aquaculture success
Ah the smell of roasting turkey. So delightful! I was going to ride my bike to the bank today but it's bitterly cold out and we discovered that some of our debits are, in fact, coming out the other bank, making it less of a critical concern than it was. Now Dan can deposit the catch-up cash on Monday and it'll be soon enough. So I'm pleased about that and got my chore list addressed instead. It really is awful cold, by anyone's standards! Minus twenty-seven point six in the daytime bad enough for you? It's actually pretty reasonable to cycle in aside from the extra effort it takes to push in cold temps. It's an odd phenomenon. You're wearing more, so you're heavier, sweatier, and have your joints stuffed with insulation where they normally bend. Then you're on a machine with stiff grease in all it's bearings, slowing you down. Lastly, there seems to be some thickness to the very air, even with good synthetic winter grease in the bike you feel it. That's the peculiar part, the air seems thicker. So I didn't mind facing it, but I knew it was going to be unpleasant due to the effort I'd be putting out and the moisture levels I'd be enjoying in my layers of insulation.
Instead I'm resting at the table with netflix playing on the tv and that'll do fine. The turkey just finished reaching temperature but I want to try and crisp the top skin so I've left it go a bit more with the lid off. I should have removed it twenty minutes ago but I wasn't paying enough attention.
I'm thrilled with my success in the aquarium. Last autumn when the fish arrived we couldn't keep the water clean. I'd clean that filter weekly but the water was still too dirty and I lost three fish to it. Finally my fevered brain thought of a new way to achieve a plan I'd had since setting up the tank with a grow light. In fact, the new idea was not only more doable but in fact better. The intention was to get plant roots growing in that water without the koi eating them. Water plants are out and even the little bit of bamboo already in there had to be kept in a cage. I'd tried water lilies in a cage but they just couldn't get enough light from way up there. I had an idea to pump water through a trough with roots growing through a wire above it, and soilless media holding the plants on the mesh. The trough was impossible to find or make. So it waited.
This year the fish were larger and there was no more time for waiting but I still didn't have the trough. That's when a flash inspiration came as I studied the problem. I could hang the plants right into the water if I set up right! I ran off to the hardware store with the idea on my mind of double-bottomed baskets filled with soil that is held just above the water line by the inner basket. The other basket would hang from two rods across the back of the tank on either side of the row of baskets. Whether twwo perfect fits, or several smaller to fit, there would be more than one. I had no idea what the materials were going to look like but I went shopping. At home depot I found some nice dryer vent cage covers just about the right size and depth plus some flooring edging metal for the cross rods and zip ties to hold the baskets on. At the plant store I found coco matting made for planter baskets. I used some marbles and soilless media to lift the coco mat bases and create a safe place for the roots to grow into the tank water without the fish eating them and piled the dirt and plants into the mat. Within three days the water was sweet enough and now two and some months later it has remained sweet and clear with neglectful filter care. I just cleaned the filter and it was foul beyond reason but did not stink! I think those plants are removing that nitrate beautifully! I am also quite enjoying the kale and basil from there, and if the bugs lose our battle, I may enjoy the oregano too.
Instead I'm resting at the table with netflix playing on the tv and that'll do fine. The turkey just finished reaching temperature but I want to try and crisp the top skin so I've left it go a bit more with the lid off. I should have removed it twenty minutes ago but I wasn't paying enough attention.
I'm thrilled with my success in the aquarium. Last autumn when the fish arrived we couldn't keep the water clean. I'd clean that filter weekly but the water was still too dirty and I lost three fish to it. Finally my fevered brain thought of a new way to achieve a plan I'd had since setting up the tank with a grow light. In fact, the new idea was not only more doable but in fact better. The intention was to get plant roots growing in that water without the koi eating them. Water plants are out and even the little bit of bamboo already in there had to be kept in a cage. I'd tried water lilies in a cage but they just couldn't get enough light from way up there. I had an idea to pump water through a trough with roots growing through a wire above it, and soilless media holding the plants on the mesh. The trough was impossible to find or make. So it waited.
This year the fish were larger and there was no more time for waiting but I still didn't have the trough. That's when a flash inspiration came as I studied the problem. I could hang the plants right into the water if I set up right! I ran off to the hardware store with the idea on my mind of double-bottomed baskets filled with soil that is held just above the water line by the inner basket. The other basket would hang from two rods across the back of the tank on either side of the row of baskets. Whether twwo perfect fits, or several smaller to fit, there would be more than one. I had no idea what the materials were going to look like but I went shopping. At home depot I found some nice dryer vent cage covers just about the right size and depth plus some flooring edging metal for the cross rods and zip ties to hold the baskets on. At the plant store I found coco matting made for planter baskets. I used some marbles and soilless media to lift the coco mat bases and create a safe place for the roots to grow into the tank water without the fish eating them and piled the dirt and plants into the mat. Within three days the water was sweet enough and now two and some months later it has remained sweet and clear with neglectful filter care. I just cleaned the filter and it was foul beyond reason but did not stink! I think those plants are removing that nitrate beautifully! I am also quite enjoying the kale and basil from there, and if the bugs lose our battle, I may enjoy the oregano too.