Comment

Comment by Andrei Shindyapin on June 30, 2012 at 2:33pm

Since I live by the ocean, I just kept the seashells my daughters gathered up, and so far added four large ones to my tank to bring the pH back to 7.

Comment by TCLynx on June 30, 2012 at 2:16pm

Hum, never thought about that.  Tums would certainly be food grade.  I suppose you could dump some tums into a stocking and hang it in your tank so you can remove what remains if the pH gets too high.

Most people will use some garden lime to provide calcium carbonate.  Limestone or marble chips can also be used in the mesh bag or stocking the way I suggested for the tums.
  (Chicken grit or oyster shells are something people commonly use too.)

Comment by Donna Windsor on June 30, 2012 at 12:45pm

TC thanks for your help to add calcium carbonate could you just add tums?

Comment by TCLynx on June 30, 2012 at 10:42am

Might be time for a spoon full of calcium carbonate or potassium bicarbonate to keep the pH from dropping much more.

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on June 30, 2012 at 8:26am

That's why plants love the rain. :)  That's pretty high. Hopefully your plants will absorb it. If not, you can change out some of the water. Maybe cover the tank during future rains?

Comment by John E Windsor on June 30, 2012 at 7:25am

Not sure what to think of my numbers this AM. Last week we had a ton of rain water fall, so I waited until today to chk the levels in the tank.

pH dropped to 6.4, from 7 ten days ago

Ammonia is not bad at maybe .25 ppm

Nitrite is good at 0 ppm

Nitrate is at 40 ppm, where it had been staying around 5 ppm

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on June 28, 2012 at 9:01am

Yes, I've seen ground cloth used once or twice, but the conversation was so casual about it that it was apparent it's a common practice in FL.  I can see how it would be very helpful.

Greenhouses are rare here. Nurseries typically use decomposed gravel, and sometimes mulch...or nothing. Our dirt packs down hard, and mud is only an issue after a heavy rain, which is only a few times/year.

Comment by John E Windsor on June 28, 2012 at 4:02am

Ground cover is a polypropylene cloth flooring used to prevent anything from growing up through your growing area. It can be swept to keep things clean and it is very porous, so it doesn't hold water. 

Look at any greenhouse or nursery floor. More often than not, you will see polypropylene ground cover. Great stuff!

Comment by TCLynx on June 27, 2012 at 11:16pm

think of the weed cloth they put down on the ground at nursery or in greenhouses to try to keep the weeds from growing or to help reduce the amount of mud/sand the workers track around.  The staples are to help keep it from blowing away in the wind.

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on June 27, 2012 at 10:45pm

Thank you, Margaret. I wondered that, too. And the staples sound strange, too.  I figured it was some Florida thing that we don't have to contend with. :)

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 105
• 106
• 107
• 108
• 109
• …
• 145
• Next ›
• Page