Hello Everyone!

[pniedzwiecki]

Hello Everyone,

New member here. Just getting started in aquaponics. I have had descent luck with hydroponics (tomatoes and cantaloupe) over the last couple of years. I really like the idea of aquaponics and decided to give this a try. My systems are all indoors.

My aquaponics system consists of a 100 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank and a 4'x8'x10.5" grow bed (raft system) with a 40mil rubber pond liner. I also have 2 1000 watt lights above the grow bed. At this point the system has been cycling for about a week (since Memorial Day 2010) with no fish or plants. Recently the water has turned cloudy (white), not sure why. According to what I have been reading, it is most likely a bacteria bloom. Hopefully it will clear up soon. I have not added any chemicals.

The latest test of the water showed a water temperature of 72deg F, a ph around 7, ammonia level around 8 (not sure where all this could have come from), 0 or little nitrites and 0 nitrates.

I used our well water that runs through an inline RO filter to fill the system. The source water test showed 0 ammonia. So, again I am not sure what could be the source of the ammonia levels I currently have. I am using a master test kit from API that I bought from a local pet store.

I will post a few pic as soon as I figure out the best way to do that.

Thanks

[dufflight]

Welcome. Post a few pictures. Did you add anything to the water to start it cycling.

[JCO]

Welcome to the show....pull up an easy chair, relax and stay awhile. New voices are always a welcome addition to our family..! Whatever questions you have on you mind, this is the place to get the answers

[pniedzwiecki]

Hello,

I have not put anything in the water to start the cycle process. A friend of mine is going to get me a few gallons of water from his aquarium filter media (next couple of days). Maybe that will help kickstart the process.

A few pics:

The fish tank.



The grow bed.




Overall grow room.


The filter I am currently using.


Thanks.

[pniedzwiecki]

Hello,

Water tests today indicate no change in temp, ph, amonia, nitrites or nitrates from the previous post. However, the water seems to have cleared up somewhat.

Here are some pics from today:

Fish Tank.


Grow Bed.


Either the water is clearer today or the lighting in the room is playing tricks on me. The photos of the fish tank in the previous post were taken with one of the grow lights on, while the pics in this post were taken without the grow light on. So, either the water is getting clearer or the lighting is just making it seem so.

Thanks.

[dufflight]

Still would be good to know where the Am came from, or if the test kit is funky. I had a PH meter that gave me a false reading while I tried to adjust the ph in a hydro system. Realised too late that it was not working and it killed off the seedlings.

If you can't find the ammonia source maybe a new lot of water may give you a better starting point. What fish are you planing on keeping. A few feeder fish(goldfish) are good to get a system going before you fully stock the system.

[badflash]

Often the pipes and liners can leach stuff into the system. I would dump the water and start again, just to be safe.

If you add water with chloramine and use only a de-chlorinator designed for chlorine alone, you get ammonia as a bi-product from the cracking of chloramine. Products like Amquel+ or Seachem Prime deal with chloramine.

Keep in mind your bacteria will need a bio source to stay alive, so a source of ammonia must show up at the same time as the bacteria. It is a delicate dance. If your friend cleans his filters you can add that to the tank at the same time as you add fish.

I take it you will be using floating raft to grow your plants?

I took the liberty of changing the links to IMG so they can be viewed directly.

[pniedzwiecki]

Hello,

Thanks for the comments dufflight.

The high ammonia levels are a bit worrisome, but I think I will just give it some more time before I resort to changing out the water. If I do change out the water I am going to go with a different source, even if I have to buy it.

As far as the fish are concerned, ultimately I will be raising yellow lake perch. But I havn’t decided whether to start with a few gold fish or go straight to the perch. I like the idea of starting with gold fish but I may grow impatient and just start with the perch. Someday I would like to try to raise some Tilapia but right now I do not have an efficient method of heating the water.

Thanks.

[pniedzwiecki]

Thanks for the comments badflash.


You may be right about the leaching. I just wonder what the chances are that I could change out the water and end up getting the same amount of contamination? Maybe I will just have to give that a try.

One interesting note is that I have tested the water with some 5 in 1 test strips and it shows 0 ammonia and all the other readings (ph, nitrite, and nitrate) match the fluid master test kit results. Just thought I would mention that.

Since I used our well water through an inline RO filter, I did not use any de-chlorinator, as I did not think it was necessary.

I did use some ph down solution that I had leftover from my hydroponics setup. Other than that I have added nothing to the water. I did use pvc pipe fitting glue on the drain pipes though. Is the glue going to be alright or do I need to redo that?

Yes, the system will be floating raft. I still need to get some rigid Styrofoam though. I also need to get some plexi-glass to cover the fish tank.

Thanks for changing the image links. Is that something I can do? If so, and if its not to bothersome, could you explain that procedure to me?

Thanks,

[pniedzwiecki]

badflash,

Nevermind about the image link procedure. I think I figured it out.

Thanks,