Aquaponic and Hydroponic Hobby Growing

[dinger]

Okay so I found the elephant manure EM and bought a 5lt bottle. At the rate mentioned 5lt is just right. So what is the best way to introduce it into the system. All at once (seems to drastic), a little each day, once a week?

And as mentioned pretty cheap

Thanks

[Fapington]

I don't think you can harm your system with too much EM, or should I say a distinct introduction of EM to your system. I will defer to cdmtdm on this one, as he has a much stronger understanding of EM.

[cdmtdm]

hey just add it all in no problem at all ....and top up every couple of months ....the beauty of using EM over salt its not going to affect you veg, in fact they will benefit , use salt only in a real emergency imo ...

[dinger]

Great thanks for the info been dumping it in to the water exiting the grow bed and into sump that way it gets a bid diluted before going into the tanks.

I now have a new very cunning predator raiding my grow bed, my wife. She sees the herbs growing and keeps taking them for cooking. I have to tell her just a little bit for now, soon you can have all you want

[Fapington]

That's great news dinger. It's good that your wife is exited about using the veggies. Trust me, it's going to be a lot easier to convince her of future systems. This won't be your last, it's too addicting. lol

[dinger]

She already wants me to build something on the farm. I keep telling her unless I live there everything will be gone in nothing flat

[dinger]

Greetings

Back Again.

Things settling in nicely, fish doing better and grow bed doing very well. Last week, just for fun I took some coriander seeds from my spice cupboard in the kitchen and thru some in the grow bed , not really expecting anything, and they actually sprouted and are growing. Good sign

Question: right now I am simply using settlement in my tanks to remove solids. Lately I have been seeing more and more build up in the water. I do get a lot of waste when I clean out the traps at the bottom but still seems like a lot of particulate matter in the water. I am thinking of adding a sand filter but am wondering if that will remove too much of the beneficial fish bi-products. Or am I over thinking this?

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Thanks

[Fapington]

Hey Dinger,

Can you slow the amount of water your pumping to allow for more retention time in your filter tank?

If the water quality if ok for the fish, and it's ok for you, I wouldn't worry about it right now. If you want to clean up some of the smaller participles, you could throw in the blue salt water aquarium filter padding into your existing filter. I've ran that stuff for intermittent periods when my water quality was shitty. It will take a week or two, but your water will come out really nice. Naturally, it will be a re-occuring issue if the solids aren't settling in your filter.

[cdmtdm]

with media beds its a juggling act , to much pre filtration may affect the nutrient supply in the beds , not enough will see your media beds become congested ( i have emptied media beds after a few years use ) the smell and residue is disgusting .....so i always lean towards better filtration and let the beds build up over a slower time period , slower initial growth will equate to a much longer and productive life of the bed ... i have used a/cond filter media mat ( white stuff) its cheap , lay it just under the outlet inside the clarifier ...change it or clean it as the flow is reduced ... also as Fapington suggested check your flow rate /retention time so you are aware of what u are dealing with ....

[dinger]

I give those a try. I have the system on a fairly slow cycle about 50 min per cycle but can still slow it down more if need be. It appears that the small particles are suspended in the water.

But it sounds like I am over thinking things if the fish and plants are happy then leave well enough alone. Just have to remind myself this is a fish tank/pond and not an aquarium.

[Fapington]

I personally do not stress small solids. They will settle somewhere, eventually, probably in your growbed.

You could rig up a bucket with holes in the bottom (think of those common plastic hanging gardening pots), and fill it with filter pad, and let the water draining from your bed into your sump flow through your makeshift filter. At least then you'll have piece of mind that the solids aren't settling in your sump.

Edited June 13, 2014 by Fapington

[dinger]

Okay I'll quit stressing and go find something else to stress over. I am sure my wife has done something that will drive me nuts for a couple of days

Thanks

[Fapington]

lol

[cdmtdm]

Hi Guys , here is a link to FB page i have just created , i have begun loading pics and will add more as the days , weeks go by ...cheers

https://www.facebook.com/pages/AquaponicsAsia/248129625386202?sk=timeline

[Fapington]

Just had a look. Good stuff!

[dinger]

Nice looking set up every thing nice and clean and tidy

[cdmtdm]

a couple of shot for those that dont use FB , the farm is built on just over 500sqm ... so not a lot of land required

[dinger]

Looks like you have put quite a bit of forethought into this set up, very well organized

[WatUp]

Nice system CDMTDM!

Everyone,

I went to Accsent Hydro this weekend and got to talking with the owner and was all excited about this product he just tested. It sprays onto shade cloth, plastic film and the poly carb stuff. He claims that when it is sunny it is an opaque white reflecting heat and when raining it is clear. He wasn't able to give me a price per bucket but I'll update if I find that out.

Edited June 17, 2014 by WatUp

[wolfrunes]

Cdmtdm

Will you be willing to advise / suggest via pm on how to set up a system from scratch?

[Fapington]

Hey Guys,

I've been ordering some harder to find supplements from a company called Chemipan.

I ordered things like Calcium/Potassium Hydroxide, Hydrochloric Acid, Calcium Chloride, etc...

They have English speaking staff that is very quick on the email. (That has been my experience).

They have quick an extensive list of stuff, and they sell in smaller quantities. No minimum order either.

www.chemipan.com

[cdmtdm]

Cdmtdm

Will you be willing to advise / suggest via pm on how to set up a system from scratch?

yes sure no problem or message me via fb page ...aquaponicsasia.......

cheers

[dinger]

Back again.

Something is eating the plants in my grow bed and this time it isn't my wife.

Appears something has been dining on my new sprouts. They are about a cm tall and only the leaves are chewed off stalk still standing. Don't think it is any sort of rodent as I have a couple of dogs that keep the place pretty well policed up, but it could be. As I have seen caterpillars around here before that is what I am thinking. But short of staying up all night with a flashlight and a stick any ideas on how go get rid of them

Thanks

[Fapington]

Good chance it's birds. They will eat the young leaves until true leaves begin to grow, and when they reach a juvenile stage they leave them alone entirely.

I would suspect that this is because micro greens (very young veggie sprouts) contain a burst of nutrition inherently, as they require nutrition stored in the seed to sprout and sustain until they have tiny little roots which can begin to feed them. Animals inherently understand what foods are more nutrient dense. Chickens for example will eat things like Kale before they eat lettuce, because Kale is much more nutrient dense.

If you're able, you can cover your grow bed with some type of netting. I use fish netting, because it's readily available, cheap, and holds up really well in the elements (weather). If covering the grow bed is not an option, perhaps cover the 4 sides with netting. Netting is the only way to physically keep them out.

There are methods of deterrence, but no guarantee. You can also pick up a toy rubber snake, and move him around occasionally so the birds don't get too comfortable with him. I have one, they do not like it. I also however, have netted everything.

Hope that helps! Assuming the culprit is in fact birds.

[dinger]

Will try the netting and see how it works. Maybe find a real snake Didn't think about birds as usually associate them with stealing fruit not eating actual plants

Finally getting things in balance now so would hate to lose a bunch of new plants to free loaders

Thanks

Edited June 25, 2014 by dinger

[cdmtdm]

caterpillars .... perhaps moving in at night ...

[dinger]

Caterpillars, my thought, but not much of a chance of stopping them once they move in

[cdmtdm]

mix up the garlic spray and alternate with ginger , if you look back you will see a post by tony on how to make it ...works wonders ...

[dinger]

I'll give it a shot and if it doesn't work my wife can always use it when cooking

[Issangeorge]

Hello All, there's the mag I mentioned and they have changed it to "home" from house.

OT, but a good book is A House Is Not A Home, Polly Adler.

Here is one of the adds(www.) that show up now and then, don't know what the sell/have.

Threw in a pic from this months 20+ pages of toms and saving seed.

rice555

When I built my house 11 years ago the building supply store I used was Global Home, then for some reason they changed it to Global House. Yes a house is a home, but a home isn't necessarily a house.

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