Mini Aquaponics 1 Day 5

Not much update today except that I added a sponge to the end of the air hose to provide more aeration. 

New Sponge attached

All baskets appear to be growing well although basket 1 and 2 looks like it has slowed down. 

Day 5

Below is a picture from another angle. Looks like I might need to reposition the light, basket 1 & 2 is growing towards the light, worried that it might tip the balance of the raft (if it ever grows big haha).

Seedlings from a different angle

Mini Aquaponics 1 Day 4

Had our first fatality today. Our largest neon tetra has died this morning :( Gills were red n was seen gasping for air at the surface of the water.

RIP Neon Tetra

Could have been caused by the water change yesterday or could have been because the water was dirty. I was reading around the internet that the symptoms were of ammonia poisoning. If that was the case that could mean that the water was too dirty. Will never know for sure as a newbie.

Woke up early this morning to have a look at the seedling growth. The two baskets on the left (Basket 1 & 2) appear to be growing well, this could be due to the fact that they are directly above the airstone. Basket 3 did not show much growth and basket 4 was a brown n withering.

8.20am Wake up seedlings

By night, WOW! What a difference!! Basket 1 & 2 showed tremendous change! Both opened up with four leaves already. Such a huge difference from the morning. Again basket 3 & 4 was not showing any signs of growth.

8.20pm Four leaf seedlings

Decided to start taking pictures of individual baskets to keep track of leaf growth more clearly.

Day 4 Basket 1 to 4 (from top left to bottom right)

Health Status: 

• Basket 1
• Showed greatest health, four leaves have opened up
• Basket 2
• Doing second best, four leaves have almost opened up. This basket is situated directly under the airstone and experiences the most amount of air bubbles. 
• Basket 3
• Seedling did not show any growth and was replaced with another from the germination chamber 
• Basket 4
• Seedling died and was replaced with another from the germination chamber

Healthiest plant of the day goes to Basket 1

Mini Aquaponics 1 Day 3

Did a clean of the aquarium today. Changed 80% of the water since it was murky white. Might have been caused by the cucumber that I was feeding to the sucker fish. After the clean, the water is clear again.

Clear aquarium with sucker fish busy munching the cucumber

I've been germinating some seeds since day 1, decided to have a look at how its going. Oh wow.. the bak choy has already sprouted. That was quick, it has only been two days!

Bak Choy Sprouts!

A closer look at the little bak choy

Excitedly, I quickly transferred 4 sprouts into the 4 available baskets in the floating raft. Some of the baskets were quite high with water, I hope that doesn't drown my little bak choy.

Sprouts transplanted to basket

Another sprout transplanted

Notice the raft is quite low into the water. I hope as the plant grows it won't sink further. Might need to add more polystyrene underneath it to keep it afloat. Fingers crossed.. :)

Mini Aquaponics 1 Day 2

Wanted to build the floating raft today, so went to buy some polystyrene and cups for the construction material.

Floating Raft Holes for cups

 Decided to cutout a few different layouts to see if there are any differences in growth. The four layouts are listed below:

1. Two small holes at the bottom and big holes on side
2. Single large hole at the bottom and big holes on side
3. Two small holes at the bottom and slit holes on side
4. Single large hole at the bottom and slit holes on side

Cut out some holes in the cups, 4 different cutouts

 Put some stones in the cups, placed it into the the polystyrene. Lets hope the polystyrene holds the weight.. Plopped it into the aquarium and the polystrene sinks half way. *phew* it works haha..

Floating Raft with stones in it

 Since the roots absorb oxygen, I placed the air stone directly under two of the cups to see if that makes any difference. But I wonder if the air bubbles are too big to be absorbed by the roots?

Under the raft, lots of air bubbles

Mini Aquaponics 1 Day 1

Start the exciting journey into Aquaponics.


Purchased the following:

• Equipment
• Adjustable Air Pump
• 2M air hose
• 5.5L Plastic container
• River Stones
• Triangular Airstone
• Fish
• 4x Neon Tetra
• 1x Sucker Fish
• Plants
• Bak Choy Seeds
• Coriander Seeds

17/03/2012 Purchases

Aquarium was setup using filtered tap water.
Air pump appears to be too strong for the size.

Air pump Specifications:

• Brand: Hailea
• Model: ACO-6603
• Power: 3.0W
• Pressure: 0.014Mpa
• Output: 3.5x2L/min
• Noise: <40dB
• Weight: 0.41kg
• Size: 110x70x160mm

After further reading, realised that it is recommended to use a one way valve to prevent water backflow into the air pump when it is switched off. A work around is to reposition the air pump higher than the water level. 

Completed Setup of Aquarium

After setup, I started germinating some seeds (Bak Choy and Coriander). I placed the seeds into a wet tissue and placed it into a resealable bag.

Germinating chamber :)