What happened to my Nitrates? - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T19:53:34Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/what-happened-to-my-nitrates?groupUrl=sacramento-aquaponics&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A550696&xg_source=activity&groupId=4778851%3AGroup%3A267200&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI have been using an industri…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-02-28:4778851:Comment:5506962014-02-28T18:22:33.271ZDavid E Harnishhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/DavidEHarnish
<p>I have been using an industrial strength pure ammonia, no perfumes or addatives. I added 30ml at a time and run it through the system and check again.<br></br> <br></br> <cite>Paul Trudeau said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/what-happened-to-my-nitrates?groupUrl=sacramento-aquaponics&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A550682&xg_source=msg_com_gr_forum#4778851Comment550682"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>David,</p>
<p>You say you've been…</p>
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<p>I have been using an industrial strength pure ammonia, no perfumes or addatives. I added 30ml at a time and run it through the system and check again.<br/> <br/> <cite>Paul Trudeau said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/what-happened-to-my-nitrates?groupUrl=sacramento-aquaponics&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A550682&xg_source=msg_com_gr_forum#4778851Comment550682"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>David,</p>
<p>You say you've been cycling the system, with no fish. What has been your source of ammonia?</p>
<p>Paul</p>
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</blockquote> Hello David,
The Nitrogen cyc…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-02-28:4778851:Comment:5506922014-02-28T16:08:30.870ZTim Pinsonhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TimPinson
<p>Hello David,</p>
<p>The Nitrogen cycle is actually a little difficult to "catch" in the tests. This is because it is a cycle, so the levels will quickly rise and then quickly fall again as the bacteria do their job :-). I get pretty excited when I see the nitrites and nitrates because I do not see them very often, even in systems that are over a year old and are growing healthy plants.</p>
<p>If you have fish, they are producing ammonia. If you are seeing any ammonia, then you can almost…</p>
<p>Hello David,</p>
<p>The Nitrogen cycle is actually a little difficult to "catch" in the tests. This is because it is a cycle, so the levels will quickly rise and then quickly fall again as the bacteria do their job :-). I get pretty excited when I see the nitrites and nitrates because I do not see them very often, even in systems that are over a year old and are growing healthy plants.</p>
<p>If you have fish, they are producing ammonia. If you are seeing any ammonia, then you can almost be sure that there are nitrobacters as well... otherwise, your ammonia would spike up to a toxic level for the fish.... If it is doing that, then you have another problem.</p>
<p>Hope this helps, let us know if you have any other questions.</p>
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<p>Tim</p> Hi David,
I don't think you n…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-02-28:4778851:Comment:5509112014-02-28T15:46:24.108ZCasey Haashttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/CaseyHaas
<p>Hi David,</p>
<p>I don't think you need to start all over. I have been running my system for almost one year now and have never once had measurable nitrates, not even during fishless cycling. At one point I even tried feeding the fish more to increase the nitrates thinking that I was supposed to have some, but even then I didn't get any measurable levels, just bloated fish. I have been growing plants the whole time with no issues and have never had a nitrogen deficiency (potassium, yes, but…</p>
<p>Hi David,</p>
<p>I don't think you need to start all over. I have been running my system for almost one year now and have never once had measurable nitrates, not even during fishless cycling. At one point I even tried feeding the fish more to increase the nitrates thinking that I was supposed to have some, but even then I didn't get any measurable levels, just bloated fish. I have been growing plants the whole time with no issues and have never had a nitrogen deficiency (potassium, yes, but not nitrogen). During cycling I just added ammonia and Maxicrop and the plants did fine. Once I added the fish, I had to start learning to supplement to avoid nutrient deficiencies, but nitrogen has never been an issue despite never once having measurable nitrates.</p>
<p>Watch your plants for the answer. Are they growing without signs of deficiency? If so, then you should be fine. Check out Friendly Aquaponics if you get a chance. They report being able to grow without measurable levels of nitrates too and they are a commercial operation. <a href="http://www.friendlyaquaponics.com/" target="_blank">http://www.friendlyaquaponics.com/</a> </p>
<p>Also, Bright Agrotech has a really great key for diagnosing deficiencies in aquaponics. You can find it here: <a href="https://brightagrotech.leadpages.net/diagnosing-nutrient-deficiencies-free-key/" target="_blank">https://brightagrotech.leadpages.net/diagnosing-nutrient-deficiencies-free-key</a><a href="https://brightagrotech.leadpages.net/diagnosing-nutrient-deficiencies-free-key/" target="_blank">/</a></p>
<p>I think you'll be just fine!! Good luck!</p> David,
You say you've been cy…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-02-28:4778851:Comment:5506822014-02-28T12:14:06.681ZPaul Trudeauhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/PaulTrudeau
<p>David,</p>
<p>You say you've been cycling the system, with no fish. What has been your source of ammonia?</p>
<p>Paul</p>
<p>David,</p>
<p>You say you've been cycling the system, with no fish. What has been your source of ammonia?</p>
<p>Paul</p> Hayward water is very high ph…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-02-28:4778851:Comment:5507302014-02-28T06:44:11.358ZDavid E Harnishhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/DavidEHarnish
<p>Hayward water is very high ph, and I have been bringing it down with vinegar. Could that have contributed to the problem?</p>
<p>David</p>
<p>Hayward water is very high ph, and I have been bringing it down with vinegar. Could that have contributed to the problem?</p>
<p>David</p>