Here are a couple of pictures of the growbeds today. The lettuce in growbed #1 had stopped growing and started wilting right after it sprouted. I think this is because of a heat wave we had. That was the same time the mature lettuce we had outside had turned bitter and started bolting, which is what lettuce does when it gets too hot. I was about to give up on the lettuce, but once the weather cooled down this weekend, it started to grow again.
Growbed #2, which had tiny pea sprouts on Sept 1, now has lots of peas and beans, and I think even some tomato sprouts.
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??I had to add a little bit of ammonia last week because the nitrate levels dropped. I need to keep the nitrate levels up until I get the fish. Once the fish are introduced to the tank, their waste should produce enough ammonia to keep the nitrate levels up. Here is the data Ive collected since starting the tank. Note that our tap water pH is about 6.5.
Room and water temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit -
Growbed #2, which had tiny pea sprouts on Sept 1, now has lots of peas and beans, and I think even some tomato sprouts.
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| Growbed #1-beans, peas, lettuce and basil |
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| Growbed #2 - beans, peas and tomatoes |
Date | pH | Ammonia | Nitrite | Nitrate |
17 Aug 2011 | 7.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
18 Aug 2011 | 7.6+ | 4 ppm | 0 | 0 |
23 Aug 2011 | (not taken) | 2 ppm | 0 | 0 |
24 Aug 2011 | 7.6 | 1 ppm | 0-.25 ppm | 5 ppm |
27 Aug 2011 | 7.4-7.6 | 0.5 ppm | 5 ppm | 8 ppm |
31 Aug 2011 | 7.8 | 0 ppm | 0+ ppm | 2 ppm |
NOTE: added about ½ tsp ammonia powder on 31 Aug 2011 | ||||
06 Sept 2011 | 7.4-7.6 | 0 ppm | 0+ ppm | 30 ppm |
Room and water temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit -
Date | Room Temp | Water Temp | Notes |
16 Aug 2011 | 70 | 56 | This is fresh from outside tap |
21 Aug 2011 | 70 | 65 | 9:30 am |
24 Aug 2011 | 75 |
Minggu, 08 Mei 201630 August 2011Heres a picture of grow bed #1 today. Peas are back against the little fence, lettuce is in the middle (tiny plants), and bush beans are in the foreground.
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 I just ordered trout feed - would you believe theres such thing as Purina Game Fish Chow? LOL!!! Thats actually not what I ordered, but I thought it was funny. I ordered BioTrout from a nice man named Walter at Bio-Oregon. BioTrout contains more protein. Im hoping to add fish in a week or two. My ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are all good, and the water temperature has finally gone down a little. According to what Ive read, trout dont like water to be over 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and last week when our outdoor temperatures were getting high, so was the temperature of the water. The water got up to 68 degrees, but I was afraid it would keep getting hotter, so I didnt want to introduce baby fish to a hot tub. Unlike some parts of the country, though, I think the danger of an extended heat wave is pretty much over in Colorado Springs, so it should be safe to get the fish. If trout prefer cold water, just wait a few weeks, they will love it here! Now I just need to wait for the feed to arrive and figure out how to get up to Fort Collins during the fish places business hours. I was hoping to get brook trout since I think they would be more content to hang out in a pool of water, but the fish place only has rainbow. Besides, I was going to name them Brookie 1, Brookie 2, etc....Now I have to think of new names. Rainbowie 1? That just doesnt have the same ring to it. Silvery 1 through Silvery 40? ;-) Whatever, they will all taste good on my plate next year. Kamis, 31 Maret 2016Preparing for Plants and FishAfter building the system and adding gravel, I purchased a tank cycling kit and a start-up test kit.
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Its important to cycle the tank before adding fish, otherwise your fish may be in a lot of distress, and might even die, due to high levels of ammonia. I wont go into a lot of detail about that, since you can find plenty of information elsewhere, but its an important consideration before you get your fish - especially if you have to travel several hours to get your fishies. The Aquaponic Source has a good overview of the cycling process. This is also where I purchased my kit for $15. I suppose I could have tried using regular liquid ammonia, but I figured this would be safer and faster. I also purchased a test kit from Aquaponic Source. Ill post some of my readings and dates in a later post - maybe when I get my fishes. Lessons learned - I should have tested the pH of my water BEFORE I added the gravel. I think there is a lot of limestone or something in our rock, because adding the rock raised the pH level in our tap water from about 6.4 to about 7.6. Luckily, although the 7.6 is a little more alkaline than recommended, I dont think its dangerously high. However, since I had to carry in several hundred pounds of gravel one bucket at a time, I would have been pretty upset if I had to find another media source, empty the grow beds and haul in more of whatever I ended up using.
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