A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Aquaponics For Beginners

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This is a place where Beginners can post questions and find answers.

Advanced Users are welcome to help the Beginners out.

Please KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) .

Members: 672
Latest Activity: Feb 2, 2019

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Discussion Forum

A few fish for sale or good home

Started by Linda Logan. Last reply by Linda Logan Feb 2, 2019. 1 Reply 0 Likes

I need to shut down my indoor system for a few months. I have 2 mature Shubunkin, 1 albino Hypostomus to clean the aquarium. There is another small fish living in the sump.I live in SE Portland and…Continue

Aquaponics system as filter for swimming pool

Started by John Wilson. Last reply by Wade J Rochelle Jan 25, 2019. 3 Replies 0 Likes

Hi all, we've just purchased a property with a large indoor swimming pool. Around 80,000L with a greenhouse roof and plenty of room around it for grow beds. However, this is far too big for us to…Continue

Not for human consumption!?

Started by Nichelle Hubley. Last reply by Nichelle Hubley Jun 30, 2015. 7 Replies 1 Like

Well, I think I messed up big time. I've been feeding my precious tilapia koi food (I like in a small place and it was all I could get... :( ) for about 2 months and last night I read on the back of…Continue

Help!! Help !!! with new filtration and set-up.

Started by Henrique Miguel. Last reply by Wayne Mcbryde May 14, 2015. 2 Replies 0 Likes

Hi,I have a set up of 2 55 gal blue barrel with Tilapia and guppies separate. I have young ones and they are growing well. Issue of overcrowding and feeding. 1. I would like to use a water…Continue

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Comment by Darlene Skellion on August 15, 2011 at 10:10am: You bet!

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on August 15, 2011 at 10:00am: Darlene,
You have great questions! Rather than filling up the Comment Wall with answers, could you copy and paste your question in the discussion forum? That will allow us to reply directly to your message and follow the discussion more easily.

Comment by Darlene Skellion on August 15, 2011 at 9:20am: Hi All-

I'm a newbie setting up a raft system in a 20x24 greenhouse. We've got a 300 gallon tank with 128 sf of grow beds. I know when I fill it the pH will be off the charts. We live in western Colorado and are high alkaline here.

We have a well with good water that we soften through a potassium chloride system. Should I add chlorine at the initial fill just in case? (We've been drinking this water for years and have had 'Extensive' testing done due to the gas drilling out here.) Should I bypass the softener when filling?

Can I add pH Down that I use in my hot tub to help bring the reading down?

We've had aquariums over the years but this is something new and I'm a bit nervous - don't want to kill my fishies or plants right at the start!!

I'll be having lots of questions so thanks for the help!!!

Comment by TCLynx on August 10, 2011 at 3:44pm: Jonny,

Here is a group that might be helpful to you started by some one who is running a little harbor freight greenhouse with goldfish in Connecticut, USA. Greenhouse

Comment by Jonny Cash on August 10, 2011 at 7:52am: Ok, I live in Canada, The external part of my 10 x 6 (8ft to rafters) greenhouse is pretty much done, now its time to create my aquaponic system, my idea was to use some blue barrels and cut them in half. I would like to keep costs down, and I will obviously have to deal with the cold, ut i know it can be done. I would welcome some suggestions as to how to get something set up. Was thiinking of lining the walls with two layers of grow beds. 6 along one side, four along the other and a couple at the back. Somewhere to put some gold fish, as i fugure they can withstand the cold better. So please help. Anyone local would e great, i dont mind drving a bit. Thanks

Comment by Bob Gee on August 8, 2011 at 4:05pm: A drawing of what the finished product should look like in a few weeks.

Comment by TCLynx on July 24, 2011 at 7:09am: Tom, You may be right a 27 gallon tank is not very big for an outdoor system during hot summer afternoons. An air pump bubbling in the fish tank might help your fish a bit but flood and drain gravel is really good at heating water. If you can't increase the amount of water in your system or add any shade over the gravel to help keep it a bit cooler, you might want to run your system constant flood and add more water into the system that way. Going constant flood will help keep the gravel from heating up as much and thus help keep the water cooler during the day and reduce the amount of fluctuation between day and night.

You might also want to check your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH levels as well as getting a thermometer for the fish tank to help troubleshoot problems.

On a side note, while I expect temperatures may well be your problem, sometimes cheap goldfish are not very healthy to begin with since the cheapest ones are usually meant as "feeders" or to be food for bigger fish and therefore they are the diseased or genetically disabled ones that wouldn't survive long anyway.

Comment by Tommy D on July 24, 2011 at 6:54am: Hi, I have a 27 gal. tote for a fish tank(goldfish for now) and the fish keep dying. The plants are really doing well. I thought the water was getting too hot and moved the fish tank to complete shade, and burried in the ground to about 3" from the top.
The flood table is in direct hot afternoom sun. I believe the water being returned to the fish tank is lacking oxygen. My plants need full sun but my fish need to breath. Any thoughts on how to keep my water cooler.