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Apollo
09-02-2013, 05:00 PM
When you say add a small amount of diluted pure Ammonia to your fish tank once a day until the level start to increase. How much would be a small amount for a 1,300 gal tank and at what point do I stop adding Ammonia?

Any additional info would be helpful, Thanks Apollo

JCO
09-02-2013, 11:05 PM
Let's start with how big is your fish tank, what kind of fish do you have in it, how many fish do you have in it and how big are the fish in it?

As for adding ammonia to the fish tank. I advise against it.

Feed the fish twice a day all they will eat in 5 minutes and they will give you your ammonia providing there are enough of them and they are big enough to do the job. Otherwise add more fish or get bigger fish.

It is never necessary to add ammonia to a system if it is set up properly with the correct amount, size and type of fish.

Your fish are the engine, the fish food the fuel and ammonia is what you get; which the bio-filter, once cycled properly, will turn into all the nitrates necessary to feed your plants and clean the water to be returned to the fish.

Treat your Aquaponics System like a birthday cake.

1) Bake it
2) Put the icing on it

AND most important

3) Keep your fingers out of it 'til it's time to cut for the birthday party. :mrgreen:

Apollo
09-03-2013, 05:30 AM
I have two GBs that are 3.5 ft. x 10 ft. @ 14 inches and a 1,280 gal Fish Tank that is 7' x 7' @ 42" deep. Filled with rain water, just turn on the pump about 5 days ago. Not sure as to what my next step should be, wait 6 weeks, add ammonia, add Neptune's Harvest Seaweed, add just a few starter Gold Fish or add lots of Tilapia.

Oliver
09-03-2013, 09:53 AM
The biggest problem you have with your system is the rain water. Rain water contains no minerals and it will be pH unstable. My suggestion is to dump the rain water and fill it with a source of water that contains minerals and hopefully a pH of around 7.5.

Oliver

Apollo
09-03-2013, 10:26 AM
The water in my system is about 80% rainwater, 20% well/city water. I my ph level is @ 7.5, free chlorine @ 0.5, total alkalinity @ 180. All levels are the same between my system water & well/city water. These are the only levels I can check until my other test kit arrives.

JCO
09-03-2013, 10:36 AM
If you are going to use Tilapia, go ahead and add a few once the system has cycled for about a week. They will get the bacteria working. :mrgreen:

Apollo
09-03-2013, 10:59 AM
Thanks, JCO

Oliver says "The biggest problem you have with your system is the rain water. Rain water contains no minerals and it will be pH unstable. My suggestion is to dump the rain water and fill it with a source of water that contains minerals and hopefully a pH of around 7.5".

What's your opinion?

Apollo

Aloha Don
09-03-2013, 12:02 PM
Apollo,
I suggest that you do add fish to allow the cycling process to start....
My biggest problem in my system was I kept trying to help and speed up the process....
I would suggest that as you feed your fish 2 - 3 times daily, read Oliver's 101 series on this forum....
That will help pass the time and give you more information on your system and what to expect....
Don't forget to add plenty of air to the system

Apollo
09-03-2013, 12:30 PM
Thanks, Aloha Don

With a 1300 gal FT how many and what size of Tilapia fish do you think I will need. As far as oxygen, I have about 1300 gals per hour returning to the FT on a loop from the pump back to the FT. Water enters on all four sides form a 3/4" PVA with 3/8" or larger holes drilled every 6", plus I have 1300 gals per hour returning back from my GBs which is falling 6" back into my FT. Dose that sound like it should do the trick?

Apollo

Roger L.
09-03-2013, 12:42 PM
Apollo, Oliver is one of the most knowledgable people on the forum. He will not steer you wrong. You can probably stay with the rain water but it sounds to me you will have an inferior starting point and it will probably cause delayed or insufficient growth due to the lack of nutrients. Oliver has helped me more than once. I would say trust him, just my opinion.

JCO
09-03-2013, 01:37 PM
I have a 4,000+ gal fish tank in my backyard that was initially filled with rain water and in which the water level is continuously maintained by rainwater both from the sky and from collection containers. It has been running continuously for about 12 years.

I do not dispute that rainwater contains no minerals, however I have added none and my breeder Japanese KOI ranging from 2' to 3' in length spawn each spring and I raise the fry to size for sale in that water and my grow bed veggies flourish with only the addition of calcium from egg shells. :mrgreen:

Apollo
09-03-2013, 01:49 PM
Thanks, JCO

I live in Phoenix AZ. where the water is not cheap and it contains a lot of sodium, chorine and other man induced chemicals that I'm trying to keep out of my FT.

Any comment on how many fish I should add to bring up my ammonia level?

Apollo

JCO
09-03-2013, 02:02 PM
How many all depends on type, size now and how big they will get. I could house 1,000+ 1" KOI in my 4K setup but in 6 months they would be 4" - 5" and way too many for the system in addition to them dying like flies from over crowding.

What type of fish are you going for? :mrgreen:

Apollo
09-03-2013, 02:24 PM
Thanks, JCO

Sorry for all the questions.

I will be raising Tilapia, when you say "go ahead and add a few once the system has cycled for about a week". Can you be more specific? How large and how many? Not sure what I will find but I do know if their are small I will need more...maybe a dozen or two?

Apollo

JCO
09-03-2013, 11:53 PM
I raised 20 Blue Tilapia in a 100 gal aquarium last year from 3" to about 8" with no problem. They are like little pigs, always hungry and even though I had two large sponge filter and a large wet dry filter running full blast, their water was always a dirty brown color so much so that you could not see them unless they were right up against the glass.

At 8" they got to splashy at feeding time to keep them in the aquarium anymore so outside they went into my swimming pool. At about 10 to 11 months of age, they all weight in at about 5 lbs live.

Take that into consideration and you be the judge. :mrgreen: