Aquaponics

[RichnSteph]

Are you treating you newly caught fish and plants for ICH or Velvet? Malachite green is a good prophylactic.
JAC

I didn't treat any of them for anything, I just tossed them in there. That was probably a mistake. I went out this morning and checked on everyone and our last remaining catfish has large pieces of his skin pulled off and trailing behind him. It looks like something has gotten a hold of him. Might be our duck doing the damage.

 

[politicalcenter]

I screwed some 3/4"PVC to the ends of one bed and ran three strands of twine through them for our peas today. I could easily do the same on the outside of the other beds in a crossed pattern for the tomato plants but that would make a maze of twine and plants to harvest in/out of. At this point I realize that our beds are going to be a forest of produce.


On a strange note I looked into the pond today and there are about a dozen minnows in there, very small, that we can't recall putting in there. No idea how they got there but I'll take em!

Oh and I installed our siphons! They work great!!! Our beds were plagued by getting a little more full after each cycle of the pump because I can't get them to drain out completely in 45 minute drain/15 minute fill. There was water running over the stand pipe after 4 cycles. Now the beds will fill a little at a time, and drain, over the course of 4 hours and then 100% drain after the fourth cycle, I have about 100 gallons of water in each bed. When the siphons kicked off the first time I laid my ear at the top of the media and I could hear air being drawn into the lava rock, hope this helps with the oxygenation but either way I know it helps my plant roots get some much needed "dry time" a few times a day. Even at the fullest mark the water is 2" below the top of the media so I'm hoping I can avoid root rot.

The siphons need to have something over them to keep the fish from swimming through them. That may be why your catfish is "skinned up". Fish will swim up through the siphon and end up where they should not be. I learned this lesson from digging dead fish out of my pipes and filters. When you stop the fish from going through you will also reduce the flow of water. So you may need more pipes.

And don't worry if wild caught fish do not feed right away (or fish from somewhere else) ...it takes a little while for them to be "feed trained".

I don't use "water treatments" I just give them a quick salt water dip....maybe.

 

[Lordsia]

Cute set up Lordisa!! I can't really tell from the pictures, what are you using for media?

I use black cinder and hydroton mixed. Much better than the red cinder I was using. The Ph would not lower at all. It stayed above 8.0.

 

[RichnSteph]

The siphons need to have something over them to keep the fish from swimming through them. That may be why your catfish is "skinned up". Fish will swim up through the siphon and end up where they should not be. I learned this lesson from digging dead fish out of my pipes and filters. When you stop the fish from going through you will also reduce the flow of water. So you may need more pipes.

And don't worry if wild caught fish do not feed right away (or fish from somewhere else) ...it takes a little while for them to be "feed trained".

I don't use "water treatments" I just give them a quick salt water dip....maybe.

Our siphons are up in the grow beds. No chance of the fish getting in them. The skinned up catfish was found dead in the pond this morning and the one we put in yesterday apparently jumped out in the night and died next to our pumpkin plant. So irritated....... we did end up buying 3 pleco's to help with the algae and 70 little bitty minnows for the bass and larger perch to chase and feed on. I tested the water again today and the only thing that is off is the pH at 7.4. I'd prefer it lower but so far it's been steady between there and 7.6 so I'm afraid to add anything and upset the balance.

RichnSteph

 

[3goodeggs]

I asked my husband and he said it was probably the lava rock, they would do better with smooth gravel or sand.
Sorry you lost them. Good luck with the minnows.
Fish also do not do well in soft water, and with all the rain you have been having some calcium might help the life span of your minnows.

 

[RichnSteph]

I asked my husband and he said it was probably the lava rock, they would do better with smooth gravel or sand.
Sorry you lost them. Good luck with the minnows.
Fish also do not do will in soft water, and with all the rain you have been having some calcium might help the life span of your minnows.

Thank you. I used the lava rock because it's what I had left over from the grow beds and our budget for stone/rock was tapped out. I'll see if I can rat hole some money away every month for a half yard of some smooth stone to cover the lava rock.

Yeah we've had a LOT of rain down here. I'll try and find a test kit that will let me test for hard/soft water.

RichnSteph

 

[knjinnm]

RichnSteph, if you are going to use plecos buy Bristlenose, they grow to about six inches, breed like crazy and sell extremely well at local fish stores and aquabid.com. So you will have to screen siphon tubes. The regular plecos grow to two feet and are a pain to get rid of but both poop up a storm if they have food. You can also feed them excess zucchini.

 

[RichnSteph]

Thanks! I think the ones we bought were just plain old plecos.



Update on the system: I'm still losing fish. The most recent was a perch laying at the bottom of the tank. When I pulled it out it was still breathing and if put back in would swim a few feet and then sink. Had one a few days ago do the exact same thing. In both cases the stomachs looked empty as if they died of starvation. Oh a hunch I threw some immature BSF grubs in there and watched as a few of the perch (and the bass I think) ate them. They are getting fed 3 times a day with the largest feeding right before dark.. Last night around 9:30 I went out to take a look at them and in the beam of the flashlight I could see them swimming around and foraging. There isn't much in the way of cover in the pond, anyone think I should add some of the large oak or walnut branches that I have to the pond for shade and places to hide? Oh and there are hundreds and hundreds of tadpoles in there from our recent "mating of the toads" swim-a-thon a week ago. Hope the fish will eat some of them.

Thanks in advance.
RichnSteph

 

[knjinnm]

Thanks! I think the ones we bought were just plain old plecos.



Update on the system: I'm still losing fish. The most recent was a perch laying at the bottom of the tank. When I pulled it out it was still breathing and if put back in would swim a few feet and then sink. Had one a few days ago do the exact same thing. In both cases the stomachs looked empty as if they died of starvation. Oh a hunch I threw some immature BSF grubs in there and watched as a few of the perch (and the bass I think) ate them. They are getting fed 3 times a day with the largest feeding right before dark.. Last night around 9:30 I went out to take a look at them and in the beam of the flashlight I could see them swimming around and foraging. There isn't much in the way of cover in the pond, anyone think I should add some of the large oak or walnut branches that I have to the pond for shade and places to hide? Oh and there are hundreds and hundreds of tadpoles in there from our recent "mating of the toads" swim-a-thon a week ago. Hope the fish will eat some of them.

Thanks in advance.
RichnSteph

I don't think the fish will eat tadpoles, it is a defense mechanism, best to scoop them out. What is the depth of the pond and the temperature?
JAC

 

[RichnSteph]

I don't think the fish will eat tadpoles, it is a defense mechanism, best to scoop them out. What is the depth of the pond and the temperature?
JAC

The water is 2' deep and if I had to guess I'd say mid-high 70's in temperature. I can get you an accurate temp when I get home. So the fish won't eat the darn things? Dangit.... I was hoping for free forage.

RichnSteph