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.

"You're killin' me, Nitrosomonas!", said Ammonia

Observations

1. The GH number has restored to baseline, and KH remains at baseline.
2. pH went up to 7.5 from 7.0
3. Nitrites and Nitrates increased!
4. Ammonia went down to 0.5 from 1.0 ppm.
5. The plants are still not doing well. If I don't kill them through this process, I may have to reseed.

Analysis

I have to say that I'm happy with these numbers after being very concerned yesterday. I'm excited because it means that I'm on my way to introducing fish to the system. I'm hoping the number trends continue as the nitrosomonas eat the ammonia, which poop the nitrites, which are eaten by the nitrospira, which poop the nitrates, which are fed to the plants as a source of nitrogen and in turn clean the water and return it to the tank. Yes, poop is a technical term in the Nitrogen Cycle. :-) [please correct if wrong; I want to get it right]

As an aside, I previously read that nitrobacter were responsible for the nitrite to nitrate conversion, but I've since read that it's actually the nitrospira which perform this process; at least in the marine realm. There is actually a nice FAQ about cycling on The Aquaponics Source site that I just discovered. Its advice mirrors some of my own discovery.

Coming back to discussion of my system, my plants are not doing well. I understand that in order to get a balanced system, there's going to be a disruption first. My initial goal is to have water that will support the fish, so the plants will have to suffer until this is accomplished. Perhaps I should not have added the seeds right away, but I couldn't resist. I thought that it would be a good way to get the system online. I don't regret the decision though. The aforementioned FAQ actually recommends adding plants/seeds as soon as possible, so I guess that I was right in doing so.

Regarding the plants' health, I'm assuming that the change in the pH coincided with the health of the plants. I think there's still something to the theory I floated in a previous blog entry, but I'm not sure whether it's relevant to this situation.

In all, it's a bit of a breakthrough day for me and the system. The FAQ mentioned that I would be ready for fish if the ammonia and nitrite levels are at 0.5 ppm or lower. I'm now at the high end for both, but if the levels are okay, and if things don't change too much tomorrow, I'm going to buy some fish!

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
12-May	180	80	7.5	20	40	0.5	23°

The Nitrites Cometh!

Nitrites! Where art thou, nitrites?

Observations

1. The General Hardness (GH) has dropped from 180 to 120 while the Carbonate Hardness (KH) has restored to its baseline number of 80. Could the flailing of the KH have been an harbinger for the change in the GH? I referenced this behavior yesterday regarding the KH and whether it was telling me something. Perhaps this was it?
2. The other numbers are steady.
3. The plants are not doing well. I can still smell them when my nose is about 6 inches from the growbed, but I no longer see any vibrant growth.
4. No nitrites yet. What the hell? Sure, I could put in some tank starter stuff, but I'd rather not do so. I haven't put any pH UP into the tank in three days. I'm going to see how the water hardness plays out before doing more. It does bring me to some interesting observations overall; not just for the previous day.

The observations about the plants' health compared to the changing water conditions. The chive were growing very well at the beginning. They were the seeds to sprout and actually show progress. The basil and cilantro were the first to sprout, but I they really didn't go beyond the growth shown in the initial photos when this blog started.

When I started making changes to the pH in order to spurn the growth of the nitrites, the chives went downhill along with the other plants. Inversely, the peppers and thyme started to respond positively instead. Of course, none of them are responding well at present. The most significant changes that could have effected them were in the pH and water hardness. Also, the ammonia went up. I'm thinking that the increase was due to the water dechlorinator I used to replace evaporated water in the tank. When it performed its duty, it converted the chlorine into ammonia.

My theory, which I could probably Google to confirm somewhere (or debunk), are the differing water conditioning needed for different plants for optimum growth. Taking out the cold issue regarding the behavior of the chives, do peppers and thyme respond better to higher pH than chive, basil and cilantro? Originally, I thought that the shift in the pH level, in either direction, would cause shock to the plants, but others appeared to grow better. 

I know that I'm most likely not making any breakthrough statements here, but there are just my thoughts and observations about my system. Feel free to chime in if I'm making a total ass of myself. I want to stand corrected instead of being oblivious.

Tap Water Treatments

The tap water in my area comes through the Northern Kentucky Water District. From what I've read, they don't use chloramines to treat the water; just chlorine. So, I may be able to simply get away with filling a bucket full of water, and letting the chorine dissipate through sunlight and air. In the future, I'll refrain from the Top Fin stuff and use this method. Of course, I'm going to perform an ammonia test before and after to the bucket to confirm my findings regarding the Top Fin's releasing of ammonia.

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
11-May	120	80	7.0	0	20	1.0	24°

The numbers and little more

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
10-May	180	80	7.0	0	20	1.0	24°

Observations

• The numbers are as mostly the same. I do think it's strange that the Carbonate Hardness (KH) is waffling back and forth. It's almost like it's telegraphing a catastrophe or just some kind of drastic change. Being the hobbyist that I am, I have no idea what this would be.
• I'm going to think about what to do given my new knowledge from yesterday. Perhaps I'll do a 10-15% change per day with an alternate source of water that is not dechlorinated using Sodium Thiosulfate. We're not going to eat the fish from this system, but I think it's better to set the good practices now so that I can more easily apply them to a larger system later on.
• All of the plants are wilting a bit. The pH changes may be playing a role. Hopefully, they will revive. I'm really inpatient to have suitable water for adding fish. I'll continue with readings and a strategy tomorrow.

Removing chloramines safely

The Issue

Earlier today, I expressed concern about the safety of the Tap Water Dechlorinator product that I was using to clear the chlorine and chloramines from the tap water that I put into my system. See the earlier post for details. To summarize, my main concern were:

1. Is the product disrupting the cycling for aquaponics purposes? My tank has no nitrites but does have a level of nitrates. Is there something preventing those ammonia-eating bacteria from being formed?
2. Is it safe to add such a product the water of a system from which we will eventually eat the plants?
3. Is the product actually contributing to a spike in ammonia?
4. What the hell is in this product? I can't find a site that has MSDS or any other clue as to what is in it?

Analysis and possible solution

After picking the algorithm of my personal librarian (Google), I discovered a couple of tidbits, such as:

1. Most dechlorinator products are comprised of Sodium Thiosulfate (ST) and/or EDTA. The Sodium Thiosulfate handles the chlorine and chloramine , while the EDTA handles any heavy metals.
2. I also read in a forum that the dechlorinator detoxifies nitrites and nitrates? There was no reference for this. I'm not sure if this point is relevant as long as these detoxified items do their part in the Nitrogen Cycle.
3. A forum posting recounted the bad taste of fish in his system while he was using Sodium Thiosulfate as a dechlorinating agent. He mentioned that his fish tasted like sulfur. He stopped using it and it was highly reduced. I'm assuming that he replaced the fish and the water beforehand, but I'll try to find the link to prevent the spreading of bad information.
4. The reaction of Sodium Thiosulfate winds up leaving ammonia after it does its job. This may explain one aspect of my water readings.
5. I also read that there are rising concerns about the health effects of ST on humans and fish. However, there was no reference to any actual studies or articles about those concerns or what they comprised.
6. Vitamin C appears to be the most natural source for removing chloromines from tap water. However, what is actually needed depends on how your municipal tap water is treated, as explained in the video below. Thanks, PhillyAquaponics!

So, will this will help solve the problem and lead to a healthier system? Do I have to perform a series of small water changes to reduce the effects of the dechlorinator product? Only time will tell.

Little change

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
9-May	180	120	7.0	0	20	1.0	24°

Observations

• pH back to 7.0
• KH back up but higher than baseline
• Ammonia same as yesterday.
• Nitrites and nitrates unchanged

Analysis

Thus far, the nitrates and nitrites have been pretty steady. I'm thinking that there are no nitrites to eat the bacteria and plants are not plentiful enough in the growbed to use all of the nitrates. I'm hoping that the better pH will help foster the creation of the Nitrosomonas needed for nitrite generation.

I have not applied pH UP to the tank today. Since it's so late in the day, I will will let it ride and check readings tomorrow.

A curious part of my analysis today, is that I tested my tap water for ammonia, but it turned out to be zero ppm (none). The other day, when I added dechlorinated water to the tank, my ammonia spiked the next day. I used Top Fin Water Dechlorinator to perform the conversion. The concerns are as follows:

1. Is this product adding and/or converting chemicals in the water to ammonia?
2. If this product is introducing ammonia into my system, will this product actually be detrimental in the long term; when fish are added to the tank. Since it's an aquaponics system, I really should not have to perform any water changes, but I will have to add water when enough of it has evaporated or used by the plants.
3. I'm actually concerned about what is actually in this product. Is it going to be safe to use going forward? Top Fin doesn't appear to have a site to find this information.

---

Today's Chuckle

Found on Yahoo! Answers

How do I teach my fish to breathe outside the water?

He goes nuts when I take him out of his water. I don't underatand why he hates outside so much.

More water, ammonia up

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
8-May	180	40	6.5	0	20	1.0	23°

Observations

• Added about 1.5 gallons of dechlorinated water to the tank. It was too low. I used Top Fin Tap Water Dechlorinator. It's highly concentrated (1 mL/10 gallons), so just added a drop or two to a bucket of water, waited 15 minutes or so, when added it to the tank.
• Added 21 drops of pH UP yesterday
• Water temperature has been steady
• The foam around the perimeter of the water's surface is almost gone.
• More growth realized in the peppers.
• pH reduced from 7.0 to 6.5
• KH significantly dropped
• Ammonia has significantly increased to 1.0 ppm.

Analysis

Today's growth

I'm a little worried about the ammonia spike since I only added dechlorinated water to the tank in addition to the pH UP drops. Hopefully, the spike in ammonia will also spike the bacteria which eats it.

After my readings today, I added 40 drops of pH UP (double the recommendation). There aren't any fish in the tank yet, but the young plants could be affected. It's safe to say that yesterday's addition of the water dropped the pH.

It's also strange that the KH also dropped significantly. This also correlates to the water addition. Of course, the effect could be a culmination of changes made over the previous several days.

I am done doing anything else to the tank for today. I'm still on the goal for a 7.5 pH to help jump-start the cycling. Once jump started, I'll let it reduce to 7.0 for a happy medium between plant and fish.

pH UP: Day #2

The Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
7-May	180	80	7.0	0	20	0.5	24°

Observations

• There continues to be a light foam wherever any object emerges from the water in the tank. This includes the growbed's intake hose, and tank perimeter. I thought it had dissipated, but it hasn't. However, it hasn't increased either.
• Last night, I noticed the plants were wilting. The temperature of the tank and the room was fine. This morning, they're fine. The chives seem to be doing better as well.
• The KH (carbonate hardness) spike from yesterday has returned to a normal level.
• Other than the KH change and the tank temperature readings increasing by one degree, other values are unchanged.

Analysis

I don't have any insights other than that I have to give the tank more time for the desired changes to occur. In the interests of getting the beneficial bacteria to start working on the ammonia, I am going to put in another round of pH UP solution. I will do this daily until I either get a pH of 7.5 or I start seeing a spike in nitrites. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Monitoring recent changes

Numbers

Date	GH	KH	pH	NO2	NO3	NH3/NH4	Temp °C
6-May	180	120	7.0	0	20	0.5	23°

Observations

Based on yesterday's analysis and changes:

1. Addition of the 50-watt tank heater was effective in keeping a consistent temperature.
2. I accidentally left the pump on all night instead of using the timer.
3. More growth was noticed among the plants with the exception of the chive. Since the cool air and water temperatures the other night, it appears that they haven't fully recovered yet. They may not ever recover, but we'll see. When I sniff closely to the grow bed, around 3-6 inches away, I can smell the vegetation and it smells great!
4. There seems to be a very light foam around the edges of the tank where the water surface meets the tank and around the intake hose. I'm a little concerned that I could have introduced a source of contamination. I'm hoping it's just due to the addition of the pH UP product. It could also be from bullet point #2. Update: Since storing the pump to a schedule, the foam has vanished.
5. There was a large spike in Carbonate Hardness (KH). This is most likely due to the minerals in the pH UP product.
6. The pH has been raised to 7.0.
7. Ammonia, nitrates and nitrites remain unchanged.

Thoughts

I'm going to introduce another round of the pH UP to the water (2 drops per gallon). Since the common effectiveness range for the desirable bacteria is around 7.3 pH, I want to achieve this level in keeping with my goal in kick-starting the cycling process.

I will not do anything else to the tank. I'll continue with another reading tomorrow and act accordingly. I will most likely just let it ride over the weekend unless something comes up that needs immediate attention.

Photos

I believe this is the thyme	The weakened chive
Cilantro and basil	Pepper?