Advice for running aquaponics w/out fish temporarily? - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-29T01:06:22Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/advice-for-running-aquaponics-w-out-fish-temporarily?x=1&id=4778851%3ATopic%3A337677&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThey are huge nutrient hogs..…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-07-04:4778851:Comment:3585562012-07-04T18:33:38.525ZRob Torcellinihttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/RobTorcellini
<p>They are huge nutrient hogs...and root hogs. I usually have 2 plants in my 15 sq ft bed and then just a few misc lettuce plants to cover the surface. The bed will be full of roots by the end of the season. Check the undersides of the leaves for aphids. Mine usually get the little brown spots like that from them sucking the life out of the leaves!</p>
<p>They are huge nutrient hogs...and root hogs. I usually have 2 plants in my 15 sq ft bed and then just a few misc lettuce plants to cover the surface. The bed will be full of roots by the end of the season. Check the undersides of the leaves for aphids. Mine usually get the little brown spots like that from them sucking the life out of the leaves!</p> Seaweed extract usually won't…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-07-04:4778851:Comment:3585542012-07-04T17:55:36.954ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Seaweed extract usually won't provide much nitrogen unless you are using one of the ones with fish emulsion or something.</p>
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<p>If you have been just running it with seaweed and pure ammonia, then yes phosphorus is probably lacking.</p>
<p>However if you have been running it with hummonia and seaweed extract, there should be enough nitrogen and phosphorus in the pee and that with the seaweed extract means I'm not sure what to recommend.</p>
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<p>Vlad might be able to make a…</p>
<p>Seaweed extract usually won't provide much nitrogen unless you are using one of the ones with fish emulsion or something.</p>
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<p>If you have been just running it with seaweed and pure ammonia, then yes phosphorus is probably lacking.</p>
<p>However if you have been running it with hummonia and seaweed extract, there should be enough nitrogen and phosphorus in the pee and that with the seaweed extract means I'm not sure what to recommend.</p>
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<p>Vlad might be able to make a recommendation after looking at pictures. I know cucumbers are supposed to be real nutrient hogs and apparently they need huge amounts of potassium and I think Vlad also mentioned Magnesium.</p>
<p>So perhaps a dash of dolomite lime might be in order?</p> My trip down to test got dela…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-07-04:4778851:Comment:3584612012-07-04T15:01:03.693ZPatrick Rochehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/PatrickRoche
<p>My trip down to test got delayed, but i finally did! Nitrite was 0. The water level was way down. Other levels were as follows, pH = 7.6, Ammonia = 0, Nitrate = 0 (they system has grown really well as you can see below, and without fish, it went through all the nutrient). So my conclusion is it was the lack of oxygen in the water. I've got an air stone in there now and I filled up the tank again with fresh water, so i will try adding new fish again today. I'll keep you posted! I'll also add…</p>
<p>My trip down to test got delayed, but i finally did! Nitrite was 0. The water level was way down. Other levels were as follows, pH = 7.6, Ammonia = 0, Nitrate = 0 (they system has grown really well as you can see below, and without fish, it went through all the nutrient). So my conclusion is it was the lack of oxygen in the water. I've got an air stone in there now and I filled up the tank again with fresh water, so i will try adding new fish again today. I'll keep you posted! I'll also add a bunch of liquid seaweed to get the nitrate back up until the fish can start pumping out the ammonia.</p>
<p>New question thought: cukes are growing great but older leaves are getting some yellowy burntout spots, but veins are still deep green. New leaves look great. There are plenty of male and female flowers. From this website (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/greenhouse/pest-disease/general/cucumber-nutrition#bt" target="_blank">http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/greenhouse/pest-...</a>) i'm thinking it might be potassium deficiency. This surprises me a bit since i was running it for past few months on a mix of ammonia, seaweed, and bit of hummonia (the seaweed has been 'Maxicrop plus Iron' and 'Bioweed' both of which have levels of potassium). In that system, i believe phosphorus is generally the more scarce nutrient. Any thoughts? Tomatoes also look solid but there are some dark spots. Pics below.</p>
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<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2772217374?profile=original"><img width="721" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2772217374?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="721"/></a></p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2772218002?profile=original"><img width="721" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2772218002?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="721"/></a>In general, the plants have been growing lots though!</p>
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<p></p> The ph seems high for introdc…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-30:4778851:Comment:3568862012-06-30T05:51:07.118ZTommy Dhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TomDavis
<p>The ph seems high for introdcing fish from the store. But goldfish love 7.5.</p>
<p>The ph seems high for introdcing fish from the store. But goldfish love 7.5.</p> I am guessing low oxygen lev…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-26:4778851:Comment:3553612012-06-26T01:46:51.945ZJim Troyerhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JimTroyer
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<p>I am guessing low oxygen levels or water temperature.</p>
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<p>Change out half the water with hose water that has stood for several hours to gas off the chlorine you can put the fish in here to acclimate them and prove the new water is good. While you're waiting for the water to gas off; re-plumb the system so that it throws the water up in the air for some splashing action like a fountain, swishing just won't do it... If the water is just flowing from the fish tank into the…</p>
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<p>I am guessing low oxygen levels or water temperature.</p>
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<p>Change out half the water with hose water that has stood for several hours to gas off the chlorine you can put the fish in here to acclimate them and prove the new water is good. While you're waiting for the water to gas off; re-plumb the system so that it throws the water up in the air for some splashing action like a fountain, swishing just won't do it... If the water is just flowing from the fish tank into the grow bed and draining back into the fish tank you are going to have DO problems. You can also add a venturi device generally made for fertilizing and hooking up an air hose instead. It will suck air into the flow instead of fertilizer. You can buy them at bLowe's or Home Despot here is a good link to a discussion a venturi by the one and only Bob Campbell (Wayne's dad) <a style="cursor: pointer;"><img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/></a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHTnIdWJSbo&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHTnIdWJSbo&feature=youtu.be</a> </p>
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<p>As a last resort there are the air stone and pumps, be sure to get a big set up</p>
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<p>Jim</p> It is really, really importan…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-25:4778851:Comment:3551972012-06-25T18:36:21.101ZVlad Jovanovichttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/VladJovanovic
<p>It is really, <em>really</em> important to know what those nitrite levels are if you have fish (fish-less...not so much). Nitrite is toxic to the fish, so it would be important to see where your level is at.</p>
<p>The Bio-weed looks like a run of the mill cold extraction kelp product, (like Kelpak or Maxi-Crop) there don't appear to be any additions of chelated or other metals in that product...I take it you probably didn't use any metal plumbing parts, or have any exposed metal in contact…</p>
<p>It is really, <em>really</em> important to know what those nitrite levels are if you have fish (fish-less...not so much). Nitrite is toxic to the fish, so it would be important to see where your level is at.</p>
<p>The Bio-weed looks like a run of the mill cold extraction kelp product, (like Kelpak or Maxi-Crop) there don't appear to be any additions of chelated or other metals in that product...I take it you probably didn't use any metal plumbing parts, or have any exposed metal in contact with the system water</p>
<p>Check the nitrites first, see what the test says...You should be able to pick up a test at any old pet/aquarium shop.<br/> <br/> <cite>Patrick Roche said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/advice-for-running-aquaponics-w-out-fish-temporarily?page=2&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A355310&x=1#4778851Comment354956"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>I don't know the nitrite levels. I've never measured them. I might be able to measure it this week if I can go down.</p>
<p>I used Maxicrop Plus Iron for most of the seaweed, although I also added some BioWeed (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://shop.gyostuff.com/BioWeed-1-qt-GH5342.htm?categoryId=-1" target="_blank">http://shop.gyostuff.com/BioWeed-1-qt-GH5342.htm?categoryId=-1</a>)</p>
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</blockquote> I do "worm ponics" for nutrit…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-25:4778851:Comment:3553102012-06-25T17:23:17.339ZGlenn Martinezhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/GlennMartinez
<p>I do "worm ponics" for nutrition. Use a tea maker and brew compost tea or vermicast tea and then put in the system. All my designed systems have a tea maker as the bucket siphon. I add compost or vermicast for all the trace elements.</p>
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<p>Glenn</p>
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<p>I do "worm ponics" for nutrition. Use a tea maker and brew compost tea or vermicast tea and then put in the system. All my designed systems have a tea maker as the bucket siphon. I add compost or vermicast for all the trace elements.</p>
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<p>Glenn</p>
<p></p> I don't know the nitrite leve…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-25:4778851:Comment:3549562012-06-25T11:56:30.694ZPatrick Rochehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/PatrickRoche
<p>I don't know the nitrite levels. I've never measured them. I might be able to measure it this week if I can go down.</p>
<p>I used Maxicrop Plus Iron for most of the seaweed, although I also added some BioWeed (<a href="http://shop.gyostuff.com/BioWeed-1-qt-GH5342.htm?categoryId=-1" target="_blank">http://shop.gyostuff.com/BioWeed-1-qt-GH5342.htm?categoryId=-1</a>)</p>
<p>I don't know the nitrite levels. I've never measured them. I might be able to measure it this week if I can go down.</p>
<p>I used Maxicrop Plus Iron for most of the seaweed, although I also added some BioWeed (<a href="http://shop.gyostuff.com/BioWeed-1-qt-GH5342.htm?categoryId=-1" target="_blank">http://shop.gyostuff.com/BioWeed-1-qt-GH5342.htm?categoryId=-1</a>)</p> What are the nitrite levels?…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-25:4778851:Comment:3548572012-06-25T03:35:29.486ZVlad Jovanovichttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/VladJovanovic
<p>What are the nitrite levels? And what specific liquid seaweed product did you end up using?</p>
<p>What are the nitrite levels? And what specific liquid seaweed product did you end up using?</p> Thanks to everyone for your e…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-25:4778851:Comment:3550132012-06-25T01:54:46.024ZPatrick Rochehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/PatrickRoche
<p>Thanks to everyone for your earlier advice. Their is bad news and good news. The good news is that the system is growing very well (see pic below). We ended up using mostly ammonia and liquid seaweed (with iron) as inputs, although I put about 5 cups hummonia in over a month period (so about 1 cup per week).</p>
<p>The trouble is now with dead fish: my girlfriend's parents are taking over operation and water testing. According to their most recent tests, the pH is about 7.5, ammonia 0ppm,…</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for your earlier advice. Their is bad news and good news. The good news is that the system is growing very well (see pic below). We ended up using mostly ammonia and liquid seaweed (with iron) as inputs, although I put about 5 cups hummonia in over a month period (so about 1 cup per week).</p>
<p>The trouble is now with dead fish: my girlfriend's parents are taking over operation and water testing. According to their most recent tests, the pH is about 7.5, ammonia 0ppm, and nitrate 5ppm (that plants have used up most of nitrate, it was 80ppm a few weeks ago). All the parameters appear to be that of healthy water, but her parents have now introduced fish twice, with almost all of them dying shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, the air stone was not installed, but the siphon dumps water back in for 5 minutes every 15 minutes, which churns the water and should give a fair bit of oxygen into system.</p>
<p>Try #1: But when they introduced about 40 inch feeder goldfish on Saturday, almost all died on impact. To be fair, they did keep the goldfish in a bag overnight, so the fish were probably stressed for oxygen.</p>
<p>Try #2: They got 25 more feeder fish, brought them home relatively quickly, and put the bag in the water for about 20 minutes to let temps adjust, then opened it up. Again, most died about on impact. I wish I had more detail about how fast the fish died and how long it took them to get the fish home, but i don't have that detail yet.</p>
<p>System is a 50 gallon fish tank with an 8 sqft growbed that is 1 ft deep. Has a bell siphon that cycles every 15 minutes. Media is expanded shale. To control pH i was using a phosphoric acid pH down. Any thoughts?</p>
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