Like a Tank over Troubled Water

On a more somber note, let's take a moment to thank one of the hardest working goldfish living in the dark who passed away last month. R.I.P., my little buddy. My plants and I thank you for all the poop over the years. Sorry my overfeeding and neglect probably led to your demise. This was the solid orange one below on the far right...I think.

This summer, I had troubles with cycling enough water into the system. This caused a spike in the pH and created high ammonia levels. The outflow pipes were clogged up with algae and food. Now another fish is suffering from ammonia poisoning. His gills are crimson red. He has balance problems and stays at the surface. He doesn't seem to get enough air. His energy seems good, but he doesn't eat much. Anyway, I'm down to three fish.

Typically, I don't have to do any water changes with this system. I just top off the water a couple of gallons a week from water evaporation and plant transpiration. But this time it really needed more fresh water, so I changed 10 gallons, gave the pump and lines a good cleaning, and now the system is back to normal. The auto siphon runs every 15 minutes and pH is down. Water is clear again, so things are looking up.