Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Aphids suck in every way. I can not count the quantity of lady bugs we've added to our greenhouse this Summer. They seem to eat all the aphids, leave somehow and the aphids start back in. Aphids are currently munching the flowers of our peppers I kept hoping the some of the thousands of lady bugs we've released here would have reproduced, alas no. When I'm working on the nearby ridges and slightly higher elevations from our house 7450 feet above sea level (2270.76 meters) I see lady bugs by the thousands. Growing plants for food is a rough row to hoe.

Last week I added 4tbsp Epsom salts, 1 tbsp iron chelate and a splash of power feed.

Today's water test results:

Ammonia = 0.25ppm
Nitrites = 0ppm
Nitrates = 0ppm

Ph = 7.6

Ladybugs tend to converge on high points at certain times of the year - usually summer, I assume for mating purposes. We used to get thousands of them at Siding Spring Observatory, on top of a mountain a couple of hundred km west of here where I used to work, they'd get into every nook and cranny, and completely cover some things.

Clearly you need to raise the roof and build a mountain in the greenhouse to attract them Brian!

Just tested the KH and GH of our system

GH is at 9

KH is at 23

Could this be negatively affecting my plant growth?

Should I try to make the water more acidic by adding a tsp of lime juice?

I'd leave it - a teaspoon of lime juice will do pretty much zero, and it's not high enough to worry about IMO. If you're concerned about nutrient lockout it's easier (and safer, and quicker) to supplement with a foliar spray than to mess with the pH.

Sydneychick....are you still going?