Comments on "Rules of Thumb" document

[Sylvia Bernstein]

This is the place for comments on and any discussion of the "Rules of Thumb" document on the home page.

I can't promise that I'll make suggested changes - this has been through some strong vetting already - but I'm certainly open to hearing your thoughts and suggestions...or maybe just sharing that you find it useful!

[TCLynx]

I would definitely prefer a deeper grow bed than the 25" deep rubbermaid stock tanks but my 300 gallon system is using a 300 gallon RMST as a fish tank and I'm growing catfish in it and so far so good (definitely need good fish tank covers with tanks that shallow.)

With a tank that is really only effectively 2 feet deep you are probably only going to have about 18" of water depth which does work, many people are managing systems that shallow.

If you want to grow really big fish (remember when I talk big fish for aquaponics I'm talking the 5-10 pound range), I would recommend looking for deeper tanks where you can have closer to 3' deep water but for a starter system, a stock tank will do fine. :)

[David Lindemann]

Thanks for the replies. I guess the answer is that deeper is better, but the fish tank can be pretty shallow. I would guess that a 55 gallon barrel is only 2 feet in diameter, and it looks like they are used for many starter systems (actually only with less than 18 inches of water when you cut a hole in the side).

[TCLynx]

Mature media can really make a difference in many things. I'm not sure how one would scientifically go about getting a closer look at that. Those would be long trials to run and quite a challenge to do side by side to compare.

I know that for some people the easy want to deal if there are obviously not enough nitrates to go around, pick a couple of the greedy plants that are struggling and cut them off. If the remaining plants then do better, you know you found the cause of the problem.

[Sheryl Gambardella]

Thanks for the tip- I should have adjusted the pH first! And yes I do have fish in and plants as well. I cycled the system without either for 2 weeks with some goldfish stocked pond water then added plants for 2 weeks then added fish. And my source water IS the culprit...being so high that 50% water change with rainwater - twice- only brought it down to 8.4. Just barely measurable on the high scale. I tried the pH Down product from the aquarium store, but the plants started dying. I have a product called 'General Hydroponics pH Down' on order and I will try your idea by filling several barrels with pH adjusted water and bubblers and slowly adding it to the tank. Sylvia suggests reducing the pH by .2 per day, so that's what I'll shoot for. I am growing replacement plants and they are about a week to 10 days from transplant. I'm so glad for this website and the great help available here!
TCLynx said:

If your source water is the reason for the really high pH, I recommend putting the source water in a large container that you can add a bubbler to. Then adjust that water with acid down to the pH range you desire. This might take a couple days to actually get it adjusted and stable before you use it to do the water changes on a system that has fish in it.

[Sylvia Bernstein]

I"m very familiar with GH pH Down. It is a good product and should work well for you. It is very powerful stuff so I recommend only using a little at a time.

[Sheryl Gambardella]

Good idea! Don't want to be chasing this in both directions. But how much is 'a little'? The package directions say the same thing. For 150 gallons- 1 Teaspoon too much to start?

Sylvia Bernstein said:

I"m very familiar with GH pH Down. It is a good product and should work well for you. It is very powerful stuff so I recommend only using a little at a time.

[Sylvia Bernstein]

That sounds like a good starting point. Then I'd let it run through your system for at least an hour or two before testing to see where your pH is.

[L F]

I hope I'm on the right page to ask this question.I'm getting ready to start my GH but I'm having trouble coming up with the numbers I need . 1)Size of fish tank to surface area of grow beds. 2)Pounds of fish to gallon of water. I'm new to this and want to use the smallest numbers to start and will work toward the maxiums later. My current plans consists of 2 fish tanks being 1570 gallons each or one fish tank being around 4200 gallons. I like the idea of two tanks better. It is amazing what some people have to work with.If you dont mind just give me some hard numbers to start with , thoses formulas blow my mind Thank in advance and I really enjoy this forum , it's been helpful and enlighting L F

[Sylvia Bernstein]

Hi LF. Have you looked through the Rules of Thumb document in the Start Here section of the top left of the Home page? You will find a lot of good, basic information in there, as well as the answers to your questions.

[L F]

Sorry I did find section and spent too much time taking notes before coming back here. this place is like a libary too many book and not enough time. Once again I'm sorry and thanks again. LF

[Sylvia Bernstein]

Nothing to be sorry for! Probably would have been nicer of me to have just answered your questions, but I wanted to be sure you found that document so you would have the answers to the questions that are still to come. That said, please don't be discouraged from asking more questions in the future!

[Harold Sukhbir]

Hi LF, glad to see your interest in AP. The rules of thumb information our host Sylvia suggested, is really simple, straightforward and contains very comprehensive clear-cut directions on establishing and maintaining an AP system. Ap for me is like an exciting adventure. I started not long ago, greedily gobbling up any information i could find on the internet(countless hours abt 1 year), until i found home( abt 4 mths-this site). When i joined we weren't as fortunate as the members today, with the rules of thumb page everything becomes easier. So i encourage you to take your time and read it and i wish you a happy AP journey.

L F said:

Sorry I did find section and spent too much time taking notes before coming back here. this place is like a libary too many book and not enough time. Once again I'm sorry and thanks again. LF