Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

+1

I was simply saying that since he has a new system with a fairly high PH, he will probably need to dose. Since he is doing, he should be moderate and check effects as he goes rather than one larger monthly dose, at least at first.

Definitely agree with the "dose then test/observe" practice Hydro...

Thanks Folks! As always, your insights are greatly appreciated!

a digi ph meter will help out alot.

but you shouldnt be adding alot, not enuff to make any difference.
but always test and see.

-df

After reading people's posts about Google Sketchup and seeing the results, I thought I should probably try it out! Here are two 2D stills of my current system. Can't wait to start designing a larger system to go into a yet to be determined space.





What a cool and easy to use program with great visual results!

df- I actually just looked online tonight to see if such a thing as a digi PH reader existed. Funny you should bring it up as well. Can you recommend a good one? The one I found was rather pricey ($90)... is that about the average price?

Nice sketchup work. Did you download objects or make everything from scratch?

hydro- I made everything from scratch. To be quite honest I didn't know you could download objects until after I finished. It was good practice and not all that difficult!

I was impressed that you bothered with edges on the aquarium, handles on the fishtank, other details like that. It really is a fun program, isn't it.

I had a blast making it. It really is impressive to mess around with it and see exactly how much detail you can do with relatively little effort. I look forward to experimenting with it more!

Have been out of town this week again for work but before I left I put in some spinach that I bought from a nursery, just as an experiment. My plants I started from seed are not growing as fast as I think they should, and I wanted to see how an established plant did in comparison. My stunted plant growth, I think, has to do with either my cheep "grow lights" or the fact that until last weekend I only had 2 fish in the FT and thus not a lot of nutrients were being produced. Anyway, here are some photos of my new spinach.





My girlfriend stopped by my place to see how the system was doing and she reported that ALL of my fish were alive and well (Dank Fish looks like the gravel is OK!) and that my plants looked good as well. That makes me happy, I don't like not being there to check EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME.... a bit obsessive... also I spend WAY to much time on this website...

Returned home after a week of work to good and bad things... First all of my fish are still alive! That's good.

Now not so great: The spinach I planted before I left are looking wilty and have turned yellow. I added some Chelated Iron before I left to try and counter that.



second, NONE of my plants have really gotten past the sprouting stage, and its been over a month since they sprouted and almost 2.5 weeks since my system cycled. They grow, but in minuscule amounts. My basil hasn't grown since they sprouted, my lettuce hasn't grown in a couple of weeks, and my tom's are barely growing. The arugula is growing but slowly and one of the plants looks like its getting infected, see second photo down. All in all, you can look at photos of my plants from weeks ago, and they don't look much different.





In my last post about adding Chelated iron I reported that the potash in the iron i got did not raise PH. Well I checked today and my PH is up to 8.2...other readings Nitrites: 0, Nitrates: 0, Ammonia: 0.

Ok, so probably will have to find another Iron source... The plant growth issue, due to lack of food? I feed my fish twice a day and currently have 15 small (3-5cm long) goldies for ~25 gallons. My grow lights may be an issue? 2 x 2 bulb 4' T12 lights on 12 hrs off 12 hrs. Not enough of the right type of light? And how about the odd looking arugula leaves?

Any insights from all of you who are way more knowledgeable than myself would be greatly appreciated... getting a little frustrated with my plants. Pretty happy with my fish on the other hand...

you have the right lights, but 12/12 might be your issue, i keep mine on 24 hours, and get great growth(same light you got), you can try 18/6 if you want to have some dark.

But a 12/12 light cycle is for flowering plants, wile in flowering. IE: toms grow as big as they can get, untill the "photo period" is changed to 12 hours or less of light. then they start flowering and budding.

the arugla problem doesnt look like any desiese or fungi, it could me over watering, but more them likely it is your 12/12 photo period.

change it, and it will grow.
your readings sound a little wierd, you should have nitrites if your plants arnt using them, unless they are, then its normal.

and dont worry about the basil, ive never had any luck with that stuff. i dont think basil like to much pH up and downs, but i dont know?

nice to know that the gravel works

the yellowing on the spienich is lack of N, should cure itself as it goes along.


no such thing

nice work, change the photo period, and let us know if that was the ticket

-df

i have a Hanna, there the good ones, they make so many tho, but here is the one i have, i love it, works great, stays calibrated for a long time.
cgi.ebay.com/HANNA-HI-98103-Digital-pH-Meter-Tester-Checker-1-NEW_W0QQitemZ230421598444QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a63290ec

or type in PH meter in ebay, find what you want, these are realy good tho. well worth it!!
um and ebay might be your best bet, unless you have a hydro store near?

-df

df-

Thanks for getting back to me so quick. I upped the lights to run from 6:30 AM till 10 PM, not quite optimal from what you say, but the system is practically in my bedroom and it's nice to have it dark while I sleep. When I am out of town I will switch it to 24 hrs on. Hopefully this works!

I added 2 more goldfish I had in another tank in an effort to raise Nitrate levels, so I know that my plants are getting all the food that they want.

Now its a waiting game...

I checked out the digi ph probe you suggested and I'll probably buy it here soon.

Will keep you updated on how the new light regiment works. Hopefully I see some improvement in growth!