Aquaponics in Athens

[Gratilla]

Good point. If the heat exchanger is lower than the heat storage sump, the system will work on convection currents alone, otherwise a pump will be necessary.

[mchristos]

The more I think about it them more I realize that I probably have to build a closed solar system with a heating tank above the solar collector and then circulate the FT water through the heat tank with a pump. It makes more sense.

[mchristos]

I did some testing with a system 1/4 of the one I've mentioned above and it raised the temperature of a 25 lt tank from 5 to 25C within a few hours (environment temperature 16C, sunny). Very impressive I think. I will try to scale it up.

P.S I think I'm out of topic with this one.

[mchristos]

Day 26:
Ph = 7,5
Ammonia > 8
Nitrite = 8
Nitrate = 5
Water Temperature = 10-20 C

OK, here is the deal:
- I've got constant off the scale ammonia readings above 8pps for the last 20 days now (since day 6).
- 10 days ago I got my first nitrate readings witch are off the scale and above 8pps at day 26.
- Shortly after nitrate presence (4 days after) I got my first nitrite reading, witch are now at 5 pps.
I have attached a diagram bellow.

Question is: Do I wait for ammonia to be consumed, or do I do some water changes?

As far as I know the nitrates in the system are 3,65 times the ammonia present. That means I would get I huge amount of nitrates when all ammonia is consumed.

I've got only 75lit of GB. Will the bacteria present on such small space be enough to convert the all ammonia and will the plant consume enough nitrates?

P.S. FT: 300lt fish less, GB 3x25lt=75 lt.

[mchristos]

How red can the water get when you add chelated iron?
I've added a teaspoon full and I got really red dark color. Is it going to go away?

[mchristos]

Although I have to admin that I have been messing around with the water chemistry and probably done more harm than good, seems like the system is going fine, despite the cold weather.

I'm still fish-less cycling, because I think I've killed a great deal of Bacteria on my last huge water change. (nitrates high, ammonia & nitrite low)

I might try some of that salad on Christmas Day.

P.S. That onion is only 5-6 days old. You can almost watch it grow.

[mchristos]

The last 15 days my chemistry readings are constant at:

Ammonia = 0,5 mg
Nitrite = 5 mg
Nitrate = 5 mg
Water Temperature = 7-15 C
Ph = 7

Would anybody know why I'm stack with 5 mg of Nitrites for the last 15 days without having a raise of nitrates?

P.S. I'm still fishless cycling and the system has 350lt FT and 75 lt GB.

[mchristos]

No more fishless cycling!

I've added 5 goldfish to start with. At day four they are still alive, although not that active since temperature is 10-15 C. They are still not eating, but I suppose it's because of the shock. They went from 18C to 10C. If anybody has experience regarding, please let me know.

The ammonia reading after 4 days is 0,25mg and nitrates at 2,5. No nitrites at all. I suppose that means that all nitrites are converted to nitrates. At day 1 all the readings where ZERO.

Plants look good and we've already eaten a few salads and lettuces. Dill, parsley and onions have been decorating our salads as well.

Thanks everybody for your help and advices.

[mchristos]

Since we're in the middle of winter I've decided to try to isolate the fish tank using extruded polystyrol and decorate it with match-boards. The results looks nice I think (check photos below) and I DOES it's job.
The tank temperature hasn't dropped below 9C, even when the ambient temperature was bellow 3C.
The half-finished solar heater does it's job as well. Using only 1/3 of it's capacity it heats the tank 2-4 degrees during the day. On a cold but sunny day I usually have a higher water temperature than the ambient one.
Since my first 5 goldfish didn't die, I've added another 5 (total 10), but none of them are eating. I suppose it's because of the cold - the water temperature hasn't been above 14 and usually is around 11-12C. Could anybody advice me on that? I would really appreciate it.

[benwalters]

hi christos, nice work on the sides to fish tank, plants look good too,
re. goldfish, im guessing they would prefer temps above 20 degrees to eat
all the best
ben