Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

You mean like:

???

hehe, yeah they talk a lot
no but for growing Eukaryota parameciidae and for making a worm tea full with K ege. feeding the worms with bannanas--> feeding the worms to fish etc.

hello AP growers!

Algo-plasmin is the algea extract that i was talking about
it contains lime algea Lithothamnion calcareum which is rated 80% CaCO3, and 13% MgCO3
it also says something about vitalized red sea algea and Iodine + selenium, natural vitamins, aminoacids etc.

now i'm a little worried about adding that much Ca and Mg to my tap water, whic is already high in Mg, Cal

i've also located a shop which sells organic chelated Fe, so i'll be applying that today, but i would really like to hear what do you have to say about my Algo-plasmin?

thank you for your time:)

what do you think?

Well, the Algo-plasmin doesn't sound like it will do what you want then. Many of us use CaCO3 to increase the pH and buffering capacity of our systems. I don't think you need that, so go with the chelated iron.

hey janet,
i agree on the plasmin yes, didn't do any good in RAS too, it's more for soil or foliar treating

i've added 30g of 3% chelated Fe and 30ml of vitamins, aminoacids,...some organic mixture, did color up my aquarium pretty much, can't see a thing now, but the fish seem to like it hehe

i've also foliar sprayed with Fe to get quicker results, i hope we'll see some progress in the next days

how do you adjust pH janet? may i ask what other additives you add besides fish food?

Baking Soda would be fine, and potassium bicarb even better.

Lemon juice the other way, even cocopeat is very acidic....

Regardless... little at a time and retest to measure effect.

I use potassium bicarbonate to keep the pH up. Other options are calcium carbonate (of course), sodium bicarbonate, and for the less risk-adverse, there's calcium hydroxide. I stopped using that last one. It didn't buffer well, and was too strong, so the pH tended to bounce a bit.

I use chelated iron and organic phosphate when the plant leave start to yellow. My peace lily is a good indicator for monitoring nutrient levels. It seems more sensitive than other plants, and grows rapidly.

wow nice info, summoned in one place
did u ever use KOH? i picked up this on some other AP site....i think it was here http://www.aquaponics.com/InfoAquaponicsFAQ.htm
KHCO3 must have a milder effect on the pH than KOH since this's a mix of alkaline and acid ions?
What is the carbon good for? feeding bacteria?

sorry if i'm asking too much, feel free to stop me:)

KOH is a base, and will shift PH UP strongly.

KHCO3 is a BUFFER (look up the word) it has a weaker but longer lasting effect.

30g of Fe sounds like ALOT for your aquarium size but i'll let other comment as i've never used it.

aha, i get it, i was just thinking about my expression on the KOH, should have said base yes
nice to know, thank you

well it says on the lable to add 10g on 5L of water, that's 0,5g/L, i added 30g to ~110L of water, that's 0,27g/L of 3% Fe

i'll dilute it if necessary, did seem quite a lot to me too while i was adding it...hmm

they probably account for much of it being wasted when put onto a soil garden............

you'r probably right, i'll be diluting it tomorrow, have to wait for my water to sit, but for now after two hours everything seems normal, the fish ate normally so i don't think i've made a mess, even though the water is dark as it was a pond

did any off you make a living out of AP? because it would really be a joy doing this as i planned

not me.

if you count the hours i put in here for free then i'm running at a distinct LOSS

i wonder if the tax office will see it that way

i was thinking on building systems for others/helping them, educating and all that comes within. i love growing and i never regret the hours i put in on thinking and improving my systems, it's just pure joy

i'd like to bring this to a person/like me/ who doesn't have any prior knowledge, either with aquatic life or vegetables. make it pure and simple and available to everyone that want's to grow their own, cheap and organic

i've already put ???$ into my projects so, i'm used to it, and i've never looked back mostly so i hope i'll be able to continue walking this road

tax office should be most sympathetic, as always

Joel (Earthbound) is making his living as an Aquaponics consultant. He has constructed several systems for other people, and offers his own line of products.

Dilute the chelated iron a bit next time, but if the fish are still eating normally, don't worry. The color in the water will fade in the next few days.