So You Still Want To Do An Experiment
This section was all derived from “experiments” done by us or one of our students, with sometimes disastrous results. If it says to not do something in this blog, there is a solid reason behind that recommendation! There are complete sections with much more information on each one of these things in the blog, so don’t worry if you don’t understand them yet. Here’s a short list, with the “fix” in bold at the end of each item:
(Below) An early experiment of ours that worked GREAT! This is Tim putting a $42 gallon of nitrifying bacteria inoculant into a 3,500 square foot commercial system; it saved us two months of waiting for system startup while we had a mortgage to pay on the money we borrowed to build the aquaponics farm.
- A student listened to the salesperson selling them water pumps and blowers; and rather than just get the correct one from the materials lists we’d included with the construction manual, they bought what the salesman was selling. They ended up with huge overloaded hot blowers that used four times as much electricity as necessary; and huge water pumps that pumped four times as much water as needed, and it overflowed out of their last trough because it couldn’t flow back to the sump tank fast enough through the PVC pipes that were correctly sized if they had used the correct water pump. Get the correctly sized blower and water pump out of the materials list for your system, read the section on “How To Scale A System Larger Or Smaller”. Or email me (training@friendlyaquaponics.com) and I will help you size them for a reasonable fee.
- A student of ours started his aquaponics system with an existing “catchment” water tank that was under a tree; this tank had 6” of dead gunk and leaves in its bottom. This stuff then got pumped out into the troughs and the rest of the system when the owner turned on the air and water pumps. The water in the system stank, the ammonia level was through the roof, and this system “wouldn’t startup”. Start your system clean! Don’t put extra organic material in there for the “nutrients”; you will only drive the ammonia level through the roof!
- If you put black soldier fly larvae, worms, compost, or any kind of warm-blooded animal manure into your system, they are an almost guaranteed source of Coli, which can kill people if consumed on uncooked food. If your Organic Certification agency or Food Safety Certification agency finds out you ever used these (even if your water tests OK), you run the chance of losing your certification. Don’t allow contamination of your aquaponic system with BSF larvae, compost, worms, or animal manure; you can lose your valuable certifications!
- Duckweed will spread throughout your system and will double or triple your labor required to clean and package your crops later when you are processing and packaging vegetables. Its actual protein level, based on its “wet weight”, is 2-1/2%; this is because it is 92% water! Don’t EVER allow duckweed into or near your systems. Period.
- “Effective Micro-Organisms” AKA “EM”, “Beneficial Active Micro-Organisms”, AKA “BAM”: Regardless of what the salesperson says, EM and BAM are bacterial cultures that are foreign to aquatic ecosystems (which is what an organic aquaponic system is), and they will kick the system out of balance, doing things like killing all the plants, making the roots go black, etc. They may have a beneficial application, somehow, somewhere in aquaponics systems, but experimenting with things like this in large commercial systems can be very expensive! Easy fix: don’t do it!
- Crawfish are just like piranha with opposing thumbs! If you ever get crawfish into your systems, you will be raising crawfish (and only crawfish) forever, because they are nearly impossible to eradicate, and will eat everything in the system! They leave the water at night and will crawl across short intervening spaces to inhabit nearby systems and tanks that previously didn’t have crawfish in them. Their eggs are so small they pass through any filter you can devise, and will end up everywhere. Easy fix: don’t bring crawfish onto your farm!
- About adjusting the pH downwards with “chemicals”: although there’s no need to do it (because an aquaponics system does this automatically by itself), people still feel the need to adjust pH down, and end up using things like phosphoric acid, vinegar, and citric acid. Citric acid is an organic herbicide; putting it in your system for any reason at all will make the plant roots go black and possibly kill all the plants. Easy fix: don’t do it!
- We adjust the pH upwards in our systems with calcium carbonate (coral beach sand in Hawaii, crushed oyster shells elsewhere) at the infrequent times they need this done. Potassium carbonate can be used to help buffer pH, but it is not an organically-approved material, and we have one instance of a student poisoning his system with too much potassium carbonate, ending up with potassium toxicity, and having to dump all the system water and refill. Easy fix: don’t use potassium carbonate!
- If you invent something new like these things, please contact us and let us know what you did and how you fixed it, so we can share it with new students and spare them the same suffering!
When can parents expect to receive Interim Progress Reports for their children, and what information will these reports contain
Visit UsTelkom University
This design is wicked! You most certainly know how to keep a reader amused.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well,
almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really enjoyed what you
had to say, and more than that, how you
presented it. Too cool!
Also visit my web-site: tracfone coupon
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my web site thus i got here to go back the want?.I’m trying to find things to improve my web
site!I guess its ok to use some of your ideas!!
My homepage … 2022
Therre is certainly a lot to know ablut thios subject.
I like alll the points you havee made.
I’ve beeen exploring for a bitt for any high quality articxles or blog postts
inn thiis soet of houuse . Exploring inn Yahoo I aat last stumled upin thos web site.
Reading thius informnation So i aam happy to convey thzt I have aan incrediby gopod uncanny feeling I disxovered exactly what I needed.
I sso muich unquestionably will make cerftain too don?t put ouut off
youir mind this webb sitfe annd givee it a look onn a relentless basis.
I aam ure this paragraph has touchhed all thhe internmet viewers, itts rsally really good parragraph
on building upp new blog.
Appreciaate tthe recommendation. Leet mee try it out.
Hi to every , becasuse I am in fact ken of reeading this blog’s
polst to bbe updsated on a regular basis.
It infludes fastidious information.
Hi, I would like tto subscribe for this webpage tto get hottest updates, thuss where can i doo itt please assist.
I don’t knoow whether it’s just mee or if perhaps everybvody elsde encointering pdoblems wit your site.
It loks lioe some off the written text withhin your posts arre running offf thee screen. Caan someone elose please commet and lett mme know if this is happenong to them too?
This mmay bee a isssue wirh my web browser because I’ve had
this happen before. Manyy thanks
Veery golod article! We wull be linking too tuis
particularly greast aticle oon ouur site. Keeep up thhe good writing.
Hi there! I’m at wolrk surfingg arround youur log fropm myy new apple iphone!
Just wanted too saay I love reeading through yohr boog aand loik forward to alll
you posts! Carrry oon thhe grfeat work!
What’s up, aalways i used tto chefk blog posts hesre iin the early hours
in the dawn, for the reason that i enhjoy to gain knoeledge of more and more.
cscoggy smzzatk ztzbtw lxcdnv cxobpy tmtzsy
motrin 300 mg
First of all I want to say fantastic blog! I had
a quick question that I’d like to ask if you do not mind.
I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your thoughts before
writing. I have had a tough time clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out.
I do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually wasted simply
just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or tips?
Appreciate it!
Feel free to surf to my web page … pmi pmp certification – Elijah
–
constantly i used to read smaller articles or reviews that also clear their motive, and
that is also happening with this post which I
am reading at this time.
my homepage :: sitting exams
continuously i used to read smaller content that also
clear their motive, and that is also happening with this paragraph which
I am reading here.
My website: massage certification (Lashunda)
all the time i used tips to answer the gamsat questions
(Matthias) read smaller content that as
well clear their motive, and that is also happening with this
piece of writing which I am reading here.
I like what you guys are up also. Such intelligent work and reporting!
Keep up the excellent works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll.
I think it’ll improve the value of my web site :).
my page: exams (Tamara)
I like what you guys are up too. Such smart work and reporting!
Carry on the superb works guys I have incorporated you
guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my site :).
my web-site :: promo (https://genius.com/)
Yay google is my world beater helped me to find this outstanding
website!
Also visit my blog post: promo – https://actmaple14.page.tl/,
I really like what you guys tend to be up too. This type of clever work and reporting!
Keep up the very good works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to blogroll.
Here is my homepage :: promo (http://www.geati.ifc-camboriu.edu.br)
If some one wants expert view about blogging and site-building then i
propose him/her to visit this blog, Keep up the nice job.
Here is my site; promo; https://answers.informer.com/index.php?qa=user&qa_1=bakdunn8474,
Excellent advice, thank you