All Discussions Tagged 'goldfish' - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T09:44:59Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=goldfish&feed=yes&xn_auth=noNitrates barely showing after two months?!tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-05-28:4778851:Topic:5646912014-05-28T07:13:53.930ZKarim Jundihttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/KarimJundi
<p>Hi everyone, I have started my system up about 2 months ago with both fish and plants. I obviously started registering ammonia immediately, and nitrites soon after. It has been two months and I have not yet registered any nitrates even though the nitrite have been dropping over the past two weeks from 5 ppm to about 0.5 ppm. This isn't making much sense to me, unless all the nitrate produced are immediately being absorbed by the plants. This seems unlikely to me, because I have 35 comet…</p>
<p>Hi everyone, I have started my system up about 2 months ago with both fish and plants. I obviously started registering ammonia immediately, and nitrites soon after. It has been two months and I have not yet registered any nitrates even though the nitrite have been dropping over the past two weeks from 5 ppm to about 0.5 ppm. This isn't making much sense to me, unless all the nitrate produced are immediately being absorbed by the plants. This seems unlikely to me, because I have 35 comet goldfish that are almost 4 - 5 inches, and I only have about 10 small plants, not more than 5 inches tall.</p>
<p>Has anyone out there experienced something like this?</p>
<p>Is this normal?</p> Anchor Worm Breakout in Goldfish - are the plants still safe?tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-01-01:4778851:Topic:5388772014-01-01T10:15:06.411ZRazan Alzayanihttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/RazanAlzayani
<p>Hello,</p>
<p></p>
<p>I'm a newbie to this, and didn't quarantine my fish before I purchased them at the store. 2 weeks later, all 3 goldfish had anchor worms. I've taken them out and put them in a salt bath in a hospital tank and so far they seem to be recovering. I'm restarting my system from scratch now - there's only one chilli plant that's growing in the system. With this type of (or any) parasitic breakout or fish disease - are the vegetables still okay to eat? Or should I get rid of…</p>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p></p>
<p>I'm a newbie to this, and didn't quarantine my fish before I purchased them at the store. 2 weeks later, all 3 goldfish had anchor worms. I've taken them out and put them in a salt bath in a hospital tank and so far they seem to be recovering. I'm restarting my system from scratch now - there's only one chilli plant that's growing in the system. With this type of (or any) parasitic breakout or fish disease - are the vegetables still okay to eat? Or should I get rid of them entirely?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p></p>
<p>-Raz</p> 3 Barrel Systemtag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-08-16:4778851:Topic:5053492013-08-16T20:48:15.496ZSamantha Burrellhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/SamanthaBurrell
<p>Hey guys!!</p>
<p></p>
<p>So, first off let me go ahead and say this; </p>
<p></p>
<p>DISCLAIMER:: I started out with a manual I found on BYAP and modified the mess out of it to suit my limited working space. I have been only doing this for a few months so I am learning as I go with trial and error...</p>
<p></p>
<p>Now, with that said;;;</p>
<p></p>
<p>I have a metal shelf unit I broke down to fit two grow beds (one blue rain barrel cut in half) and a fish tank on the top and bottom shelves…</p>
<p>Hey guys!!</p>
<p></p>
<p>So, first off let me go ahead and say this; </p>
<p></p>
<p>DISCLAIMER:: I started out with a manual I found on BYAP and modified the mess out of it to suit my limited working space. I have been only doing this for a few months so I am learning as I go with trial and error...</p>
<p></p>
<p>Now, with that said;;;</p>
<p></p>
<p>I have a metal shelf unit I broke down to fit two grow beds (one blue rain barrel cut in half) and a fish tank on the top and bottom shelves respectively per each two-shelf unit. It measures about four feet tall by two feet wide by seven feet long. The 55 gal (208 L) fish tank has about 40 gal (151 L) in it with three fancy goldfish to provide enough waste to support the 30 seedlings I have in the four grow beds. I have an extra fish tank attached to the first by a horizontal pipe with an additional 20 gal (75 L) within. Submerged pump pushes approx. 300 gal (1135 L) per hour. I also have about 50 bio-balls in the tank with the fish to house my bacteria. There is currently no ammonia in my system, my Ph is at 6.0 , nitrite is 0 ppm, nitrate is 5 ppm and the water temp is at 77 degrees. (as of 8/14/2013)</p>
<p></p>
<p>My poor fishies have died every cycle because of too much ammonia or water temp too high or ph too low. Now I have an issue with my fancy goldfish dying and I don't know why. Any help out there??</p>
<p>(The system has gone through about 75 comet goldfish, 2 fancy goldfish, 2 tropical fish, and 2 koi.)</p>
<p></p> My tester system in freezing San Diegotag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-01-15:4778851:Topic:4297322013-01-15T18:26:03.324ZHAYDUKEhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/HAYDUKE
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="color: #008000;">Hello all! Im new here and new to aquaponics. Thought I would show off what I came up with for my first system. I don't even have nitrites yet but already thinking of going bigger! This aquaponics thing is highly addictive, isnt it? I learned about AP through a friend of mine who sent me a link to some company in australia. I hope more people learn about how rad AP is and how it might even save the world(I certainly tell everyone i…</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">Hello all! Im new here and new to aquaponics. Thought I would show off what I came up with for my first system. I don't even have nitrites yet but already thinking of going bigger! This aquaponics thing is highly addictive, isnt it? I learned about AP through a friend of mine who sent me a link to some company in australia. I hope more people learn about how rad AP is and how it might even save the world(I certainly tell everyone i know!) :> Here goes...</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">I wanted to use as much stuff i had laying around as possible so I built the stand for the growbed out of studs left over from my garage remodel. The rubbermaid tubs used to be for christmas decorations but we had too many of that anyway. Had to get rid of the animated Mr. and Ms. Claus...darn. I also had a 250 gallon pump left over from a small hydro system I played around with for a while before I decided organic soil was the way to go. So i also had plenty of tubing and stuff I had saved because im a borderline hoarder. I had to buy the PVC, and media. The media was most expensive. I settled on a mixture of hydroton and earthrock. My thinking on this is the hydroton will keep things moist through the drain cycle, while the earthrock being so porous it will let more air to the roots. Also the earthrock was like $10 cheaper. Maybe I should have went all hydroton but Im experimenting so Ill see how it goes... now im ranting....sorry</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">What I came up with is a simple flood and drain which is set to fill in about 20 minutes, and then it only takes a few min to drain. The 250 GPH pump is overkill for a 30 gallon FT, but I used a "T" and ball valves to return most of that to the FT, which aerates the water pretty well. Between that and the drain every 20 minutes the fish have plenty of oxygen (I think..), and it also creates a lot of movement in the tank which I read somewhere that fish like(like a stream). The growbed is also 30 gallons. I was worried about the water drop when the GB is almost full, but it doesnt seem bad as it is filled with media. The FT level drops only about 30% or so the fish dont seem to mind but I have to make sure and keep the FT full( up to about an inch from spilling over. Next time ill go with CHOP or SHIFT PIST or whatever.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">So first I put 10 fish in the tank after i let the chlorine evaporate and I figured out the hard way that I left off the cover for the inlet on the pump. They all got sucked up and I felt bad and had to explain to my daughter that daddy killed all the fish. Terrible. Had to fabricate a tube for the inlet so Its not sucking water from one gaping hole, and then back to petsmart. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">Then I got 5 fish. Just to be safe. One died a few days later. Then I got 2 more. I also picked up a master test kit and after 10 days I still didnt have much ammonia .25ppm, so I got 5 more fish the other day. I also got 8 lettuce seedlings and washed the roots and stuck them in. So its been almost 3 weeks now and all the fish and lettuce seem happy. Lettuce isnt doing much, but it hasnt yellowed much, and the red leaf i got has gotten very red!! </span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">I made the mistake of using brass fittings to connect the vinyl tubing to the pvc, so I will have to remedy that this weekend when i get more funds... I will just make the whole thing out of pvc and paint it white i guess, except for the tubing I have to use for the pump as it has a barb fitting. Im thinking the hydro shop prob has a plastic 1/2" barb to 1/2" threaded fitting or I dont know what i will do. The brass fittings I used (3 total) are def starting to corrode ( that was fast!)</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">Outdoor temps here in San Diego have been the coldest in years. down to low 30s. Pretty hardy fish and lettuce. Looking good so far tho.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">A couple questions I have for you seasoned AP folks.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">1. how long before I start to see some ammonia. I put 5 more fish in several days ago and my ammonia is dropping. I am feeding them flakes and rice. rice once a day and flakes about twice. It is below .25ppm, a very light green color when I test it. Should I keep adding fish every week or so until I get a spike or just wait?</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">2. I added some large coral pieces to the FT when I got the newer fish to add calcium. Is that ok? My ph has dropped to about 6.8 after I added coral and 5 fish, it was pretty high like 7.6 or so. Is that normal? </span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">heres some pics i took with my phone. The first is the most recent. lettuce is looking WAY more red than in the last picture that was about 10 days ago.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">Any comments, help or constructive criticism is welcome! Thanks for reading!</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3">Hayduke</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3"><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656369480?profile=original"><img width="750" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656369480?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"/></a></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3"><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656372275?profile=original"><img width="750" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656372275?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"/></a></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #008000;" class="font-size-3"><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656373705?profile=original"><img width="750" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656373705?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"/></a></span></p>
<p></p> Thrifty Bare-Bones Home Systemtag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-11-06:4778851:Topic:4141952012-11-06T22:38:23.876ZAmanda Plantehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AmandaPlante
<p><span>Hello All,</span></p>
<p></p>
<p>For the past year I've been thrilled to work on a building and maintaining a medium-sized aquaponic system at a local high school as a part of my job. We're looking to expand to teacher training to include gardening in their curriculum, and not every school has access to an aquaponic system. Instead of excluding aquaponics from our workshops, I challenged myself to build a bare-bones home system.</p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>My bare-bones home…</span></p>
<p><span>Hello All,</span></p>
<p></p>
<p>For the past year I've been thrilled to work on a building and maintaining a medium-sized aquaponic system at a local high school as a part of my job. We're looking to expand to teacher training to include gardening in their curriculum, and not every school has access to an aquaponic system. Instead of excluding aquaponics from our workshops, I challenged myself to build a bare-bones home system.</p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>My bare-bones home aquaponic system -- designed to cost about $75. Materials were:</span><br/><span>- 10 gal aquarium</span><br/><span>- 5-15 gal air pump</span><br/><span>- a handful of feeder goldfish</span><br/><span>- 2 foot section of 4 inch PVC and endcaps</span><br/><span>- 30-45 gal/hr fountain pump</span><br/><br/><span>I figured it would be less expensive to cycle with martyr fish that are doomed to die of ammonium toxicity than pay for a cycling starter.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p>I expected to have some trouble clogging up the pump, but with the intake covered in gravel and weekly rinsing, I haven't had any problems.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I also expected to have problems from a lack of light, but the plants seem green and happy and aren't stretching.</p>
<p><br/><span>The system's been running relatively flawlessly for 3 weeks now.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>I'm open to any tips and suggestions to improve before we start including this in workshops.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Click <strong><span class="font-size-5"><a href="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/photo/albums/bare-bones-home-aquaponic-system" target="_self">HERE</a></span></strong> for more pictures.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Thanks for your help, Amanda</span></p> Goldfish home-made foodtag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-10-08:4778851:Topic:3992752012-10-08T05:01:26.055ZEric Thttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/EricT
<p>Hi, I'm interested in raising goldfish for less than $1/lb, and so obviously purchasing fish food is not an option. Do you think that a diet consisting of BSFL, duckweed, red composting worms, and peas is a healthy mix? I've been reading about how someone feeds his BSFL with horse meal ($8 for 50 lb bag) as well as food scraps, then uses the larvae effluent to grow duckweed, and uses the larvae castings to feed the red worms. I could grow the peas in regular old dirt (fertilized of course…</p>
<p>Hi, I'm interested in raising goldfish for less than $1/lb, and so obviously purchasing fish food is not an option. Do you think that a diet consisting of BSFL, duckweed, red composting worms, and peas is a healthy mix? I've been reading about how someone feeds his BSFL with horse meal ($8 for 50 lb bag) as well as food scraps, then uses the larvae effluent to grow duckweed, and uses the larvae castings to feed the red worms. I could grow the peas in regular old dirt (fertilized of course with the castings).</p>
<p>Thanks for your opinions on this.</p> pH Mysterytag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-21:4778851:Topic:3533872012-06-21T18:02:56.420ZAmanda Plantehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AmandaPlante
<p>I've had a lot of help with this from a question I posted on a recent photo upload, but now I think the discussion is getting to the size where it really needs it's own thread. Here's a <a href="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/photo/blushing-berries-3?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A353286&xg_source=msg_com_photo" target="_self">LINK</a> to what's already been said. Thank in advance for all your help.</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Background</strong>: Our aquaponic system is located at a local…</p>
<p>I've had a lot of help with this from a question I posted on a recent photo upload, but now I think the discussion is getting to the size where it really needs it's own thread. Here's a <a href="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/photo/blushing-berries-3?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A353286&xg_source=msg_com_photo" target="_self">LINK</a> to what's already been said. Thank in advance for all your help.</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Background</strong>: Our aquaponic system is located at a local high school. We have 50 peppers, 100 strawberries growing in clay beads, and 10 goldfish living in two 100 gal reservoirs. We started off with more fish, but after a few attempts we decided to be content for the time being with the 10 survivors. Our pH generally runs between 7.3 and 7.6. It's a little higher than I'd like, but the water was resistant to being altered by neutralizers and pH lowering products.</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Problem</strong>: Two weeks ago, I cleaned and calibrated our Hanna meter. I verified the efficacy of the meter with a manual water test kit. The TDS was reading below 200, so I added about an ounce of an organic liquid fertilizer (more info about that product below) to the reservoir. I've done this before, and this has had a negligible effect on the pH. That day, as soon as I added the fertilizer, the pH jumped from 7.4 to 8.1! </p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Treatment</strong>: Since then, we've gone through two bottles of "pH Down" and the rest of our water neutralizer. When we add the pH Down, the pH will drop from above 8.0 to about 7.6 immediately. Within an hour of application, the pH will begin to climb. Within 3 hours of application, the pH will be back where it started. I spoke with the company that makes pH Down, and their advice was to continue adding the product until the pH actually stays down.</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Tests</strong>: Based on a suggestion on the photo (link at beginning), a did a "vinegar test" of the clay beads the plants grow in and of the aquarium rocks that line the bottom of the reservoirs. Neither resulted in any bubbling or frothing when added to the vinegar. Earlier today I also did the following tests:</p>
<p>- Ammonium: 0 ppm</p>
<p>- Nitrite: 0 ppm</p>
<p>- Nitrate: 20 ppm</p>
<p>- TDS: 380</p>
<p>- Temperature: 88.0 F</p>
<p>- Water Source pH: 7.0</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Fertilizer</strong>: Since the spike occurred at the exact moment I added the fertilizer two weeks ago and hasn't come down since, it seems that more information about the product I use would be in order. </p>
<p>The fertilizer is Fox Farm "Grow Big" Hydroponic Liquid Fertilizer: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://foxfarmfertilizer.com/products_liqfert2.html" target="_blank">http://foxfarmfertilizer.com/products_liqfert2.html</a> . Until this last application, adding fertilizer had an insignificant effect on pH.</p>
<p>Although our TDS was low when we first started the system, and although "Grow Big" is an organic product, I was initially reluctant to add the product to the water with the fish. While the students were out for spring break, we wouldn't have access to take care of the fish. We ended up taking the fish to our office for a vacation, and I tested out the fertilizer in the system before the break. After the break the plants looked great. </p>
<p>Come to find out, we had missed a fish who was doing really well despite going hungry for a week and living in the dark in water that had fertilizer. Ever since then, I've added an ounce of fertilizer every time the TDS drops below 200. But I would never apply more often than once every two weeks.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I'm really not sure what to do at this point. The fish seem ok, but the plants are really starting to get stressed out by the high pH. Thoughts?</p> thick white film on some goldfish?tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-07:4778851:Topic:3319112012-05-07T18:22:37.301Zmike frenchhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/mikefrench
<p>ok so here is what I did in the last week before i noticed bad stuff happening.</p>
<p>and more then likely they all caused problems in some shape or form</p>
<p> </p>
<p>all readings api test kit read at 0 or the nice colors ph 7.6 high as its always been</p>
<p> </p>
<p>4x4 grow bed, bell siphon, in grow camp greenhouse, raised above 2 27 gallon tubs joined. 1 has fish and 1 has pumps both have air stones. temp in tank 67F to 72F or around there recently.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>1)i have been…</p>
<p>ok so here is what I did in the last week before i noticed bad stuff happening.</p>
<p>and more then likely they all caused problems in some shape or form</p>
<p> </p>
<p>all readings api test kit read at 0 or the nice colors ph 7.6 high as its always been</p>
<p> </p>
<p>4x4 grow bed, bell siphon, in grow camp greenhouse, raised above 2 27 gallon tubs joined. 1 has fish and 1 has pumps both have air stones. temp in tank 67F to 72F or around there recently.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>1)i have been adding water from fish tank inside thinking the system could handle it... its the same systems water and biofilter gunk to help establish current AP setup...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>2)i added red wigglers to the hydrotan and had no idea what they were raised on and maybe they put something bad into the system???? :C</p>
<p> </p>
<p>3) bug breakout last week more like little tiny white flies and apphids so i let a ladybug bomb go off in the growcamp green house and then no more little buggies. but there are ladybugs in every other nook n cranny... maybe they did something</p>
<p> </p>
<p>so what do ya guys think</p> Weird floating fungus(??) and dying goldfishtag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-03-17:4778851:Topic:3073492012-03-17T17:42:52.181ZJaime Richardshttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JaimeRichards
<p>I have a mini vertical (stackable grow ups) with a 20 gallon basin full of water. Up until a few weeks ago, I had a very healthy group of about 10 goldfish that were thriving and growing rapidly. My plants are all healthy and happy.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656367707?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656367707?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p>Then, I added two plecos to eat the overload of algae growth (increased sunlight) and added 20 more goldfish and 2 plecos to a…</p>
<p>I have a mini vertical (stackable grow ups) with a 20 gallon basin full of water. Up until a few weeks ago, I had a very healthy group of about 10 goldfish that were thriving and growing rapidly. My plants are all healthy and happy.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656367707?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656367707?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Then, I added two plecos to eat the overload of algae growth (increased sunlight) and added 20 more goldfish and 2 plecos to a new system where I'm growing grapevines. Within a week, every fish in the new system was dead, and my goldfish in my healthy old system were beginning to die one by one. Next to them, is a GROSS floating gelatinous masses (photo below).</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656368336?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656368336?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>I'm losing roughly a fish a day. I have three guys left. I don't want to hurt my plants by treating my water with a fungicide.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Has anyone seen this or have any ideas on how I can troubleshoot it?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Thank you so much!</p>
<p>Jaime</p>
<p></p> Talapia and Goldfishtag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-03-05:4778851:Topic:3020892012-03-05T16:50:57.773ZEco Owlhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/EcoOwl
Hi all,<br />
<br />
My new system is cycling and we are now ready to add the Talapia.<br />
<br />
I have about 10 6cm goldfish in the tank.<br />
<br />
I am adding 50 8cm Talapia.<br />
<br />
do I need to remove the goldfish or can they live together with the Talapia?<br />
<br />
Thanks,<br />
<br />
Eco
Hi all,<br />
<br />
My new system is cycling and we are now ready to add the Talapia.<br />
<br />
I have about 10 6cm goldfish in the tank.<br />
<br />
I am adding 50 8cm Talapia.<br />
<br />
do I need to remove the goldfish or can they live together with the Talapia?<br />
<br />
Thanks,<br />
<br />
Eco