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Comment by John Malone on May 10, 2014 at 1:54pm

Post-vacation tidy up

One of the very few problems with going on vacation is that little daily maintenance things don't get done.   Now, normally around the house, this isn't a problem.  But with an aquaponics system in Spring things can get out of control.

My good buddy Jacque did a great job feeding the fish and plants while I was away.   Too good.  I came home to a complete overrun jungle!  It's taken me three Saturdays to get all the growth trimmed up, plants moved or pulled, and everything squared away.  Now I'm happy with it and ready to get back to the regular process of AP gardening.  I even planted some seeds today. Yay!

Comment by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. on May 8, 2014 at 6:32pm

78 million dollars in loans and grants are now available from the USDA. Application deadline in June. Get cracking.

Here is the link: http://1.usa.gov/1kQwkhc

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on May 8, 2014 at 3:04pm

Hi, All!

Regarding a tour, we would love to attend but won't be showing this year, since we're on a "pay off the house" sabbatical from everything. Hopefully by this time next year we'll have something to show, including the additions outside the greenhouse that we've been wanting to add for a long time!

Kim, it was so nice to meet you last week! Regarding grapes, yes, they will grow on wrought iron. You saw ours growing on pig fencing.

Re: replenishing. Once the system is fully mature with ample bacteria, you can simply top off with the hose. We've switched to doing this and have had no problems at all. In fact, we'll do water changes of more than 25% with tap water. But, for the first while…maybe a year?...you might want to degass first so you don't put your bacteria at risk. A degassing tank also allows you to adjust PH until your system starts handling it.

Nicole, the system will be ready when it's fully cycled, meaning the ammonia and nitrites remain at 0 while the nitrates show a reading, and an addition of ammonia will not have an effect.  That typically takes 4-6 weeks. And I concur with Jim, RO takes out good stuff. We're working with nature, so we have to get past the sanitary ideology of society and embrace the healthy clean of nature. Aquaponics has helped me to rethink a lot of things we do in our culture. :)

About molasses, sugar beets are almost always GMO here in the states. The sugar from beets is simply a compound, so it's just sugar, but the beet pulp and molasses have GMO residuals. So if you're anti-GMO, use sugar cane molasses rather than sugar beet molasses, or be sure it's organic beet molasses. If the molasses is sweet, it's usuallyfrom cane and is for humans; if it's icky-bitter-less-sweet-than-expected, it's probably from beets and is fed to livestock. Yes, I confess, I've tasted my cows' molasses and I wouldn't trade.  

Comment by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. on May 7, 2014 at 8:31am

Greetings. I encourage you to support the folks in Tucson with what they are doing. (see link below). "On November 5, 2013, voters ratified Plan Tucson, the City's General and Sustainability Plan. Included in Plan Tucson are Urban Agriculture policies, one of which is to “adopt zoning and land use regulations that promote and facilitate the safe, equitable growth and distribution of locally produced food.”

They are seeking to update the city codes to reflect the general plan. What they are doing could provide an excellent model for Phoenix and its suburbs. Also, in the plan Aquaponics is listed by name and definition as an approved use so yes I am happy.

Here is the link: http://pdsd.tucsonaz.gov/pdsd/news/sustainable-code-project

Comment by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. on May 6, 2014 at 5:57pm

Nothing special. Just a cool pic from today.

Comment by Jeff S on May 6, 2014 at 6:46am

Responding to the new style siphon: Recently I had reused a 2" root guard from a previous siphon for a simple flood system. I put a cap on it to keep gravel from going down it and it immediately started siphoning even with the holes in it. I assumed it was because most of the holes were covered by gravel. I later shortened the standpipe to lower the water level and the siphoning stopped. Just thought it to be curious.

Comment by Jim Troyer on May 6, 2014 at 12:09am

Hi Nicole:  Welcome aboard!

I would think you should be all ready to go.  To be sure; dose with a table spoon of ammonia,  then check for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates in 24 hours, if they are gone I would call it cycled.  The nitrates and nitrites are hard on fish gills. 

Others were correct regarding adding plants, anytime is good, they will live off the ammonia break down cycle just fine.

RO water:  While good for humans, RO is not what your system needs.  The RO process removes the minerals.  After the bacteria, minerals are the next important thing in AP.  The plants require minerals to grow properly and so do you...  The "maturing" of a system is largely the buildup of bacteria and minerals so they are very important to the health of your system. 

Molasses is a good source of minerals for your system.  Sugar beets are processed and that beautiful white sugar is white because they separated all the minerals out.   The dregs are sold as molasses! Dr. Schultz's plant food is just molasses.  You can get a 16 oz bottle of organic, fair trade molasses at the dollar store for a buck!  Add a teaspoon every week or so.  It's the only sweetener I use anymore.  It's great in homemade rice milk and oatmeal too! 

Evaporation is different for every system and largely depends on how much direct sunlight the system receives.  I read somewhere that a swimming pool will evaporate 1" every day here the desert.  I know I add a lot of water this time of year in my two systems, but can't quantify it for you.

While duckweed is a good source of fish food, your system can only produce so much plant matter, only you can decide if you or your fish get the fruits of your labor...

I have fish when you are ready too.

Jim 480.257.5214

Comment by Nicole Kwasneski on May 6, 2014 at 12:07am

@Kim

Forgot to mention: I've had success with grapevines on my north wall / southern exposure (most difficult area in my backyard). Granted, this is soil gardening - hope to incorporate it into aquaponics once I get myself better accustomed to the aquaponics protocol

Comment by Nicole Kwasneski on May 5, 2014 at 11:58pm

@Kim

Grape vines will attach well to a wrought iron fence. They may need a little encouragement at first (flexible landscaping ties), but once the tendrils take hold, they will grow up any structure that has open spaces that allow it to properly "vine" (fence, lattice, singular wire). The idea of horizontal wires will also work. The key is to have openings that will allow the plant to latch on (unlike vines such as catsclaw that will attach to a wall without openings or other "guidance")

Comment by Nicole Kwasneski on May 5, 2014 at 11:38pm

Many thanks to the responses regarding the water prep barrel / evaporation. I have bought a 50 gal barrel (been de-gassing for 48 hours and the chlorine level is non-existent).

I incorporated 24 sacrificial feeder goldfish. I'm down to 21. Technically, I have 1 fatality over 36 hours

*Hubby crushed 1 when adjusting the bio-filter

*Daughter "rescued" her favorite for a new goldfish tank :-)

*One floater

QUESTION: Besides taking chemical readings, how long is an adequate time with the goldfish to determine whether the tank will be ready for Tilapia?

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