Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Sorry...haven't been online much recently.

Water directly hitting the plants all the time may cause it to rot.

cheers vlt. I also think my salt readings are to high but i cant test at the moment cause my refractometer is being replaced. Capsicum looking good but broccoli still struggling. I'll know more this week, but just letting my system do its thing in the meantime.

yep....

Sounds very similar to my mishap with salt. Cucumbers died, actually pretty much everything but capsicum/chilli died.

When my refractometer arrived I was surprised my salt level was about 5 ppt.

Have added about 1500 litres plus rain to dilute it and the new seedlings are going really well.

I was too heavy handed adding the salt so now I measure everything.

Hey I have just caught up..

If you Think the Salt is 2 high, Dilute it by adding more water.. If you are only running 1/3 full you can afford to add some[Not to much] water to the system..

The Reason you add the salt to the water is to help the fish.. If the salt level is higher it help the fish from NOT absorbing the nitrites..

If the Nitrite are to high, the best way is to just do a Water change.. a 10% change is What I would recommend.. Put the water on the garden..

And Arbe I must say I hate the rain..

I think it added something like 600lt of water to the system, if not more..
I'm not sure of the exact amount..
All I know is the whole system is running near full..

Juergen

I have a rookie question about the rain.

Do most of you have your systems out in the open so when it rains your system absorbs a lot of the water? Doesn't that throw off the balance of your system? Why not put a cover over it?

Transpiration and evaporation will require water top ups anyway....and the rain is free...

Rain water harvesting is very cheap and gives you better control of your water levels.

Assuming you have the room to harvest and store...

Rain isnt a bad thing to get on your system. The issue is when parts of plants are constantly wet when they shouldnt be.