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  1. #11
    Members bsfman's Avatar
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    Re: Hello from Tampa, Florida!

    Quote Originally Posted by FloridaChris
    Dave, just to be clear this just adds minerals in the water to help the plants. It does not help speed up the nitrification process, correct? So it'll be a small shot of energy for the long haul ahead of me correct? I have read that the nitrifying bacteria takes about a month to build up and you should wait until then to plant anything. Just debating on whether I should spend my time and money on planting any seedlings I buy from HD or a grower now or to wait...
    Correct. It won't help nitrification but it will add nutrients. Best to get the type with chelated iron as iron may be difficult for plants to uptake with our high ph Florida water.

    So long as you have an ammonia source, there's no need to delay in adding plants. Plants will uptake nitrogenous waste whether it's in ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate form.

  2. #12
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    Re: Hello from Tampa, Florida!

    Hey guys, definitely going to be adding plants this weekend. I was able to get my build done in less than 5 hours. That includes the two trips to Home Depot and the entire build process. I have posted a few pictures of my day below.

    Anyone happen to be in the Tampa area that knows any gardens that have fruit/vegetable seedlings for sale? I want the HD plants to be last resort. As for fish, figured I will pick up 8 goldfish and 2 small catfish. I'll make sure to pick up the maxi grow with iron to get that all in the system. In the mail today came my freshwater aquarium test kit. Planned on taking a reading after a weeks worth of cycling, unless I should sooner or later.

    A problem I did have was a leaky bung fitting. Any tips? I have a tube of bathroom silicone, but don't know if it is safe to use in a AP setup like this.

    The pump I am running is 800GPH, which I know is overkill, but plan to use it as I expand. I was only able to get two cycles in before the sun called a close to my day, but my cycle time is 1 min from trickle to full blast siphon drain and 4 more minutes after that surge for the siphon to break. Is that quick enough? Should I speed it up? Haven't times how long it takes to fill, if I were to guess I'd say 7-8mins.

    Pictures:
    Start of the day


    End of day


    Behind the scenes




    Put a little to much water in... Wops!


    Leaky bung cap... Any solutions?



    All in all. It was a great project, I had a ton of fun doing it, and I recommend it to anyone! It was easy as pie, now for the hard part... actually getting something to grow!! Can't wait for the next step in this AP adventure!

  3. #13
    Moderator davidstcldfl's Avatar
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    Re: Hello from Tampa, Florida!

    Looking nice...
    Did we tell you this was addictive...?... :P

    Quote Originally Posted by FloridaChris
    A problem I did have was a leaky bung fitting. Any tips? I have a tube of bathroom silicone, but don't know if it is safe to use in a AP setup like this.
    Most of the bathroom silicone has an anti-microbial in it. I don't know if that little bit would matter...? The silicone isn't going to stick to the plastic anyway.
    Plumber's putty should work....it's used in potable water, so you'd think it would be safe.
    The best thing...a boat caulking made by 3M. I've seen it in small tubes, like a toothpaste tube. The one draw back is, the 'fast cure', takes 24 hrs.
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." - President Ronald Reagan

  4. #14
    Members bsfman's Avatar
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    Re: Hello from Tampa, Florida!

    Great looking build!

    The GE type 1 silicone is safe to use. The GE type 2 has anti-microbial agents in it.

  5. #15
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    Re: Hello from Tampa, Florida!

    Hey guys, not sure what type of silicone it is (type 1 vs 2) so I am just going to return it and try to find some plumbers puddy. Going to try teflon tape on the bungs first, maybe that should help.

    Questions:

    Now that I am getting my fish, what to feed them? I want it to be an organic feed, to not defeat the whole purpose of doing this. Eventually, I'd like to grow my own duckweed, but that is further down the road. What do you all use?

    Also, I read that when you put your fish in the system that you don't want to feed them for the first few days. Is this the case?

    Has anyone ever tried growing peanuts in AP? If so, any pointers?

    Also, how do you keep your electrical connections outside moisture proof? Was thinking of just wrapping with seran wrap!

  6. #16
    Moderator davidstcldfl's Avatar
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    Re: Hello from Tampa, Florida!

    Chris, teflon tape acts as a lubricant for the threads. I'd skip it and just use the plumbers putty.

    The fish are 'usually' stressed for the first few days. Even if you feed them, they normally don't eat.
    It seems to take them several weeks to get 'really comfortable' in their new environment.
    Another interesting thing... they have to get use to, seeing 'you' peering into their tank. They'll actually recognize you after awhile.
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." - President Ronald Reagan

  7. #17
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    Re: Hello from Tampa, Florida!

    I actualy got out there this morning and gave a little extra elbow grease I was lacking from building all yesterday afternoon! The threads tightened down enough that I didn't have to use anything. I still have a leaky PVC fitting, where the water drains out of the siphon, but I am just going to rig a trap that funnels the water back into the FT.

    As for fish feed, I am looking to do duckweed. Doesn't seem to complicated. Has anyone harvest from the wild or grown their own? If not, what do you do for fish food?

    David - I like your Reagan quote by the way, first time I noticed it.

  8. #18
    Moderator davidstcldfl's Avatar
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    Re: Hello from Tampa, Florida!

    I use purina's 'aquamax' products. No, it'd not organic.

    I raised duck weed before. I harvested some form a local pond. I brought it home and put it in a small tub and added lots of clorox. I was hoping the clorox would kill any nasties. I did end up with snails in my system about a month or so later. I'm not sure if they came from the duckweed.

    I set up a kiddies pool to raise it in. I had a very slow flow of system water coming into the pool. I had to add shade to it when it got warm out. The duckweed doesn't like water flow or sunlight.
    The stuff does grow really fast. And dies off fast too. The bottom of the pool always had parts of dead duckweed in it.

    My tilapia loved the stuff. They also loved sweet potato leaves and most other greens that I raised.

    You'd have to raise a ton of the stuff, to feed only it to your fish. That would take up a lot of room. Also have to consider....the duckweed can clean up the water so well, that if you raise enough, you may not have enough nutes for the plants you want to eat.
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." - President Ronald Reagan

  9. #19
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    Re: Hello from Tampa, Florida!

    Hmmm, maybe I can subsidize with duckweed and not feed full time with it. I'll look into my options, I've got some time.

    Quick update - I got fish today and introduced them into my system, as well as an aquarium jump start kit. Also, I introduced the grow medium to the system. I think I did everything in a rush and may potentially took me a step back.

    So I put the jump start kit in first, then the fish, then the gravel.... Did that ass backwards.

    My fish were loving their new massive tanks swimming around freely, until I put the grow medium in. I hosed down each bag for about 2 mins straight, until it ran clear, but when I poured it into the GB it immediately clouded up. After I fully filled the first GB, two fish were floating at the top. Filled the second bed, after a trip to HD to get more gravel, and two more popped up dead. Well now I have really milky water and down to 6 fish within 4 hours of having them. I expected them to die off, but not this quick and to my airhead error.

    Anyways, will this water clear up or should I dump the tank and start over?



    Here is the thing done, just waiting on plants to go in.





    And to have a kicker at the end of the day, there is now a nice Florida thunderstorm monsooning outside! So much for my bacteria I introduced to the system... it is all getting flushed out by this downpour. Next step.... build a solid cover.

  10. #20
    Members bsfman's Avatar
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    Re: Hello from Tampa, Florida!

    Quote Originally Posted by FloridaChris

    Anyways, will this water clear up or should I dump the tank and start over?
    The water will clear up within a day. No need to dump and start over.

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