Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Looking good!

0,0,0 can be fine (we certainly like to have the first two numbers be zeros) or your plants can slow down due to being on a diet (the nitrate zero). Go ahead and feed as much as your fish will eat, keep an eye on those numbers while fiddling with feed rates, and have fun! Keep an eye on the plants: if nitrates stay on zero and they show signs of suffering you may want to feed them or eat some.

Yeah, I've already began to harvest, but still no rates reading and the plants leaves are not quite the same green as a couple of week ago. even up the feed to the fish and yabbies, also i pulled some baby spinach out.

my PH has hit 8.0 can anybody suggest how to buffer it??


regards
Matt

Buffers only really work to keep pH up from dropping too low. I don't know of any good buffers to acidify water. Perhaps add some more iron if you haven't lately as I've noticed my system pH will often drop a bit for the week after I supplement Iron. This can help the color of the leaves if you are noticing yellow leaves with green veins. High pH can tend to lock out Iron hence the need for extra supplementation.

Some people use the juice of a lemon to help bring pH down but if something in your media is buffering it up, it might not have much effect.

"Diggers" Hydrochloric Acid...from Bunnings... or pool acid...

Use sparingly... and test a couple of hours later before adding any more...

Hi guys,
been a month or so since i've up dated, I am very busy due to summer and having refrigeration and air conditioning as a job. But ive been keeping up with the testing and recording data in regards to my system.
Last i asked if there was any thing that could lower my Ph. thanks for your responses.
I tried some more chelted iron which always helps with the yellowish leaves but i monitored it for a week after woods but ph remained up at 7.8 - 8.0.
Noticing that I was getting Zero reading across the board for the last week or so i figured that i need more ammonia or fish.
I went away for a week and asked my wife to feed the fish, (she feed them twice). Noticing that the plants were showing signs of stress, I up the food to the fish and every second to third day I added some Humamonnia.
over the next 2 weeks I monitored and kept the levels of nitrate between 20-40, and guess what? my PH is down to 7.0.
I've since read that unused nitrate can have an acid effect on the system.
So far this has been the case i think?
so i hadn't had to add any buffering or what ever to the system and my PH has dropped.
Anyhow I did manage to get the the Melbourne BYAP BBQ and meet like minded people, I enjoyed my time there. Thanks Kuda.

anyhow here is a photo of how things are going around the 11th week.

Regards,
Matt

Looking OK there Matty.... the change in pH should have improved your nutrient trace element uptake....

just keep an eye on your pH... now that the nitrification has kicked in... it could move toward 6.0 easily and quickly.... perhaps the addition of some shellgrit might be due... which would keep things around the 7.0-7.2 mark...

Thanks Rupe for the heads up. I'll keep an eye on it.

Everything seems to be ok at the moment and I'm able to harvest everything grown in the system except the strawberries??
they seem to be a little deformed and not very big, but when they do grow they taste good.

any suggestions??

Regards

matt

The strawberries are probably a reflection of nutrient lockout Matty.... let us know what the next batch are like...

Rupe!
You were right!
Today I measured my ph again and it nose dived to 6.4.
Where do you get shell grit from? (bar the obvious The beach)
is there any other material or product you can use to buffer the ph from going down?


regards
Matt

"Slaked" or "hydrated" lime (same thing)... Calcium Hydroxide... is readily available and cheap... strong, use sparingly and test before adding again...

Potassium BiCarbonate is a great option, especially if your plants are flowering/fruiting... as it adds an essential potassium boost as well as buffering pH...

Bunnings stocks it as "EcoRose".... not cheap, but very effective...

The shellgrit (Calcium Carbonate) is more a slow release buffering agent... and you probably need to buffer back a bit and then add the shellgrit to hold it...

Having said that... I prefer pH 6.4-6.8 for nutrient uptake and plant growth... so I'd be tempted to maybe grab some EcoRose for minor adjustments...

thanks Rupe,


I have some garden lime, is that the same stuff??
I dont mind that ph @ 6.4 but from what I've read i dont want it much lower...
and currently my PH is in free fall...

regards
Matt

Garden Lime is Calcium Carbonate... as is shellgrit... not as strong a buffer as the others...

If wahat you have is "Dolomite"... then you have Calcium Magnesium Carbonate...

Either way... a handful... 100gm per 1000L should be enough at any one time...

Thanks for the advise Rupe,
today my PH has seem to steady at 6.6 with out me adding anything,
I'll keep an eye on it.

another thing i have notice is the awesome growth rate at which my veggies grow compared to my dig garden right beside it.
3 lettuces has been keeping my little family going for 3-4 weeks. The broccoli in the dig garden hasn't even formed a head yet but in the AP system is 1 week from harvesting.
Also noticed that there is not as much leaf vegetation on my cheery tomatoes compared to my dig garden (plenty of tomatoes)


Matt

this is a photos of the Dig garden broccoli compared to the AP broccoli

Regards

matt

nice one! what type of broccoli is it? looks great