Algae in the reservoir: causes and prevention
Algae grows wherever light hits nutrient solution. It swings your pH, depletes overnight oxygen, and clogs drip lines. Light exclusion solves 90% of it.
Freshwater tanks, hydroponics, aquaponics, and off-grid solar to power any of it. Calculators that update as you type, reference that shows its work.
Four topics. Fish tanks, soilless growing, the combination of both, and the solar panels that keep it all running.
Freshwater fishkeeping, planted tanks, and the gear that keeps them alive.
Explore aquariums →Soilless growing for food crops. EC, nutrients, lighting, the works.
Explore hydroponics →Where fish feed plants and plants clean water. The whole reason this site exists.
Explore aquaponics →Off-grid power sizing for pumps, lights, heaters, and the rest of a homestead setup.
Explore solar →Browser-side calculators. No sign-in, no submit button, results stay local to your machine.
Long-form explainers and reference reading.
Algae grows wherever light hits nutrient solution. It swings your pH, depletes overnight oxygen, and clogs drip lines. Light exclusion solves 90% of it.
Angelfish are cichlids. Neon tetras fit in their mouths. The only question is when, not if. How predation thresholds work and which tankmates survive.
A 200-liter community tank costs $150-250 per year to run after the initial setup. Electricity is the biggest line item. Here's the full breakdown by tank size.
Daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal tasks in one reference. Print it, stick it on the wall next to the system, and check things off.
Feed, electricity, water, and supplements by system size. What a small backyard system actually costs per month, with numbers instead of vague estimates.
Aquaculture licenses, food safety rules, and species restrictions vary by state. Eating your own fish is different from selling them. What to check before building.