Comment

Comment by Leo White Bear on May 14, 2013 at 7:46pm

That's all well and good for the growing part of aquaponics, but what about cleaning out the roots when you pull the plants for replanting??  You still have to contend with the lava rocks when clearing out the roots.  I'm NOT against using lava rock if nothing else is available but my hands hurt just thinking about it.

Comment by Matt Miskinnis on May 14, 2013 at 6:40pm

Lava rock is cheap and light, but rough on the hands when planting.  I would suggest lava rock and then put some hydroton (clay pellets) on the top 2 to 3 inches so when you need to put in plants you wont rough up your hands.

Comment by Ron Schreiber on May 14, 2013 at 3:24pm

Still at it ..lookin g for grow med...lava rock or ?

Comment by Wendell Ford on May 13, 2013 at 5:49pm

Thanks all I was curious about dose amount since the bottle only included amounts to use in spray bottle to spray on foliage. My questions have all been answered.

Comment by TCLynx on May 12, 2013 at 9:03pm

seaweed extract has all sorts of great stuff for getting plants to be happy.  It is especially good in a new system that won't have any of the more complex nutrients available from the slow break down of fish food or fish waste for some time.

Comment by Leo White Bear on May 12, 2013 at 8:26pm

I have heard that Murry Hallum doses his aquaponic system with Seasol (Maxicrop up here) and then plants his veggies, waits 2-weeks and introduces his fish.  It is my understanding that the Maxicrop reduces the stress of transplanting and adds a bit of nutrents for support of the plants.

Comment by TCLynx on May 12, 2013 at 6:06pm

Yes, Maxicrop is safe, so long as it is the stuff that has the NPK numbers of like 0.1-0-1.0 (there may be some seaweed extract plus fish emulsion that would have higher N values and it would probably overload the bio-filtration on a new system and could cause ammonia spikes and fish death.)  Original Maxicrop or Maxicrop plus Iron is fish safe when used appropriately.  The maxicrop plus iron probably is of only marginal additional benefit for providing Iron if your system pH is above 6.5 since the iron in it is going to be insoluble at the higher pH of most new aquaponic system.  However you could always foliar spray with a diluted mix of it.

Do remember that the dosing instructions on the bottle are not Aquaponic dosing instructions.  They read something like 1 or 2 oz per gallon and use that gallon to water 100 square feet.  Please don't take that to mean that you should add one ounce of the stuff per gallon of system water, that would be a gross over dose.  Such an overdose probably won't hurt your fish or anything but you won't be able to see them anymore because the water will look a bit like coffee.  Appropriate dosing would probably be closer to 1-2 oz of maxicrop per 100 square feet of grow bed.

Take note that the seaweed extract is to provide trace elements and potassium, it will do little-nothing to feed the plants nitrogen or phosphorus so you still need to get your system cycled up.

Comment by Jim Fisk on May 12, 2013 at 11:26am

I use Sylvia's Maxicrop with iron and it has been great. I really doubt Sylvia is selling anything toxic to fish. AP IS her vocation after all.

Comment by Leo White Bear on May 11, 2013 at 8:22pm

Yes, I believe she promotes using "Maxi-crop", I know it is 100% seaweed and it definantly will not harm your fish.  Murray Hallum a well known aquaponicists from Austrailia promotes the same product only it is known as "Seasol" down under.

Comment by Wendell Ford on May 11, 2013 at 8:09pm

Is the seaweed that Sylvia sales safe for the fish?

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