Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Yep you will want a filter for your fish while you are waiting. Just need some patience now

I think my system is all over the place (any comments are more than welcome about these numbers and what to do. I realize that it might just end up being "sit and wait"... and that is fine as long as I am heading in the right direction with it all)
I have a tomato plant, a mint plant, tiny (tiny tiny) basil starts, and a cutting from an ivy in the GB at this time.
Here are the new numbers:
pH 7.6
Ammonia somewhere between 1.0 ppm and 2.0 ppm (can't tell with the slight color difference in chart)
Nitrite 2.0 ppm - 5.0 ppm (again color is so slight on chart)
Nitrate between 5.0 ppm

The fish are in their own tank with a regular fish tank filter (separate from my ap system) I have not tested their ammonia levels yet because I just got the fish tank filter on it and will wait a little and let it do its thing first.

Di,

Given your first high range ph reading was 7.8, use the high range kit. You only have to test with both if you hit the highest rating on the low range kit, or the lowest rating on the high range kit.

Also,

If your amm is indeed down slightly (hard to tell) and your nitrites up significantly, then I'd say your are heading in the right direction.

The amm probably has come down given the nitrites went up so much, but just wait it out a bit more to confirm.....the colour charts annoy me too, especially at the low numbers (arguably the most important).

thank you... I hope I am, indeed, heading in the right direction.
Hate being new to this but we all are with the first steps huh? ~smiles~
Appreciate the feedback.. it helps.

That's okay...you can help me with my plant probe when they come up lol.

With these new numbers... should I add my worms to the GB or wait? I don't know if the ammonia levels will kill the worms or not of if they will help with the transition. I have approx 90 of them (I don't want them to starve either....)

DrLuke...plant probe?? Sounds alien hehe.

What I decided to try is to put a tube of PVC around the mint to contain the roots better and to keep it from going nuts on me... I can still get to them to trim them if I need to but hopefully it will stay a bit more contained this way. (it is still as far away from plumbing as I can get it) The PVC goes all the way to the bottom with a small gap so that the water can circulate.

Lol. I meant prob=problems. Not probe

Your water level in the growbed looks a bit high...or is that just the glint...either way, if the top layer of media is that wet it's probably to high.

It is a tad high... I have lava rock at the bottom and decided it was way too rough on my hands so ordered (2) 50 liter bags of hydroton and it was not quite enough to get the level I wanted... so to keep me from having to cut my stand pipe, I ordered another bag of hydroton and will add it when it arrives. (I needed some extra anyway so I thought that would be the best) Some (and just some not all) of what you see is wet lava rock peeking through as well but you are right... the correct levels between water and media is not quite there yet.

pH 8.0
ammonia 1.0 - 2.0 (closer to the 1.0)
nitrites 5.0
nitrates 5.0

You'll want to get ur amm down to at least 0.25 with that Ph. Keep hanging in there.

I still don't know how to bring it down... should I take out about 20 gallons (or more) and replace it with distilled water from the store? Other than that I really don't know what else to do. I added ammonia remover and that did not do anything to it.