Bed woes

After discovering a leak in our water tank, I decided to turn off the pump overnight in case it ran dry.

What we discovered in the morning after it rained:

Turns out it's a really bad idea to turn off the pump! All the plants were really limp. Thankfully most of the plants recovered, except for the basil.

While the tank is empty, here's a photo of the pump:

We fixed the leak and filled it back up, then replaced the siphon pipe which also had a leak. Now the system is running very smoothly!

Next we have to cycle the system to introduce the bacteria into the system. We will do this without the fish to start with, to ensure the system is stable before they are introduced.

To cycle the system, we add ammonia daily while constantly monitoring the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. As the bacteria grow, the ammonia levels will drop, and the nitrate levels will rise. At that point, we can introduce the fish and we will have a fully functioning system!