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high nitrates and plants struggling and dying
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Author:  pHughes [ Sep 16th, '13, 16:16 ]
Post subject:  high nitrates and plants struggling and dying
Hey all,

System is about 5 months old. Initially my first round of plants died (general consensus on here was due to too much moisture as it was winter).

So when the weather started getting a little better (its still raining off and on) I planted some new plants. Now they are either dying or just not growing however my fish are doing well and as a result my nitrate levels are now really high between 40 and 80ppm. pH around 7.4, nitrite 0, ammonia almost 0 also.

So my question, what the hell can i do about these plants? I really want my system to work but it seems like all i get is failures, its really frustrating. Could I add some supplements?

Also as the plants are not taking up the nitrates should I stop feeding the fish? I'm worried the fish may die from the high nitrate levels but on the flip side I have to feed them also. So I'm not sure what to do.

the lettuce and baby spinach I have planted is dying, the tomatos are just not growing (these are all transplanted about 3 weeks ago). some basil has started sprouting from some seeds however so maybe there is some hope.

Here are some pictures

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Author:  pHughes [ Sep 16th, '13, 16:26 ]
Post subject:  Re: high nitrates and plants struggling and dying
here are some more pictures

Thanks all!

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Author:  Noddysevens [ Sep 16th, '13, 16:48 ]
Post subject:  Re: high nitrates and plants struggling and dying
I'm far from expert in this area, but I have seen many members using seasol and maxicrop.. have you tried either of these?
Author:  pHughes [ Sep 16th, '13, 16:55 ]
Post subject:  Re: high nitrates and plants struggling and dying
funny you mention that as I was just searching for that info and dosage rates. do you know if seasol can negatively affect the fish?

if not I reckon ill get some tomorrow. another thread said to add worms to the growbed so ill look more into that too.
Author:  RupertofOZ [ Sep 16th, '13, 20:45 ]
Post subject:  Re: high nitrates and plants struggling and dying
Seasol is safe for fish...

Nitrates of 40-80... are not high...

Nitrates of 40-80 wont affect native fish....

Nitrates of 40-80 indicate that you should probably be adding additional grow bed area... and plants... :D
Author:  Charlie [ Sep 16th, '13, 21:22 ]
Post subject:  Re: high nitrates and plants struggling and dying
So you have run your system mostly through winter. Give it a little more time till things warm up and watch it explode.

:smell:
Author:  RupertofOZ [ Sep 16th, '13, 21:23 ]
Post subject:  Re: high nitrates and plants struggling and dying
:headbang:
Author:  pHughes [ Sep 16th, '13, 22:11 ]
Post subject:  Re: high nitrates and plants struggling and dying
Thanks for getting back to me guys! Big relief to find about the nitrates not being too high! :D

As far as seasol dosing rates I found this on another thread: 'Seasol added to the main system water at 30-45ml (2-3 caps) per 1000L weekly'.

Does this dosage sound about right?

Cheers again!
Author:  tcshad [ Oct 13th, '13, 12:15 ]
Post subject:  Re: high nitrates and plants struggling and dying
I use the scientific measurement of "that looks about right" when I tip it in from the bottle...

Haven't done a water test for at least 2 months... Pleants have only just started taking off... doesn't help that we're hitting 26+ during the day and then 0 and -1 or -2 at night.

As others have said once it warms up it'll explode. You'll need to put shade cloth up at some stage
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