Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

More questions (surprise, surprise!) ...

When adding 2 more GBs and a sump to my existing system, is there anything special I need to do in regards to water testing, cycling etc?

I'm planning on filling the sump with tank water, so there shouldn't be too much nasty stuff in there. Should I keep this isolated until PH is right?

How long will it take to get bacteria right in the new GBs? Can I plant in there straight away?

Plant straight away, slowly fill the sump while pumping system water through it Ph shouldnt change a whole heap, bacteria will get there in a couple of weeks. ( I have added nearly 4000 litres of tap water to a 8000 litre system once, no problems - dont reccomend it though )

Maybe lay of the feed for a few days, let the water clear and then go for it.

thought I'd do an update with some photos. Everything seems to be going well, except some slight discolouration in the leaves of the bok choy, and some small issues with some of the older cucumber leaves.

and some more...

last one...

Some good growth there Ryan. Regarding the cucumbers, can you take a closer shot of the leaves to help with diagnosis?

Hi Ryan

System looks great. The cucumbers look like they have a potassium deficiency

"Potassium deficiency causes yellowing and scorching of older leaves. These symptoms begin at the margins of the leaf and spread between the veins towards its centre. Large areas of tissue around the major veins remain green until the disorder is well advanced. A brown scorch develops in the yellow areas and spreads until the leaf is dry and papery. As each leaf dies, others further up the shoot develop the same symptoms."

Have to tasted the Vietnamese mint? Mind is peppery as in AP

LB

Cucumbers Link
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/greenhouse/pest-disease/general/cucumber-nutrition#kd

Thanks LB - that looks lie it to me.

"For crops grown in soilless media, use a nutrient solution containing 150–200 ppm K" - any idea how much K in Seasol?

Haven't tried any mint yet - have to get the wife to make me some pho to test it out.

Ryan - look in the cupboard and see if you have any cream of tartar (if not get some from the supermarket). Put a few teaspoons in your system.

When using this you want your system to be well buffered because it is acidic I think - though I wouldn't think a couple of teaspoons would do much if your system is a reasonable size - as it seems to be.

The seasol info is available in a PDF on their website too

I've now added a sump tank and another 2 GBs up on the deck. These will be used by herbs, and are nice and accessible to the kitchen. The bottom GBs will now be used for veges/fruit.

Had some issues getting all the beds to fill at roughly the same rate, before the 15 timer turned the pump off. All sorted now though.

I have 2 concerns with the CHIFT PIST setup. First, now the pump is in the sump, I'm concerned about the solids not being removed. How do others combat this (if it's an issue)?

Second, I don't have much fall from the end of the drain pipes into the FT. Worried there may not be enough airation. I can't lift the drains up too much higher without raising the growbeds. Whilst this is an option, I'd rather not have to do it as any higher and SWMBO may not be able to reach them prooperly

Otherwise quite happy with the hardware. Now I just need to concentrate on the growing. Still having issues with the cucumbers, despite adding about 3 or 4 good teaspoons of cream of tartar to up the potassium. The iceberg lettuce also seemed to have stopped growing at about half the size you see them for sale, and the foliage is not nearly as dense. I've been adding about 3 caps (30ml) of Seasol each week.

Pics below... with future AP grower modelling

Cucumber growth (despite the potassium problem) pic below. Forgot to mention, only 3 cucumbers appear to be maturing. About a dozen seemed to have stalled at about the 3cm mark.

I'd put an airstone in just to be sure.

A bit more seasol wouldnt hurt either.

I've got an old airpump from a fish tank lying aroudn here. A difficult question to asnwer is how much air do I need to add? i.e. what size pump/stone etc?