Nutirent Issues...Maybe? - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-29T04:53:49Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/nutirent-issues-maybe?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A578773&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noJoAnne,
Thanks for your res…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-09-22:4778851:Comment:5787732014-09-22T11:11:42.427ZThaddeus J Dickhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/ThaddeusJDick
<p>JoAnne,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thanks for your response. In answer to your questions;</p>
<p>- I'll try attaching pictures when I get back home this evening.</p>
<p>- I have approximately 25 fish, including two catfish, and I feed them once a day.</p>
<p>- The biggest fish is approximately five inches long; it's a catfish. Typically, the fish are no more than four inches long.</p>
<p>- I added plants immediately and started everything from seed, with the exception of a later addition of a…</p>
<p>JoAnne,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thanks for your response. In answer to your questions;</p>
<p>- I'll try attaching pictures when I get back home this evening.</p>
<p>- I have approximately 25 fish, including two catfish, and I feed them once a day.</p>
<p>- The biggest fish is approximately five inches long; it's a catfish. Typically, the fish are no more than four inches long.</p>
<p>- I added plants immediately and started everything from seed, with the exception of a later addition of a strawberry plant and a pumpkin plant. I now have lettuce, swiss chard, and red chili peppers as well. It seems as if the plants are really starting to grow, especially with the onset of cooler weather. Everything is in a greenhouse.</p>
<p>- I would expect to start harvesting some leafy vegetables as we move into fall and winter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I just added a second grow bed this weekend. My ph level is at approximately 6.8. My ammonia level went up some, but I have detoxified the ammonia. I'm not very concerned. I did start some lettuce seeds in the new grow bed. I haven't added the potassium bicarbonate yet. <br/> <br/> <cite>JoAnne Bell said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/nutirent-issues-maybe#4778851Comment578398"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Hi Thaddeus!</p>
<p></p>
<p> I agree with Alex the potassium bicarbonate may help stabalize your pH. If that doesn't work, try crushed coral.</p>
<p> We have a 90 gal fish tank that I started up around the same time as you started yours. I had the same issue with my pH. Potassium bicarb didn't help at all. (It had helped some of my other systems, but not this one.) I added <a href="http://www.theaquaponicstore.com/Buffer-Bag-Xtra-Large-p/aglfs004.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">12 oz of crushed coral</a> every 3-5 days (when my pH dropped to 6.4 or less) and my pH stabalized when I reached 48 oz. It has stayed between 6.8-7.2 for the past month.</p>
<p><span style="background-color: #ffffff;"> As for plant production, correcting the pH may solve your problem, as well as time. Your system is less than 6 months old. So it's still young. After 6 months, when bacteria are better established and your fish are a little bigger, you may see better results. That said, let's make sure there aren't any other issues. I'll need some more info to do that:</span></p>
<p>1) Could you show us some pictures of your plants? Ideally, a mix of pics including: the entire grow bed, individual plants and close-ups of discolored leaves.</p>
<p>2) How often do you feed them?</p>
<p>3) What size are your fish?</p>
<p>4) When did you add plants? Did you start them in the system as seeds or transplants?</p>
<p>5) What are your harvesting <span style="background-color: #ffffff;">expectations?</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="background-color: #ffffff;">Thanks, Thaddeus! I know that's a lot of questions. But the more info I have, the easier it is to diagnose the problem.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="background-color: #ffffff;">JoAnne</span></p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote> Hi Thaddeus!
I agree with A…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-09-18:4778851:Comment:5783982014-09-18T17:40:12.411ZJoAnne Bellhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JoAnneBell
<p>Hi Thaddeus!</p>
<p></p>
<p> I agree with Alex the potassium bicarbonate may help stabalize your pH. If that doesn't work, try crushed coral.</p>
<p> We have a 90 gal fish tank that I started up around the same time as you started yours. I had the same issue with my pH. Potassium bicarb didn't help at all. (It had helped some of my other systems, but not this one.) I added <a href="http://www.theaquaponicstore.com/Buffer-Bag-Xtra-Large-p/aglfs004.htm" target="_blank">12 oz of crushed…</a></p>
<p>Hi Thaddeus!</p>
<p></p>
<p> I agree with Alex the potassium bicarbonate may help stabalize your pH. If that doesn't work, try crushed coral.</p>
<p> We have a 90 gal fish tank that I started up around the same time as you started yours. I had the same issue with my pH. Potassium bicarb didn't help at all. (It had helped some of my other systems, but not this one.) I added <a href="http://www.theaquaponicstore.com/Buffer-Bag-Xtra-Large-p/aglfs004.htm" target="_blank">12 oz of crushed coral</a> every 3-5 days (when my pH dropped to 6.4 or less) and my pH stabalized when I reached 48 oz. It has stayed between 6.8-7.2 for the past month.</p>
<p><span style="background-color: #ffffff;"> As for plant production, correcting the pH may solve your problem, as well as time. Your system is less than 6 months old. So it's still young. After 6 months, when bacteria are better established and your fish are a little bigger, you may see better results. That said, let's make sure there aren't any other issues. I'll need some more info to do that:</span></p>
<p>1) Could you show us some pictures of your plants? Ideally, a mix of pics including: the entire grow bed, individual plants and close-ups of discolored leaves.</p>
<p>2) How often do you feed them?</p>
<p>3) What size are your fish?</p>
<p>4) When did you add plants? Did you start them in the system as seeds or transplants?</p>
<p>5) What are your harvesting <span style="background-color: #ffffff;">expectations?</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="background-color: #ffffff;">Thanks, Thaddeus! I know that's a lot of questions. But the more info I have, the easier it is to diagnose the problem.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="background-color: #ffffff;">JoAnne</span></p> You're probably going to have…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-09-17:4778851:Comment:5784622014-09-17T14:08:42.077ZAlex Veidelhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AlexVeidel
<p>You're probably going to have a hard time growing, say, pumpkins in your aquaponic system. Anything with large fruiting bodies take a larger nutrient load. Cucumbers, green bell peppers, melons, etc. Red chili peppers aren't a bad choice.</p>
<p>You can use potassium bicarbonate to stabilize your pH. The bicarbonates will raise your carbonate hardness, which will act as a buffer for your pH.</p>
<p>You're probably going to have a hard time growing, say, pumpkins in your aquaponic system. Anything with large fruiting bodies take a larger nutrient load. Cucumbers, green bell peppers, melons, etc. Red chili peppers aren't a bad choice.</p>
<p>You can use potassium bicarbonate to stabilize your pH. The bicarbonates will raise your carbonate hardness, which will act as a buffer for your pH.</p>