sankakugatame
Active Member
It's interesting for a couple reasons to look at the American-heritage dictionary definition for the term, “Aquaculture.”
One being that it is not always for business. Two being that hydroponics is stuck in there. Three being that hydroponics is stuck in there without an explanation of how it's related. I'm taking it a step further and making that connection with the hope that it betters someones life.
Being an aquarist. I'm very interested and concerned with the state of the "nitrogen cycle" within my fish tank. If you aren't familiar with this terminology basically the biggest enemy an aquarist has is the accumulated level of NH3 and NH4 more commonly referred to as ammonia and ammonium respectively. Ammonia accumulates when a fish eats and then excretes waste and in such a small body of water it can reach toxic levels relatively quickly. Depending on how much the fish are fed and without intervention by a third party toxic levels can conceivably be reached in a few days.
An aquarist really has two options. Either they can change the water on a frequent basis or find something to remove the NH3/NH4. We simply need to look at the fish's natural habitat for a solution. In the wild there is a certain kind of bacteria that views NH3/NH4 as we view [insert favorite food here]. They devour this tasty treat and you're left with nitrites or NO2. For illustrative purposes we'll call the bacteria's best buddy's vegetarians because they don't eat meat or in this case NH3/NH4. They actually prefer the NO2. After watching Happy Face for the 73rd time they scarf down a bag of NO2 and happily leave behind NO3 or Nitrates. Now that we get to this point we're faced with one last problem. What to do with the NO3.
The aquarist once again has two options. Either change the water or find something to get rid of the Nitrates. Luckily of all the N's nitrates can exist in the largest concentration with out adverse effects on the fish. Most aquarists will take advantage of this and use the couple weeks it takes for the NO3 levels to build up to enjoy life and eventually change the water removing the excess NO3 and completing the nitrogen cycle as far as the tank is concerned.
You may be wondering the “au naturel” method for the removal of nitrates. Well that is why I decided to post here. Nitrates are to plants what White Castle is to Harold and Kumar. That is one of the advantages of having aquatic plants in your aquarium. They remove some of the nitrates from the water keeping the total concentration at a lower level. For myself I keep only a few plants in the tank because as anyone reading this knows taking care of plants requires light which in a controlled environment also requires electricity which isn't cheap.
Most would gladly supply the light to a plant that provided a little more value. Just because said plant is terrestrial doesn't mean it can't benefit from the goings on in the fish tank. Especially if a system was setup to transfer the nutrient rich water to the plant. Specifically a system that transferred the solution directly to the plant's exposed roots. You know, aeroponics?
So think of it this way. When you make a nutrient solution with a popular hydroponic fertilizer for an aeroponic setup you are simply skipping all the steps I talked about previously and starting with the end product of the nitrogen cycle. When you turn the lights on you are compensating for the lack of light in a closed system. When you add water you are compensating for the lack of rain in a closed system.
For legal reasons it makes sense to grow certain plants in closed environments. We have to pay for the energy required to produce the electricity that produces the needed light unless of course we have some other way of capturing the sun's energy like solar panels which aren't always practical. We have easy access to water which we also pay for but for the most part take for granted which leaves us just needing to provide food for our beloveds. Here's the issue though. When you buy fertilizers you aren't just paying for the fertilizer. You are paying for salaries, marketing, packaging, distribution, and if you buy the good stuff you are probably paying shipping as well. There is a cheaper alternative.
Consider the nitrifying bactera I describe as the guy on the side of the road that “will work for food.” They're not lying either. If you provide them a place to live and feed them regularly they will give you X fertilizer in return. I know this because I have to change the water in my fish tank every week to keep the nitrate concentration below 20ppm. This means it would be higher if my plants weren't enjoying some of it and also if the bacteria had more food to eat. The limiting factors being that the fish can't tolerate any higher concentrations of ammonia and the plants can't eat fast enough to control the levels of nitrate. If I didn't intervene the nitrates would eventually kill the fish and in combination with light would promote an algae bloom which all aquaculturists understand causes serious problems for your target species.
What we have now is a self contained 100% organic Aquafarm capable of satisfying the non-commercial needs of those looking for increased mental awareness. We have eliminating many of the ties to our mass produced capitalistic society. A society that for better or worse occupies a majority of our life on this planet. A society which also drove us here to seek this oasis of naturalness in the first place.
Enjoy.
- The science, art, and business of cultivating marine or freshwater food fish or shellfish, such as oysters, clams, salmon, and trout, under controlled conditions
- Hydroponics.
One being that it is not always for business. Two being that hydroponics is stuck in there. Three being that hydroponics is stuck in there without an explanation of how it's related. I'm taking it a step further and making that connection with the hope that it betters someones life.
Being an aquarist. I'm very interested and concerned with the state of the "nitrogen cycle" within my fish tank. If you aren't familiar with this terminology basically the biggest enemy an aquarist has is the accumulated level of NH3 and NH4 more commonly referred to as ammonia and ammonium respectively. Ammonia accumulates when a fish eats and then excretes waste and in such a small body of water it can reach toxic levels relatively quickly. Depending on how much the fish are fed and without intervention by a third party toxic levels can conceivably be reached in a few days.
An aquarist really has two options. Either they can change the water on a frequent basis or find something to remove the NH3/NH4. We simply need to look at the fish's natural habitat for a solution. In the wild there is a certain kind of bacteria that views NH3/NH4 as we view [insert favorite food here]. They devour this tasty treat and you're left with nitrites or NO2. For illustrative purposes we'll call the bacteria's best buddy's vegetarians because they don't eat meat or in this case NH3/NH4. They actually prefer the NO2. After watching Happy Face for the 73rd time they scarf down a bag of NO2 and happily leave behind NO3 or Nitrates. Now that we get to this point we're faced with one last problem. What to do with the NO3.
The aquarist once again has two options. Either change the water or find something to get rid of the Nitrates. Luckily of all the N's nitrates can exist in the largest concentration with out adverse effects on the fish. Most aquarists will take advantage of this and use the couple weeks it takes for the NO3 levels to build up to enjoy life and eventually change the water removing the excess NO3 and completing the nitrogen cycle as far as the tank is concerned.
You may be wondering the “au naturel” method for the removal of nitrates. Well that is why I decided to post here. Nitrates are to plants what White Castle is to Harold and Kumar. That is one of the advantages of having aquatic plants in your aquarium. They remove some of the nitrates from the water keeping the total concentration at a lower level. For myself I keep only a few plants in the tank because as anyone reading this knows taking care of plants requires light which in a controlled environment also requires electricity which isn't cheap.
Most would gladly supply the light to a plant that provided a little more value. Just because said plant is terrestrial doesn't mean it can't benefit from the goings on in the fish tank. Especially if a system was setup to transfer the nutrient rich water to the plant. Specifically a system that transferred the solution directly to the plant's exposed roots. You know, aeroponics?
So think of it this way. When you make a nutrient solution with a popular hydroponic fertilizer for an aeroponic setup you are simply skipping all the steps I talked about previously and starting with the end product of the nitrogen cycle. When you turn the lights on you are compensating for the lack of light in a closed system. When you add water you are compensating for the lack of rain in a closed system.
For legal reasons it makes sense to grow certain plants in closed environments. We have to pay for the energy required to produce the electricity that produces the needed light unless of course we have some other way of capturing the sun's energy like solar panels which aren't always practical. We have easy access to water which we also pay for but for the most part take for granted which leaves us just needing to provide food for our beloveds. Here's the issue though. When you buy fertilizers you aren't just paying for the fertilizer. You are paying for salaries, marketing, packaging, distribution, and if you buy the good stuff you are probably paying shipping as well. There is a cheaper alternative.
Consider the nitrifying bactera I describe as the guy on the side of the road that “will work for food.” They're not lying either. If you provide them a place to live and feed them regularly they will give you X fertilizer in return. I know this because I have to change the water in my fish tank every week to keep the nitrate concentration below 20ppm. This means it would be higher if my plants weren't enjoying some of it and also if the bacteria had more food to eat. The limiting factors being that the fish can't tolerate any higher concentrations of ammonia and the plants can't eat fast enough to control the levels of nitrate. If I didn't intervene the nitrates would eventually kill the fish and in combination with light would promote an algae bloom which all aquaculturists understand causes serious problems for your target species.
What we have now is a self contained 100% organic Aquafarm capable of satisfying the non-commercial needs of those looking for increased mental awareness. We have eliminating many of the ties to our mass produced capitalistic society. A society that for better or worse occupies a majority of our life on this planet. A society which also drove us here to seek this oasis of naturalness in the first place.
Enjoy.