Getting Started with your system
Getting Started with your system
1. Building Your System
Once you have all the materials needed for your aquaponics system, you can start building your system based on your specifications and design. Test your system by adding water and ensure there are no leaks and the flow rate works well.
2. System Cycling
Next comes the process of cycling . Cycling is the process of establishing the beneficial bacteria colony in your newly built system or when restarting an old aquaponics system.
The cycling process converts ammonia (fish wastes) into nitrates necessary for the plants to thrive in an aquaponics system.
Cycling can be done in 2 ways :
- Cycling with Fish : ( see our explanatory video )
- Cycling without fish : ( see our explanatory video )
You will know your aquaponics system is fully cycled when you find nitrates in the water and water tests shows that the ammonia and nitrite levels are lower than 0.5 ppm. Also, regular feeding of the fish will not increase the level of ammonia.
Once your system is fully cycled, you can add more fish and plants.
3. Maintenance
Once your new system is fully cycled and running , you need to carry out regular checks and maintenance Maintaining an aquaponics system can be challenging and stressful when you don’t have enough experience and knowledge. So it’s vital to have a clear picture of what is going on in your aquaponics system to know what you can do to maintain the right conditions for your system to work. We have created a checklist for the same .