Water Hardness and ph in aquaponics

Most of us aquapons know that the health of all the creatures in our systems (fish, plants, worms, and bacteria) depends on proper pH. We also know that we are targeting pH in the 6.8 to 7.0 range but that we don’t have to worry about adjusting it until it goes down to 6.4 or up to 7.8. We also know that the best way to lower pH is with an acid, and that the best way to raise it is with carbonates or hydroxides. We know that rapid changes in pH can be very stressful to fish. And we know that the pH will probably decrease over time because the nitrogen cycle produces an acid (nitric).
But often, knowing all of this and applying it to our systems are two different things. At The Aquaponic Source, we handle questions and concerns each and every day about pH. Generally, the questions fall into one of two categories:

Pollination in an Aquaponics system

One of the challenges of growing in an indoor aquaponics environment is that we don’t have nature’s pollinators available to us. But is this a big problem for most aquaponic gardeners? It depends entirely on what you are growing. The only time that you need to worry about pollination is when you are growing a plant to harvest its fruit (e.g. tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, etc.) or if you are saving seeds and you need the non-fruiting plants to produce seeds.

Modern Design System

The future design

Aquaponics, ækwəˈpɒnɨks, pisciponics

Integrated Vertical Tube System

Here's a drawing and a photo of the integrated vertical tube aquaponics system we built. The photo shows the tubes in the planting/harvesting position; normally they are rotated 180 degrees so that the openings face the window.

Speeding Up The Cycling Process

Speeding Up The Cycling Process

When cycling aquaponics systems, the process can be speeded up by adding bacteria to the system, rather than waiting for it to show up on it’s own. Heating the water to the optimum temperature will speed things up further.

Aquaponic System Final Design

So, here’s the floor plan. As you can see, it is 22.4m long and 6.55m wide. Some system details are as follows:

Aquaponic Systems Growing Methods

 Aquaponic Systems Growing Methods

The way aquaponic systems are built are endless. The two parts that are the same are the fish tank and a plant bed. Some of the differences include filtration techniques, plumbing, the type of plant bed, growing medium, and the frequency of water and aeration. Some of the more popular aquaponic methods emerging in the industry are methods based on a hydroponic system design, and raising fish for filtration.

What are the benefits of aquaponics

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF AQUAPONICS?

 
Reduced water use
Reduced chemical use
Reduces pesticide use when set up in a greenhouse
Reduces erosion by eliminating the need to plough the soil
Reduced running costs compared to a conventional horticultural farm