Hydroponics Nutrients
The nutrient the plants need in a hydroponic system are carried to then via the water the are housed in. The source of the nutrients in the water can come from many different sources.
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The nutrient sources can include.
Commercial produced nutrient, which can be mixed into the water source as per the manufactures instructions
Chemical fertilisers, can also be used.
On the more natural and sustainable side systems can be set up so that fish can be kept in the system and the excrement they emit can be used as the source of nutrient. This has a two fold benefit if you keep the type of fish that can be eaten. You then have two sources of food.
Using fish as a source of nutrient is very much like keeping fish in a pond or aquarium. The trick is to keep the amonia cycle under control. In fish keeping this is important to keep you fish healthy and part of the cycle is the use of plants to reduce nitrogen.
What is the amonia cycle. The first stage of the cycle is when fish create amonia via respiration and fish waste. The next stage is where beneficial bacteria convert the amonia into nitrite. The next stage is when another type of bacteria converts the nitrite into nitrate.
The important thing for the fish in this cycle is to keep the amonia, nitrite and nitrate levels low to keep the fish health. The chemicals mentioned are less dangerous to fish as the amonia cycle progresses. Amonia is deadly to fish in small quantities, nitrite is less harmful and nitrate isnt harmful unless in large quantaties.
What has this got to d with hydroponics? Well in fish keeping plants are used to keep the nitrate levels down, and nitrates are the things we need to feed our plants in hydroponics. So if we turn the system on its head and concentrate on producing the nitrates with healthy fish, we will have a balanced system.
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