Swimming Pool System

[Pat James]

I have finally got around to start to work building my AP system. I bought two 55 gal barrels and eight 275 gal IBC totes a few weeks ago and then the weather got cold and wet- progress stalled. At least we have had a few days

The system I now plan to build is quite a bit different than the one I originally planned. That is due to the help and advice of some of the people here.. Thank you.

I will buy the piping itself at one of the big box stores, but I can save a bundle by buying the fittings online.

Today I will begin cutting the IBC's.

[Pat James]

Jim, That was my first thought and then my third (after O2) when it seemed to get better as the sun came up and the algae began to photosynthesize. The fish were swarming at the sites where the water was entering the pool where the O2 should have been the highest. I started to test the ammonia later that day and then again the next morning. 

ammonia peaked at 1 ppm. It is between .25 and .5 even now which tells me I have some  dead fish caught up somewher

This evening I threw a handful of food into the pool to see how the fish would react. I saw some catfish hit the surface with their normal aggressive 'snap' the minnows with their timid pecking but I also saw some decent feeding and could now see the profile of some tilapia (my illegal aliens). i could not see them before in the chaos of the catfish feeding.

[Jim Troyer]

Bummer Pat   ...My condolences

I was afraid of there being dead fish in the bottom. 

Here is what I have surmised happens in these mystery die off cases:  One fish gets sick, dies and sinks to the bottom unnoticed.  The poisons that result from the fish decay foul the water and attack the other fish until they start to die off.  That is when the AP addicted individual first notices the death cycle.  By that time the cycle is almost impossible to unwind.

I have seen all kinds to efforts to mitigate the circumstances but they are all to no avail.  The real problem here is the fish load to water volume to plant load ratio.  The water will only carry so many pounds of fish.  When the fish load overwhelms the system chaos begins.  The plant load is not able to clean the water sufficiently at that point and the system crashes. 

You may have diagnosed the system's problem in the DO deficit due to heat, but I suspect it was due to overcrowding.  

Your only recourse at this point is to change out most of the water.  Then hope and pray your fish will become healthy again.  My tilapia in an indoor brood system have never reclaimed the vigor they had before my crash 6 months ago.  I lost all my brood stock but thankfully have two other systems with unharmed fish to draw from. 

My advise for the future is to have a minimum stocking of fish and a heavy plant load.

best wishes,

Jim

[Pat James]

The fish that I pulled out later in the day were NOT fresh kills. Their skin was already sloughing,... Why they did not all float to the top at the same time is beyond me. I had my wife scooping and counting dead while I worked on augmenting aeration and water flow.. She would net up al the dead and a few minutes later more would float. Examination showed they had been dead a while as their skin was sloughing.

Early in the day I was thinking that if I had time to  clean  the fish, they of the size to cook as whole fish, but not fillets. The fish looked that fresh.

[Pat James]

I am now offiicially depressed. My dead count is well over 300. If I have 50 remaining catfish,.I would be surprised.I bought anew pump to throw wwater up for oxygen at a cost of $65 plus the 18 I spent this morning on the epsom salt.. I had my stepson buy me some NaCl and added 80 pounds of that. Another 30 bucks but I do have some epsom and regular salt in reserve ....

I started the water change first thing this morning  with 24 pounds of epsom in a Hail Mary  attempt to control the problem. I thought I had the problem licked when I got home from that break and did not see but a few dead. Unfortunately they were either on the bottom or hurting as they died later...

[Jim Troyer]

Pat you're going to want to do a water change too, try 30%.  That will eliminate some of the algae and accompanying nitrites.

Run plenty of splash over night, that is when I notice my fish breathing hardest when the plant load is too low; which may be one of your problems...

Jim

[Pat James]

Catastrophe hit this morning. I went out at dawn and found all my catfish on the surface gasping. I'm guessing I had 400 or so. they were massing around the various water inflow areas, so I'm pretty sure it was an oxygen problem. We have had a series of 100 degree days so the water has warmed and with the algae consuming o2 at night, it was just too much.

I have not had a hint of a problem before this, but have some work to do when I get off work today.

I pulled 65 dead catfish and have another 5 or 6 that look like goners. I did not count the handfuls of dead minnows. I took a break from work to run home and dumped 24 pounds of Epsom salt into the water and separated one of the pipes from radial filter so it would splash directly into the water.

[Pat James]

The only thing I Have going vegetable-wise are the basil, a couple of beds. I have harvested some but not enough..

In the other beds I have different beans (when I could get them to sprout.) This proved difficult as they seemed to mold before they would sprout when planted in the bed. I am now growing some inside to see if they might do ok. I did sprout some adzuki beans and while they grew well early on, languished in my DWC bed.

I am thinking about starting a series of kales and lettuces even though it is too early, just to get something with roots to suck up the nutrients... ANY suggestions for plants would be appreciated.

[Jim Troyer]

How are the veggies growing by now?

[Pat James]

Blog update:

This past week I fed 2 1/2 pounds daily. I stepped that up today to 3 pounds.

I also bought a big aquarium siphon and have been using it to remove dietrus from the growbeds. A piece of garden hose just did not work well. I was surprised at the massive amounts of crap I found, although I really should not have been given the amount of food I go thru...

I am seeing massive numbers of fry that I now know are tilapia. I no longer try to save any as I figure these should provide some food for Their larger siblings... If I save any more I will be up to my butt in tilapia that will not grow out to harvestable size before the end of the season.

All this leads to a series of discussions that I will post later...

[Pat James]

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I am now  feeding between  2 and 2 pounds 12oz daily.  Yesterday I fed the lesser amount, the day before, the full amount. That is alot of food. Saturday morning, I bought another 100 pounds of feed.  I am just now finishing the first 100 pounds but as the fish grow, I can see feed consumption accelerating.