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urbanrunoff
01-06-2010, 07:09 PM
happy new year everyone!
i love to see pics of other people's systems, so i thought it would only be fair if i showcased my humble first system.

urbanrunoff
01-06-2010, 07:10 PM
2 more.

stucco
01-06-2010, 07:38 PM
Kewl system! Nice pics and happy new year to u toooo. :mrgreen:

jackalope
01-06-2010, 11:35 PM
Ahhhh one of those places with no snow ...... thanks for the pics ;) ..... reminds me of where I've been before I settled in the far north with a 3 month summer and a 9 month winter :lol: :lol: :lol:

davidstcldfl
01-07-2010, 05:49 AM
:D ....Nice !

urbanrunoff
01-07-2010, 08:24 PM
thanks.

not sure it is cycling correctly
ammonia went down to 0.25
nitrate is at 10
nitrite varies between 1 to .5
pH is at 8

i had 2 casualties so far( one got stuck in the airlift pipe)
one Goldie is in isolation because i noticed some white flakes on the fin (itch)
so i have a total of 22 fishes.
Hopefully i wont have an ITCH infestation. i raised the temp and added salt.
This saturday i'll go to tilapia mama's workshop.
And i'm kind of tempted to build a little balcony system for the goldies and get some tilapia. :mrgreen:

badflash
01-08-2010, 10:03 AM
I think it just isn't done cycling. Ammonia ad nitrite will go to 0 when it is. If the goldies die, get a couple of big turtles. They don't care about the ammonia and poop real well. Once it does cycle, catch the turtles and add fish. Goldies are poor choices to cycle tanks. They can't handle the spikes.

urbanrunoff
01-08-2010, 03:45 PM
can i mix turtles and goldies?
and don't turtles need a place out of the water too?
how about crawdads, a creak nearby is full of them?

stucco
01-08-2010, 04:12 PM
Pee in a bottle, let it sit for a couple of days and add that till you get ammonia readings. Simple as that. :ugeek:

badflash
01-08-2010, 08:56 PM
can i mix turtles and goldies?
and don't turtles need a place out of the water too?
how about crawdads, a creak nearby is full of them?

In short order the turtles will eat all the goldies. Crays are WAY more sensitive to ammonia. Peeing in the tank is probably a better solution, but you need to control your beer. Perish the thought.

urbanrunoff
01-09-2010, 07:13 PM
can i mix turtles and goldies?
and don't turtles need a place out of the water too?
how about crawdads, a creak nearby is full of them?
but you need to control your beer.
not an option :)

jackalope
01-09-2010, 09:35 PM
can i mix turtles and goldies?
and don't turtles need a place out of the water too?
how about crawdads, a creak nearby is full of them?
but you need to control your beer.
not an option :)
I can understand that! My better half says "you've had too much" .... I didn't know there was such a thing as too much! :lol: :lol:

urbanrunoff
02-11-2010, 02:45 PM
just a little update.
I had couple of nice batches of salads, wife was very exited. 8-)

cabbage is growing too, but my PH is still too high (around 8).
i would like to try and get some calcium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, but who sells that stuff ?

And i'm really happy my goldies finally eat duckweed. took them a while to get used to it.
in a couple of weeks i'm ready for tilapia.

dufflight
02-11-2010, 03:15 PM
I use hydrochloric acid to drop the ph. Not sure of the ratio to water volume.

badflash
02-11-2010, 07:57 PM
Use only a little at a time and re-check the pH after a few water turn-overs. The pH will rebound.

urbanrunoff
02-11-2010, 09:01 PM
Use only a little at a time and re-check the pH after a few water turn-overs. The pH will rebound.
yeah i'm pretty sure it will, it's my gravel
Can i use the PH down they sell at pet stores?

jackalope
02-11-2010, 10:34 PM
Use only a little at a time and re-check the pH after a few water turn-overs. The pH will rebound.
yeah i'm pretty sure it will, it's my gravel
Can i use the PH down they sell at pet stores?
I never did get my PH to come down, no matter what I did to it ...... it always stayed at about 8.5 ...... if I treated it, the effect would only last a few hours before it would be right back up there .... I was told it was somehing that was buffering it .... probably my pea gravel ...... Hydroton isn't an option here, it's 250 miles one way to buy it at the closest seller.

If you use the stuff at the LFS, it's most likely just diluted sulfuric acid or muriatic acid ..... might as well get the real stuff which is cheaper by the gallon ..... BTW, White Vinegar worked good for me, but as I said, in a few hours, it was right back up to 8.5 :(

dufflight
02-12-2010, 01:44 AM
A few hrs to bounce back up. Thats really buffered. :shock: No option for a media change. My gravel or river rock is the cause of my drift. With 500 ish fish the bio load still has to work against the buffer. The acid shifts it for a few weeks but I don't keep a check and it slowly goes up. I was thinking of installing a larger ABF(airlift bio filter) and another 1000 ish fish and let the bio work on getting the buffer slowly out of the media.

badflash
02-12-2010, 11:37 AM
The rock used MUST be inert. If it isn't there is no sense in using any chemicals to deal with it. The rock will always win. Either live with the high pH and find plants that like that, or change your rock.

urbanrunoff
03-14-2010, 12:06 PM
Yesterday was the big day.
25 tilapia fingerlings have been added to the tank. :D
Now i have 35 goldies and 25 tilapias. The tilapias are separated by a laundry basket (the netted ones that unfold).
Goldies will soon have their own tank.
Salads have been doing fine. Red cabbage is taking over but no heads yet. Broccoli is slow but looking healthy.
Basil is doing ok, but not as good as i hoped.
Spinach is just not happening, yellow and not growing.
Strawberries were actually doing well but i took them out because they were infested with flies of all sorts.
I got plenty of seedling and will experiment with what works the rest will go in my regular hydroponics.

i've had some white flies and aphids and have been dusting with DE and using sticky yellow cards so it seems under control.


Question:
if i get a bigger infestation can i use products like neem oil and BE (organic pesticides) if i'm very careful the stuff doesn't runoff into the water or rocks?
I thought about applying that stuff with cotton swaps on affected leaves and stems.

have a great Sunday everyone. I'm going to be busy plucking weeds in my soil based garden... pffffft what a hassle :lol:

davidstcldfl
03-14-2010, 05:13 PM
Congrats on getting your tilapia moved in. That's a great feeling, isn't it ? !.... :D

I've read where others have said, the veggies do better as the system ages. I hope that's true. Mine are growing slowly. It has been pretty cool for FL....how's your weather been in CA ?

I'm not sure about the spraying. I'm wondering also.....Since I'm using modules, I can lift each plant out of the growbed and spray them, if needed.

stucco
03-14-2010, 07:29 PM
Are you adding iron? That is usually the cause of the yellowing.

urbanrunoff
03-14-2010, 07:40 PM
thx.
Yeah, it's a great feelin :) finally some real fish, unlike goldfish these guys pack some energy.

we had a pretty mild winter (el nino). today fellt like spring, beautiful day.
heard florida was exceptionally cold this year

Ps: sorry for all the typos, english is my 3rd language :mrgreen:

urbanrunoff
03-14-2010, 07:46 PM
Are you adding iron? That is usually the cause of the yellowing.
I kinda do, i'm not 100% sure on how to do it.
I did some foliage spray but that burned my lettuce. so i have been mixing iron chelate up in 1 gallon and poured it into the growbed.

Whats the bets way to do it?
also, i got some maxicrop. how do i apply it?

stucco
03-14-2010, 07:47 PM
English is my first language and I couldn’t do it without Microsoft word :lol:

stucco
03-14-2010, 07:51 PM
Maxicrop is a good source. Maxi crop with iron is a bit better. I just add until the water is tinted once a week maybe ½ a cup in 800 or so gallons.

stucco
03-14-2010, 08:01 PM
I just read the bit a bought your ph, iron is les affective at ph higher than 6.5. Have you dealt with your rocks or media yet?

urbanrunoff
03-15-2010, 10:39 AM
I just read the bit a bought your ph, iron is les affective at ph higher than 6.5. Have you dealt with your rocks or media yet?
no i have not changed my media yet. I'm going to wait it out. if PH does not go down by fall, i will change it at that point.

jackalope
03-15-2010, 09:34 PM
So how do the Tilapia react to the iron chelate? and where do you find that, at a garden store?

urbanrunoff
03-16-2010, 12:31 PM
are tilapias sensitive to iron chelate?\


it is from a garden store. of organic source :roll:

stucco
03-16-2010, 04:57 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysBF7cu7GOI Here is a video on adding iron. :mrgreen:

badflash
03-16-2010, 05:31 PM
Chelated iron is no problem, used in moderation. Greenstone also works as does bloodmeal used sparingly.

urbanrunoff
03-16-2010, 08:10 PM
cool thanks.
here another question:
Whats the best way of feeding tilapia fingerlings?
I bought some pellets that "tilapia mama" (my dealer ;) ) recommends.
I read somewhere they are best fed small portions 4 times a day.
I grind up the pellets and give them a couple of pinches, food is gone in 2 minutes, they seem so hungry.

urbanrunoff
06-02-2010, 02:02 PM
Bad News
I lost my second fish.

One 2 weeks ago
and just found another floater.

The water quality ammonia, nitrite, nitrate are all good
But something must be wrong. Hope it is not the HCL i have been adding. Plants really took off once i got pH slightly under 8 and held it there by adding HCL, 5ml every other day.

It seems like a sudden death. It's not like i see fish that are suffering and then slowly die. All seems fine till i see a floater.
No visible disease either.

badflash
06-02-2010, 02:16 PM
How many fish in the system?

urbanrunoff
06-02-2010, 02:26 PM
started with 25 tilapias in 100 gallon tank

badflash
06-02-2010, 07:27 PM
How big are they? The practical limit is about 1 pound of fish per 4 gallons of water. Are you using air stones?

urbanrunoff
06-02-2010, 09:00 PM
yes i'm using airstones hooked up to a 100gallon+ airpump


they range from 3 to 6 inches (most lie somewhere in between)

jackalope
06-02-2010, 10:18 PM
Sorry to hear of your losses, I hope you get that sorted.

I don't know what HCL is, but I wouldn't put anything in my fish water that doesn't come natural! What are the ingredients of HCL (usually on the back of the container, alongside the poison/medical/emergency warnings)?

davidstcldfl
06-03-2010, 05:25 AM
Urbanrunoff......Sorry to hear about your losses too.

Is this what you use....Hydrochloric acid, aka.... muriatic acid
How 'fast' did you adjust your PH ?

My tank holds just over 500 gals....total sytem, aprox a 1000 gals. When I brought my PH down, I was adding a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup at a time....which was probably too much.
I killed a few goldfish, the first time I added some.... :oops: They get the treated water before it goes to the main tank.

I got this idea fom 'somebody else'.... :? ...'Thanks' whoever it was.
I now use a big plastic cup. I drilled a small hole in the bottom of the cup. I clamp the cup to the inside lip of my swirll filter. I fiill the cup 2/3's with fish water...then I add a little muriatic acid . It drips into the filter nice and slow. Then....it goes to the plants first, into the sump(s), last to the fish tank. By then, it's pretty well diluted.
Hope this helps.

badflash
06-03-2010, 06:20 AM
Are the deaths the small ones or large ones, or is it a mix? 2 out of a hundered over that period of time is not a lot. Watch for a trend.