Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi. Has anyone tried the use of probiotics in AP systems ?

Not that I know of, and why?

Well, we use probiotics to purify fishpond water by hastening the the decomposition of biowaste (fish pooh and feed) in the ponds and thus increasing the availability of nutrients for algae or plant growth. Probiotics are also used as accelerators in compost making. Sooo....just wondering....

"SOME PEOPLE SEE THINGS AND WONDER HOW..
I DREAM OF THINGS AND ASK ' WHY NOT' "
G.B. Shaw

So how do you purify fish pond water using probiotics?

I would be interested to know how and why it works to speed up break down.
I would also want to know if it causes a heavy need for dissolved Oxygen since an increase of bio-activity usually does use up lots of dissolved oxygen and we would want to make sure not to kill our fish in the process. Recirculating culture generally has different parameters than ground fish ponds.

I found this:
It seems to be bacteria that counters anaerobic bacteria that produces toxic hydrogen Sulfide gas which does disolve in water.
Also claims to reduce pathogenic bacteria.
Probiotic seems its a new buzzword like proactive.
I would be reluctant in a closed system.

http://www.zeiglerfeed.com/product_lite ... kHS_EN.pdf
http://www.alken-murray.com/China98.htm

I tried to edit I waited to long.
But seems to have some good bugs offered.

http://www.alken-murray.com/Aquaindex.html

Yoghurt ponics?

Hi. Yes Bill, we need to approach this with some caution. Probiotics have been in use here for a number of years as compost accelerator, animal growth, odor control, sludge remover, etc,etc.. I use it occasionally as feed additive on my fish and they seem to be okay. Sorry TC, I don't know much about chemistry, so, I hope someone here will come up with the answers for you. What I know is that they contain lacto bacilli, actinomycetes and some others.
Chappo is partly right. It's something like yoghurt.

Bacteria and the other goodies are naturally occuring. Letting a system mature at its own pace may be better than throwing in something that may require a counter that is not in the probiotics formula eg crap loads of ammonia converting bacteria but no nitrite converters. Or I ordered some bacteria to cycle my system but it cycled while the bottle was still in the post.

AP systems are inherently probiotic. That's what breaks down the ammonia to nitrate.

we can easily make probiotics,. i guess there will be no problem using it since its natural,. by just using milk or fruits,. we could make probiotics,.

The trick is how to promote the beneficial bacterias without creating a haven for some of the bad ones.

Interesting idea.

Here's a guy doing just that CG.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T68yiL8RNVs Just be patient with the video... takes a while before he talks.

This is the website he seems to be promoting in the video....http://eminfo.vmicrobial.info/

I look around at all the old hands and their systems... which were all setup with the "kiss" principle... and some basic rules...

And I see them consistently producing healthy fish and vegetables with a minimum of fuss and input...

Then I compare that to the recent rash of desire to re-invent the wheel and add this and that...

And I see poor growth, dead fish... and fluctuating water quality problems..

Reckon there's a lesson in that somewhere...

There is the challenge with all the new publicity. Lots and lots of new people hear about aquaponics and get excited and it is time to teach all this all over again to a whole new batch of people. Remember some of the old hands tried things that didn't work all that well back in the early days and they learned and simplified. Then a new batch comes wanting to try things, some of them are willing to go though system threads and learn from the others. Then again some have to try it themselves and learn from their own experiences.

I just hope that not too many people promote the untried ideas before they learn the drawbacks and leave us trying to fix the issues by internet.