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.