Plant growth during fishless cycling

[sherrie p cockram]

I have just drained my system and started over with a PH balanced water I had the fire dept. deliver. I have lettuce growing, a couple of tomatoes a cucumber and some Malabar spinach.  The lettuce and other plants did well for awhile. The Malabar spinach is great. It's climbing a cord to the ceiling to my suspended cord my lights are hanging from. The lettuce and other plants are beginning to suffer. What nutrients can I give them to keep them going until I incorporate my fish?

The Basil in the photo has lost most of it's leaves, The tomato is yellowing, but the Malabar loves it!

 

[Keith Rowan]

have you added ammonia?

maxicrop with iron is a good plant supplement in new ap systems

have you added any buffers to the media?  the nitrification process will lower the ph, by adding shellgrit to your growbed (or in a stocking in your ft), it should be able to keep the ph around 7.2-7.4

 

[sherrie p cockram]

I am slowly adding ammonia. The ammonia count this morning is 1.0ppm. I have maxicrop and will try it. My PH this morning is 6.0. I do have crushed oyster shell inder the water flow in the 2 media beds. Thank you for the advice! 

[Alex Veidel]

Good for you.

sherrie p cockram said:

I am slowly adding ammonia.

[sherrie p cockram]

1 TBS. at a freakin time per your instructions Sir!!!  
Alex Veidel said:

Good for you.

sherrie p cockram said:

I am slowly adding ammonia.

[Garrett Van Neste]

I cycled my system fishlessly.  I used some liquid kelp (I believe it's the same as seaweed?)  That seemed to work pretty well for keeping the plants happy enough.  You may have a tough time with tomoatoes and cucumbers in an immature system though.  My tomatoes died at least.

[sherrie p cockram]

Thank you!

Garrett Van Neste said:

I cycled my system fishlessly.  I used some liquid kelp (I believe it's the same as seaweed?)  That seemed to work pretty well for keeping the plants happy enough.  You may have a tough time with tomoatoes and cucumbers in an immature system though.  My tomatoes died at least.

[Tradewind]

Just a thought.  You said you started over with pH balanced water.  Do you think maybe that the water was nutrient deficient and you haven't been running long enough with the new water to build any nutrients?  Just because water is pH balance does not mean it has anything in it for the plants, no?  Perhaps it will improve with time.  I know mine did as I was beginning to cycle, but then I dosed with way too much ammonia.  Good thing I didn't have any fish in there.  In time, it all worked out and cycled in about 5 weeks.  During that time my plants improved as the process worked.