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Post by Valerie on Mar 3, 2013 12:27:15 GMT -5
Kim, those are pretty minnows. I think that Robyn person really really likes those fish!
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Mar 3, 2013 13:42:32 GMT -5
Ya think?
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Post by Valerie on Mar 9, 2013 22:13:33 GMT -5
Getting pretty excited on this. The bacteria are picking up! Our nitrite levels are coming up nicely, so we have the first kind of bacteria going good (I think they're called nitrosomonas.) Now we're just waiting for the second kind to show up. The cold weather we've been having hasn't helped, but it's supposed to start warming finally. The second bacteria will convert the nitrite to nitrate, which the plants will take up.
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Mar 9, 2013 23:09:07 GMT -5
Cool.
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Post by Valerie on Mar 17, 2013 9:08:41 GMT -5
We have bacteria! Both kind are present, now. It's taking longer because it's been cold. I told y'all this is my learning system. Lesson learned -- next time, wait until warm weather to start up a new system! Just waiting now for sufficient numbers to knock the ammonia level down. Once we have enough to sufficiently process the ammonia, time for fishies! We'll let them make the ammonia instead of me adding it every day. I'll try to take pics of the baby plants, soon. They've not been real happy with the cold, either, but they're hanging in there. Another lesson learned -- don't try to plant summer plants outside in an aquaponic garden in February!
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Post by Valerie on Mar 22, 2013 9:52:01 GMT -5
Y'all, I'm so excited! I tested the water again today -- we are done cycling! That means we're ready for the fish! Ammonia was at 0, nitrites were at 0 (necessary for the fish to live) and nitrates were about 60 (okay for fish, means the plants are taking them up -- they've been steadily dropping)! pH was right at 7.0. Woohoo! One of the great things about this kind of gardening, especially in dry areas, is it takes little water. You fill the tank at the beginning, then just top it off once a week. Way less water than irrigating a garden all through a hot dry summer. I can't wait to see how it does! And there are fewer pest and fungus problems, too! Oh, I forgot to tell y'all. Over the past week, the nitrites spiked to over 10(!) and the nitrates were up over 200(!). During the past few days they all came down to the levels needed for fish. That's how I know the bacteria we need are going strong.
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Mar 22, 2013 14:28:19 GMT -5
Bet the fire ants won't nest in it either.
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Post by Valerie on Mar 22, 2013 21:10:49 GMT -5
I just couldn't wait, y'all. We went to the feed store this afternoon and got some fish. We got two comets, and a shubunkin (sp?). He (?) is a kind of gold fish that's kind of calico. Pretty little guys! They are settling in and seem happy. They acted like they didn't know what to do with all that space! The rule of thumb is 1" of mature fish per gallon of water, and my pond is about 35 gallons, so that will be fine as long as the fish don't go over a foot long each. I kind of don't think they will, but who knows? I didn't go with the minnows because I'm too impatient to do the quarantine thing and I don't know how well unbridled reproduction would work in this new system where the plants are still small. The fish might overwhelm the bacteria too quickly. Course, the "extras" could have become chicken food. That might be something to consider for the future. Boy wouldn't that chick on the rosey minnow site have a cow at that thought!
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Post by Granny Smith on Mar 22, 2013 21:49:29 GMT -5
I know what a shubunkin is! We used to call them 'the spotted ones' btw, you spelled it right. I'd be tempted to throw in a fantail just because they're pretty. If it started to get overcrowded, you could always move it to a fishbowl. I used to have one in a fishbowl in a macrame pot hanger. The silly thing lived for 4 years (till my oldest boy decided to help me by cleaning the bowl. He refilled it with regular tap water. The chlorine killed it)
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Post by Valerie on Mar 23, 2013 11:14:14 GMT -5
They are pretty, Gayle. If they can take a wide range of temps, I might sneak one of those in, too. Some of the smaller aquarium fish have such a picky little range! I know these comets are tough, because there were a couple in a pond in my mom's yard. Even through the coldest winter and the hot summer, they were fine, and nobody even fed the poor things!
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Post by Granny Smith on Mar 23, 2013 12:13:04 GMT -5
I don't think they're all that picky. I had mine in the kitchen in Michigan. That kitchen wasn't heated at night. In the morning, it would be so cold! I would get up early and light a fire, then go back to the heated part of the house till it warmed up a bit so I could fix breakfast for the kids.
I also had it in Georgia. It was pretty warm in the house because we didn't have a/c. It was doing good there until Jason cleaned its bowl (actually, at that point it was a gallon jar because it was easier to deal with when we moved to GA)
It's true that those were all indoors, but the temperature range was from about 40 degrees to over 100.
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Post by Valerie on Mar 23, 2013 16:41:40 GMT -5
Oh good! That sounds like a pretty wide range! I might just be getting another fishy next time I'm in town! They are goregous!
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Mar 23, 2013 20:20:42 GMT -5
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Post by Valerie on Mar 23, 2013 21:06:10 GMT -5
Ha! A good reason for me to get ducks, once we can fence the yard!
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Post by Valerie on Apr 4, 2013 18:57:00 GMT -5
The fish are a little bit traumatized right now. We were out in the back yard doing some stuff and a little girl and her cousin came by. She was back there talking to us and her little cousing (he's 5) rode off on his bike. Turns out he went around to the front porch and messed with the fish. Dumped a bunch of food in there. Apparently he also dropped the fish food can, because it was wet. At least the lid was on when he dropped it. The food inside is dry. Looks like he tried to catch some fish, too, judging by all the water on the edges and the finger marks in the dust on the bottom. Looked like he scooped up a handful of pebbles and dropped them in, too. Glad I came in the front door, though and saw. I gathered up the test strips, the food, and the bottle of ammonia I had left out there. Just in case we get more visitations. People here don't always teach their kids to respect people's stuff. Easier to remove the temptation. If he comes back, I will tell him to leave the fish alone, though. I sub in his class, so maybe he'll listen.
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