Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

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Lettuce harvesting? I just snip the leaves off when my salad bowl runs empty, spose it depends on size vice time frame as we all have different setup in reguards to lighting.
Do you plan on harvesting the whole plant?

not sure, i have more than one lettuce per cup so prolly just take a lil at a time but we will see what works,

Love your grow pipe, maybe Ill give something like that a go, looks great for a portable grow bed.

so i have been adding greensand to my system to make up for k deficency but i have read that greensand or the minerals in it arn't water soluble, i know some people use it here but i believe they don't use ntf and have regular grow beds, so i am wondering if just adding it to my tank or to the filter is even doing nething, would i be better off putting it in the tube so the roots can touch it?

The greensand certainly doesn't instantly dissolve like sugar would, but I think it breaks down over time. If it weren't water soluable, it wouldn't be of any use as a nutrient for plants, whether in the beds, the tank or the dirt garden.

While I do put greensand into my growbeds, I am not working it into the gravel. I just drop a handful into the standpipe. Before I dropped it in, I had signs of iron deficiency. Now I don't. I know that's not scientific proof, but it's working for me.

Maybe you should run some experiments! Grow some seeds using inert media and 1) distilled water, 2) distilled water + greensand, 3) distilled water + greensand and aged for a month, 4) fish water.

C'mon, take one for the team and try it!

ok up dated picture of my system

What the! You need to get the salad bowl out and start eating. Impressive. How about giving up the build specs of your pipe?
Think your going to be needing some serious thinning there eat up and enjoy.

the pipe is just a 4" pvc with 3" holes cut in them, each peice is about 5ft long. i was talking with my girlfriend about growing fish to eat and she said she dosn't eat farm raised fish, is eating fish out of my system the same as farm raised?

Rblaster, yes and no. They're obviously not 'wild-caught', but calling what we do 'farm-raising' is stretching it. I guess I'd try to understand what her issue is with farm-raised fish. If she's concerned about the environmental impact of effluent pollution that some of the farms generate, then you're golden. We use the effluent rather than discharging it. If she doesn't like having fish in cages, then you have a problem.

Great lettuce!

I'm sure your girlfriend will be OK with ones you raise, because she can see that they are treated well and have a nice home. The objection is probably from the pollution or overcrowding angle.

ok i will question her about the issue. the lettuce is ausome i been picking off a lill here and a lil there, i am going to plant a bunch of herbs soon

RB, These are regular fluorescent tubes? I wasn't expecting your growth to be much on the fluorescents - makes me think I should hook mine back up!

yea i have 4 38 watt t8 bulbs they are the "cool blue" i think, this room gets good light there is a large window across from the system, but i let the lights stay on 24 hrs a day and usually they are lowered right on top of the plants maby 1/2" away

lettuce