Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

After almost 8 months, I finally have a Nitrate reading for the first time. The tilapia are growing at an alarming rate, and my feed output has gone from a tspn twice daily to almost 3 Cps per day. Growth has recently took off again with the warmer weather. No ammonia reading, PH has finally dropped to around 7-0-7.2. Is there an optimal reading for Nitrates? I'm growing everything: Brocolli, lettuce, kale, chard, strawberries, cilantro, basil, peppers, cukes, 4-5 varieties of toms. Here's a weird berry I picked this AM. We call it the "mitten berry"

You do not say how much you have. My main tank 2300 litres has run at over 200 nitrate reading for months and no probems

I like to run mine with a hint of Nitrate,i recently added a few more fish and with the increased feed Mondays test was just showing a change of colour in the test.

I'm at 50 ppm and everything is chugging along fine. a hint of ammonia this AM, so slowing down on food for a few days. Good to know I can get much higher with no problems. With all the blooming plants, I will need extra nutrients.

50 is fine if you run higher you run the risk of encouraging vegetive growth over flowering and fruiting,
Levels of 200 and higher won’t harm the plants but are not so good for the fish,not for long periods of time.

thanks DB (:

Has not hurt my fish.

It is well documented that levels 40 and above start becoming harmful to fish,some species won’t even take that,in our systems our nitrate normally rises slowly so the fish become acclimatised to it,but high nitrate will kill them them same as high nitrite,just different levels.
With raising nitrate levels the fishes immune system is comprised leaving them open to stress related diseases, reduced lifespan, at very high levels fish will become listless,stop feeding,stop swimming and lay on the bottom,rapid gill movement as they try to force water through there gills.
With this in mind and knowing we are trying to provide as good an environment for our fish as we can,so they grow fast and help run the system,why would we knowingly run massive nitrate levels that benefit nothing but are actually counter productive to what we are aiming for.
Finally just because it hasn’t hurt your fish,that you know off, doesn’t mean it won’t harm someone else’s.

As I said it has not hurt my fish, as a statement so some people do not panic and try to pull the nitrates
down to quickly. My system has chugged along for months with the same readings so I am happy.

So people do not panic if your reading is high, throw more plants in. Cheers end of story from me.

ccbear is right dropping nitrates to fast can also be harmful to fish,sorry ccbear if my post seemed a little curt it didn’t read that way as i was typing it,i didn’t mean to panic anyone into drastic action,as you said more plants,reduced feeding until levels drop.