Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I think seasol and maxicrop are only local to you ?

Yes, you can foliar feed.

Seasol is Aussie, Maxicrop is U.S. product and comes in a +Iron version, I'd use that one.

Man I am so glad I jumped on this forum you have been so much help to me I appreciate all the knowledge that you have forgiven !!! I don't know what I woulda done with out you !!! Thank you so very much !

So I have a very small system it is about 28 gallons all together grow bed and tank ! And I was wondering at what rate I should add the maxicrop to it and as how often should I add it ! Also what is a good way to get calcium to my plants they are definitely showing a deficiency !!! My what is at a ph of about 7.9 and my ammonia is at .25ppm and my nitrites are at 0ppm and my nitarate is at about 20ppm .

I'm also starting to get a little algae grow as well ?

Since we are not to far from sea and not sure of salt we are using, will it be good to add sea water instead. there is a good chance that i will run into this problem too. Whats the system volume? I presume its the volume of water.

thanks

oh and what exactly is cycling?

It's about 28 gallons and un iodized salt for what exactly ? And I mean cycling as in it's a new system an I think it's ending the cycling process. I have seen nitrite raise and lower and turn into nitrate witch is coming down to a better level then 160 ppm . It's down to about 20ppm now . And I think cycling is when you have a new aquaponics system and you are trying to create bacteria nitrite and nitrate in the system by using the fish and grow beds (plants) together to do so ! Ammonia to nitrite - nitrite to nitrate . I think lol

Calculating the dilution ratio to achieve the correct salt level using sea water would be a mammoth task. Much easier to use plain sea salt (ie: sold as pool salt in 20kg bags etc), not cooking salt, and simply add 1gm per litre of water in the system.

Yes, in this instance "system volume" refers to the total volume of water in the system.

As Rhyno alluded to, Cycling is the process of establishing a beneficial bacteria colony in the system to a point where that colony can safely sustain a fish population by converting all the Ammonia they are giving off into Nitrite, and then into Nitrate, which the plants then absorb and remove from the water.

The Chloride in the salt reduces the amount of Nitrite that can cross the fishes gill membrane into their blood stream, therefore reducing the harmful effects to your fish of elevated Nitrite levels in your water... but it can only do so much, see below.

Mr danger ??? Can you answer these questions my mentor !!!?

I usually recommend 1x capful per 500L of water, per week, as a maintenance level if just growing leaving greens, and 2x capfuls per 500L, per week if there are fruiting plants...

In saying that, I was working on the caps I'd seen on standard Maxicrop sold here in Oz, and a few years ago, which held around 20ml. I've recently realised the cap sizes on Maxicrop products vary greatly, depending on which country you are in and which Maxicrop product you are using, so it's probably better we start talking in ml/Ltr.

For standard Maxicrop, or Maxicrop with Iron, as a maintenance dosage I would suggest 1ml/25L of water per week for leafy greens, or 1ml/12.5L per week if there are fruiting plants. You could easily double that dosage if your were trying too rectify an existing deficiency issue, just be careful, as Maxicrop does contain a reasonable amount of Ammonia.

Most cheap, readily available Calcium additives will increase the water pH, so with your pH being so high you need and alternative. I would look at getting a liquid CalMag additive from a hydroponic store and using it as a foliar on a weekly basis.