Fish for a 55 Gallon Tank?

[Pugo]

I agree with tpilk, I used feeder goldfish to cycle my system. as it was impossible to find ammonia here. so I had little choice in the matter. As they cost very little and I wasn't worried if I killed them.. I had like 200 of them in my tank and only a couple of them died.. My wife put some of them in my little systems which are part of her water garden.. But as you are in the states you can get ammonia at the supermarket. so no problem to do a fish-less cycle. But do it an API Master test kit so you can check your water..

[GaryD]

Hi Rospy,

#1 - My current ebb & flow system is a "fast-fill, slow-drain" system and runs 3-4 times a day.
How important is it to have a "slow-fill, fast drain" (bell siphon) system?

You can vary the rate of food and drain. It doesn't matter how fast the grow bed fills.......and the autosyphon will largely determine how quickly it drains.

#2
What kind of edible fish can be used for a 55 gallon tank?

Tilapia are OK......as many Barrelponics enthusiasts can attest......and they are a good hardy fish for a newcomer to use.

Gary

[Rospy]

Hey guys, I just wanted to give an update.

So I got 6 goldfish about 3 weeks ago and they seem happy.

I kept the hydroponics still connected while I waited for the fish water to cycle.
I seems to have lots of nitrates and some nitrites now.

Last week a guy called me whom I thought was a dead end and said he had some bluegill to sell me so I drove out there and got 3x 3-4inch bluegill.

Last night I put the bluegill into the big aquarium and hooked up 1/2 of my garden beds to the fishtank (the other 1/2 is still hydroponics).

I moved the goldfish to a plastic bin with an air pump because I am worried that the bluegill might be too agressive to the my 1-2inch goldfish. I didn't want to take chances because my wife has really grown attached to the goldfish already.

I guess the next step is to buy a 20-25 gallon tank for the goldfish and setup the 2nd 1/2 of my garden beds after I make sure all my plants don't die in the first 1/2

I increased my flood and drain cycle to every 3 hours because aquaponics seems to demand higher rates of flooding than hydroponics. I hope that's enough because I'm maxing out my timer. It won't give me more than 8 pre-set times.

I'll take some pictures soon.

[Pugo]

Congrats on the new fish.. My wife was the same way with our gold fish.. when I changed them out.. still have a couple of them around the house.