Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Here are some pics of some plants I've got in my AP system. They don't look quite right and was wondering if you guys could help me to troubleshoot whats happening with them. The bed is currently connected to a bathtub with about 16 goldfish in it and has been cycling for the better part of a year. Currently I'm growing cilantro, radishes, Russian red kale and I just put in some nasturtiums. I attribute their legginess and smallness to the location of the beds... there just isn't enough light where they are. What I'm wondering about is the yellow leaves on the cilantro and radishes... are they not getting enough nutrients? Whats going on? Thanks!

The rest of the pictures:

What do your water test results say?

My first glance at the pictures says you need iron, have you added any iron? But when I had high pH and low iron, my nasturtium had almost white leaves with green veins but they were normal shape leaves, yours look green enough but odd shape?

What is your system pH?
Have you added any Iron?
Have you added any Seasol?
What about Salt?

I'm not sure of the pH and I haven't added anything. I will post the results of a water test tomorrow when I take one. I think the nasturtium's leaves are that shape because they are the first two leaves since germination. All the other plants stayed pretty green and healthy for a while then they started doing the weird yellowing they are exhibiting.

The stuff with the yellow leaves and the green veins is generally a sign of Iron deficiency or Iron lock out due to high pH. chelated iron is often needed in the early days of an AP system if the source water is not high enough in Iron.

My system has a high pH due to my well water and the fact that the grow beds are filled with shells. I have to add Iron regularly when ever I see new leaves showing that yellow with green veins. After adding Iron the leaves already that way won't recover but the new growth should come in nice and green.

What supplements can I use to add iron?

I had a similar issue with my raddishes.
I added some seasol, and increased the feed.
whilst the leaves did not go green again, no new leaves showed a deficiency.
As I used seasol and extra feed as a cureall, I'm not sure what exactly the problem was, only that it is now fixed.

Is seasol available in the states? If so where should I go to buy?

Don't think Seasol is available in the US.... look for Maxicrop instead....

Here is my water info as best as I can tell, I don't have much practice so it might not be perfect but it is damn close:
pH: ~7.8
Nitrate: ~.50ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm

How much and how often should I add Maxicrop/Seasol? My FT is about 65-70 gallons.

Are there any other supplements I should grab while I'm at the store? Something for iron perhaps? What is the benefit of adding salt?

So I added 1/3 cup of Maxicrop... now I just have to wait and see how they respond.