Most of the work this week has been indoors due to the weather. The fish are acclimating to the basement aquaponic system. I’m starting to regret how quickly I decided to go full speed on the basement system.
Friday Flowers
Aquaponics Update
The trout have arrived, one didn’t look great but the others are looking pretty good. The fish are absolutely tiny; some still have signs of their yolk sack. What hasn’t arrived are the crayfish, gambusia, or fathead minnows. Apparently all of them have been lost by the USPS. I’ve been given a refund by the seller, but it’s still a loss.
The bluegills join the shiners in feeding greedily at dinner time. They’ve started looking pretty rough, unfortunately. I see signs of both fungal infections and ich on them, and I’ve lost a few. The shiners look ok despite being in the same tank.
But the big news is that the basin for the basement system has arrived. It’s an 1150 Liter (300 Gallon) Rubbermaid stock tank. This will be the eventual home for the trout and bluegill.
Getting this guy into the basement was no minor feat. The delivery agency said they had some type of pool to deliver. When they were pulling it out of the trunk and into the front sidewalk they asked us what we were doing to it. Turning it into a jacuzzi? Apparently, in their home country, tanks like this are often used to grow cabbage for sauerkraut. Surprisingly close to my plan. The tank barely fit through the narrow doorway to the basement. More because of the angle of the steps than anything else. Dave insists I dropped it on his foot repeatedly as well. I disagree and there was no bruise so I’m going to consider him a liar or something.