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chrisfoerst
05-14-2011, 09:36 PM
This is going to a long winded question but I would really appreciate some help. I have been cycling my two new systems for 4 weeks and two weeks with a few small tilapia in each tank. The rest of my 40 tilapia are on stand by in a tank that is filtered with a reg aquarium filter. They get quite dirty and so I have been changing their water about once a week.

I am going to install my systems in downtown El Paso as part of a public arts project in 3 weeks. I have waiting for the nitrites to drop before adding in the rest of the fish but considering I have a deadline I will have to do this soon. I also wonder if it wouldn't be better for the fish to move them into the aquaponics system rather than keeping them in their current less than desirable situation.

Should I still be patient and wait for the nitrites to drop or should I move them in.

urbanfarmer
05-14-2011, 09:42 PM
Ideally, you want to wait until the nitrites drop. Ammonia and nitrite can be very toxic to fish and can stunt their growth substantially. It can be an quite a struggle to keep the water parameters in check, but it has to be done. I don't know if they are safe for fish for human consumption, but they have those ammo rocks that can chemically remove ammonia (and maybe nitrite). The rocks can be "recharged" once they get saturated and used again and again. I have not tried them, but I have always had that though in the back of my mind...

Can you move the fish? Yes. Is it the best option? Maybe not. Will it kill the fish? Maybe, maybe not. Short term exposure won't kill the fish, but if it doesn't get corrected in the long term it could be fatal.

rfeiller
05-14-2011, 10:02 PM
clay is a common substance for removal of ammonia, fuller's earth was the first type of clay used. bentonite is the most common clay used today in kitty litter and ammocarb. i've heard it can be recharged, ion exchange.

since it is for display only at this point, why not do a partial water change, it will not stop the nitrification cycling process.

chrisfoerst
05-15-2011, 08:36 PM
Well, naive as it may sound, my original idea with this project called, "fish.taco.ponic" was to grow all of the ingredients for fish tacos (minus the tortillas), set up the installation and then cook and serve fish tacos to the public.

I would still like to do this, but now that I am reading your responses I am wondering if my fish are even safe for consumption considering the high nitrite level and the fact that most of them have not been raised in my aquaponic units thus far.

urbanfarmer
05-15-2011, 10:48 PM
Well, naive as it may sound, my original idea with this project called, "fish.taco.ponic" was to grow all of the ingredients for fish tacos (minus the tortillas), set up the installation and then cook and serve fish tacos to the public.

I would still like to do this, but now that I am reading your responses I am wondering if my fish are even safe for consumption considering the high nitrite level and the fact that most of them have not been raised in my aquaponic units thus far.
Nitrite will not make fish unsafe for human consumption. Nitrite causes something called brown blood disease or methemoglobinemia in fish. Methemoglobinemia is a reversible condition. Methemoglobin is an oxidized form of hemoglobin. Methemoglobin will convert back to hemoglobin in time. Vitamin C helps fish do this, which is why in commercial aquaculture it's important to keep the vitamin C diet supplementation adequate.

I hope that helps. :mrgreen:

P.S. I love your concept. Please don't stop! We will help you get there!

chrisfoerst
05-16-2011, 07:31 AM
Good. Thanks for the responses. rfeiller, I will try the partial water exchange today.
And, urbanfarmer I am researching those ammo rocks but I am glad to know that my fish are probably ok (consumable). How about floating some plants in the tank like watercress? Are there any that are particularly good at speeding up the nitrification process?

I had some bad luck with plants in the aquarium earlier this year because they caused an algae bloom that killed my first group of fish. So, I have been hesitant to try again but now my tanks are not in sunlight so it may be ok.

Thanks for the continued support, I am really grateful to this forum!

rfeiller
05-16-2011, 01:49 PM
What was with those plants that would have caused the algae bloom?
Plants should have prevented the bloom as the plants and algae are in competition for the nutrients. :?:

chrisfoerst
05-17-2011, 10:09 AM
I don't know what kind of plants they were. They came from our local aquarium shop and were supposed to be great at keeping the water clean. They did for a while and then they became this bright, intense gorgeous green color (which I thought was an algae bloom). This was followed by our historic cold freeze that must have killed the algae due to lack of light.

Would it be a good idea to try some floating plants? Any suggestions?