keeping fish alive until system is cycling

[squirrel warrior]

I live in SE Wisconsin and run a spring through fall aquaponics system in my open air garden. I use local Bluegill from a hatchery near my location. You can only get the fish until the end of May. Due to our weather we have some years we can't get things growing until June. I use a 330 gallon Tote for my fish tank. My question is, does anyone have an idea how to keep my fish alive in the tank until my system is cycling with good bacteria. I know this takes time , but our weather dictates how long for them to grow and be productive. Trying to filter the water in an economical way to keep them alive has eluded me. Thank you for your help and suggestions.

[Jason_in_Largo]

I used to set my systems up ahead of time, and put a small freshwater frozen bait fish like a shad in it. As the fish decays, the bacteria grows to consume the nutrients and the system cycles. If you check your water parameters frequently you can add the fish just as the baitfish finishes decomposing, the tank will barely cycle at all. I hope that helps, but I'm an aquarium guy, not an aquaponics expert (just starting) so keep that in mind.

Jason