Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Many thanks to all who posted, I'm not going to get all mushy but... it is fantastic to have all this help at my fingertips. Peru is far from being a 3rd world country but it is still not quite the same as Oz or the States. So it is not quite so easy to find things like Urea, I can just imagine trying to make myself understood the possibilities are hilarious. A freind is contributing his urine ( I can't as I'm being treated for TBC ) However the dead fish seems to be working well, heres the reading on the second day after I took it out...

PH 7.2 Ammonia 0.25ppm Nitrites 5.0ppm Nitrtates 40ppm

By the way the PH dropped from 7.8 before I put in the fish as my source water is very alkaline.

Still looking for an answer to what should the readings be when you have fish (live) in the system.

Thats why this is the best AP forum in the world.



PH - can be a range between 6 to 8, although at both ends of this range there will certain nutrient lock out and possible effects on benificial bacteria. A perfect PH would be somewhere around 6.4.

Ammonia - Essentially you want a reading of zero.

Nitrite - Also a reading of zero is ideal.

Nitrate - This isnt an easy question to answer. Ill start by saying that the common species of fish used in AP can handle up around 400ppm, sometimes higher. Nitrate readings can tell you a few things about your system, if you have high readings you need more plants, grow beds or lower feed and stock. If you have a reading of zero your system could need some more fish or higher feed input but depending on plant growth it could just be running nicely. Im not sure if there is a perfect nitrate level you want to achieve but if your fish and plants are happy and growing... then thats a success.