Comment

Comment by Michael Welber on February 1, 2012 at 7:59pm

So add more ammonia?

Comment by TCLynx on February 1, 2012 at 7:52pm

as the ammonia and nitrite came down, if you did not keep dosing then once they got to 0 there was no new nitrate being produced and the plants probably kept using up the nitrates and if the pH was starting to drop too low and you buffered it back up to a good range the plants may have been spurred to use even more of the nitrates which could explain them dropping rapidly.

Comment by Michael Welber on February 1, 2012 at 12:55pm

OK. So the ammonia and nitrite have come down beautifully and that's a wonderful thing. But, oddly, my nitrate also crashed. After getting up to around 80 it's now down to about 5. Any ideas about why this might have happened? I did add some lime to bring the pH up so that could be the culprit. The pH had gotten down to 6. I'm doing fishless cycling though I ordered my fish today.

Comment by TCLynx on January 31, 2012 at 6:25pm

Try a 3 or 4 inch coupler since that will probably be close to the right size and you won't have to buy 10 feet of pipe to cut for your planting tool.

Comment by Michael Welber on January 31, 2012 at 3:37pm

I'm learning that. Have had a few casualties. The cup thing works but the cup I used fell apart. I cut the bottom out of a plastic planting pot and that worked better. I think a piece of pvc would work even better if I can find one the right size. 

Comment by TCLynx on January 31, 2012 at 2:33pm

If you are going to transplant seedlings you kinda have to let them get big enough to handle without damaging them and that should also help for getting them big enough to reach the water without being under the media.

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on January 30, 2012 at 3:08pm

LOL! Use lemon juice. Rub it into your hands & it should cut the fish food smell.

To get seedlings in, try using a plastic cup with the bottom cut out. You can wiggle it into the medium, then pull the rocks/hydroton/whatever out of it. Put the seedling down in the middle of the cup, then pull the cup up over the seedling and let the medium fall into place around the seedling.

For most things, I just sprinkle the seed on the growbed.

Comment by Michael Welber on January 30, 2012 at 1:42pm

Any tips on putting seedlings into grow beds? It's a bit difficult to put them in so the roots reach the water levels. I have had a few casualties so far. 

Comment by Michael Welber on January 30, 2012 at 12:28pm

Here's some advice from a total newbie. Don't pick up fish food with your bare hands. I got a shipment today and some of it leaked in the box. I picked it up and put it in another plastic bag. Now I can't get the smell of the food off my hands! Next time gloves. 

Comment by Michael Welber on January 25, 2012 at 8:07pm

Yeah. Patience is the hardest part about aquaponics. The nitrites and the nitrates came relatively quickly -- about 10 days -- so I was hoping it would all be relatively fast. So now I wait. I must say that it's all been incredibly fun. 

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