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Has anyone ever used compost tea in their ap system? Ive been reading up on the benefits of compost tea in soil beds.. and it seems pretty impressive. Im thinking of adding some to my ap system, and was hoping someone on this site may have some experience with this situation.

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I did try it a few times. To give extra nutrients to the plants

Yeah, I think that's an acceptable think to do. Just don't overdo it with adding extra nutrients to your system. A large excess of nutrition can actually hamper plant growth instead of help it.

Thank you for your responses!!! I have a tiny system that I built to experiment with before I got a larger system that experienced APers would call a micro system.. lol I've gotten a few plants to grow. I've been trying out different methods of drainage and nutritional supplementation. I made my own version of compost tea and added it to my AP bed and also my soil beds, just to test it in different medias. My AP bed needs to cycle for about another 2 weeks before I can add fish.   Also.. one more question.. any recommendations for testing kits. I bought a cheap testing kit for aquariums just to get started.. but its not advanced enough to tell me Ph levels.

 

so.. Ive been adding  compost tea to my AP system. the plants seem to thoroughly enjoy it!! YAY!! however, my next concern is the Ph level when the tea is cycling in the system. Ive tried a few aquarium Ph testing kits, but they have yet to provide me with an accurate Ph reading. so, Im off to try another testing kit. .. just wanted to give a small update.

I use it as a foliar feed.

How can you tell?  

Jennifer Myers said:

 Ive tried a few aquarium Ph testing kits, but they have yet to provide me with an accurate Ph reading. 

Growth rate increased tremendously.. the leaves look darker and healthier (because I live in a very high heat climate, my plants tend stay a pale green, even in the shade) Even the flowers look larger and fluffier! 
 
George said:

How can you tell?  

Jennifer Myers said:

 Ive tried a few aquarium Ph testing kits, but they have yet to provide me with an accurate Ph reading. 

oooops.. lol.. I was I misunderstood what you were referring to.. Well.. The kit I was using comes with 5 test strips.. so I bought 2 kits. I used 2 strips at a time.. (same side of the tank, etc) and they were showing different results.. so.. I tried again a few days later, using 2 strips.. same thing.. two different results. I final ran through all of my test strips with the same oddball results and came to the conclusion that it had to be a bad batch.. or maybe just the brand all together!  I found an aquarium store so, Im going to go over there and explain my situation to them.. and see what they recommend.
 
Jennifer Myers said:

Growth rate increased tremendously.. the leaves look darker and healthier (because I live in a very high heat climate, my plants tend stay a pale green, even in the shade) Even the flowers look larger and fluffier! 
 
George said:

How can you tell?  

Jennifer Myers said:

 Ive tried a few aquarium Ph testing kits, but they have yet to provide me with an accurate Ph reading. 

does it drain into your grow bed and into your system? Ive been adding it directly to the tank water. It discolors the water, so that's why I was concerned about how it is effecting the Ph. So, if I just mist the tea onto the leaves, will the plant still be able to absorb the nutrients?

Scotty Jackson said:

I use it as a foliar feed.

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