Krozbolts System

[krozbolt]

My first system. Many experiments and more to come. The tank is a 250L Bunnings storage tub, growbeds are storage containers and the rest is PVC and irrigation pipe. Pump is a intex 55 watt Pool Pump.
Seedlings are Cucumber seeds planted a week before photo was taken.
In the left bed i have just planted rosemary, lettuce, pak choi and chives.

[madwilson]

Good start krozbolt. I hope you have a ready market for cucumber because it looks like you have quite a few seedlings there.

Cheers Mark

[Tsaphah]

Very nice and neat for a small system. You could even swing the FT 90° and place it under the table and it acts as a bit of a cover! You mentiond in another tread about insulating the FT, I would get a piece of polystyrene sheet under the tank, will help too.
When you expand(and you will), you could still use the existing GB's for something like a pawpaw!
What fish do you have in there?

[krozbolt]

I swear the tank was gonna fit when i was at bunnings that day.. I might well put it sideways under it. It does give me good rain cover for my air and water pump tho.

Mad: I sure do, i have been going through them and pulling out the stunted ones. It's good to have a few spares, they are already getting eaten by something.

Theres about 3 unlucky goldfish in there and about 12 yabbies. Would jade perch live with the yabbies ok? I imagine they are smart enough to avoid the yabbies and the yabbies are big enough to avoid being eaten.

[krozbolt]

I have been keeping notes on the system and have decided to stick them up here for all to see.
Well, it's been a week and things are going well. We are starting to get some cold nights and i am working on a project for insulating the tank.
The yabbies are going well, no losses. They seem to be eating less lately which suggests they are being more dormant.
The lettuce has come up, the pak choi has come up and the chives are on their way. The rosemary is possibly not coping with the cold weather.
I bought a PH Test kit.
PH 7.4
Ammonia .25
Nitrite .5
Nitrate 5.0
I have decided to pull out most of the letuce and pak choi.. i have never planted anything from seeds before and made possibly the dumbest mistake of sticking all 1200 seeds in only 5 positions in the growbed..
What do you do with the 1190 left over seeds if you only use 10?

[Castaway]

Those seedlings look healthy. Plant them somewhere else in the dirt garden. Shame to throw them away...

[krozbolt]

Just a quick update:
Thursday 1st April
Ph 7.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite.25
Nitrate 5.0

Tuesday 6th April
PH 7.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Visable bacteria in growbeds
Some algae visable also

Yabbies density has been doubled to 11
No visable damage, all seem to be eating and happy.*
Feeding seems to be affected more by temp than crowding.*

Wednesday April 7*
Plant growth has sped up since thinning out.*
No losses of yabbies
Food is being eaten well
Food is scattered in pieces on floor of tank. yabbies are messy and leave a lot of food uneaten which falls through to the bottom.*

Friday april 9
Water at 12 degrees. really need to get some insulation/heating going.*
Yabbies are still eating but very slowly.*
i will work on a design to make a stand for the growbeds which insulates the tank.*
the sun is still warm but the heat losses during the night are the big problem.*
Winter: run the pump during the day
Summer: run the pump during the night.*

Monday April 12
pH 7.2
Am .25
Ni .25
Na 0
Plants are growing slowly. I shielded the ligt from the growbeds. This may have killed the algae and caused a spike in ammonia. The bacteria may not have caught up yet.*
Added about 40 more yabbies today. The next few days will tell if i have over done it.*
Added lupins as well
There are 3 trays now.*
bottom tray of small males
middle tray of large males
top tray of females

Wednesday 14th April
pH 7.2
Am 0
Ni .5
Na 5

Tuesday 20th April
There have been 3 or so fatalities in the small male tank lately. This level has little shelter and there is signs of canabalism. The temperature has been higher which is causing more activity in the tank.*
I have added more shelter.*
The plants are still going albeit at a slower pace than expected. I believe there is not enough sunlight getting to the plants.*

Tuesday 21st April
pH 7.2
am .25
ni 1.0
na 5.0
added 35 grams of salt or 0.35ppt
need 65 grams more
2 deaths in large yabby tank over night. 1 eaten 1 dropped dead.*
have read about calcium and 20-30mg/l is considered rich and is the same as tap water.*
*
Thursday 22nd April
pH 7
Am .25
Ni .5
Na 20
No Casualties*
More shelter added and has been adopted well.*
Plants still need more sunlight.*
Adding calcium carbinate in the form of ag lime seem to be a good idea.

Saturday 24th April
pH 6.8
Am 0.0
Ni .5
Nitrate 20
Some warmer weather has really helped the cycling*
Plants are speeding up
I have changed the yabby trays from gravel base to shade cloth.*


Tuesday 27th April
pH 6.4
Am 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 40

1 death female yabby think it was one of the original females. Maybe due to excess nitrates. **
All others eating and doing fine
Bugs everywhere on the cucumber.*
Added 1 tbsp of bicarb and changed 20L water and pH now 7.0
will check nitrate in the morning.*

29th April
pH 7.2
Am 0
Ni 0
Na 40

No casualties
Plants are doing well
Yabbies are eating well
Plants look to require some iron.*

5th May
pH 7.0
Am .25
Ni 0.0
Na 20
Lost big male with soft shell 2 days ago. Maybe calcium deficient. Have added tablespoon of lime.*
No other fatalities.*
Plants have recieved their first temp shock of the year at 2 degrees. The cucumber took it pretty hard.*

27th May
pH 7.2
am 0
ni 0
na 20

Lettuce is being harvested now. Pak choi is also coming out. The yabbies are still alive but not doing much. They are not growing and none have shed their shells yet. It is winter and it has been cold in the tank and they may be crowded so i may be paddling up stream. I have the tank heated to above 15 degrees. The plan is to feed them once a week, only disturb them at that time, keep the tank heated and we will see.*

[krozbolt]

Some progress photos

[krozbolt]

pH: 7.2
Am: 0
Ni: 0
Na: 40

No more deaths, looks like the system is now fully cycled.
Did a head count today:
14 Females
15 Small Males
7 Large Males
36 Yabbies all up, average size is 30 Grams so about 1KG biomass all up.
The growbeds total about 50 Litres so i think i will keep this number which will allow them to double in size over summer without causing any stress on the system.
The baby yabbies pictured in the prevoius post are in a small tank at my office. They hatched over easter.
I am now confident in breeding the yabbies and have upgraded my original small system inside to a 100 Litre heated breeding tank.
For those of you who may be confused:

My main 200 litre system is outside with the 36 mature yabbies.

Inside i have the 100 litre breeding system with 3 yabbies and 30 goldfish.

At my office i have a 25 litre fishtank only (no plants) with 20 or so baby yabbies.

Plants: I have now planted cos lettuce, iceberg lettuce, brocolli, spinach and leeks.

I have added a 10 Hole nft/dwc setup at the back of the main system.