Robin's system

[robinmill]

hi everyone love what you are doing
this is my system which has cost me about $80 so far
its a chops system which uses a pool pump with a float switch to return the water back into the tank, siphons in the baths

no fish yet just some yabbies out of a mates dam in the sump
getting some yellow perch after xmas, so I need to get cracking and get a few more baths happening
basically a little urine and seasol were feeding the plants until a couple of weeks ago when i put the yabbies in

one bath has river gravel from the river probably 3mm to 50mm
the other one has graded 10 mm to 50mm , just went down the river with the ute and shoveled it on
i also scored some small brown clay balls 5-10mm from someones hydroponis system which i have some of the plants growing in amongst the gravel

2 tomatoes
1 spinach
5 pumpkin seedlings, just threw the seeds in the sand
2 chillies
2 capsicums
continental parsley
2 lettuce
and heaps of rocket which went straight to seed, oh well

so I hope the photos turn out and please throw your two bobs worth in

robin

[robinmill]

hi again

got 50 rainbow trout last monday so day 6 and no deaths
cost $2 each delivered
between 10 - 15 cm

i added a small air piump into the fish tank and have surrounded the tank with shadecloth
the roof is now on the shed so the temps are staying around 15 degrees now

on thursday they got to 22 water temp with 38 air temp , pretty scary
but now with extra shade it hasn't got above 20 in the heat of the day

I added 12 strawberry plants into some 90mm pvc pipe today so see how they go

got a heap of small basil and a mix of spicy salad herbs so the baths are filling up
the tomatoes aren't looking to good , like they are not getting water in a soil garden
but the fruit is still looking great ????

i got some floating pellets and threw some grasshoppers and bugs out of the garden today

[fishfood]

Good luck I think you are very brave putting trout in your system coming on summer

[robinmill]

brave or silly

might need a little more than luck

the tank is 4000 litres which is 1.8m high so i am hoping that the large mass will keep its cool

we live on an eastern facing slope and the westerly wind blows over the top
most days of the week we get an easterly wind mid afternoon
you can see the fog on the range about 2kms away
the outside temp at the moment is about 12 degrees
i think it (the air) got in the mid twentys today the tank was 15 degrees today
the tank is also open to that easterly wind

I might be talking it up but I'll give it a go

i guy in town had some last summer and he found that lots of oxygen helped to keep them alive during the real hot times

will have to try and make some sort of air pump , I hate buying stuff

[fishfood]

Agreed if you are running trout you need extra air its hard to make an air pump for under $80 you can get a electromagnetic air pump with 6 good airstones that will last for years

[robinmill]

ta fishfood

I had a look at some elactromagnetic pumps ,
they look much better than the ones i have been looking at
would you recomend any particular brand

still got living fish
the water got to 16 today with 28 air temp

fed them some maggotts and flies out of my fly traps , they loved it
the veges are starting to change now from the fish
still a little hesitant to feed them much for the moment

robin

[fishfood]

THERES QUITE A FEW OF THESE OUT THERE THE SMALLEST ONE WOULD DO YOU
http://www.guppysaquariumproducts.com.au/air-pumps/electromagnetic-piston-pump/cat_75.html

[robinmill]

just looking at guppys now

I am thinking that if i get say a 80-100 litre unit it will grow with me
do you know if they are adjustable or do you just vent some of the air if you are getting to much for your tank

heres another one while I am at it

I did a bit of reading a couple of years ago on the benefits of using ozone generators
for humans to help with the healing process of various things,
similar to having bottled oxygen but somehow better like the clean air that you get in a thunderstorm from the electrical energy creating ozone

I think lightning creates o3 and these units create o4

pretty amazing
do you know of anyone who has tried one of the units with fish?

[fishfood]

I would go for the ACO-03 then later if you need it get a second one and the second one run an inverter from a battery as failsafe
looking at the size of your system one would be plenty
I run the larger one but i have 5000 litres water
Another point if possable run your air from a seperate power circuit
then you have an additional backup

[robinmill]

thanks for the advice
sounds good need to do a bit of reading on invertors
i have batteries from cars
things will have to wait till after christmas

fed them some flies and maggots again they love it

merry xmas

[robinmill]

here are some new photos
every thing is growing nicely, going to put some brocolli in see how it goes
it's definately leaving the soil vege garden behind
and i dont think i am feeding the fish as much as they want yet.....slowly giving them more
got a insect zapper for xmas so they are now getting fried bugs, maggots and flies from my fly traps and pelletts

the water temp is staying under 20c , but no real hot days for a while
I ordered an air pump from guppys today with two 50mm air stones
I also have a 2000 litre tank which i will plumb into the system
hopefully the greater mass will take longer to heat up

[robinmill]

well still no dead fish

I am truly amazed , I thought i would have lost at least a few

any way got some trout pellets 4mm from a trout hatchery today and they cost $60 for 25 kilos
does that sound ok?

tested the water again today and the nitrites and ammonia are reading zero nitrates 30-40

so does this mean i should be able to keep increasing the feed for a while

A friend of mine lost 50 trout in the last week, I think he was feeding way to much in an un cycled system
but what would i know this is his third year and my first

anyway feeling for him

[GaryD]

Hi Robinmill,


well still no dead fish. I am truly amazed , I thought i would have lost at least a few. A friend of mine lost 50 trout in the last week, I think he was feeding way to much in an un cycled system
but what would i know this is his third year and my first
While I'm suggesting that this is the case in your friend's situation, some people become complacent around the essentials over time and that's often where the dramas begin. It's a bit like kids and driving. The learner drivers are often a lot less problematic than their older friends who have become cocky and complacent.


any way got some trout pellets 4mm from a trout hatchery today and they cost $60 for 25 kilos
does that sound ok?
That seems to be consistent with the price of most high protein diets.


tested the water again today and the nitrites and ammonia are reading zero nitrates 30-40.....so does this mean i should be able to keep increasing the feed for a while
Feed the fish several times a day.....but only as much as they will consume completely in two to three minutes. More light feeds are better than few big ones. If you see feed building up on the bottom of the tank, remove it and cut back the amount you are feeding.

Take it quietly on the feeding while there's any likelihood of very hot weather.....you can ramp it up when the cool weather gets here again.

Give the system time to develop properly. It will take 6 - 12 months to mature.

Gary

[robinmill]

gary, thanks
now I only have two baths and some 90mm pipe / 3metres long with scoria in it . so i need more GB's but it sounds really risky introducing them

I have another 2000 ltr FT and about 400 ltr GB (but they are only about 400mm deep which is a worry in this heat), I also have umpteen metres of pvc which I would like to make into strawberry towers.

I read on another post that towers can be very useful for cooling

So do you think that I would be better adding the FT and new GB's/strawberry towers today or bit by bit or setting it up side by side and then joining the two systems in a couple of weeks ???

I think that short of producing about 100kg's of ice a day I am going to run into problems soon, so the extra FT would hopefully keep the temps a bit more stable

thanks robin

[GaryD]

Hi Robin,


I read on another post that towers can be very useful for cooling

Cooling towers are widely used in commercial NFT hydroponics.

Their operating principal is premised on the idea that heat transfer occurs during the evaporation of water. The simplest example (that I can provide) of this idea at work is the canvas water bag. The bag is usually hung somewhere that air can circulate around it. As the water seeps through the canvas, it evaporates and cools the water inside of the bag.

Cooling towers often consist of nothing more complicated than a long pipe (tower) filled with media. Water runs in the top of the tower and air is introduced at the bottom of the tower. The upward rush of air through the falling water (which is percolating over the media) causes evaporation which decreases the temperature of the water.

Gary

[robinmill]

well well what a nervous time for me

got a fish jumped out, nicely dried now

fed them to much and the water went cloudy, lots of muck in the water
I think I need to either rethink how the water is taken from the fishtank and perhaps how quickly it is taken out of the tank
I am thinking that if I can get the water taken out of the FT quicker than more of the stuff will go into the GB's which raises the next question of putting my water into a sump before the GB's
so i have cleaned the bottom of the tank and backed right of the feed for the moment
ammonia 0-0.25
nitrate 0
nitrites 50-60, need more growbeds
or have i said that before
need more growbeds

anyway the trout have put on a lot of weight and looking quite fat
and the veges are really healthy I am sure that I am lacking in something, others say potassium and iron , so I need to work out how much somehow,,, any ideas would be great

as far as cooling towers go i got a piece of 100 pvc and cut/melted a heap of holes i it
I then hung it vertically and filled it with scoria so that i can plant strawberrys in it
only one cucumber so far, waiting for the bacteria to build up a bit first
so my origonal theory was that the vertically hung pipe would act as a cooling tower
perhaps?

very exiting all the same

robin

[robinmill]

well the water has cleared up.....thankfully and the fish are hungry again
only gave them a little

havn't checked the ammonia levels today but they should be better

here are some more photos
johnny in another thread was having siphon issues so i took a couple of pics of mine

[robinmill]

more photos

one of a fish.... rainbow trout
sorry about the flash
he is about 15cm long i guess

[robinmill]

well brave about having trout at this time of year is being kind
it hit 38 today and the water reached 20
aagh

so i hooked another 3000 litre tank into the system today and hopefully the greater volume will keep things a bit more stable

also setup 2 air stones onto the new electromagnetic air pump
suprisingly I cant have the stones right at the bottom of the tank

anyway the fish are still eating

i hooked up another small GB . about 100 litres today and planted brocolli

also transplanted some alpine strawberrys into my tower

I bought some potash and iron yesterday but I really dont know how much to put in
I dont have any test gear to work it out yet

I have nearly 7500 litres water and about 1000 litres GB's

would anyone please be able to help me with how much I might need to be adding?

here are some shots which show some of the leaves if someone would be so kind to help me

[fishfood]

also setup 2 air stones onto the new electromagnetic air pump
suprisingly I cant have the stones right at the bottom of the tank

If your air pump has 6 outlets you need 6 air stones its not good to put pressure on the pump as far as airstones at the bottom you have a 2 metre tank and you would need a real expencive pump to do 2 metres
just get a piece of 50 mm pipe put it right to the bottom [with a few 1/2 in holes drilled near the bottom ] and the top just under water and put the air stones 1/2 way down it will draw water from the bottom

[GaryD]

Hi Robin,


....put the air stones 1/2 way down it will draw water from the bottom
What FF has suggested is a simple air lift pump.....and a good idea.

The purpose of aeration, aside from oxygenating the water, is to turn the water over.....constantly bringing the water from the bottom to the top.

It's also a technically elegant way to overcome the depth issue when using small air pumps.

Gary

[robinmill]

thanks gary and fishfood
that sounds easy to setup

so are you suggesting putting a 50mm airstone in a 50mm pipe?

[robinmill]

sorry what I meant was how much space around the airstone is best?

I have a 50mm sphere and a 10 * 60 mm cylinder stones

so would the 50mm one work in a 65mm pipe?

I will try a couple of combinations if I can find the right length pipe, otherwise i need to cut some up
i have all sorts of sizes

ta

[fishfood]

Better 2 = 50 mm air stones in a 90 mm pipe just drop the airstones down the pipe where you see the most water movement

[robinmill]

well it was 40 today
swear swear stress

the water is now 23 degrees

can someone tell me am i 10 minutes of 50 dead fish

the ammonia levels are great
I can see to the bottom of the 2m tank
the fish are very active
I havent been feeding them much


from what I have read trout normally become sluggish and dopey

it doesnt seem to be happening

I hooked up the airstones in 90mm pipe sucking from the bottom

scared
robin