, http://tilapiafingerlings.com/Faqs.aspx They talk about the perfect water and feeding.

If you're wondering... Nitrates are almost 200 ppm, but nitrites are > 10 by several shades of red.

My beans have taken off.  23 plants at last count.  Remember, that is 23 plants in a single row, 3 1/2' long. Too much?

The new chili pepper and Bibb or "boston" lettuce seeds are popping up.  I scattered the lettuce around the bed because Boston lettuce is usually small and tight. 

A friend warned me about the chili peppers heating up the other peppers.  This is LOUISIANA, dude.  BRING IT ON!

Day 29... Nitrates 40, Nitrites > 10 and Ammonia 3

The growth in the greenhouse is fantastic.

ALL of the red beans that I seeded have sprouted... and not just sprouted... 3" tall.  But there are too many, so I'll have to take some out of the bed and put them in the old raised bed.

The bell pepper is covered with new growth.  Yesterday, I pruned all of the old buds to encourage new buds.

The tomatoes and banana peppers don't have any signs of shock.  I'll know more about those after a few days.

The strawberry is the most amazing.  Planted, seemed to be dead, new center growth and, now, the new leaf growth is spreading out.  Bright green.

The cheapo lettuce is up to 2" tall now.  I will move some of them around the bed once some of them are bigger.

Now for the numbers...

• ammonia is 3 parts per million (I added an 1/8 cup of ammonia)
• nitrates are 40 parts per million
• nitrites are off the scale (>10 parts per million)
• chlorine 0
• Baton Rouge water is NOT hard
• alkalinity is 120 to 180 (ideal)
• ph is 7.4 to 7.8 (dropped a little)

Day 27... Nitrates Are 20 Parts Per Million

The nitrates are on the scale! YEA!

• ammonia is still more than 1, but less than 3 parts per million
• nitrates are 20 parts per million
• nitrites are off the scale (>10 parts per million)
• chlorine has always been 0
• Baton Rouge water is NOT hard
• alkalinity is 120 to 180 (ideal)
• ph is 7.8 

The cycle is almost done.  I haven't added any ammonia in a week and the levels are finally dropping.  The ammonia has to come down to zero and the nitrites to zero as well.  Once the ammonia gets to below 1, I'm going to start adding ammonia again.

This means that I am closer to getting fish.  Lafayette, Louisiana has a fish hatchery with coppernose brim and hybrid brim.  Its about a 45 mile drive... maybe next weekend or the weekend after that. 

My Venturi Aerator and Pump Timer

The design I chose for the water return underneath the growbed that feeds directly into the fish tank provides a fair amount of aeration, but I have been worried about it not being enough when I add fish to the tank.  Many of the aquaponics blogs say that more O2 helps with the cycle too.

Okay, so how do I aerate? Aquarium bubbler(s) or venturi setup?  My water line into the growbed is actually throttled way back, so I could easily add a T to the line from the pump and throw water back into the fish tank with some extra oxygen.

I found a YouTube video called, "simple "T" venturi...cheap and effective".  My plumbing was a 3/4 T, a 3/4 ball valve, a 3/4 90 deg turn and then a 3/4 to 1" T, a 1" inner cap, a 2' long 1" pipe and a bic pen.

The picture on the left shows the hole in the end cap and the pen with a strip of duct tape to help with a simple seal.

The venturi is simple.  The T will face up and down.  Put the 1" cap in the top of the T and insert the pen to the point where the pen is past the opening for the 3/4 side tube.  This way the water will flow from a 3/4 to a larger diameter, 1" tube and pull a vacuum on the pen.  Air will be mixed as the water flows down into the tank.

Timer on the Water Pump
I also added an outdoor 24 timer that has 15 minute increments on the water pump.  I set it to turn on 15 minutes every hour.  Since my water is fed from the top of the growbed I had to add a small hole to the stand tube so that when the water cuts off, the bed isn't half full of water.  A small hole should be enough to drain it between pump cycles.

Update - March 1, 2013 I pulled the water pump off of the timer.  The cycle isn't perfect and fish will require the constant air. The drop light is on it now set to turn on at night and off during the day.  The south Louisiana nights are below 45, but our days are 65+.

Update - April 1, 2013 I put the growbed water pump back on the timer.  I have 2 pumps now, a 300 gph pump wide open and feeding the fish tank and a 650 gph throttled way back feeding the growbed for 15 minutes an hour.  FYI, my system is now CHIFT PIST.