I have been spending a bit of time pondering monitoring in aquaponics again.  I think it has a lot to do with my aquatic ecology background – seasonal shifts in nutrient supply, nutrient sources and sinks, seasonal growth and die-backs.  Before embarking on the aquaponic journey I was well on my way to do a PhD on ecosystem energetics but the funding never panned out and I abandoned that idea. 

In aquaponics, things work a bit differently but it is not always all that easy to…

There are a great many variations on the theme of hanging towers utilizing 4 inch (110 mm) pipe out there.  Following on a discussion that has been ongoing on the forum, I will add the following:

I am not sure who first made these.  I have seen versions with planting depressions at stepped intervals, made with projecting pvc couplings in stead of depressions, made with three planting depressions per row ………………………. If this is someone here’s design, I say thank you for sharing…

There has been many discussions, both here on the forum and in my circle of friends and family about the difference that the right people can make.  The members of this forum are all quite keen on aquaponics and there are many that believe that it is going to become a massive industry.  Pity then that none of these optimists seem to populate the corridors of government, research, university and funding agencies. Or very few then.  I have had my share of frustrations and, so it seems, has…

There have been many reports of system cycling issues – most of which revolves around peoples’ problems with understanding the whole Nitrogen cycle.  At a risk of causing frustration with people that thought that there were no exceptions to the rule, I would like to report back on a research system that I have started in 2010 and which basically runs on the concept of trying to avoid the cycle all together.

Originally developed to find a way to diversify aquaculture in South…