Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I've started this thread so the discussion started here:

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23594&start=30

has it's own space to grow in.

Over the last few months I've been buying a number of related AP products in bulk as I start to get my commercial operation off the ground. I'm still trying to get a large scale operation on the go but in the mean time I'm going to grow my BYAP system into a small commercial system and expand it as I have the resources. As part of that I'm planning to sell a range of AP supplies to the BYAPers. I'll be able to offer a range of stuff pretty cheap because I'll be buying in bulk and I don't have the overheads that require me to make as much money on what I sell.

Part of that plan was to buy a instrument that could be used for accurate water testing of all the stuff we are interested in and offer to do water tests for people.

Bcasey2703 had the idea that we should buy one as a group and I've put up my hand.

Broadly speaking the idea would be that people who contribute to the purchase of such a unit would get the right to a certain number of tests based on how much they contributed to the cost of the unit. Those tests would be at cost with no labour component for my work. People who wanted their water tested who didn't contribute to the group purchase would have to pay for my labour.

The steps to get this off the ground are:
decide on an instrument which will involve investigation the various machines available and how much they cost to operate.
finalise the "deal" ie what do people get for what they contribute. How many tests for how many dollars.
decide whether to run the crowd funding campaign here on the forum only or to use a crowd funding site to get wider exposure and potentially some cash from the other AP communities.

So working on step one....

So far the machine that seems to tick enough buttons is the YSI 9500.

http://www.ysi.com/productsdetail.php?9300-9500-Photometer-38

If you scroll down the link it seems to do all that we need or at least most. The only concern I have is the cost of the reagents which seems to work out at about $0.45/test but I'll be chasing up more information on that today.

A lot of the other machines, even quite expensive ones, that I have looked at don't measure Mg, K. I've sent a bunch of requests for information out this morning to various supplier for alternatives so we will see what comes back.

What I've been told in the past is that many metals require a scanning spectrophotometer. This is a much more expensive beast but it could be the way to go IF it does EVERYTHING we want and the reagent costs are lower.

I'll be talking to YSI about why their machine can do what others can't as well.

One of the questions I had back from one of the suppliers in September was what was the range in concentration for each parameter.

I've created a google spreadsheet that should allow those in know to add parameters and add the range we are interest in.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1slfNzyz6xzdD5b-wuJpX2fQbW2AqgLkk_q_qaegDOkw/edit?usp=sharing

Anyone who has this above link will be able to make changes to the spread sheet. If having it public doesn't work then I'll make it private and only people whose email I have added to the list of editors will be able to make changes.

Everyone else will still be able to view it though.

Fantastic ideal stuart,Thailand as well........

Well the spreadsheet will work for people no matter where they are. So everyone overseas who has the experience and knowledge to make sensible changes feel free.

Collaborative documents can take a bit of getting use to. The spread sheet like a wiki page can be changed by anyone. I'm going to create a backup in case someone gets in there and makes a mess of it.

If someone could make a change so that I know its working I'd appreciate it.

Just made a comment on the Fe - seems to work.

Good idea Stuart, I'd be interested as I'm very near the end my honeymoon period with AP! I'm actually growing stuff far more effectively in soil at the moment due to on going AP deficiency issues so want to get on top of the why and the remedy...

Once there are a bunch of questions I'll chase the rep for some answers.

I won't have much input on the technical side haha, but good stuff and I'm definitely onboard!

Looking down the list...

I've added what I think are appropriate tests on the spreadsheet.

Where I'm not sure:

Chloride:
Chloridol says in the [] section NaCl. Does it measure the Cl or the Na?
Copper:
total Cu by Coppercol; or
free.
Phosphate:
Low range; or
High range.





I've also added the color test for turbidity, silica and the general hardness test.

Oh and it didn't take long for a gremlin to get in and start mucking things up.

I wonder if they have the courage to sign their name to their mess?

Stu how would we get our water tested, would we send water samples to you via the post?

with the range thing you are talking about, the one we use at work only works to 0.75mg/l for ammonia for example so we usually always dilute 1:9 or 2:8 to make sure our tests are in the range. Of course the dilution needs to be relatively accurate aswell and with de-ionised water.

So dont eliminate a machine based on its range of testing.

I have an account with Australia post.

I would email you a label. You would buy a satchel ($0.25ea when bought as a pack of 5). You would drink a 375ml beverage of your choice in a resealable plastic bottle, fill it with your system water and slip it into the satchel. Print the label out and slip it into the clear pocket on the outside of the satchel and stick it into the post.

Postage on my account would be $7.15. As the number of parcels I handle increases this price would drop.

Fair call but its nice if you don't have to dilute. I'd be happy to do ammonia tests for people but I would think the turn around time could cause problems. Same with nitrite and pH

They could be done as part of the service but peoples would be recommended to have their own basic test kit for at least TAN (ammonia) and NO2.