Dave's ground breaking news.

[davidstcldfl]

'Hi' to my fellow aqua-nuts....

Well, I broke out the new test kit and of course I had to play er.. a ..a ..well...I mean test my water.

The outside water: which is kinda green now... PH... 8.6 nitrites... 0.05
I dont have the FT finished. I'm circulating the water through the GB (no plants) and the 2 tanks in the ground...for maybe a month now, for a few hours a day. I do have a bio-box, which the air pump is running 24/7.
Volume is aprox 300 gals. A 1/3 of it was rain water.....the rest city. I've been treating it with 5-6 oz's of humonia once a week. Not too worried about this water....yet.

Water in my breeder tank:Chlorine... 0 PH... 8. nitrites... 0 (all city water....2 days old now)
50 gal aquarium w/ a mini grow bed( 2 tomatoes) and a bio-box ....aprox 60 gals total.
Added 3 oz's of ( un-aged) humonia 2 days ago.

This water I am concerned about. I'm to get a few tilpia fry from Stucco, in a few weeks. This will be thier new home for awhile.

[badflash]

pH is a bit high for good plant growth, but OK for fish. As the fish grow the pH will come down. Keep your fingers crossed.

[davidstcldfl]

pH is a bit high for good plant growth, but OK for fish. As the fish grow the pH will come down. Keep your fingers crossed.

The outside water (8.6) is maxing out the PH test kit....

I don't have any fish 'yet'.....is there anything I can do to help ?



The 2 tomatoes look really happy. They don't show any ill effects of the transplant. It was getting late/dark when I was trying to rinse off some of the dirt, from their roots. I was getting cold too, so I was being semi-gentle...

I used lots of vermiculite in the mix for the 'modules'. ( NOTE TO SELF: hey dumb-dumb, use perilite instead !) The vermiculite made it's way through the slots in the baskets. It was floating everywhere, when I turned on the pumps.... I ended up replacing most of the aged water, by trying to siphon the stuff out.

I was able to easily match the flow from the 'air lift siphon' to the return pump. There is a range of flow by, simply adjusting the air valve, to the siphon.

[davidstcldfl]

I just added about 3 dozen 'feeder' gold fish to my (indoor) FT.

I was just reading, where Wolfracer uses muratic acid to bring down the PH. Guess I'll try some in the outdoor set up. No fish out there anyway....can't hurt.

[evanj]

Figured I'd stop lurking nice looking setup.

[davidstcldfl]

Thanks Evan....

I like how you have lights 'just for the plants'......Right now, I'm just letting the light for the tank, hang over the end, so it shines on my 2 tomatoes.... ....they like it, the bulbs are for coral.

...When I was in HD last week, looking for some tomatoe plants....... I was thinking about guys like yourself, where you live 'in the cold'. I had to dig around.... to find some plants that hadn't got froze..... ...Never had to consider 'that' before !

[davidstcldfl]

I've made a little progress on the outside FT. I got most of the wooden sides up.

[JCO]

Did you sink any part of it in the ground?

[davidstcldfl]

....Only the posts are in the ground. My buddy loaned me his gas powered auger....they're about 3 ' deep...
Hope the rain stops, I'd like to finish the sides and start adding the insulation.

[davidstcldfl]

I finished the sides and started the insulation. In the picture, you'll see where I cut away some of the insulation, this is where the wood is a double layer. This is where, my bulkhead for my 'swirl' filter will be located.

The 2X6's are just sitting on top....to give an idea of how it will look when it's finished.



More updates and pictures to come.......I hope......