Backyard Aquaponics
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I have a problem growing vegetables let alone my problem with the varmints when I'm lucky enough to grow vegetables. My plants are healthy. My fish are active and are fed twice a day. My water is crystal clear but has a fishy odor. I have app. 125 goldfish in a 260 gallon IBC tank. I have 8 IBC grow beds that are 12" deep filtered through a one pump system. No timers are used. Air and water run continually.

I hope I've provided enough info to get started. If not, please let me know.

Thank You, Gil n

Usually when general plant growth is an issue then the problem is feed, after all it's the only input into the system. Most goldfish flakes and coloured koi balls are useless for plant growth. try swapping feeds, get a quality aquaculture pellet and see how that goes.

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Hi Gil, do I interpret this correctly as your plants are green but you are not getting flowers/fruit ?

In which case AP only/mainly produces nitrates. As EB notes better fish food can add better nutrients.
Else you can address the plants separately if you feel your fish are happy.

You need to make sure you are adding potassium and other trace elements. You may also need a little bit of iron. You can add potassium & iron with a watering can (sulphate of potash) and/or can use seaweed extract (make sure it is one with low nitrogen and phosphorous and has no fish emulsion etc)

The other option to get trace elements into system is to foliar feed your plants.
Simple to do using a diluted nutrient (liquid fertiser or granualr designed for foliar feeding) and use a hand spray bottle to apply in the early morning (not full sun). Try not to buy a fertiliser with excessive nitrogen/phosphorous.


yep - the varmits are a massive PITA for me as well - particular slugs.
Follow the forum advice suited to which varmits it is.


p.s. don't overfeed your fish. (do you test for ammonia and nitrates ?)

I wonder that you are overstocked with 125 GF even with 8 grow beds.
the odour could be partly ammonia or some gaseous product of excess fish/food materials.
If you have excessive nitrates most plants wont fruit - they just grow lots of leaves
and lettuce etc can taste a bit bitter.

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Darren ( dlf_perth )

May the fish sh*t and the plants grow.....

Thanks EB & Legend Member for your help, would you give me the name of the products I need to get to protect my PH level. I getting ready to go from gold fish to bluegills but this ph problem pops up.

What is your pH problem?

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System Thread

Sorry, my ph level is very low and I'm just worried about the fish as well as the plants.

What is low? You can use use potassium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide to raise pH. They both have a pH of about 12. Dose slowly. You don't want to raise system pH by more than 0.2 per day otherwise it may have negative effects for fish AND/or plants. There are other methods as well. Some put crushed egg shells in a mesh bag and put in the water flow. Use a mesh bag so if pH gets too high, you can take it out.

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System Thread

Thanks for your advise, my vegetables have gotten better.

my water readings are:

pH 6.4
high pH 7.4 plus
Ammo. 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm
Nitrate 80 ppm
KH 2 drops = 35.8 ppm
GH 14 drops = off the scale

can you let me know the good and bad with these numbers. Thanks for all your help, Gil

I apologies for taking so long getting back to you.

Grow bed area = 45” L x 38” W x 12” D = 20520 cubic inches in each grow bed = 336.262553 Liters
Each grow bed is 12” deep = 10” depth Hydroton Media
45” L x 38” W x 2” deep = 3420 cubic inches
20520 – 3420 = 17100
Sump tank in ground = 275 gal=liters1050.00
Fish tank above ground = 300 gal. = 1135.62 liters
So we have 17100 Liters to work with.
Fish tank drains into a swirl filter and then through a bio-filter and then back to the sump tank. I’m using a quality fish food. All three tanks are aerated. The water circulating 24/7, 15 min. on 45 min off. I Do plan to replace the gold fish with blue gills.
Shallots Green Bell Pepper Red Bell Pepper Water Melon Egg Plant Hot Peppers Cucumber Zucchini squash

Out of this list of vegetables I was able to harvest one Cucumber and six Jalapeno peppers, that’s it!
I hope I can ask your help, I would like to really get this little garden going. About three weeks ago I added pH up and the pH was then up to 8.0, I think this is too high? I’ve added 1 table spoon of Epsom salt about three weeks ago and last I’ve added one ounce of chelated iron about two weeks ago. Chemicals are added to the sump tank.
If you can decipher this problem please let me know what my next step should be. The chemicals I’ve mentioned were suggested to these problems on the web.
Thanks Again for any consideration, Gil Jones

I went shopping to Perino's Garden Center and picked up these supplements:

High-Yield Muriate of Potash = 0-0-60

High-Yield Triple Super Phosphate = 0-45-0

Bushdoctor Seaweed Plant Food

Natural Guard Spinosad Soap

All ready on hand:

11% iron chelat

Epsom Salt

I was assured these supplements are human, fish, and plant safe.

The sun is filtered by highway cloth, the water is cooled at the grow grow beds, at the sump tank, and at the fish tank when it passing through the air.

The latesed readings are:

High pH 6.0
Low pH 6.0
Amo. 0.25
Nitrites 0 ppm
Nitrates 0 ppm

OK this brings us up to date. Thanks for responding to my call for help.
Gil Jones

Time to raise the pH again and actually you can go in about 0.4 pH unit changes and it should be OK.

Calcium Hydroxide, Potassium Hydroxide or Potassium bicarbonate will work. Potassium bicarbonate will raise the KH which might be good since it's pretty low and that can lead to greater pH fluctuations. On the down side it will also raise the GH. Whatever you use be careful when you adjust it because it won't take much.

8/6/18
pH 6.4 ppm
hpH 7.4 – ppm
Ammonia 0.25 ppm
Nitrite 0.0 ppm Nitrate 80 ppm

The largest change is the health of the plante. Bell peppers seem to be comimg back. I will update you anything changes. Thanks Gil

In about a month I'll start my Aquaponic Vegetable Garden using seeds only. Starter plants look good but don't produce vegetables. I plan to add fifteen Bluegill fingerlings to the Gold Fish I have now. That will bring the total of fish to twenty-five. I am looking for a higher quality fish food to mix with the feed I have on hand. If anyone would could give me a brand name I'll look into it. Is there any type of fertilizer on the market that would supplement the planting into the grow beds when the time comes?

I have used the chemicals listed below for about two years now. I've only used one tablespoon a month. Two tablespoons of iron a month.

High-Yield Muriate of Potash = 0-0-60
High-Yield Triple Super Phosphate = 0-45-0
Bushdoctor Seaweed Plant Food
Natural Guard Spinosad Soap
11% iron chelate
Epsom Salt


If I should need to add anything else, or increase or decrease the amounts added please let me know.

Please bare with me, I'm still a New-Be in this. Thank you for all the help, Gil

Still a newbie? You've been at this or at least 2.5 years Gil...

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Life on the road

Thank you Backyard Aquaponics and all the members that offer information for unknowing gardeners like myself.
I now have a garden to be proud and boastful of. I can bring vegetables to the table and also share from the garden with my neighbors. The fish will come it time.

One side of the IBC tank that is my sump has collapsed inward and is going to leak. I have this tank in the ground. If I reinstall a sump tank would it have to be as deep as the one I have in the ground now?

As I understand it as long as the sump tank is beneath the grow beds I can still keep this a one pump system. And could I also raise fish in the sump tank and at the same time raise them in my fish tank. By the way I will raising Bluegills when all the repairs are completed.

Thank All of You for been here, chat soon