Aquaponic pH management is a bit tricky because there are three living constituencies to consider in an aquaponics ecosystem: Plants, Fish and Bacteria. While the plants generally prefer a slightly acidic pH (5.8-6.2), the fish and bacteria prefer a slightly alkaline pH (7.0-7.6). Therefore, pH management in aquaponics is an exercise in compromise between the […]
Pest management in aquaponics is a common required procedure in your aquaponic garden. It’s almost impossible to fully prevent pests from getting into your aquaponic system. But, there are steps you can take to reduce and minimize their impact on your plants.
One of the […]
LED’s (Light Emitting Diodes) are widely considered to be the future of plant grow lighting. This is because LED manufacturers are achieving better and better control over the spectrum of light that comes out of LED fixtures through fine-tuning the array of LED’s on […]
HID lighting stands for High Intensity Discharge, which is a 
type of light that is one of the more intense (brighter) types of of lighting available. An HID lighting system consists of a ballast, reflector, socket and lamp (light bulb). The ballast acts like the engine, converting […]
Color Temperature is not how hot the lamp is. Color temperature is the relative whiteness of a piece of tungsten steel heated to that temperature in degrees Kelvin. For example, High Pressure Sodium lamps (HPS) have a warm (red) color temperature of around 2700K as compared to Metal Halide (MH) at 4200K, which has a […]
While the sun is the best “grow light” ever invented, only part of the light that comes from the sun is used by plants for photosynthesis. The photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) contains the wavelengths between 400 and 700 nanometers, and falls just within the so-called visible spectrum (380-770nm). The total visible spectrum is perceived by […]
Being in Colorado, we often think of passive solar greenhouses as great structures for growing in high altitude cold seasonal climate environments. After all, a good passive solar greenhouse, like the ones designed by our partners at Ceres Greenhouse Solutions in Boulder, is an excellent way to grow year round with fewer energy resources […]
A properly designed and maintained aquaponic system should not produce any foul smells. When growing fish, you can expect a slight odor, but it should not be offensive. If you have an effective fish waste solids management system (meaning an adequate bacteria population and/or mechanical solids filtration) you should not expect your system to […]
There are fish species that can tolerate low temperatures, Koi can manage to overwinter in below freezing temperatures outside. Trout and salmon are other species that prefer colder temperatures. Most other fish species will not survive outside through a freeze, so be sure to check the temperature range of the fish you intend to grow.
Both […]
Yes! Because fish are cold blooded animals their waste does not, and cannot, contain either of these pathogens. In fact, there was a recent study done by the College of Tropical Agriculture in Hawaii titled “A Preliminary Study of Microbial Water Quality Related to Food Safety in Recirculating Aquaponic Fish and […]