Yes its very sad the fish are all dying off. There may be 10 of the 50 original left. Sadly the Nitrite level has stayed up and never gone down. I have done water changes and added grow beds (which haven't been going long and need time for the beneficial bacteria to grow in it. I may have overfed them some. I am definitely going to have to add more filtration. The good thing is they were all cheap goldfish and not tilapia or catfish or something. They can be replaced cheap but still disappointing.
After 3 days of water changes here are my readings:
Ammonia - 0
PH - 6.8 to 7
Nitrate - 160 to 180 ppm
Nitrite - between 5 and 10 ppm
These readings if my understanding is correct mean that my system is definitely cycled and the ammonia is being converted to Nitrite like it should but due to not having enough established biological filtration the Nitrites are not being converted to Nitrates. Since Nitrites are just as toxic as Ammonia this is not good. I will continue to try and get things running smooth. I am way too far into this to give up now. One more thing the plants are still doing great. They are green and growing fast.
If anyone has any tips or ideas please post a comment.
My journey into the world of Aquaponics and self sufficiency. An Aquaponics Basement Garden How To.
Don't feel too bad, i just did the exact same thing. Just couldn't get the nitrite down. I should have started with just a couple fish and then added later, but no, i plowed ahead with 20 instead...
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