Jonty's System 2

[Jonty]

Hi all,

Finally got round to assembling the new cod hole. Made from treated pine sleepers 2.4 metres x 1.2 metres x .8. Off tomorrow to get some old carpet to line the base and sides, then in with the liner. Followed by the joy of painting. Hell! I hate painting.

I have one growbed that I need to make a stand for, then I can get it cycling. The murrays are putting on some size and need a bit more room to move.

I have included a couple of pics of the work in progress.

Regards
Jonty

[Hamish]

Nice work Jonty!

What size timber are you using? Ground treated for above or below ground? Tank dimensions? Volume?

Is there anythin in the base - or is it simply 4 sides sitting on the bare earth?

What stops the sides from blowing out with the water presure - just the bolts on the end?

Do you drive the uprights into the ground? If so how far?

Would be interesting to know approx material cost to build this.

Sorry for the 40 questions :)

Cheers,
Hamish

[Jonty]

Hamish,

Treated pine sleepers H4 (inground certified). Just a box bolted together with liquid nails for extra strength and sitting on the bare earth. The sleepers are 50mm thick. No problems holding the 2160 litres. (Same as my first tank). 2.4 metres x 1.2 metres x 800 mm.

Two layers of carpet will be placed on the base and a single layer to line rest, then the liner. On a cold night - down to 6 degrees - I only lose about a degree through heat loss with the tank covered.

14 sleepers - $166.60
Screws, bolts and glue - $100
Carpet - free
Liner - $120
Top coping - $30
Murray cod swimming in it - priceless

Regards
Jonty

[Murray]

Excellent FG grow beds in the background Jonty....
Actually Jonty, it is a pretty good way to build a big tank. Those sleepers are available in 3 mtr lengths, so a much bigger tank is easily possible.
I assume the liner is just the commonly avbl "pond liner".
The only down side perhaps is that it would be a bit difficult to move if the need arose.

[Hamish]

I wonder who made those beauties?

[Jonty]

Hi all,

Finally managed to get back to the forum. Would definitely like to forget the week that has just passed.

Managed to get the tank finished and about to start on the growbed. Yes the growbeds are MH Mark 1 (or whatever).

Have attached the photos with the carpet liner, pond liner and the finished tank. Will have to remove the trim and tighten the liner a tad as it stretched in the sun.

Regards
Jonty

[GaryD]

Lovely looking tank there Jonty.

Can you tell its capacity and how much it cost to put together?

Gary

[Jonty]

Gary,

The usable amount it can hold would be 2070 litres. Internal area 2.3 x 1.2 x .75. I have a drain near the top for an overflow.

The final cost is
14 sleepers $166.60
Cuphead bolts, screws, liquid nails etc $100.00
Carpet lining (free from Carpet Call)
Liner $96
Coping $30.00
Paint $30.00 (Already had the paint from previous tank build)
Total cost was $422.60

[Jonty]

Hi all,

Finally got round to plumbing the growbed to the tank. Have now started the cycle process. May take a bit longer due to the cold weather. I am trying the fishless/fish method to see if I can speed up the process.

Have also set up the ell-gro system from aquatic oasis. Will get around to plumbing it in shortly. Blasted cold weather, I need to get over my urge to hibernate.

Regards
Jonty

[Outbackozzie]

With the fishless cycling, just make sure you dont push the ammonia too high, or it will start to kill the bacteria, and take even longer to cycle.

That said, fishless cycling is the BEST way to start a system.

Good luck

[Jonty]

Outbackozzie,

Have transferred about 300 litres from the existing system into the new tank to help the cycle. I have also placed four fillets of fish under the gravel in the growbed to see if this speeds up the cycle.

Years ago, when I kept marine fish, I used to put fillets below the undergravel filters to kick off the cycle (although I will admit the wife wasn't too happy when we arrived home on a hot summers day and the house had been locked up). I could put fish in within 10 to 14 days as green algae would be present on the glass. Only lost the occasional fish. Back in those days (30 years ago) water testing was unheard of and no-one completely understood the nitrifying cycle.

I also tried marine systems using prawns but it was not successful. (read wife really mad and get that lot outside)

Regards
Jonty

[Hamish]

If you read the earlier posts in my thread you will see how I cycled using urea. Worked well and I have not lost a fish yet.

[Jonty]

Hamish,
Don't know if I'm getting older and wiser or just plain lazy. With the fish in the growbeds I can let nature take its course with nothing further to add. I will test the water in a weeks time. No rush to get it cycled as the cod are happy where they are.

Regards
Jonty

[Hamish]

Hamish,
Don't know if I'm getting older and wiser or just plain lazy. With the fish in the growbeds I can let nature take its course with nothing further to add. I will test the water in a weeks time. No rush to get it cycled as the cod are happy where they are.

Regards
Jonty
I guess there are many ways to do it. Some people pee in the tank to provide humonia. Not for me - id rather use something that does not smell. Urea pelets are easy and dont smell :) But then perhaps a burried fish in the grow bed doesnt smell either :)

[GaryD]

Hi,

You're both talking about the same thing....only the ammonia source varies.

It's good to see the increasing acceptance of fishless cycling among aquaponicists. When I first wrote about it, I copped all sorts of nonsense from a small handful of BYAP folks.

Jonty.....the transfer of 300 litres of water from an existing system will certainly do the trick. It's all I do these days and I have six tanks operating. I've also used this method to kickstart other people's systems, too.

Gary

[Jonty]

Gary,

Couldn't agree more with you. Give the system some form of ammonia and mother nature will sort the rest out without any fish stress or deaths. The extra time and effort taken ensures the best possible start. Amazing thing is that I was doing this 30 years ago without fully realizing the benefits.

Have managed to make a support for the ell-gro system. The 6 channels are 1.7 metres in length and gives me an extra 42 plantings. All I have to do now is to connect it up.

Finally managed to fill the new growbed with washed gravel. Not the most pleasant part of starting a new system.

Have attached a photo of the ell-gro system with the new growbed.

Regards
Jonty

[Hamish]

Nice! Cant wait to see how the plants go in there - what are you planing to put in Jonty?

[Hamish]

I think one of the reasons I have not lost any Jade Perch yet is because I cycled the system first well with urea and same water from an established system to kick off the bacteria (about 40L of used water).

While cycling with live fish is possible using water changes I beleive that ammonia and nitrite exposure might weaken healthy fish or damage their gills - thus slowing growth or possibly lowering resistance to disease so they die later (when you might not put the death down to cycling issues).

[Jonty]

Hamish,

Plan to put some broccoli in. My granddaughter eats it raw/cooked - whatever. She is like a bottomless pit with food but very active. She is actively watching my strawberries.

Setting the tank up without fish does not cause stress. ICH is always present in fish but healthy ones are not affected. Stress them out and you can bet there will be an outbreak.

Regards
Jonty

[Jonty]

Hi all,

The system has been cycling for a week now so I decided to do some water tests. The pH is 6.0, Ammonia .50 and Nitrite is .25. Water temp is 17 degrees. The cod are getting closer to their new home.

I picked up another Ell-gro system from Stephen at Aquatic Oasis. Good value, 6 channels at 1.7 metre, 12 mounting brackets and 8 end caps for $79. He has offered the channel free to members of the forum. THANKS!

Regards
Jonty

[Jonty]

Hi all,

Finally got the system cycling properly. The auto syphon worked perfectly during the day but would go into dribble mode overnight. I cut the inner bleed hose down by 3mm and it fixed the problem.

The water is turning green. pH is 6.4, Amm .50, Nitrite 1.0 and Nitrate is 20. I have planted the growbed with cabbages and broccoli to help lower the nitrate. Water temp is 13 degrees. By the time I get the powerpoints installed on the tank, it should be ready for the cod.

With the last cold spell and the rain the jade and silver tank dropped from 19 to 14.5 in a couple of days. Have managed to get it back to 18 and the fish are back on their feed. August average minimum is 10. Dam this global warming causing this below average cooling.

Regards
Jonty

[Jonty]

Hi all,
Slipped out to Murray's yesterday for a growbed and pots. Nice to see Murray's systems again and the improvements he has made.

The tank has cycled but I intend to wait a bit longer until the weather warms up. Still getting 5 degree mornings here. Jade and silver tank is 16 degrees but the cod hole is 12. Will plumb the growbed in the next few days, then erect the other Ell-gro system plus a firbreglass bath tub for the glass shrimp.

Will post some photos of the cod when I transfer them over.

Regards
Jonty

[Jonty]

Hi all,

Decided today was "C" day. The murrays were moved to their new home. In total there were 87. However, when I manage to catch the other 4 in the Jade and Silver tank, they will join the rest and increase the numbers. They are really a pretty coloured fish when seen in the daylight and out of water.

I weighed a couple of them and they were 45 grams. However about 6 were half the size of the rest. Must be the runts. Managed to grab one decent photo. They will not stay still long enough to get a decent pic. Hard trying to hold one with one hand a take the photo with the other. Why can't I have gymnastic skills like the young ones in the Olympics? Yep - too ****** old!!!

Also cleaned out the redclaw tanks. There was a good 50mm of muck in the bottom. All 12 redclaw are doing okay.

Have been picking loads of broccoli. I have tried a number of different types sold in the punnets but this year I bought some Mr Fothergills Emperor F1. These have really large heads and abundant supply of offshoots. Have included a photo of my wife holding a head - of broccoli.

At last the weather seems to be warming a bit. The fish are definitely back on their tucker.

Regards
Jonty

[Jonty]

I finally got round to trying out the ell gro. Planted bush beans seeds in perlite in the net pots. BIG mistake. All the seeds rotted. I then planted more seeds in potting mix so I could control the watering.

I have planted out the system with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, a few strawberries and beans. So far all is going well. Have attached a few pics.

Regards
Jonty

[Jonathan Dyer]

Cotton balls work well. Much cheaper than rockwool.