/r/aquaponics
The symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment.
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The symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment.
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/r/aquaponics
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Water quality question: Low total akalinity, pH, and carbonate. Water brown and murky, not amber. Is this a problem (for fish and turtles)? How serious? What could be the cause?
I recently used a water quality testing kit on my aquaponics setup (continuous flow) and found that it was apparently out of the healthy range on certain parameters (results and interpretation chart attached below).
My grow bed contains mostly common mint and nasturtium and uses gravel as the grow media. The water tank itself is a 3 gallon Tuff Stuff tank and contains common guppies (used to be just a few and now there are many) and a single turtle. The plants are just there to filter the water as the whole system is mostly just intended to give the turtle a nice outdoor habitat.
I've noticed that the water as become a murky brown, rather than a more clear amber (which I recall it used to be even by the time the guppies has multiplied to a larger number and my understanding was that this was a healthy color, but never had the testing kit back then to reference vs now). I recently cleaned the tank and drained the water, but it quickly became brown again as I forgot to drain the old water that was in the grow bed. I'd like to understand this issue a bit more before re-doing all the labor to clean everything out again.
Are these testing results and water color bad? An issue with the grow bed or grow media (rather than the tank water or its inhabitants)? Again, I've provided the water test strip and interpretation chart below, but I don't know which out-of-range metrics are serious or not and what could be causing the water color issue in the first place. What could be the cause here and what can / should be done about it?
Thanks.
02:59 UTC
Water quality question: Low total akalinity, pH, and carbonate. Water brown and murky, not amber. Is this a problem (for fish and turtles)? How serious? What could be the cause?
I recently used a water quality testing kit on my aquaponics setup (continuous flow) and found that it was apparently out of the healthy range on certain parameters (results and interpretation chart attached below).
My grow bed contains mostly common mint and nasturtium and uses gravel as the grow media. The water tank itself is a 3 gallon Tuff Stuff tank and contains common guppies (used to be just a few and now there are many) and a single turtle. The plants are just there to filter the water as the whole system is mostly just intended to give the turtle a nice outdoor habitat.
I've noticed that the water as become a murky brown, rather than a more clear amber (which I recall it used to be even by the time the guppies has multiplied to a larger number and my understanding was that this was a healthy color, but never had the testing kit back then to reference vs now). I recently cleaned the tank and drained the water, but it quickly became brown again as I forgot to drain the old water that was in the grow bed. I'd like to understand this issue a bit more before re-doing all the labor to clean everything out again.
Are these testing results and water color bad? An issue with the grow bed or grow media (rather than the tank water or its inhabitants)? Again, I've provided the water test strip and interpretation chart below, but I don't know which out-of-range metrics are serious or not and what could be causing the water color issue in the first place. What could be the cause here and what can / should be done about it?
Thanks.
02:59 UTC
A bit off topic...
So this is a little bit off topic but if anyone could give useful feed back it would be y'all. I run a small farm that's half poultry and half hydro. The original plan was to convert the hydroponics to aquaponics as finances permitted but as the chicken shit piles up at an alarming rate I just have to wonder what would happen if I built a huge compost tea maker and hooked it into an aquaponic style swirl filter and media bio filter? I'm sure it would smell like hot sewer ass but as long as I keep the solids out and keep a healthy bio filter it should work, right? I already use the egg shells to add calcium to the hydro so this seems like the logical next step. I sell some of my chicken manure to conventional farmers in the area so I know it works as fertilizer... would be nice if I could get some use from it.
22:05 UTC
Goldfish eggs in mechanical filter.
Re camping mechanical filter now that it’s nice out and came across these. My ammonia has been high at 2ppm and nitrites about 2-3 ppm and nitrites about 60 ish ppm. I assume poor mechanical filter led to abundance of waste, otherwise, Not sure why ammonia is spiking to 2 ppm. Clearly not in much distress as their rearing? What should I do with all the eggs?
16:52 UTC
Hole-saw sizing for 40.8mm bulkhead: 40 or 41mm?
Quick question on sizing a hole saw for a bulkhead.
I have two threaded bulkheads with an outer diameter of 40.8mm (about 1½ inches if I understand the conversion standards)
Do I pick a 40mm holesaw and sand the hole until the bulkhead can go through?
Or do I pick a 41mm holesaw and put in a bit of extra silicone/glue in the joint, trusting to the large o-rings of the bulkhead to do the final seal?
Basically, friction fit or adhesive/tape-fit for the best result?
06:55 UTC
Dual root zone system(living soil x aquaponics)That’s all folks. Day 67 of flower aka harvest day.
Blueberry cupcakes by Humboldt seeds co. Got a bit floppy towards the end but that’s my fault for not setting my trellis as high as these apparently stretched. But other then that and some tweaks to the amount of floods a day the volume of water in the buckets as well as some tweaks to the overall nutrient inputs especially in the water I’d say it worked wonderfully. Smells insane the frostier of the two has an intense blueberry candy soda type smell.
01:06 UTC
Are wild fish an option?
I currently have goldfish and bettas in my setup and now that I have it working on a small(ish) scale I'd like to do one with edible fish.
Does anyone just go to their nearby pond and catch a few local fish to raise?
11:20 UTC
Is potassium bitartararate a good source of K and can it chelate Mg and Fe in saltwater?
02:27 UTC
Has anyone bought tilapia from this company?
23:48 UTC
12:33 UTC
Swirl filter issue
So I'm setting up my first duckaponics system and I'm running into some issues with my pump.
When you first turn it on it runs really hard but then loses most of its suction after a little while.
the pump (VIVOSUN 3700 GPH Submersible Water Pump) seems to be struggling with this configuration. it's a 64 gallon pond and 55 gallon drum when it's working it's a strong flow but then it gets in this whirring mode where it's not working at full capacity. what am I missing?
Right now I don't have any grow beds setup I'm just focusing on getting the swirl filter working.
Any help is appreciated!
Here is a video I took of the setup:
03:48 UTC
A bouquet of herb flowers.
Entire kitchen smelled amazing.
01:52 UTC
Looking for someone to answer questions regarding aquaponics for my research paper
Hey all, I’m an undergrad student pursuing environmental engineering and I was hoping someone here could be interviewed. I’m looking for someone knowledgeable on aquaponics or someone who has or is actively researching aquaponics. Thank you all so much.
23:06 UTC
First set up
I watched a town of videos and been trying to figure out what I am missing. I would like to do the set up similar to the top picture using rows of gutter/pipes and instead of fish I want to use prawns. It looks like I need either a filter or a bio filter. Is that correct, or can I just pump water from the prawn tank through the gutters? If I need a filter, I would prefer a bio filter. Are the rock wool or those clay pallets what people are talking about in there set up as bio filter? Or is it some other material?
14:55 UTC
Small Commercial aquaponics system
Hey everyone,
I want to start a small commercial aquaponics system that I can grow into something big. The only issue is that I have absolutely no idea where to start or even who to ask or anything. I’m super passionate about starting one and think it’s an amazing business. I’ll need all the help I can get. Yes I will need a loan or something for money cause I don’t have the funds to start one.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!
01:12 UTC
What made you people get into aquaponics?
Personally, I just love watching things grow and multiply under my care. Also farming and producing things is kinda in my bloodline.
11:29 UTC
An example of a tomato going from healthy to nitrogen starved.
14:51 UTC
best plant for salt water aquaponics
i have a fish pond where i use half salt water and half fresh water to grow tilapias. i wanted to convert it to an aquaponic system but i am clueless on what to plant. i did some research and found that most plants die if they intake salt water. what would be the best plant to grow for the water that i use?
04:11 UTC
Alternatives to K2 Media in MBBR
K2 media is pretty expensive and I don't see any advertised as "food grade". Are there any alternatives to K2 that would solve these issues? My first thought is crushed lava rock. Probably would be too heavy to move though after saturation. You can see where I am going though. Any thoughts?
20:42 UTC
Should I cut?
I thought when I bought these “dwarf” cherry tomato seeds, they would be short enough for this system. Will it kill them to cut the top branches? Planting outside is not an option right now.
14:55 UTC