My tank is kinda Instagram famous!

Instagram Famous (kinda)!

Hey! Long time, no type. After putting in my dual LED light panels with a daisy-chain of zip ties, my jalapeño plant has experienced a lot more growth than the other plants. Before I knew it, I had three peppers and the plant had reached the top of the grow lights. After posting my pictures to Instagram, Aquasprouts noticed and recently used my tank as a promotion for its light extenders on Instagram and Facebook. They were kind enough to ask my permission to share the photos. For doing so, they provided me with some free extenders to put on my tank. Thanks, Aquasprouts!

Tank Happenings

To get this growth, my digital timer is set to turn the grow lights on between 8 AM and 10 PM for a total of 14 hours of virtual sun. The pump is running for 15 minutes each hour and the oxygenator runs for the rest of the time; only shutting off when the submersible pump is running. I feed the two goldfish, who happily feed the plants for me, once per day, but I sometimes feed them more if they beg.

For maintenance, I scrub the tank walls using a magnetic scraper, remove any solids through net or siphon, and replace any water lost through evaporation. Typically, five gallons will have to be replaced per week.

Since my municipal water system does not use chlorides to treat the water, I can leave a bucket of water out for a day to dissipate the chlorine naturally. I check the water vitals once per month to make sure nothing is wrong.

The algae problem has decreased, but not eliminated, since moving the system from the Ikea Room to my bedroom, but I miss the quiet. I'm wondering where else I can put it where it's in view and in-mind.

Harvest

I have eaten the peppers, which had a good heat level, but hadn't harvested any of the other plants yet. I thought of making a pesto for the basil and thought of making an essential oil for the lemon balm, but I haven't had time to do this yet. There are lots of ideas on Pinterest on how to do this, but I have to commit. I've been getting a house ready for renting, so I haven't had a lot of time to do anything else.

Postings

I hope to post more often, but time gets away from me. Rest assured that I'm keeping up with the tank's maintenance. It's the harvesting that needs to be done, but not too much. The aquarium's water still needs to be cleaned.

Douglas's peppers are taking over his AquaSprouts Garden. Good thing we carry light bar extenders at AquaSprouts.com! A photo posted by AquaSprouts (@aquasprouts) on Oct 18, 2016 at 1:15pm PDT

Thanks for the light extenders, @aquasprouts! #aquaponics #aquasprouts A photo posted by Douglas Kelley (@dmartk) on Oct 25, 2016 at 9:58am PDT

And growing some more

Howdy

It's starting to look like a garden!

Hey folks! The tank is still going strong and I'm finally starting to see some significant growth from seeds instead of fostered plants. I was surprised at how large the Sweet Basil's leaves have become. I have to start using this in food.

As you can see, I zip-tied the aerator to the light bar's post, which allowed me to remove the makeshift shelf on the right-side of the growbed. This is why there is no growth in this area of it. Some seeds were put down, but I haven't seen progress yet.

The fish are as hungry as ever. My number checks are within spec with zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and a seemingly healthy level of nitrates that the plants are using. In order to further fill-in the growbed, and based on my previous experiments and Pinterest advice, I've been propagating some plants and reinserting them into the growbed. It'll also be a good way to manage the bed so that I don't take too much out for recipes and what not.

My growlight looks a bit wonky. It's not as symmetrical as those nice fluorescent long bulbs, but it was only $30 from Amazon, and it does the job very well; as has been demonstrated through this blog. I should buy another one and link them together. (I just did!) It would still be cheaper than the $100+ for a proper looking one that may not perform as well.

Looking back

Things have gotten much stabler as this project has progressed. If I did it all over again, I would definitely change some things, such as:

1. Don't use a chemical, pet-store styled dechlorinator. I avoided using it early on, but since I had fish, I used it as an emergency measure in association with a water change. The fishes' lives were in danger due to a massive ammonia spike. At least at my water district, they don't use chlorides. This means that I can simply leave a bucket of tap water exposed to the sunlight for 24 hours and the water will naturally dechlorinate.
2. Buy a growlight as soon as your tank cycles and turn it on as soon as you seed. This is imperative in order to have significant growth in an indoor tank.
3. Locate the aquarium in a room with less outdoor light. I thought that I could get away with not having a growlight because two of the walls were mostly windows. I was wrong. Additionally, having the aquarium in such a well-lit room accelerated algae problems in the tank.
4. Purchase an aerator after you cycle your tank and as soon as you stock your fish. The oxygen is important for the fish, particularly when the algae are competing for it.

The Numbers

I'm going to discontinue this segment as the tank has been stable for at least one month. When there are problems, I will bring it back.

Going Forward

I have a few new projects going on, such as being a potential landlord, and completing a bathroom renovation on my own home. However, I'm not concluding the blog. I'll write whenever I use its plants for recipes and for new developments. It won't be a near daily update as it once was, but it hasn't been for a time.

As always, thanks for reading.

Still going and improving

Howdy, folks!  It's been awhile but the blog is still going; as are the fish and plants. I'll have pictures later, but I wanted to provide an update before I forgot.

Analysis and Actions

1. The fish are doing well. They still have their appetites. The water continues to be reasonably clear. I haven't checked the numbers in about a week, but they looked pretty good. I did not record those figures in the blog though.
2. The plants are now doing amazingly well. The grow light has done wonders for the plants' development. I'd show pictures, but the tank is upstairs.
3. The cutting from the Lemon Balm plant, stuck into the growbed, successfully propagated. It also has grown from about 1-½ inches to 5 inches! The other cuttings from the spearmint has also done well. The basil and cilantro are are also growing well. Since I don't have a shelf or other mechanism to suspend the aerator above the tank, I'm using a makeshift platform to place it. Unfortunately, it is obscuring half of the growbed. I have some ideas to make it happen without a shelf. Of course, I'll report on the progress.
4. Additionally, the cutting that was put into the glass of water has also developed roots. I placed it into the the soil which exists on top of the water barrel outside. So far, so good.
5. The aerator, which I configured to run when the siphon pump is off, is working fine. I imagine that it's also contributing to the health of the fish and inhibiting the development of algae. I also partially shield the front of the tank from daylight (and the grow light), which helps too.
6. I added some naturally dechlorinated water to the tank to replenish what had been evaporated.

That's it from the aquaponics tank of the Ikea Room. When I can, I'll post pictures with more updates. Thanks for reading.

🐠 I can see clearly now... 🐟

Observation & Action

1. Water is much clearer after the 10% water change and other changes yesterday. The ammonia is back to zero, and the pH is between 6.5 and 7.0.
2. The one sprout is getting taller since the growlight went in. Half of the bed is covered with the shelf required for the aerator, but it'll open up as soon as come up with a solution. It has to be at least 12" above the water line.
3. I seeded some sweet basil and cilantro/coriander. We'll see how it turns out with the additional equipment and tank changes.

The Numbers

Date	GH General Hardness	KH Carbonate Hardness	pH	NO2 Nitrites	NO3 Nitrates	NH3/NH4 Ammonia	Temp °C
16-Jun	120	40	7.0	0	80	0.00	24°

Tank rehab

Observation & Action

1. I was still not satisfied with algae level in the tank. Additionally, there was an ammonia spike to 0.5 ppm (the threshold for what the fish can handle), so I performed a number of changes to the tank.
1. Wipe down submersible pump, its hose, and tank heater.
2. Scrub the inner walls of the tank to remove any algae film upon them.
3. Manually removed any string-type algae (I still have to look up the proper term).
4. Performed a 10% water change using the naturally dechlorinated water I keep in bucket.
5. Added 40 drops of pH UP to the tank. A water change will typically bring down the pH, which I don't want.
2. The growlight and the aerator came two days ago. I now see a new plant sprouting. I have to find my extra timer, but I've been leaving it on from 8 AM to midnight. I'll have to research the optimal time and set it accordingly.
3. The aerator seems to be doing well, but I'm unsure of its effect. It's sorely needed while the algae problem exists. I don't want the algae to rob oxygen from the fish. I wonder if there is a timer that functions as an A/B; where power alternates between device A (aerator) and device B (siphon pump)? Perhaps separate timers setup accordingly would suffice and give me more control.
4. The fish, as usual, have a voracious appetite. I've been giving in to feeding them too much as the algae is a big problem again.

Analysis

The ammonia spike was significant. It may be due to a lack of plants to filter the water. This is why I performed a water change. I'll also be buying some more seeds to see if I can enact some positive progress. Something has to give. As it is, I'll be performing more ammonia checks until I can confirm the problem has been handled.

The Numbers

Date	GH General Hardness	KH Carbonate Hardness	pH	NO2 Nitrites	NO3 Nitrates	NH3/NH4 Ammonia	Temp °C
15-Jun	180	40	6.5	0	160	0.50	24°

Same ole same ole

Observations

1. Fish seem to always be hungry. I feed them some, they go away, but when I return a few hours later, they act like I hadn't fed them. They're like dogs with Prader-Willie.
2. I hadn't been shielding the tank from the light since I put up the shade in the far-left corner. It hasn't cleared up the algae, but it hasn't gotten worse either.
3. The plants are not doing well. The tips of the leaves are browning, and the new seedlings, while initially holding promise, didn't make it.
4. Based on the last point, I broke down and ordered some LED grow lights to help with the plants while preventing the proliferation of algae in the tank. Since the world is not going to end by not having it immediately, I opted for the take-your-time shipping for a Amazon digital credit.
5. I also ordered an aerator to insure the algae don't rob all of the oxygen from the fish. It's status is the same as point #4.
6. Nitrates have exploded. Nitrites are zero, as are ammonia. The system needs more plants to use the nitrates. I'm betting that the growlight is going to help with that.

The Numbers

Date	GH General Hardness	KH Carbonate Hardness	pH	NO2 Nitrites	NO3 Nitrates	NH3/NH4 Ammonia	Temp °C
11-Jun	180	40	6.5	0	160	0.00	23°

Thoughts

I'm really disappointed that my crop is not doing better. I've had a lot of false starts.  While the tank is reasonably stable, I've been unable to successfully grow a crop from scratch. Hopefully, these new additions will help. If anyone has any ideas that would help, please comment. Thanks.

The Consequences of Shading

Observations and Actions

1. Water is noticeably clearer but still has a greenish tint. The algae problem must be clearing up. I've been keeping the front of the tank covered with my whiteboard during the day. I also created a roman shade for only one of the windows, which also helped with he sun as well as decrease the heat in the room. I also have been limiting the feeding to 1-2 times per day; not just when the goldfish are clamoring for a meal.
2. My water readings are changing again. For the first time in awhile, the pH has gone below 6.5. The water hardness has gone up but the carbonate hardness has gone down. There are zero nitrites, but an increased level of nitrates. Are the plants not making use of the nitrates? The water temperature continues to be steady.
3. The snail died. I'm guessing that it may have had to do with the change in pH.
4. I topped off the tank with some naturally dechlorinated tap water (I left it uncovered, in a bucket, for a couple of days). I then added 40 drops of pH UP to the tank to get the numbers up. I should have added less for less of a shock. I know that the goldfish will handle it, but I'm not sure about the catfish. Both appear to be very healthy and active.
5. The plants are not doing well. This could be due to the pH changes. The fostered plants have brown spots on the leaves and appear to be wilting. Their health was floundering before I put up the window shade, but the decreased sunlight is a factor. The fostered plants have actually pointed to the left; towards the light of the closest, eastern-facing window. I am going to have to purchase a grow light but I don't want to spend the money.

Analysis

Regarding the algae v. plant light conundrum, I'm going to have to either move the tank or buy a grow light. While the sunlight is great for the plants, it's not direct. The room shading, which helps limit the algae growth and makes the room more comfortable in the summer, limits the plants' growth. I need to bite the proverbial, financial bullet and buy a grow light. If you have any recommendations, please provide a comment in the page or send me a tweet (@the1verse).

The pH dropped to 6.0. I'm very concerned about this since I really didn't do anything to the water. I'll have to read more about why this happened, but my observations tell me that the shading is the only external change. I don't recall anything else being done.

The Numbers

Date	GH General Hardness	KH Carbonate Hardness	pH	NO2 Nitrites	NO3 Nitrates	NH3/NH4 Ammonia	Temp °C
6-Jun	180	40	6.0	0	160	0.00	24°

The imparting of information

Hey, folks! Confession time. I really don't know what I'm doing, but I'm trying to do it anyway. From the theories about why my system is behaving to the remedies I try to enact in order to fix it. Much of it is unoriginal and usually something that I've synthesized from information I've read elsewhere.

I sometimes feel guilty that I can't remember where I've heard the information, and thus can't post a source for it. I try to post links when I can, but sometimes I don't remember or get distracted. So, I'd like to say that I'm sorry for that.

For the record, nobody has complained. Perhaps it's because nobody is reading it, but my Blogger.com crystal ball for backwards time travelers (stats) tells me there are people who do. This post probably isn't necessary, but I wanted to dissuade any notion that I'm any kind of expert or authority on aquaponics. I'm sure you figured it out anyway. I'm only a fledgling. Do you think roe or seedling be a more appropriate word given this blog's subject?

I really don't know why I'm spilling this crap, but here it is. These are only my feelings on the issue.

In any case, thanks for reading. I'll try to keep you entertained and informed as I can. If you have a question, just ask and I'll make up the best answer that I can using Google. :-)

---

UPDATE: Perhaps nobody is reading this! May I introduce Referrer Spam. That's okay. I can be the proverbial fool who talks to himself on the Internet. :-)

Al G Money

Observations

1. Water seems clearer after adding the catfish, slug, covering the front of the aquarium glass, and not feeding Thing One and Two for two days. It's not optimal yet, but when will it ever be? I had also been running the pump constantly over the last 24 hours.
2. The fostered plants seem a little spotty. I'm not sure why this is. The algae could have been robbing the water's nutrients from the plants.
3. The new seedlings growth appears to be stunted. Perhaps I'm being impatient, but I thought they'd be growing more by now.
4. The water readings are very stable except that its temperature raised to 25° C. It was 90°F (32°C) outside yesterday, and I have a window fan on the outside window. I have A/C, but the room is upstairs, two of the walls are almost entirely made of windows, and I have the duct  temporarily disconnected.

Analysis & else

I have to say that I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and dissatisfied. I thought that I'd had more growth in my new plants. Some of the seeds have not even germinated. What am I doing wrong? I'm really having trouble understanding. I think that I'm doing everything that I can, but it doesn't progress; it plateaus. I suppose it's part of the trials of pioneering by the seat of my pants, but knowing this doesn't make it easier. I'll just keep pressing forward.

Besides the aquaponics setup, I am growing Moonflowers and Morning Glory in pots downstairs. Since my wife works nights, I was going to set each one up on both ends of the porch. Depending on when she gets home, but the Moonflower would bloom when they arrived around midnight and the Morning Glory would bloom when she arrived early morning around 7 AM. It may not be the way that it's actually going to work, but I thought it was a great idea to put her in a better mood when she comes home.

I'm also trying to propagate some lemon balm in a glass. I'm going to do the same in the aquaponics setup to try to grow roots. My plan is to transplant them downstairs above the rain barrel as a mosquito repellent. I also planted some Marigolds in the same location which appear to be slowly taking off. Writing of lemons, the lemongrass seeds have not propagated. in the growbed.

Here's an idea! I'm going to start a Lemon Balm race. Two methods: aquaponics and glass of water. We'll see which method gets roots first. The race starts today! I'll create a page outside these posts and reference it for updates.

UPDATE: The Lemon Balm Root Race has been created. Yes, I know it's a crude page much like the rest of it, but I don't really care too much about the presentation at this point.

New Fish Day + 1 🐟🐟🐌

Nameless #1's jaw drops in disbelieve when his photo is taken.

Observations

1. Water still cloudy from algae.
2. Fish have quite an appetite
3. Fostered plants are browning on the edges a little bit.
4. New plant growth is looking good.

Introducing... 

Realizing that the algae problem isn't going to get better, along with seeing actual "string" type algae, I finally decided to do something about it. So I went to Planet Pet today and bought two new Cory Catfish and a snail. The catfish immediately went to work eating the "string" algae. I know there's a specific term for them, but I'll find it later. I'll monitor the changes with this addition. Unfortunately, I can't get a proper photo of the two catfish. So, I'll hotlink a Wikipedia image [I hope they're okay with that].

Analysis

As previously mentioned, the algae problem is being addressed. Hopefully, it will be solved with the three new additions to the tank. Its pH dropped to 6.5, so I added 21 drops of pH UP . The temperature has been steady. The warmer weather is also going to create some additional challenges for the temperature as well as the algae. More sunlight will affect it, but it will have the added benefit of more growth for the plants. As you recall, I don't have a grow light yet.

I used some of the basil to help create something for some makeshift naan to go with the chicken curry that I made. I use the word makeshift because they were actually fluffy tortillas brushed with olive oil, garlic, basil and salt. The Kroghetto (my local Kroger grocery store) doesn't stock any, so one does what one can.

The Numbers

Date	GH General Hardness	KH Carbonate Hardness	pH	NO2 Nitrites	NO3 Nitrates	NH3/NH4 Ammonia	Temp °C
30-May	120	40	6.5	0.5	80	0.25	23°

Memorial Day

It's also Memorial Day today in the U.S. It's a day to recognize soldiers who had fought and died in battle. Take a moment to remember. Thanks.

Water changes and anticipation

Observations

• Fish have a voracious appetite. I continue to feed them twice per day. I hasn't appeared to effect the water readings, which are dropping in the nitrite and ammonia categories.
• Tank water still has greenish tint. I still need to address the algae in the tank. At least for the interim, I've been covering the glass when we're not in the room; at least during the day, to minimize its growth.
• Growth progress; particularly among the chives. The lemongrass also appears to be sprouting in the corners where I placed it.
• The ammonia is keeping steady at 0.25 ppm while the nitrites have dropped to zero. I'm asking myself whether I should add another fish to keep the plants fed with nitrates. I may do this if the nitrates drop along with the nitrites. My other questions are:
• What is a reasonable level of nitrites and nitrates for sustaining the current level of crop? 
• Do some plants need more than others?
• What effect will a grow light have upon these numbers?

Analysis

Things are stable, so there's nothing to report. I'm going to use the basil for a pizza soon. I'll let you know how it turns out. For the (obvious) record, we intend to eat the items grown in this system, but not eat the goldfish. However, it's not uncommon for such a system to harvest both fish and plants; just not goldfish. :)

I also plan to take out the lemon balm (picture far-left) from the growbed and transplant them to the front and back porches. I've become obsessed with keeping away mosquitos this season as they were friggin' annoying last year. The nasty, deadly viruses they transmit, including Zika and West Nile, are also more than enough incentive for repelling them.

I'll report back in a few days and provide some pics as well.

The Numbers

Date	GH General Hardness	KH Carbonate Hardness	pH	NO2 Nitrites	NO3 Nitrates	NH3/NH4 Ammonia	Temp °C
25-May	120	40	7.0	0	80	0.25	24°

Tank update and plant talk

Howdy, folks! I skipped a day of posting yesterday because I had to replace the rear brake pads on the car I'm going to sell. There are a few other things which I need to do to it, and then it will be on the market. For the record, I love this car. It's a BMW 330xi and it's the best car I've ever owned. I'd love to write about it more, but this is a aquaponics blog. If I put it up on EBay Motors, I'll post a link.

Observations

• Fish appear to be healthy. They have a voracious appetite, and I do feed them a little when they clamor for it.
• The water is still a little greenish; most likely due to the algae. No, I haven't purchased any snails to deal with the problem yet.
• There continues to be significant progress in the past few days. Alternatively, the fostered plants are due to be moved, but I don't want to disrupt the balance of the system too much. I need to harvest them though.
• I think the suspected issue with the root rot and yellowing (too much watering) has to do with the length of the roots when they were transplanted. When these plants were in soil, the roots moved to the moisture, which went deeper as the upper levels of the soil's water evaporated. When I moved the plants from the soil to the growbed, I did not trim the roots, but left them at their original length. I suspect that the endings of the roots were in water all of the time. As I create new growth, this will be less of a problem as long as I properly schedule growth and harvest in the system.

The Numbers

No numbers today, I will perform a full check tomorrow.

Fish died

Observations

The smallest of the three fish died sometime between last night and this morning. After a number reading, of what I always measure, they looked fine. However, the tank's water is looking greenish. Therefore, I'm suspecting lack of oxygen as the cause. 

I do have an oxygenator, but it's powered by two "D" size batteries. I'll replace the batteries and get another one that could be powered by electricity.

Ultimately, I'm going to have to deal with the algae issue. I've mentioned purchasing some snails or some type of aquatic which I don't have to feed algae tablets. I have no idea how much they would cost, but I'm going to have to bite the proverbial bullet on this one. Having dead fish is not an option.

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
21-May	120	80	7.0	0.5	80	0.25	22°

Growing my own

Observations

I took no water measurements today. I am going to limit my readings to about three times per week or as conditions warrant. Other than the minor but persistent algae problem, the fish seem well, so no checkups. However, I will perform a reading tomorrow. Unless there's something for which to be alarmed, I'll continue the 3x/week regimen.

Seedling progress

I have already started to see some sprouts from the chive. I did not have time to examine the others, but I'm happy that something has started from them. On the flip side, I am a little more concerned about my fostered plants. 

The wonderfully smelling rosemary plant, among the emergency plants I bought in order to process the nitrates and clean the tank water, are wilting. The parsley are yellowing a bit as well. According to past reading, it may be a sign of overwatering. This means that some adjustments will be needed to ensure the roots aren't being soaked 24/7. The rosemary's roots seemed like they were starting to rot as well, so I moved it back to potted soil.

For the next stage of the aquaponics world, how long should I wait until harvest? Do I just pluck what I need and leave them in the growbed indefinitely? I'm assuming that crop rotation doesn't apply. I'm 47 years old and really haven't grown or planted anything other than a Mother's Day rose bush. Fast forward 20 years and the list includes key lime hydrangeas and aquaponics. I'll write more tomorrow. Have a great day or whatever period of the day you're experiencing. 

Day three of calm

Observations

• Fish are fine; fed them this morning.
• Tank is still a bit cloudy due to algae. I need to work on getting some snails to help. I did keep the tank covered in the front.
• The numbers are calmer; pH at 7.0.
• Nitrites and nitrates are down.
• No ammonia check today. I plan to not check the numbers every day since the tank as stabilized to a degree.

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
20-May	120	80	7.0	1	80	not taken	23°

Day two of new seeds, second day of calm

Observations

1. It may be an illusion but I think that the fostered plants grew a little bit. I know that is what they're supposed to do, but it's still wondrous to me.
2. I did not cover the glass of the aquarium for much of yesterday. This may explain the increased cloudiness that our lovely daylight nemesis, algae, brings to my tank. It should be able to keep it under control if I cover it today. Of course, I have to watch them first.
3. I was able to feed them today. Their appetite seemed normal.
4. Either the oxygen stone for the oxygenator is going to need to be cleaned or the batteries to the unit will need to be replaced. It's not outputting enough air.
5. Day two of seeding; as expected, there is no noticeable progress yet.
6. Added 21 drops of API pH UP to deal with 6.5 pH issue.

Overall, the tank and its components seem normal. There's a small maintenance item regarding the oxygenator to which I have to attend, but it seems fine otherwise. I was really thinking that this project may have been a total disaster a few days ago, but the proverbial storm has passed.

Starting from the Internet of Things

So, how did I learn about the existence and symbiotic beauty of aquaponics? I actually discovered it by accident. At the time, I was learning about Arduino UNO microcontrollers. I had purchased the Official Starter Kit, which included the microcontroller, tutorial, components and breadboard; everything you would need to get started. The boards alone cost between $30 and $50 US. For the record, I would recommend this kit for anyone, even children, wanting to learn about electronics as well as computer programming. Once you build your components, the UNO board allows you to control them by writing code. It's actually a subset to the "C" programming language, which is pretty easy to learn. I find the whole concept of the Internet of Things concept, and more specifically, microcontrollers, a wonderful bridge between the virtual and the real to customize the physical world that way you want it to work; but let's get back to the story.

I was perusing YouTube about the Arduino when I discovered a video entitled the Internet of Things. It was an older gentleman who was running an aquaponics setup in California. He build his entire setup, including water towers for strawberries, growbeds for vegetables, and tanks for his fish. The additionally fascinating thing about it was he was controlling and monitoring it through custom-built components which included Arduino microcontrollers. His setup also allowed him to control the pumps and monitor is system through the Internet; hence the term Internet of Things. Anyway, both concepts really fascinated and inspired me. The video helped start my journey to now.

I hope to get more elaborate as I learn more, but the Aquasprouts system is where I am starting.

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
19-May	120	80	6.5	3	80	0.25	23°

Ammonia Watch canceled (Happy happy joy joy)

Observations

• My ammonia reading last night was 1.0 ppm. Imagine my surprise when performed this test this morning. It's down to 0.25 ppm!,  Time for more plants and a fish feeding! 
• The pH is close to a 7.0, and I have a decent supply of nitrites and nitrates for the nitrogen cycle. 
• There seems to be some algae in the tank, since it's a bit cloudy, but I'm much happier with less ammonia!
• The surrogate plants also look good. Since the seeds have been soaking, I am going to sowing them in the growbed today.

Seeding

May I present the soaked seeds! The only set that showed by noticeable transformation were the chive, which developed a gooey, translucent membrane around the seeds. The others do not look like that were soaked at all. They are now in the growbed along with a prayer that they grow into something delicious!

Soaked seeds	Jalapeño Peppers	Lemongrass
	Chive	Basil

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
18-May	120	80	7.0	5	80	0.25	23°

Covering the tank

Observations

• Good morning! The fish are active this morning, but not in a weird way. They want to be fed, but I have to restrain myself for the sake of the water and the tank. Feeding them will only exasperate the ammonia. They will survive a couple of days without food.
• My readings have the ammonia steady at 2.0 ppm. There is nothing significant about the others.
• The adopted plants in their foster growbed seem fine.
• The battery-operated bucket aerator is working fine.
• I covered the tank in order to limit any proliferation of algae that could rob the fish of oxygen as well as other disasters. For now, it's just a white board on the front and a VanGogh book on the back. I'll get fancier when time permits.

Analysis

• I can't do much at this point. The tank is on Ammonia Watch. I'm going to check the levels between two and three times per day to prevent the fish from being too affected by it. They may just be producing too much waste output for the plants to keep up. 
• There is a neat cross-tab chart courtesy of IBD of Aquaponics that tells more about Ammonia Toxicity. Based on temperature and pH, it tells you the minimum level that would be toxic to fish; barring differences in species, etc. They also have a host of other information that's impressive as well. I believe that the tank is just under the threshold.
• I started soaking some seeds last night to give them a head start before sowing them into the growbed. I'm hoping these turn out well and they are able to handle the fishes' output.

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
17-May	180	80	7.0	3	40	2.0	23°

There's really nothing else to report. I'll perform a ammonia check later this afternoon while looking in on the algae condition in the tank.

UPDATE: The show so far

Cloudiness

After writing The Show So Far entry this morning, it suddenly occurred to me that the cloudiness of the water was most likely due to algae. After reading some material about what to do, it seems that it's a normal part of the process when you're starting up a tank. I already knew that having a tank in daylight conditions would make it an issue anyway.

After weighing my options, I'm going to let it ride for a little, but will probably get some snails to try to keep the tank in better balance. At first, getting a Pleco fish seemed like a wonderful idea, but thought better of it as I discovered that you need to keep feeding them algae tablets when there is no longer any algae in the tank. I'm thinking that some snails would be the less voracious option.

I'm also thinking about how to best cover the tank when we're not in the room. I thought about creating some kind of stage curtain. For whatever reason, it reminded me of this kitschy jukebox at this 24-hour greasy spoon called the Anchor Grille. For every song that plays, the curtain opens, revealing a big band made up of figurines. The figures actually move to the music although I don't recall if they actually moved to the beat. To make it even more hilarious, they placed Ken and Barbie dolls in front as the two singers. I couldn't stop laughing the first time I saw it.

The Anchor Grill Jukebox Band

Ammonia Explosion

So, I performed an afternoon ammonia check because of the alarming 2.0 ppm rate this morning. I was shocked that it jumped even further to 4.0! I acted upon the situation by performing a 20% water change and a supplement of pH UP to counter the lower pH of the replacement water (w/ a drop of dechlorinator). It continues to be an emergency situation until I can get the ammonia to a reasonable level. Otherwise, the fish will die. Let me do this now while I'm writing this...and I'm back. 

The ammonia is down to 2.0 ppm, but it's not good enough. I want to bring it to 1.0 and then let the bacteria do the rest. It's a kind of damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don't scenario because for each water change, I dilute the ammonia but I also dilute the bacteria necessary for creating a balanced system.

The sudden prompting for an ammonia check was spurned by the behavior of the fish, as they were swimming a little erratically to me. It caused me to wonder if the ammonia was affecting them. Since 2.0 ppm is too high of a level for them, I guessing this is why. On the other hand, in my previous five gallon, traditional aquarium, the fish would do this after a water change, but then calm down. I will perform another ammonia check this evening.

Aerator

Since the algae problem had surfaced, and algae eat the oxygen needed by the fish, I needed to get an aerator sooner than I wanted. It suddenly dawned on me (twice), that my wife had an aerator that he attempted to give to her father, way before we met, but he rejected the present because he couldn't use it. It's really meant for a bucket of fish you've caught; after you've actually went fishing, but it's the same thing. I dug it out of my workbench area (the crapé room), plugged in some "D" batteries, and fired her up. It's working great so far.

Seeding

I'm going to soak the seeds I purchased for the growbed for a day to increase their chance for survival. I'm going to retry the varieties which killed the first time around, including: chive, basil, and jalapeño peppers. I'm also soaking the lemongrass seeds to place them in the growbed, but only for propagation purposes. They will later be transferred to a pot for mosquito-shooing and seasoning.

The lemongrass will come in handy when I make a banh mi hero from The Banh Mi Handbook. I received it as a gift from the Chef'd meal store. I feel guilty for not trying them yet. The french bread recipe looks so great!

Well, that's it for this evening. I'll do the rest of the readings tomorrow and let you know how it's doing.

The show so far

Observations

1. Water is still cloudy.
2. Fish seem to be doing okay. They have a good appetite. It seems like they may be breathing a little hard. The numbers will explain.
3. The water test today told me that there have been some dramatic changes to it.
1. pH dropped to around 6.5. It's critical that I get this back up to 7-7.5. I am concerned about the wild changes affecting the health of the plants and fish.
2. The nitrites have increased and nitrates are unchanged. By itself, this is good because it tells me that I have adequate bacteria for a nitrogen cycle.
3. The Ammonia has rocketed to 2.0 ppm! This is very bad. It needs to come down as soon as possible but without starting over and without any magic, mystery chemicals from the pet store. I'm wondering if the plants can keep up with the processing of the nitrates. The fish need better, more stable conditions.
4. The plants seem okay as none are wilting. These plants are not grown from the growbed itself. I purchased them from the Farmer's Market and put them in there specifically for the fish as a nitrate filter.
5. Water temperature is steady at 23°C.

Analysis

As an immediate measure to address the issues, I performed a 10% water change using water that had been sitting in an open bucket for this use. I left it exposed to dissipate the chlorine without using any tap water dechlorinator.

I also added 30 drops of pH UP (10 more than recommended).

Next Steps

1. Add more seeds to the growbed so I actually grow plants and not just transplant the good works of others.
2. Get the ammonia levels down. I could siphon the unused food and waste away periodically and add more plants to use the nitrates and thus, help keep the water cleaner for the fish.
3. I need to purchase an aerator. I saw one online that will also help keep the submersion pump quieter, but I can't find it now. I'll dig deeper. I didn't just imagine it.
4. Sprucing up the tank and adding lights, etc. will have to wait.
5. Buy some seeds, soak them for a day or so, and then add them to the grow bed.
6. I will perform another ammonia test later this afternoon to see if more action is needed to reduce it.

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
16-May	180	80	6.5	3	80	2.0	23°

The foster growbed

Hey, folks. I'm not going to write too much here since I don't have too much to report. I guess you can say that I'm saving my proverbial breath from yesterday.  The fish are doing fine.  They are hungry and they are eating well.  The adopted plants are doing fine too.  The water is slowly clearing up.  My numbers are okay too.  There are nitrites and nitrates along with an ammonia level on the high side of 0.5ppm.

Observations

• Plants fine. 
• Fish fine. Eating well and active.
• The water is slowly inching back up.
• The pH is back to a 7.5 normal although 7.0 would be a better balance for the plants.

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
15-May	180	80	7.5	1.0	80	0.5	23°

The Venn diagram of simile, metaphor and reality

Observation & Action

So, I bought three goldfish yesterday for Fish Day after having whopping two days of acceptable numbers. To recount today's events, I'm going to write this entry a little differently than the others.  Here we go!

The water and fish before the changes

Morning Observations & Reaction

1. Cloudy water
2. Two outer drains were clogged with grow media; unclogged them and removed a riser on each, which would have the effect of lowering the water level in the growbed.
3. Opened the flow of the submersible tank to 100%.
4. Added the rest of the pepper seeds to the growbed.
5. The fish do swim, but not a lot. The conditions may not be ideal for them as of yet. I fed the fish this yesterday and this morning. They mainly hang out towards the bottom of the tank.
6. I siphoned some of the extra food from the tank that the fish didn't eat in order to forestall a rise in ammonia through food decay.
7. Since I really don't have any plants to use the nitrates since the seeds withered (probably due to the drastic pH changes, I am going to make a trip to the Farmer's Market and buy some plants to pre-stock the growbed. It will be important in order to keep the water clean for the fish.
8. I also plan to place some of the lemongrass seeds into one of the corners of the growbed. I'm going to at least propagate them here, so that I can put them into a pot later on. I understand that they help repel mosquitos. That will be helpful for the backyard.

The Morning Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
14-May (morning)	180	80	7.0	1.0	0.5	0.5	24°

This Afternoon's Events

I had a great time at the Covington Farmer's Market for the short time that I was there. It was especially cold and damp this morning with temperatures in the low to mid 50's (10-13°C), which was quite a shift from yesterday when it was in the 70's (21-23°C). I bought some spearmint, parsley and rosemary plants from one of the vendors. She certainly knew her plants well. I'll update this later with her card info. I also bought a lavender plant and a banana tree from a different vendor (not for aquaponics purposes). I will definitely come back to the Market next week.

So, I arrived back home, took care of the dogs, and then commenced see how I can stock these plants into the growbed. I thought the way to do this would be simple and have no negative consequences. Unfortunately, doing so met with some problems.

I started the rehoming process with the rosemary plant by bumping the bottom of its thin, plastic propagation pot, and then breaking apart the soil so that its roots were exposed. From there, I ran water over them while lightly massaging the roots in order to remove any soil. The next step was to put them into the growbed. Well, I either didn't do this thoroughly enough, or there was some debris from the growbed that make its way into the tank and further clouded up the water.

My soil-grown plants and fishes' new oxygen dealer

As a result, I freaked out. I was thinking that I was going to kill these poor fish after I took them away from their relatively posh lives at Planet Pet (a pet store across the Licking River in Newport, KY). Since I needed to get plants setup anyway, I continued the task of breaking my purchases free from their soil and into aquaponic system's substrate. I needed to find a way to clear up this water, but without starting over.

It's really a little bit of a pain in the ass to actually put existing plants in there, along with their long root structure, into the bed. It was even more difficult when changing the drain risers. As you may have deducted, the thing with collections of round items in a bowl, is that as soon as you dig a little hole, all of their little friends want to fill-in the gap.

Fortunately, I found a 5" (127mm) length of 3" (76mm) PVC pipe to help me solve the problem. Placing the pipe down into the substrate, and then digging out the balls, I was able to place the plant at the desired depth, put the balls back, and then lift the PVC back out of the substrate.

I came up with the solution when thinking about how they built the Hoover Dam. Before they could begin construction on it, they had to create a dry space tin which to work. To do so, they had to divert the entire Colorado River around the project, creating a dry bowl, until it was complete. Anyway, it worked for me.

Afternoon reaction

To summarize, I performed a 30% water change. Because I considered this an emergency situation, I used an eye dropper to administer a small, but appropriate dose of the Top Fin Tap Water Dechlorinator I had previously referenced. I probably diluted the ammonia and the bacteria population, but I wanted to clear the water so the fish could breath.

Currently, the water is very cloudy with low visibility. My most recent ammonia test, performed just a few hours ago, yielded 0.25 ppm, which is the lowest figure yet for the tank. I'm guessing that the murkiness is affecting the oxygen levels. The fish seem to be taking it in stride. They still want to eat and I have fed them. They change from hanging out at the bottom, but also hang out towards the top occasionally. During the Quarter (of the hour) Pump, they do swim and explore more than when it's off.

Afternoon Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
14-May (afternoon)	180	80	6.5	0.5	40	0.25	24°

Final Tasks

I had applied 21 drops of pH UP to the tank a few hours ago, but upon getting the latest pH figure, I added 20 more drops to it for a total of 41 drops (double the recommendation). I can't risk such a sharp drop in pH for both the fish and the plants' sake. The drop is most likely the result of the water change, so the fish, at least, are quite used to the 7-7.5 conditions. In my view, the extra is not a drastic action, but one needed to maintain the status quo.

My next tasks to work out are:

1. Determine how much to feed the fish that will keep the tank balanced while not starving them to death. They seem to like it better if a pulverize the food before dropping it into the tank.
2. Track the progress of the plants.
3. Put the lemongrass seeds in as I previously mentioned.
4. Find a way to further clear up the water in a safe way that keeps the system balanced.

Hopefully, I'll have a better report tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Stability, Friday the 13th & Fish Day 🐟🐟🐟

The new residents

Fish Day

My numbers are exactly the same as yesterday, so I am going to add some fish today. How many should I add so that I don't shock the system into ammonia overload? I recall the standard being 1" per gallon of water, so:

• x = # of fish
• y = length of each
• g = gallons of water

x = g / y

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
13-May	180	80	7.5	0.5	40	0.50	23°

Looking back on this graph, I actually could have introduced fish around May 3rd or so; perhaps a little earlier. That is, if I had known about the 0.5 ppm ammonia threshold. Nothing else to report other than the fish are coming. I will probably wind up getting a couple of larger goldfish. At the same time, I am also hesitant to bring goldfish into it this early. From what I've read, they are messy fish and thus, may introduce too much ammonia to the system. I'll try to do my due diligence to figure out the right fish for this system.