Bizarre Beans

The bush beans seem to be growing freakishly tall.  It might be because theyre trying to find full sunlight, so theyre growing toward the window and wont branch out much until they find the amount of sunlight they want.  That could make for a really strange sight from the outside of our window in a few weeks.
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Beans want sunlight

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Growing toward the sun

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In contrast, below is a picture of several bush bean plants.  You can see they are a lot shorter than the indoor ones and they branched out a lot.

Bush beans growing outside in full sunlight

Since were going to get even less daylight until next spring, I might need to consider supplemental light.  Maybe I will use some high-watt fluorescent lights in the overhead light fixtures and keep them turned on for several hours per day.

Below is a picture of what I think are tomato plants.  I planted them several weeks ago, and theyre just now sprouting.  Maybe it was too hot for them before, I dont know.

Tomato plants (maybe)

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30 August 2011

Heres a picture of grow bed #1 today.  Peas are back against the little fence, lettuce is in the middle (tiny plants), and bush beans are in the foreground.

I just ordered trout feed - would you believe theres such thing as Purina Game Fish Chow?  LOL!!!  Thats actually not what I ordered, but I thought it was funny.  I ordered BioTrout from a nice man named Walter at Bio-Oregon.  BioTrout contains more protein. 

Im hoping to add fish in a week or two.  My ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are all good, and the water temperature has finally gone down a little.  According to what Ive read, trout dont like water to be over 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and last week when our outdoor temperatures were getting high, so was the temperature of the water.  The water got up to 68 degrees, but I was afraid it would keep getting hotter, so I didnt want to introduce baby fish to a hot tub.  Unlike some parts of the country, though, I think the danger of an extended heat wave is pretty much over in Colorado Springs, so it should be safe to get the fish.  If trout prefer cold water, just wait a few weeks, they will love it here! Now I just need to wait for the feed to arrive and figure out how to get up to Fort Collins during the fish places business hours. 

I was hoping to get brook trout since I think they would be more content to hang out in a pool of water, but the fish place only has rainbow.  Besides, I was going to name them Brookie 1, Brookie 2, etc....Now I have to think of new names.  Rainbowie 1?  That just doesnt have the same ring to it.  Silvery 1 through Silvery 40?  ;-)

Whatever, they will all taste good on my plate next year.

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Fishes Be Crazy

Got my fishes yesterday. 

I called Liley Fisheries earlier in the week to see if I could come pick up some trout and we decided on Thursday morning for pickup.  Originally, I thought I would get fingerlings (very small fish), but the smallest they had were 4-6 inch fish, which makes sense since the fingerlings they had earlier in the summer would have grown.  Anyway, this changed my original idea that I could pick up the fish in a big bag inside a box.  The man I spoke with (K.C.) told me I would need about a 30-gallon container and that I would need to have a way to aerate the fish during transport.  Apparently, cold-water fish are very sensitive to low oxygen levels, so even the two-hour drive would be too long for them to be without some kind of aeration.  So, I went to Walmart and bought a power inverter so I could use my aquarium air pump.

Power Inverter

I also purchased a 35-gallon trash can and drilled holes in the top so I could run the air hoses into the container.  I packed my air pump, air hoses, tie downs, and my trusty roll of duct tape and at 6:45 Thursday morning, I was on my way.  I knew driving through Denver at 7:30 wasnt a great idea, but I needed to be back by 11:00 for a meeting.  When I got to the fish farm, the guys were expecting me.  The guys at Liley Fisheries are awesome!  Very friendly and helpful - nice guys!  I was worried about having to tie down the trash can and get everything prepared for the drive home, but the guys at Liley were awesome.  They filled up the container with water, added the 40 fish, tied down the trash can and set up the air pump for me, ensuring that everything was secure.  And, of course, the duct tape came in handy.  :-)

Tied down and taped up

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Air pump and hoses running into container

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The ride home was uneventful (and much faster than the drive up).  I tried to get a few pictures of the fish, but the container was so dark, I couldnt see more than a couple of inches into the container.  Even with a polarizing filter, I couldnt see very far into the water.  Here are a few pictures.  I adjusted the brightness and contrast a little, which helped.  I used the green bucket to move the fish a few at a time from the trash can to the fish tank.

Silvery 1

Silvery 2

Silvery 3

Silvery 11, Silvery 25 and Silvery 31

I was worried that the pH of my water was going to be too high, but a few days ago, it actually lowered a little.  When I got home, I checked the pH and temperatures of the water from the fish farm and the water in my tank.  The pH of the water from the fishery turned out to be as high as mine was when I first started cycling the tank (about 7.4), so apparently the theory that the pH is more important to the plants than it is to the fish must be true.  These guys grew up in high pH water and they seem to be fine.  The temperatures happened to be almost identical.  I replaced some of the water in the trash can with my tank water a few times, but when the pH level in the trash can didnt change, I got impatient and just started moving the fish over. 

I was upstairs working from home for the rest of the day.  Within the first hour, I started hearing fish jumping.  Not good, since the water level is only a few inches from the top of the tank, so they could easily jump out.  Apparently, trout like to jump, and are especially prone to do so when theyre introduced to a new environment.  So I went downstairs and covered the tank with chicken wire.

Fishy Lockup

I was so excited to get my fish so I could watch them swim around and name them (Silvery 1, 2, 3...), but unfortunately, this tank is really dark and I cant really see anything.  I bought a submersible pond light and put it at the bottom of the tank, so now I can see a few of the fish.  They actually like to swim up to the light and look at it.  But I cant get any pictures of it.  Maybe my next purchase will have to be an underwater camera with a light.  :-)

BTW, the fish cost $1.21 each.  And I highly recommend Liley Fisheries to anyone who is in the market for trout and other game fish.  Theyre great guys!  They stock public and private ponds (and other bodies of water) and perform other types of services, such as pond aeration and consulting services.

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System Setup

This blog will document the setup, failures and successes of my home aquaponics system.  I had to search a lot to find details on how to set the systems up, so I hope this will help others decide how to configure their systems.

Location - Were just outside Colorado Springs, CO.  Our elevation is about 7000 feet above sea level, and temperatures can be bitter cold during the winter months, so this will be an indoor project.  Ive set it up in the dog room downstairs in our basement.  Our house is an older split level, so this room sits at ground level.  Ive set it up next to a window in order to get as much sunlight as possible.
Grow beds - The grow beds consist of two 60-gallon ponds that I got at Home Depot.  I think I paid about $30-40  for each pond. 
Media - Im using pea gravel as media.  We had a big pile of gravel out back, so I sifted (to get the smaller gravel) and rinsed it and carried it in one bucket at a time.  Took a while, but that was pretty much free.
Fish tank - The fish tank is a 150-gallon Rubbermaid stock tank that we found on Craigslist for $60.  The guy I bought it from had used it as a pond, so search for "pond" if you cant find anything under "stock tank."  If you cant find one on Craigslist and you have to buy one new, check out Ace hardwares website.  They have reasonable prices - I think about $120-160 for 150 gallons.  Note that youll want to use a rubber/plastic container for your fish, not metal.  You dont want the metal rusting or leaching into the water.
Fish - I will be raising rainbow trout in the tank once the water is ready and I get a chance to drive up to Fort Collins to buy them.  Liley Fisheries in Fort Collins, CO will sell small quantities of fish to individuals.  So far, Ive only communicated with them via e-mail, but they are very helpful and respond quickly to e-mail.  I think they said the fingerlings are about 50 cents each.  Tilapia are recommended for beginners, but Ive chosen trout because it gets pretty cold in the dog room in the winter, and I dont want to heat 150 gallons of water. 

I will post details on the setup and configuration in future blogs.  Heres a picture of the system the first day I started pumping water (20 August 2011)

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