Comment

Comment by Casey Unfried on February 24, 2014 at 11:50pm

@Jim

This is my second system(first has fish and is about 6 months old) so I do know the basics(not all of that though, my head might just be spinning a bit )  The pH of my water is 7.4 here, which is around what i expected, but the minerals in the water have always bothered me and it seems like almost no one does AP in Az and talks about it (until I found here). So ill definitely try that^^ 

Quick question, I used lime to bring the ph down slowly in my first system, how come you do not recommend it? 

Comment by Jim Troyer on February 24, 2014 at 11:40pm

Kim:

MH - Metal Halide - The hydroponics folks use them in doors ($$$) You have seen them on the ceiling of big box stores

Worms in a bin will be a problem outside in the summer here.

The lettuce doesn't really produce many leaves Kim, it just shoots for the sky and flowers.

My lettuce grows year round Kim.  You gotta quit worrying about what mud farmers do and just plant stuff, it either grows really well or stumbles along (wrong season) or dies (not 4 AP)

Check out the list of veggies on Dr. Brooks site http://bit.ly/16XR6dk
for an idea of what grows.  Maybe Dr. Brooks can shed some light on when to plant each variety since he has impeccable records

@ Casey:  Welcome aboard!

We are here to help, so ask away.  You can probably find most of your answers have already been answered so a little research maybe a good way to solve your pressing issue at midnight when no one is around.

Your current question is a good one!

You will probably be alright if you treat your water with pool acid.  Without getting too technical, there is lots of calcium (hardness) in most AZ water.  This keeps the pH high (alkaline). You will want to bring the pH down into the 6s from the 8s to solve the water quality issue.  To make matters "worse", maybe unpredictable is a better word; there are "buffers" in the water.  The buffers will use up the acid over a short period of time.  So, you pour in some acid and the pH drops to where you want it and a couple of hours later the pH is right back where it was!  This is because the free Hydrogen atoms was used up by a chemical reaction combining with the calcium carbonate in the water.  So you have to keep adding acid until one day the pH drops way down and doesn't come back up.  That's when you finally have overcome the buffers in the water.  No one can tell you when it will happen, your water is unique.  If you go too far, just add some untreated water back in.

So, if you don't have any fish in your tank yet, give the water a giant shot (1/2 gal in 250 gals FT) of pool acid ($10 for 2 gallons at the grocer) and check back tomorrow at the same time to see what the result was. Keep track of the amount of acid you add until you reach the tipping point.  You will want to treat your top up water similarly for a while, but eventually through the magic of AP the system matures and will self regulate to the lower pH levels. 

If you have fish in the FT, go much slower when adding pool acid.  Big pH swings are hard on the fish and the bacteria.  So add a couple of ounces to a 5 gallon bucket of water and slowly add it into the sump over a few hours to be mixed as the system runs. Try a 1/16" hole in the bucket to slowly drain out the mix  Don't worry if you're confused, just go for it!

Be sure to gas off any chlorine in your water by letting it stand for a day so it doesn't kill your beneficial bacteria, may not apply is you are on well water.

Hope this makes sense...

pH = a scale for available hydrogen atoms in solution

-- below 7 acidic/7 neutral/ above 7 alkaline or basic

FT = Fish tank

Pool acid - AKA: Muriatic Acid

(keep track of the amt of acid shown on the label; some brands are weaker

don't use pH down, vinegar or citrus juice to adjust pH in AP

Comment by Kim Romen on February 24, 2014 at 10:42pm

@ Jeff, what r MH lights?  thx

Comment by Kim Romen on February 24, 2014 at 10:35pm

I got my worm bin started last week.  i'm wondering, now,  if it's going to be nearly impossible to have an outdoor worm bin in AZ in the summer.  anyone try it?  maybe burying the bin most of the way?  i also used a smaller tote, maybe 6" x 24" x 12".  maybe i should've used a large sized tote.  i might have to consider leaving it inside for the summer, but don't have much room in the house. anyone successful with an outdoor worm bin in the summer in AZ?

Comment by Kim Romen on February 24, 2014 at 10:29pm

@ Jeff.  that's disappointing!  how long have you been doing AP?  I wonder if it's that the fish aren't eating as much due to the cold weather?  is your set-up outside or inside?  u're in MI?  must be cold!

@Jim, I wonder if the lettuce would taste bitter.  if not, it may be good in a smoothie!  i need to remember to put my grape vine leaves in my smoothies.  i throw them out each year and to some they are a wonderful food. 

@ anyone: what can u grow in a floating raft in the summer?  i'd like to have lettuce year round but the charts say it's not for the summer time in AZ.  maybe in a greenhouse?

Comment by Casey Unfried on February 24, 2014 at 9:31pm

Hi, i live in Paulden and am having trouble with hard water and my animals usually have to be on bottled water and purified water because it gives them problems. Well I was curious if this will have a bad influence on my fish and plants and if anyone had any advice? 

Comment by Jeff S on February 24, 2014 at 8:41pm

Your seed experiments are impressive. I'm still trying to get veggies. I'm going to have to do something soon. I have more fry than my GB is going to support. Guess I should have figured out how to farm veggies before farming fish. I think I have a couple of months before I'm in trouble.

Comment by Jim Troyer on February 24, 2014 at 7:45pm

@ Kim:

I have gone "hi" tech with my seed propagation. 

I just pour fish water in the lower tray and leave it in the sun.  These are butter lettuce seeds I propagated from living lettuce from the store.  Just replant the roots after removing the leaves and they take off again.  The lettuce leaves will be too tough to eat but it goes to seed in a few weeks providing a lifetime of the wonderful butter lettuce at your doorstep! 

I have been experimenting with all lettuce from the store.  Seems if you slice off a thin cut from the root end and place in the media bed they will grow again too!  So far red, green, romaine and the small heirloom lettuces have all produced bolts with seed pods.  Brussel sprouts, artichokes and celery where not successful the first time around however.

@ Jacques & John:

Great systems!

Comment by Jeff S on February 24, 2014 at 8:13am

@Kim. I haven't had a problem getting seeds to grow just getting them to produce veggies. I just drop them into my grow bed and they grow. I put some Kale and Basil in a new small GB last week and in 4 days they were sprouting. It's been 6 days now and they are still growing. I was watching a video from Purdue University last night and they said fluorescent lights close to the seed bed is best for sprouting seeds because you can burn them with MH lights. Keep in mind I haven't produced any veggies yet, just plants. I used a seed starting heat pad for small tubs of duckweed in my GH and had no problems.

Comment by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. on February 24, 2014 at 7:59am

Greetings @Kim. The top photo is of Collard Greens that we grew from seeds. They were started outdoors using the seeding method described here:http://bit.ly/16XR6dk Thank you for the kind words on the Chard. It was on its third harvest (we pick the leaves and let the plant keep growing), so it was time for it to come out.  

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 55
• 56
• 57
• 58
• 59
• …
• 557
• Next ›
• Page