Man o man! My wicking/aquaponic project is not turning out the way I planned. My plants are still not thriving and there are so many variables as to why. Lets first start with the pH of the tanks. Fish naturally like water with a more alkaline pH where plants naturally thrive in more acidic pH environments. So when I checked the pH of both tanks I got readings from 5.65-6.0 which is kind of worrisome for my fish that occupy them. From what I have read Golfish can survive in water the pH's ranging from 6-8, but since my readings are below 6 I need to figure out a solution quick. The low pH reading could be caused by too much ammonia and not enough bacteria to break down the nitrite (that comes from ammonia) into nitrate (the ideal plant food). Lack of bacteria could possibly be contributed to lack of surface area. In a traditional aquaponic system there is usually a large reservoir full of clay ball media that is continuously drained and refilled from the fish tank below which offers bacteria more space to grow and reproduce. My system offers very little and compact surface area so bacteria either immediately dies once its established or does not grow at all. Another variable is the day light. The plants were only getting 10-12 hrs of light - not enough, so I increased it to 16hrs/day. I also uprooted on of my wheat grass pods to check where the roots were because I noticed that none of them have penetrated through to planter pod like they should have by now. The roots were strong, long, and healthy, so I can only guess that they were possibly blocked by the clay media. Needless to say I have some work to do next week and hopefully achieve systems that function properly and produce some decent herbs before semesters end. Here are some pics:
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| Wheat grass roots - they look yummy:) |
I hope everyone is succeeding in their projects as the semester closes in.
Peace,
Jenni
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