No! Water changes, expensive nutes, sterile cloning: Aquaponics!

wrapp

New Member
I am never going back to hydro, I am a lazy, dirty and poor with schedule. Aquaponics have allowed me to have less stress (different stress) and still grow much of what i like.
Anyone with experience or questions let us know.
 
I have read that pot plants do not do well in Aquaponics.
I would think it would be a dream setup!

What type of system are you using?
Raft, media, Dwc or some other hybrid.

I was thinking they would do well in dutch buckets but I was told the nutes are not right to get good flowers.
Given the growth in an aquaponics system I find it hard to believe!


Do you have a grow journal? I can;t find any.

You asked for questions :)

I have many more like grow bed to tank ratio and fish density :)
 
Cannabis suffers in a over watered, high ph, overly buffered system. So, water like you would coco. DWC would have to have a lot of water movement and oxy(bubbles), think! creek not pond or else there will be a rumble for oxy (bacteria?) . For NTF water less (like coco), how, Well, a small amount of media under each pot, or media stand pipe for roots to grow into.(water less frequently)(top down)(no nutes, till established) The nutrients and stagnate air will rot you out if over watered. Maybe forced air though would allow constant flow of nutes (sorry my NTF has hybridized)
Aquaponics is a dream setup.
I have found all types of systems to work, understanding how your plants grow, knowing what she needs, and being able to provide both mechanical (bubbles/flow, light/shade, media, humidity/vp) and nutritional (organic/artificial , low sodium, carbonate free) support.
All growing systems need supplement. The trick to aquaponics is knowing what is being put in the system from the initial set up, then supply what is needed based on what is already in the loop. For example, suppose a DWC system is having a phosphorus issue. You could add a sun dried ham bone, but the extra calcium in the bone may cause an imbalance due to the Ca already present in the (7.8) tap water
For phosphorus research Struvite. For potassium supplements research (how to make black powder). For nitrogen, you cannot have a N problem. If you do have a N problem, it is you ph or maybe a very young system or you in flower. For micros check you ph fisrt.

Fish density, and grow bed to water ratio are all inter connected and difficult to control, with low water ratio or high fish density( i starve my goldfish, Sorry). And that is not the whole truth, if you have the equipment to monitor the level, you can do what you want.
If you do not have much in the way of equipment for accurate monitoring, you must treat the entire system as one very large singular pot (KNOW WHAT YOU PUT IN FROM THE BEGINNING) add what you lack based on what is all ready in the pot
p.s. Running a carbonate free system allows lower ph and more water mean larger stockpile nutes in the pot=less supplementation and, finally Cannabis hate high fish density
 
hecklers and trolls are most welcome, here is some bate for you, urine, ash, semen and cat food are some of my supplements.
 
Here are some highlights of aquaponics capabilities that i have experienced
-I never sterilize any thing at any stage. (lie! I do use tap water)
-I reuse every thing pots, razors, media. (even rockwool cubes with old roots still contained inside)
-descent growth, no rot with ambient air temps over 100(a good fan a must), water temp up to 90 degrees( before i added a homemade evaporator, now temp hover around 82-85 on the hottest day). I do get a fair amount of heat stress (vapor pressure). I need a better humidifier
-mothers, veg and flower, all feed and drain to same res. Clones drain to main res but are feed ro water and tap water, top down.
-no flush needed, yellowing at the end of life cycle is greatly reduced, (Strain dependent)
-continuously running water through an evaporator create negative ions that greatly reduce smells (until lights and fans come on) and creates good vibe and fresh air smell
-i check ph no more than once a weed (api test), paying close attention to the direction of ph drift
-i may check nitrates once a month, i never check ammonia, ppm, or DO. I do want a professional water analysis, (someday).
-less expensive over the long run
-once system matures growing feels like autopilot
here are the cons
-easy to to make system (hot) too nutrient rich -FIX, WATER CHANGE
-easy to create lockout due to nute imbalance - FIX (KNOW WHAT YOU START WITH) WATER CHANGE
-high ph -FIX, REMOVE BUFFERS IN MEDIA, DO NOT USE TAP WATER
-ph drifting to low below 6 - FIX ADD REMOVABLE BUFFER, ADD TAP WATER
-more water=greater chance of flood damage- FIX, better design (than mine)
-more evaporation than hydro due water movement necessary for fish health - FIX, none (evaporation is my friend in the summer)
-minimum passive filtration needed. especially when running NTF
-fish death often causes a nitrate spike and drain blockage and then flooded floor
-ro water or rain water is need for control of ph, tap water is occasionally added for buffering, micro nutes, and cloning purposes
-bugs, (good guys), black solider fly (good guy), stink bugs, drain flies, fruit flies, springtails, are a resident and hard to remove, but not really a nuance. The migrant bugs are the ones i fear, (house flies, bees, wasps that visit) for they may carry mites. I have had mites ones under aquaponics, "Hot Shot" air thingy fixed it.
-more expensive initial set up
-more commitment needed (steep learning curve), knowledge of fish health-easy, microbe health-very easy, plant health-hard. Each are not difficult on its' own. It is their synergistic connection that is difficult to master. Keen observation and patience are key.
-grow set up is not as mobile as hydro. Once set up you do not want to move it.
 
I've been successfully growing cannabis in aquaponics since April 2015. Some say it can't be done, but I assure you it can, with high yields, and great taste.
 
i get it if you have a hard on for organics and all... but how is this less work? i mean, i dont want to be rude but i dont check my plants every single day lol. after a while, you can easily be lazy and still get killer results. i dont understand how this would be any better tho. like... its more expensive to set up for sure.... you have a lot more balancing to do and far less measurable control

dont get me wrong here. its fucking awsome what youre doing but the first post is just kinda confusing lol
 
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