Microbiology

Although it is a rather lengthy subject, I should mention a bit about water microbiology. In any given natural body of water a very complex ecosystem of bacteria and fungi play a vital role in the overall success and health of the complete system. This can be confusing to anyone who has never studied the subject. A very simple example of an unbalanced system would be any stagnant, over heated and under-oxygenated body of water. In an unbalanced system anaerobic bacteria, considered "bad bacteria", are abundant and because anaerobic bacteria require little or no oxygen they have no competition from aerobic bacteria (good bacteria) which require lots of oxygen. In an unbalanced system pH is never at a constant or desirable level due to waste byproducts of anaerobic bacteria that, by nature, cause very unstable pH levels. In a healthy system all of the components are balanced, oxygen is plentiful, temperature is kept at a reasonable level never exceeding levels required to support life, and nutrients are available in the right amount. In a healthy, balanced system aerobic bacteria out-compete anaerobic bacteria, keeping them in check. In your hydroponic system, which is, by nature, a bad combination of everything needed for bacteria and fungus to proliferate, you have to consider having no bacteria as an impossibility. A completely sterile environment would be perfect, but in reality this simply will never happen.

Adding an extra supply of oxygen to any hydroponic system nutrient solution is never a bad idea except for the extra electricity use and possible added noise. A small aquarium air pump and aeration stone can easily be incorporated into almost any reservoir. Another consideration is to add an extra growing media to your system. While all surfaces of your system, over time, will be covered with all sorts of bacteria, having extra space for them is never a bad thing. This can be anything from a layer of small rocks at the bottom to a net bag of perlite. An added bonus being that you will always have a supply of beneficial bacteria that can be used as a “starter culture” to be added to new systems which will greatly reduce the time it will take for a new system to naturally develop its own system of beneficial bacteria.