All Discussions Tagged 'high' - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-29T07:40:29Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=high&feed=yes&xn_auth=noHigh Nitrates NFTtag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2018-07-25:4778851:Topic:6534542018-07-25T23:06:47.003ZRachel Schipullhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/RachelSchipull
<p>I work in a restaurant that has a 800 gallon NFT aquaponics system inside the restaurant. We have been in operation for 4 years, and about a year ago our nitrates skyrocketed to over 160 ppm and we haven't been able to get them back down. We've just purchased a lower protein food for the fish, which would go from 40% protein to 28% protein, but I don't have any data on this yet. We've done massive water exchanges, but it doesn't seem to impact the high level of nitrates. We've also added…</p>
<p>I work in a restaurant that has a 800 gallon NFT aquaponics system inside the restaurant. We have been in operation for 4 years, and about a year ago our nitrates skyrocketed to over 160 ppm and we haven't been able to get them back down. We've just purchased a lower protein food for the fish, which would go from 40% protein to 28% protein, but I don't have any data on this yet. We've done massive water exchanges, but it doesn't seem to impact the high level of nitrates. We've also added bacteria to the system to help the plants take up nitrates, which seems to help for 2-3 days, but not long term. I think we might need to increase plant density, but in the space that we have and in a NFT system it doesn't seem possible. Considering that the system was pretty robust for 3 out of 4 years, and now we're seeing this issue, I'm not sure what changed. The fish seem healthy, but I'm starting to see stress in the plants, like maybe they aren't getting enough calcium? The pH is right between 6.6 and 6.8 and our nitrites and ammonia levels are at 0. Being indoors, the water temp is almost always 75 degrees F.</p>
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<p>Basically my question is if anyone has seen this issue before and if there are any troubleshooting ideas for reducing nitrates that do not involve massive water changes. Thanks.</p> Fishless Cycle, high nitritestag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-03-15:4778851:Topic:5532782014-03-15T17:14:37.913ZNeely Andersonhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/NeelyAnderson
<p>I'm fishless cycling, on day 31 today. My nitrites have been 5+ since day 11 (showed up day 7), so they have been off the charts for 20 days. Nitrates have been there since day 8 and are at 40 today (they fluctuate).</p>
<p>I've read high nitrites will stall my cycle, so I did a water changes to get them readable. I've done three 75%(ish) water changes and they are still off the charts. My tap water doesn't have nitrites. The ammonia goes away within 24 hours, but nitrites aren't moving…</p>
<p>I'm fishless cycling, on day 31 today. My nitrites have been 5+ since day 11 (showed up day 7), so they have been off the charts for 20 days. Nitrates have been there since day 8 and are at 40 today (they fluctuate).</p>
<p>I've read high nitrites will stall my cycle, so I did a water changes to get them readable. I've done three 75%(ish) water changes and they are still off the charts. My tap water doesn't have nitrites. The ammonia goes away within 24 hours, but nitrites aren't moving (even after water changes).</p>
<p>I have an outdoor (in a greenhouse) constant flood/drain (flood = 10 mins, drain = 5 mins). </p>
<p>70 gallon fish tank</p>
<p>50 gallon sump tank</p>
<p>15 square foot grow bed with crushed granite, 10" deep.</p>
<p>Plenty of aeration</p>
<p>Temp is around 74. KH is 10. My pH fluctuates between 7.4-8.</p>
<p>I dosed ammonia to 4ppm until nitrites started showing up and then dosed to 1-2ppm.</p>
<p>I didn't have access to seed my tank.</p>
<p>I have a few plants that are alive but not thriving like the ones I have in soil, although I'm not too worried about their survival right now. I'm not asking because I'm eager to add fish. My main concern is that my nitrites are still so high and I can't measure them, so I'm worried it could potentially stall my cycle. So my question is...do I leave things alone? Do I do MORE water changes? Or what?</p>
<p></p> Well Water Qualitytag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-02-07:4778851:Topic:5461402014-02-07T16:08:00.282ZAlex Veidelhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AlexVeidel
<p>Hey community peoples.</p>
<p>So, I'm finding all sorts of fun new information about my water quality and I could use a little help. I just need some advice/reassurance on a few things.</p>
<p>I've been stumped over why it's been so hard to adjust the pH of my well water. I've been collecting rainwater all summer, so I forgot I even had this problem. I did some reading on KH (which I have been completely in the dark about, go figure) and tested my water. My system tested out at 7.6, dKH 4.…</p>
<p>Hey community peoples.</p>
<p>So, I'm finding all sorts of fun new information about my water quality and I could use a little help. I just need some advice/reassurance on a few things.</p>
<p>I've been stumped over why it's been so hard to adjust the pH of my well water. I've been collecting rainwater all summer, so I forgot I even had this problem. I did some reading on KH (which I have been completely in the dark about, go figure) and tested my water. My system tested out at 7.6, dKH 4. My well water: pH 8.3, dKH 12+. I'm a little unsure as of which is best way to proceed topping off my system over the winter. </p>
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<p>Are there steps I can be taking to avoid using copious amounts of acid? (Is running my water through a softener not an option because of the salt? And would that even lower KH or just general hardness?) Perhaps there's a cheaper way of adjusting pH? Or maybe I just need to find a new water source? We have gotten a generous amount of snow this year, I can collect that and melt it down for top off water with little effort...I don't know. What do you guys say? Any thoughts?</p> Used basalt as media without washing and cannot get pH below 7.8tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-06-21:4778851:Topic:4872522013-06-21T15:25:40.063ZMathew Slatteryhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/MathewSlattery
<p><span style="color: #000080; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">I have just set up a flood and drain system and I recently decided to try basalt 3/4" gravel for my media as I can purchase it localy and it is much cheaper than shipping in hydroton and river rock. The basalt was slightly dirty but I figure what the heck and I threw it in without washing it. The system has been running for a little over a month now and I can not get the pH below 7.8 for more than a few hours. Does anyone…</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000080; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">I have just set up a flood and drain system and I recently decided to try basalt 3/4" gravel for my media as I can purchase it localy and it is much cheaper than shipping in hydroton and river rock. The basalt was slightly dirty but I figure what the heck and I threw it in without washing it. The system has been running for a little over a month now and I can not get the pH below 7.8 for more than a few hours. Does anyone think this will change or do I need to take it apart and wash the gravel? any suggestions will be appreciated.</span></p> Maxicrop And The Ever-Present Nitratestag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-06-02:4778851:Topic:4818862013-06-02T14:15:23.191ZAlex Veidelhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AlexVeidel
<p>Quick question for the community: <strong><em>Are there forms of nitrates or things that a water test would register as nitrates that cannot by cleaned up by plants</em></strong>? The reason I ask is this: As soon as I completed my system (cycling and all), I had started to grow out some plants to get ready for fish. I wanted to use tilapia, because I knew that they were good for beginners. Illinois, however, requires you to have an aquaculture permit and a system inspection to raise any…</p>
<p>Quick question for the community: <strong><em>Are there forms of nitrates or things that a water test would register as nitrates that cannot by cleaned up by plants</em></strong>? The reason I ask is this: As soon as I completed my system (cycling and all), I had started to grow out some plants to get ready for fish. I wanted to use tilapia, because I knew that they were good for beginners. Illinois, however, requires you to have an aquaculture permit and a system inspection to raise any fish that is not on the approved species list of Illinois. Finding this out a little on the late side, I had my system all ready for fish and was forced to wait seven or eight weeks for the permit process to work out. During that time, I put in some maxicrop to give my plants something to work off of until I could get some fingerlings. (I added a qt. to a 300 gallon fish tank, with an equal volume of growbeds and a large sump tank) That addition of liquid seaweed product skyrocketed my nitrates off the charts (160+) Because it's grown warmer outside and we've gotten some rain, I've been able to do water changes more consistently and bring that number down. But I'm noticing something strange with my water. I've started feeding the fish again, had a brief ammonia spike, and then things went back to normal. Every water change brings my nitrate levels down (they are at about >80ppm right now), but the levels don't go down unless I do a water change, they simply remain constant. Nothing added, nothing taken away. I feel like there is a load of waste in my system that the plants are ignoring, but they are taking care of the rate of nitrates that are coming in.</p>
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<p></p> First System: Recycled and Aesthetictag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-11-29:4778851:Topic:4194492012-11-29T01:33:06.130ZGuru Das C Bockhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/GuruDasCBock
<p>I have been running this new system for 3 months and all is going well. This system is made of recycled materials and hosts 11 koi fish and 1 plecostomus. The fish tank holds 180 gallons and the medium for the grow bed is locally sourced creek-bed gravel.</p>
<p><br></br>This is my first system ever and it took me a lot of research and imagination to figure out the right design. The method I chose is a continuous flow through the gravel with a single standpipe. The water exits the bed and…</p>
<p>I have been running this new system for 3 months and all is going well. This system is made of recycled materials and hosts 11 koi fish and 1 plecostomus. The fish tank holds 180 gallons and the medium for the grow bed is locally sourced creek-bed gravel.</p>
<p><br/>This is my first system ever and it took me a lot of research and imagination to figure out the right design. The method I chose is a continuous flow through the gravel with a single standpipe. The water exits the bed and splashes back into the fish tank below for aeration. No problems so far. We have gathered a surplus of melons okra beans corn tomatoes and tobacco.</p>
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<p>As we live in the Sonoran Desert, temperatures may be extreme. That is why i chose a continuous flow system with a simple standpipe overflow. Electricity is consumed by a single pump which fills the gravel bed and aerates the fish tank at the same time. The fish tank is submerged in the ground for thermal mass and to slow any extreme temperature changes. It is not uncommon for the temperatures here to vary 40 degrees F from day to night. Also the fish tank is covered by the gravel bed and lumber box to prevent evaporative losses in the 100+ degree F summer temp. Everything transplanted so far has survived and thrived. Ammonia Nitrite and Nitrate levels are always close to zero. The PH is just above 7. And average water temp is 70 deg. F. I have placed an old wrench found in the desert directly in the gravel bed as a source of iron. </p>
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<p>Please feel free to reply with any comments suggestions.</p>
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<p><a href="http://1144s7thave.tumblr.com/post/33142602183/the-evolution-of-our-first-aquaponics-system-it#notes" target="_blank">http://1144s7thave.tumblr.com/post/33142602183/the-evolution-of-our-first-aquaponics-system-it#notes</a></p> Nutrients - too much or too little?tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-27:4778851:Topic:3421382012-05-27T17:11:51.716ZMelissa Rasmussenhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/MelissaRasmussen
<p>Hey everybody...here's another challenge from Africa.</p>
<p>I'm running what will be an aquaponics system, though currently we're fertilizing with semi-fermented plant tea, Bioponics-style. The system is about three weeks old, and has been through its cycling, and is growing plants (happy happy lettuce!). For reasons that take lengthy explanation, it's a 7000 gallon system with about 500 square feet of growing space, raft style. When we started it, we put in 55 gallons of tea (that had…</p>
<p>Hey everybody...here's another challenge from Africa.</p>
<p>I'm running what will be an aquaponics system, though currently we're fertilizing with semi-fermented plant tea, Bioponics-style. The system is about three weeks old, and has been through its cycling, and is growing plants (happy happy lettuce!). For reasons that take lengthy explanation, it's a 7000 gallon system with about 500 square feet of growing space, raft style. When we started it, we put in 55 gallons of tea (that had ammonia levels high enough to kill tilapia that had survived utter neglect in a stagnant puddle for 6 months...in 2 hours), and things were great.</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656367943?profile=original"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656367943?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="500"/></a></p>
<p>BUT... Several days ago, our zinnias, basil, strawberries, and romaine lettuce started yellowing between the veins on the new leaves. On some other plants - particularly tomatoes, cucumbers, and cantaloupe - the new leaves are lush dark green but the older leaves are yellowing and brown along the edges. (To be fair, that predated transplant to the system. They stayed in the seed pots longer than they should have.) So now I'm not sure if we have nutrient <em>deficiency</em> or nutrient <em>overdose.</em></p>
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<p>What I've been calling symptoms of nutrient deficiency – yellowing between the veins on new leaves, yellow older leaves with slightly curled, sometimes brown edges – could <i>be</i> symptoms of nutrient deficiency. Lack of nitrogen, primarily (which is the most common deficiency), but also lack of zinc or sulfur.</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656368332?profile=original"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656368332?profile=original" width="500"/></a></p>
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<p>BUT – it could also be a sign of nutrient <i>overdose.</i> They look very, similar. Multiple nutrient overdose, according to pictures I find online, gives the same signs we're seeing.</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656368574?profile=original"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656368574?profile=original" width="490"/></a></p>
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<p>The water tests are somewhat helpful. Our ammonia levels are low, nitrites almost nonexistent, and this is just as it should be when the bacteria are happily established. Our nitrate levels are variable (between 4 and 10), as they should be, with intermittent fertilizing and constant uptake. This is lower than I've seen recommended for aquaponics systems.</p>
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<p>Thing is…the water doesn't look underfertilized. It has a distinct smell, it's growing algae (dammit), it looks rich and nutritious. And there have been successful aquaponics systems (like Friendly Aquaponics) that had nutrient levels that were undetectable by measured means.</p>
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<p>So…what? Do I fertilize more, and exacerbate the nutrient burn (which could still look like deficiency)? Do I hold off, and keep the plants hungry and growing slow? Help?</p> 2 month system. Plants good, not great, fish dying offtag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-04-26:4778851:Topic:3258742012-04-26T14:35:31.077ZJeremy Wheatonhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JeremyWheaton
Hello, I've been a reader of posts here, but this is my first time being of a poster of posts.<br />
<br />
I've got a small 100 gallon flood and drain setup that's pretty young at just about 2 months. I've got lots of stuff growing really well (tomatoes, lettuce, peas, chard, herbs, and flowers.<br />
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I did a fishless cycle and my levels are all pretty good except my pH is high at about 8.2. I've been adding about 1/4C of lemon juice to the system a couple times a week to knock that down, it works for a day or…
Hello, I've been a reader of posts here, but this is my first time being of a poster of posts.<br />
<br />
I've got a small 100 gallon flood and drain setup that's pretty young at just about 2 months. I've got lots of stuff growing really well (tomatoes, lettuce, peas, chard, herbs, and flowers.<br />
<br />
I did a fishless cycle and my levels are all pretty good except my pH is high at about 8.2. I've been adding about 1/4C of lemon juice to the system a couple times a week to knock that down, it works for a day or so, but the pH creeps right back up every time.<br />
<br />
Now my plants are starting to show signs of yellowing on the edges of leaves. This is happening with my tomatoes and my peas primarily. I'm also seeing a pretty regular die off my goldfish. I added about 25 small (2"-3") fish about 3 weeks ago. They seemed quite happy at the time, eating well, playing in the surface of the water when the grow beds would drain back into their tank. However, now the fish that are left aren't eating much and are pretty lethargic.<br />
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My biggest concern is my water quality. I'm on a well that has extremely hard water. I use potassium as a softener, not salt, so I used this water to start my system. Well, after my pH went up so high I did a 80% water change using collected rain water and melted snow to replace it thinking this might help. Apparently it hasn't done a whole lot of good. Any thoughts from the community members would be helpful as I'm not sure what to do at this time. Thanks for your input! Intro and a Few Questionstag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-01-30:4778851:Topic:2853672012-01-30T13:58:53.666ZAmanda Plantehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AmandaPlante
<div class="xg_user_generated"><p>We're currently constructing an aquaponic system using Growers Supply's channel system (4: 4"W x 2"D, 2: 6.5"W x 2.75"). The 3 smaller channels are going on the top row, the 2 larger channels are running along the back wall on the bottom row, and the remaining smaller channel will run in front of the larger ones. I have a few questions before we begin:</p>
<ol>
<li>Tomatoes (especially indeterminate varieties) would be too large for the space. They'd shade…</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="xg_user_generated"><p>We're currently constructing an aquaponic system using Growers Supply's channel system (4: 4"W x 2"D, 2: 6.5"W x 2.75"). The 3 smaller channels are going on the top row, the 2 larger channels are running along the back wall on the bottom row, and the remaining smaller channel will run in front of the larger ones. I have a few questions before we begin:</p>
<ol>
<li>Tomatoes (especially indeterminate varieties) would be too large for the space. They'd shade the plants next to them out, grow too tall for the bottom row, and their roots would probably take up too much space inside the channel. <em>For the two larger channels, would certain pepper varieties be an appropriate choice?</em></li>
<li>Because of the extremely tight squeeze, there's only about an inch of space on each end of the tables to run the plumbing to the reservoirs. Then, the plumbing would have to be run horizontally along the floor to the reservoirs (in order to get the lids to close on the reservoirs and to prevent corrosion of the metal tables, we're not setting the table legs in the tanks). Instead, we were thinking of drilling a hole in the side of 4 of the channels to run the pipe in and out of the system. We anticipate that the plants beyond that hole may not get enough water; so we were thinking of putting in a little dam in front of the holes so that water runs back to those plants. <em>Are there any foreseeable difficulties involved with drilling a hole in the side of the water intake / water outtake channels and running the pipe along the legs directly down into the tanks (holes will be cut in the lids of the tanks). </em></li>
<li>The black reservoirs are going to be holding goldfish in the short term and tilapia in the long term. The greenhouse does have a fan / heating system. <em>Do you think there will be problems with the black tanks getting too hot for the fish? If so, what can we do to prevent overheating?</em></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you so much and I'm so excited to hear what you have to say!</p>
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</div> Increasing Ammonia levelstag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-05-26:4778851:Topic:1189292011-05-26T13:57:31.695ZDan Wulffhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/DanWulff
Recently we have begun noticing rising ammonia and nitrite levels and we cannot get them to go down. We have a fair number of established plants working away at filtering and the bacteria seem to be doing their job however the ammonia is at 4.0 ppm and the nitrite is a .25 ppm. We can't figure out how to reduce the ammonia without harming the fish with chemicals. Any one have any ideas?
Recently we have begun noticing rising ammonia and nitrite levels and we cannot get them to go down. We have a fair number of established plants working away at filtering and the bacteria seem to be doing their job however the ammonia is at 4.0 ppm and the nitrite is a .25 ppm. We can't figure out how to reduce the ammonia without harming the fish with chemicals. Any one have any ideas?