Firstly, aquaponics systems get their ammonia from fish excrement, this ammonia however, is converted into Nitrite
by Nitrosomonas bacteria. The nitrite will then be converted into Nitrate by Nitrobacter bacteria, and Nitrate is the nutrients that plants love to grow on. Both these bacteria are ubiquitous in the environment. They will naturally come to flourish as long as ammonia is present (no need to add them to an AP system).
Nitrate is plant food and is consumed by plants in aquaponics systems. This step completes the process of removing what would otherwise be toxic ammonia produced by fish from the water in a way that is beneficial to other organisms – plants, all while recycling the same water in the system. One way to look at it is, fish produce plant food, and plants produce clean fish water.
In balanced water chemistry, ammonia and nitrite should be at ‘0’ ppm. This is because ammonia is quickly converted into nitrite and then to nitrate. Nitrate, on the other hand should be kept below 60 ppm but this would also depend on the type of fish you’re growing. Koi, from my experience, can tolerate up to 80 ppm without issues.
The other important parameters to be concerned of are the water pH, DO (Dissolved Oxygen and temperature. Get yourself a simple aquarium kit for this purpose. You will need to do the testing more regularly during the initial start-up or cycling phase of the system.
by Nitrosomonas bacteria. The nitrite will then be converted into Nitrate by Nitrobacter bacteria, and Nitrate is the nutrients that plants love to grow on. Both these bacteria are ubiquitous in the environment. They will naturally come to flourish as long as ammonia is present (no need to add them to an AP system).
Nitrate is plant food and is consumed by plants in aquaponics systems. This step completes the process of removing what would otherwise be toxic ammonia produced by fish from the water in a way that is beneficial to other organisms – plants, all while recycling the same water in the system. One way to look at it is, fish produce plant food, and plants produce clean fish water.
In balanced water chemistry, ammonia and nitrite should be at ‘0’ ppm. This is because ammonia is quickly converted into nitrite and then to nitrate. Nitrate, on the other hand should be kept below 60 ppm but this would also depend on the type of fish you’re growing. Koi, from my experience, can tolerate up to 80 ppm without issues.
The other important parameters to be concerned of are the water pH, DO (Dissolved Oxygen and temperature. Get yourself a simple aquarium kit for this purpose. You will need to do the testing more regularly during the initial start-up or cycling phase of the system.
Sample Water Test Kit
You can get a water sample test kit in aquarium stores. The more common options come in the form of test strips which are cheaper or liquid as illustrated below. This kit costs more but gives a significantly more accurate result.
Water pH
You should keep a close eye on the
pH of your system. This reading will tell you how much nutrient is
available for your plants to uptake, and can also warn you if your fish
are in danger. Generally, a pH of between 6.0-8.0 is acceptable though
an ideal pH for aquaponics is 7.0.Nevertheless, I do not recommend purposefully reducing or increasing the water pH. It is always advisable to leave the pH alone and get the fish and plant that suite your natural water pH.
This is because it’s difficult to maintain a manipulated pH. It will eventually creep back to its original pH and you will be fighting a losing game. Ok…so, remember don’t beat yourself up over the ph levels. Too many beginners make this mistake and end up throwing in the towel unnecessarily.
You want to control your ammonia and nitrite of not exceeding 6 ppm as this is toxic to your fish. Try to keep ammonia of less than 1ppm and nitrite at or below 1ppm. As for nitrates, a range of between 40-80 ppm is acceptable. The type of fish you choose also plays a part here in terms of their tolerance nitrate level. That’s why it is important to monitor how your fish behave at any given range.
DO (Dissolved Oxygen)
Is the oxygen content in your
aquaponics system and it’s essential to the health of your fish. DO can
also be impacted by the water temperature. The colder the water the more
oxygen the water can hold. Low DO can suffocate your fish.A good aeration system would solve this problem. This can be resolved in the design stage of your system or simply adding an aeration pump to your set-up. The goal here is to strike a 80% saturation or not less than 4 ppm.
Water Temperature
It’s crucial to keep this in check
if you experience high temperature fluctuations where you live. This is
because nitrifying bacteria slow down their processes in cold water, and
many fish eat less or can even die if the temperature drops too low.
The ideal temperature range would be between 77-86 F (25-30 C), for the
nitrifying bacteria to flourish.Achieving a water chemistry balance in any aquaponics system is important to the health of your plants and fish. It is easy to do really, there may be a bit of work at the beginning (cycling stage) of the system but once everything is cycled (this simply means all the needed bacteria have been established in your system).
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