Andreas Buben

For future aquaponic interns

Stories to make your life easier

Over the course of my internship, I have been challenged with diverse tasks and I have made new things up, which I think are important to be continued. 

 

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Aquaponics - Balancing between the plants. 

First of all you need to understand, that you are very much independent in the greenhouse. The aquaponic is rather a part of ETEN. You provide food and herbs to the restaurant and bar. Plant whatever you want. It's nice to have special things, but don't break your head over it. 

Monitor your seedlings daily. In the incubation chamber the climate gets very warm and dry. The substrate will dry out quickly if not regularly watered.   

 

Pests

A challenge that I have encountered were the pests, that did not want to disappear. You need to regularly check the leaves for insects, especially aphids and mites are hard to control. Don't be afraid to make decisions and orders. For controlling pests use Entocare to purchase biological control agents.

If you want to apply neem oil, you need to be very regular in the application. The fat will only dissolve in warm water, which is why you need to heat up some first, mix the oil/fat with the water and particularly apply the solution upon leaves and stems. 

 

EC measurements

Measuring the EC has become a new task in the aquaponic. EC measures the amount of dissolved salts in the water. with the application of Canal water, the monitoring of the EC is becoming more important. Several sources say that an EC above 6 will have dire consequences for the fish and plants. We measured the EC with an old-fashioned but reliable EC meter. It needs daily calibration. The calibration fluid can be used up quickly. Fill the fluid in a small measuring cup in order to reuse it a few times. It is important though to rinse the EC meter before putting it in the calibration fluid, especially after putting it in the aquaponics or canal water. The salts yet attached to the dipstick will distort the fluid. Use the small screwdriver to turn the left screw on the EC meter to calibrate the device.