Self-Reliance Micro Cab'n

[grouchy]

thanks micro

Lost two of the fish I put in a couple days ago. One for sure jumped out and the other is just missing. Checked my levels today and all the nitrates are gone from the water. The plants are keeping up with the fish no problem. Going to bring the fish level back up to 7 or 8 and see where that leads. PH is sitting pretty at 6.8 and holding.

The plants have taken off but still have not shown sex. Hoping after this weekend I will know which to keep.

 

[grouchy]

7 fish in the little tank and I topped the system off with another gallon of water from my other fish tank. I have the ph under control now and it is holding at 6.8. The plants are eating everything the fish can give and I might upgrade to some goldfish for some extra strong poop if the plants don't green up a little. They have been turning a little yellow in the middle. I am not sure if this is because of the flip to 12/12 or if it is not enough food. I am not afraid to add some nutes to the system but I want to see if I can flower them without first. Still waiting to see the sex on the plants to see how many I will be flowering.

I am already anxious to start the next grow which will be my last four auto seeds under a 70w hps. I will probably open pollinate and let all the plants seed up. I hope to run perpetual autos during the winter months and 12/12 some other stuff during the summers.

 

[grouchy]

I added just a little fox farm tiger bloom I had around yesterday. I wanted to see if it would help with the slight yellowing from the switch to 12/12. My Ph is level at 6.4 and holding strong. I lost two more fish to the grow bed. I know they are not jumping out the top anymore because I put a lid on it. My ammonia levels are nice and low but my nitrites and nitrates are real high. I will blame that on the tiger bloom and will test again in a couple days. I might add in some more fish again and see if I can get a couple more smart ones. Doesn't bother me to keep adding them as I have a tank that keeps reproducing and making more. I wonder if the ones in the grow bed will turn into plant food quickly?

 

[Dr 4 four]

... I lost two more fish to the grow bed. I know they are not jumping out the top anymore because I put a lid on it...

Is that some new carnivorous MJ plant ya got going there? Might wanna stock up on some ground chuck or roadkill. And lemme know when it starts talking and singing. lol

 

[grouchy]

I really should cap the overflow with something the fish cant fit through. All the poop gets pulled out right there and I don't want to worry about it clogging. I just hope the pipe doesn't clog because it is full of fish. Might pull it out and check it if I lose another. I think the plant closest to the pipe is a male so I will call him Seymour.

 

[microsmyname2]

zip tie some pantie hoes over the pipe/s or get some plastic knitting sheet from an arts and crafts store.....i didn't read the whole thread but if u dont want fish pop going into your medium use the pantie hoes but if you do use plastic knitting screen just cut it to size of the hole and silicone or wrap around with zip ties and the poo will go threw......id invest in buying a pleco for algae control and they also love chowing down on veggies like cucumbers and zucchini....i have no idea if it's nutritional values would help or hurt the plants growth....but maybe it would be sumthing to give a try........

i hope this helps or gives you sum ideas...but if not opps my bad.

 

[microsmyname2]

atleast that's what i do to my aquarium filters when i have newborn fish or if i just don't want my filter getting clogged......maybe a very airy sponge would work.. anyways ill keep post on this amazing idea... thanks again.

 

[grouchy]

I think I want the poop to be able to get through just not the whole fish. I have some of the plastic craft mesh and will try that out if I lose anymore. A Pleco would out grow this tank almost immediately. and it doesn't have any algae on it yet. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[microsmyname2]

actually u could keep a pleco in there it would just stunt its growth and if it's poop you want plecos constantly poop almost alll day....atleast mine do. i only feed them zucchini boiled/frozen over night then thawed. ive seen strings of poop up to around 8-9 inches.....multiple times a day.... i'm obsessed with pleco's. again i havent found the time to read threw the whole thread but from the pic's it deff looks possible to keep a small common pleco in there. i have 6 tanks and ive lost count of how many fish well over 100 tho....but for example i kept a high fin pleco in a 5 gallon for about 8-9 month didnt grow a cm as soon as i put em in the 20 gallon grew about 2 1/2 - 3 inches the first month. im only recommending a pleco because 1. their a very hardy fish 2. great amount of poop for you girls. 3. the chances of one getting sucked up IMO almost impossible.

 

[microsmyname2]

but if you insist on not getting one... swordtails can be an idea very fast strong swimmers for a fish that size. no way in hell would it get sucked up.

if the craft mesh doesnt work. they sell plastic gutter gaurds at almost any hardware store... i imagine a small guppy could squeeze threw but that be it....

ah anyways sry for rambling ill let you do the experimenting. got a lil carried away..... best of luck man.... keep em comin. peace

 

[MrCopyZ]

I agree... Cory cats may not be the best producers for you. I can't tell what the other fish are. Siamese Algae Eaters are ferocious eaters. Aswell as the plecos. Their a miniature plecos available that at their genetic peak only get 3-4 inches long. I would suggest Nerite snails(other aquatic snails will work also but nerites are known for the good algae eating ability and good appetite) just for some added diversity to your setup, who knows what they could really bring to the table and they will keep algae down. Another thing I can guarantee would help your situation is a air stone in the fish tank. The bigger the better since were not going for a pretty tank or anything. It will help create a more stable o2 level. Also taking some of the filter media from your other fish tanks will help speed up the process with beneficial bacterias. And lava rock in that tank will help you culture anaerobic bacterias aswell.

 

[grouchy]

I agree... Cory cats may not be the best producers for you. I can't tell what the other fish are. Siamese Algae Eaters are ferocious eaters. Aswell as the plecos. Their a miniature plecos available that at their genetic peak only get 3-4 inches long. I would suggest Nerite snails(other aquatic snails will work also but nerites are known for the good algae eating ability and good appetite) just for some added diversity to your setup, who knows what they could really bring to the table and they will keep algae down. Another thing I can guarantee would help your situation is a air stone in the fish tank. The bigger the better since were not going for a pretty tank or anything. It will help create a more stable o2 level. Also taking some of the filter media from your other fish tanks will help speed up the process with beneficial bacterias. And lava rock in that tank will help you culture anaerobic bacterias aswell.

The cory seems to pick up all the extra food that hits the bottom. Once I added him the bottom stayed clean. The other fish are endlers. I have an endless supply of them right now and plan on just adding more as needed.

There is no algea in the tank that I can tell. I don't light it at all and it is inside my cab in darkness all the time. I don't think I could keep a pleco alive without supplementing the diet.

I use the water pump outlet in the tank to stir the surface of the water. This combined with the exposure of water to oxygen in the grow bed will provide plenty of o2 for the fish and plants. An airstone would be one more thing to make noise and fail that I don't think is necessary.

My bacteria levels are in check and ammonia and nitrites are back at zero. I think I spiked them when I added the tiger bloom but it has gone back down again. The nitrates are still a little high so there should be food available for the plants to eat.

Would lava rock do better than hydroton? Everywhere I read they were pretty equal. It wouldn't make much since to change over halfway through a grow and I am happy with the way it is going.

 

[grouchy]

Did a little rearranging in the cab tonight. I found out I have two girls for sure and one almost for sure. Here is what it looked like when I started. The light had been raised a couple notches already.

Here is the new screen I built with the light hanging above the girls.

Here is what it looks like with the bulb moved down into the canopy. I trained as many bud sites as I could into a row. I will try and let this row grow up on the inside of the screen right next to the light.

 

[Sykk]

All I have to say about this thread is THANK YOU GROUCHY! After reading this thread
I have been inspired to build a cabinet. Ive been lurking for quite some time and I think now I have enough information and if not I know where to find it.

 

[MrCopyZ]

im not familiar with hydroton in my aquariums but I do use a similar product the eheim substrat pro. Which looks very similar. I wasn't suggesting it for a replacement near the plant but just to drop a couple lava rocks into the fish tank part.

The plecos will eat the same way your cories will. And ya the cories are definately good bottom scavangers. I just don't think they eat as much as plecos. (I have both in one of my tanks in the house) The plecos are not that hard to care for. The vegetables he was talking about is a good option but definately not the only way to go. Alot of fish food companies sell algae wafers for for them to eat.

But if you are happy with it thats what counts. Just trying to brainstorm a little. Things are looking good. How do you deal with summertime heat in your grow box? I have quite warm summers. Multiple straight weeks over 100 is common. I was wondering if you have this same problem and if you have found a good solution.

 

[microsmyname2]

im not familiar with hydroton in my aquariums but I do use a similar product the eheim substrat pro. Which looks very similar. I wasn't suggesting it for a replacement near the plant but just to drop a couple lava rocks into the fish tank part.

The plecos will eat the same way your cories will. And ya the cories are definately good bottom scavangers. I just don't think they eat as much as plecos. (I have both in one of my tanks in the house) The plecos are not that hard to care for. The vegetables he was talking about is a good option but definately not the only way to go. Alot of fish food companies sell algae wafers for for them to eat.

But if you are happy with it thats what counts. Just trying to brainstorm a little. Things are looking good. How do you deal with summertime heat in your grow box? I have quite warm summers. Multiple straight weeks over 100 is common. I was wondering if you have this same problem and if you have found a good solution.

pleco's are constant eater's and yes they deff eat more then cories. thank you for your input i thought i was on an ok track just had to make sure...

grouchy- as for there being no algae in the tank ...that's fine they dont need to feed off of algae they can eat any bottom feeder foods as your cories would eat like mrcopyz stated.

 

[grouchy]

Quick update.

I have 9 fish swimming in the little tank. My ammonia and nitrite levels are sitting at zero (good). This means the bacteria in the grow bed is eating the fish poop and making clean safe water for the fish. It is also releasing tons of plant food. My nitrate levels (food) are over 100ppm and seem to be keeping up there. The PH is level at 6.5.

I ended up with two female plants. I experimented with training one down and letting the other grow freely. This has led me to the conclusion that I should let them both grow freely as that on is doing better. They have surrounded the bulb and are starting to show bud development. I can't wait to see how they turn out. When they get closer to harvest I might start pulling out a couple fish to help flush.

 

[grouchy]

Chopped her down today. I removed the fish two weeks ago to begin flushing it out. She was bigger than I expected off of just a 42w cfl. I will post results when it is done curing. I am going to water cure the popcorn buds for some quick smoke and to help keep me from smoking the good stuff before it is ready.

Looking forward to the next run which will start soon. I am going to pop my last four auto seeds for a seed run. I am still going to use the 42w just to keep the heat down during the summer. I was pushing 90f with the heat we have had lately. Not sure if I will keep the thread updated as there has not been a lot of interest.

 

[SFVog]

that looks good for one bulb! looks like it wanted to grow around and over the light.. that's nice.

 

[grouchy]

that looks good for one bulb! looks like it wanted to grow around and over the light.. that's nice.

The bulb was right down in the heart of it. No need for reflectors when the plant is there to take it in. Looking forward to tasting it. I heard somewhere else that aquaponic herb tastes really good.