Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I hope this is the right place to post.

I finally got my system up....Im using a 150 gallon fish tank and a 50 gallon tank for planting my question is when I plant how far apart do I need to plant each plant and how deep or do I throw them on the surface or what???

That really depends on the plant. It should have spacing and depth instructions on the package or with the plant. I just kind of stick them in.

well right now i want to grow like lettuce, tomatoes, beans, onions, cucumber, broccoli, squash, eggplant and cantaloupe but i dont know if i have enough room for all of these the gb is 12 in deep so thats not a problem for onions and stuff but i have the continuous flood setup and like only 1 inch of dry hydroton so do i plant like it says on the package still or can i just plant 1 in. everything or does it matter if the seed is under water alot of the time ??

I just stick my seeds in to the water line, and plant them close together. I just cut back the extra ones that I don't want.

ok ill give that a shot
What are the level supposed to be for ph, ammonia, and nirites or nirates

My ph is high around 8, but the plants and fish are doing good. It should be around 7. Everything else in my system is at 0. Sometimes I will get a little nitrates, but not much.

yea i just checked my ph and its like around 8.2 of course all i have is fish in there but they seem to be doing good will this mess with my plants ???

also i do have an ammonia nitrogen test solution and a nitrate test solution but there are no instructions ... how do i use them please help???

What brand are the tests.... strip or drip??

they are liquid so i guess they are a drip

What brand... you can probably find the "instructions" online...

The brand is LaMotte for the ammonia nitrogen test solution but for the nitrate test solution it doesn't have a brand on the bottle it just says:
Nitrate Test Solution
30 ml
poison
causes severe burns
read msds

I have no idea what msds is and I have tried looking but both but it think it look for instructions with what brand it is Ill try that....

The color cards that come with the test solutions are important. I would not trust an inkjet printer to print them correctly. They are difficult enough to discern with the ones they come with...

Ummm it didnt come with color cards
maybe my husband knows where they are at
i looked for instructions again but couldnt found anything online or maybe im just looking in the wrong area
I would like to get the test done asap since my water is kind of green.... is this ok or does it mean something ???? please help

If the water is green, that is from algae. Definately try to find the color cards. Do you know the expiration date on your test solutions? If you have had them for so long that you don't know here the cards are, you might want to head down to a pet or aquarium shop and pick up an API freshwater master test kit. $35 means not having to sweat the cycling process as much.

Have you started a thread in the members systems area yet? A system thread with lots of pictures benefits everyone. That way we know what type of fish you have, what sort of pumps and aeration you are using, and all the other things that help people answer the many questions that you haven't yet asked. You will have more questions, and everyone here is happy to answer them.