Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So this may be a stupid question, but is the product "Neptune's Harvest Organic Liquid Seaweed" the same thing as Seasol in AU? If so, is there a good ratio for how much you should be putting into a system based on size?

Probably... haven't looked it up....

Alternatively... try Maxicrop... you can even get Maxicrop +Iron....

I posted a link a while back...

Here you go.... links included within post... you can get a 6 pack "crate" for about $20US...

viewtopic.php?p=228061#p228061

isnt maxicrop a hydro nute all in its self? it wont hurt the fish, cool!

The only ingredient in the Liquid seaweed, is seaweed, so I would think it is OK for the fish.

This is what is says about it on their web page:

"Neptune's Harvest Seaweed Plant Food is an organic storehouse of over 60 naturally occurring major and minor nutrients and amino acids. It's growth promoting substances (Auxims, Cytokinins, Gibberellins) enhance plant development, color and vigor. Seaweed has also been found to increase plant hardiness and resistance to adverse environmental conditions, such as early frost, extreme heat and lack of moisture. Used as a seed inoculant, seaweed fertilizer increases and accelerates germination, and enhances the rapid development of a healthy root system. Seaweed is an excellent addition to any fertilization program."

Maxicrop is great.

Rupe, I think its 20 bucks per gallon and its telling you how many in a case in case you wanted to buy a case at 120 a case. otherwise that the deal of the century!!

Just returned from 4 days away from home to find 2 dead fish, and one dying. Isolated the sick one in another tank and added salt. Did a water test PH 8.2, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates ~5. This is the first time I have seen Nitrates in my system.

Plant growth is still weak. Took out a bunch of the weaker looking plants in hopes to leave more Nitrates for the healthier looking plants. Could my weak plant growth be due to high PH? I took out the couple of shells I had in the tank in hopes to bring that PH down a bit. My cilantro and arugula are still getting gray leaves (see photo from earlier post). Still trying to figure out what is causing this...

I'm thinking I am going to star over with different medium here soon if things don't start showing improvement. Anyone messed around with perlite?

Warning dont use perlite it will block up everything
Perlite coco coi mix is for dope growers

Perlite is for dopey growers.. full stop... biggest pain in the a@#e ever....

Sorry to hear about your fish.

It could be high PH that is causing some plant problems due to lockup of nutrients. Shells will not help drop PH, just prevent it from dropping too low. I would take them out until you get down below 7.0.

Haha that made me laugh out loud! Thanks Food&Fish! I had this idea of using aerolite for a growbed that I wanted to place above a 30 gallon fish tank until I used the aerolite in a seed starter. The advertisements on the websites don't mention the bits and dust like particles that form when it gets crushed. I think it is terrible stuff for anything but making your soil lighter. Even getting it off your hand without washing them is annoying and if you get some on the floor and step on it... lol better have a hose or vacuum on hand to clean the floor since it's so light that it just moves around and gets annoying trying to use a broom...

Lucky I didnt buy Perlite then, I was looking at it just the other day.
Tookairr, I would definetly be trying to reduce your pH, It's a bit high for ornamental fish like goldfish and definetly too high for a Pleco, Great for a African Rift Lake Cichlid though .
Most of my setups generaly include Drift Wood which will help to bring the pH down, dont worry about the Tannin, it wont hurt anything.
Are you running a Biological filter seperate to the grow bed?

BD: Drift wood, ehh? Never heard of doing that, but hey, it's worth a try! What about the drift wood brings down the PH?

The only filter I have is the GB right now.

Today, I am thinking I am going to put a "T" in my hose from the pump and run another line back to the bottom of the FT in an attempt to stir up some of the solids which have settled on the other end of the tank from the pump.

The Tannin released from Drift wood can also be refered to as Tannic Acid which can have the affect of lowering pH. As I stated before this wont hurt anything.....Unless you have it in Major Concentrations, which you wont be able to achieve unless you have a tonne of wood, especially rotting in stagnant water.
Most Fish kept in Amazon Setups in Aquaria like Discus and Angels benifit from the addition of wood as it can soften the water.
Adding a piece of Drift wood to your setup is not going to have a major effect on you pH innitially but can help over time.
Most people dont like to use it as it will discolour the water, a problem that goes away over time with the use of activated carbon and regular water changes.

None of which is necessary.. or recommended in aquaponics...

but perhaps still applicable to an aquarium setup...

why is that rupe?
just wondering