Low pH in the apartment system but growth is good

I checked out the system this week, and it seems to be doing well.  The brown algae in the water is slowly disappearing.  The veggies are growing well, though the strawberry seeds that I scattered in one pot don’t seem to be growing too quickly.  My friend hadn’t checked the chemicals recently, so I did while I was there.  The pH was very low (<6), but everything else looked ok.  The ammonia was 0.5ppm.  Nitrite was zero, and Nitrate was 160+ ppm.

I added 6 capfuls of API’s pH up.  I decided that I didn’t want to rely on my friend checking the pH and adjusting, so I added enough pH up to bump up the pH to around 7.  Normally I wouldn’t want to raise it more than 0.2 per day, but I didn’t want to risk losing the bacteria and have to re-cycle the system.  My friend added a little water the next day, and checked the pH.  It was about 7 – 7.2, which is ideal.  Hopefully this weekend I can visit for a few hours to clean the canister filter, and plan out new fish that we want to put in the fish tank.  We’d also like to mount some small lights that we have onto chains above the grow bed.  Another issue is that the water draining is somewhat loud, so I want to figure out a way to muffle the draining water.  Here’s some pictures and a video from my visit to the system.

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Old News Bad News Good News

Finally! Another update after a long period of dormancy! Not that I totally neglected aquaponics, I just dont have anything fun or nice to show off. Unlike other peoples system, mine isnt that successful. No lush jungle growth or monster fish. Ive yet to enjoy my first fully aquaponics meal like the one shown in Murray Hallams video.

Anyway heres an update of my system. Ill start with some old pictures, followed by bad news and then finally the good news!

Here are some NICE old pictures taken over the last 3 months:

17 March

Overgrown tomato "bush"

Bak Choy doing well in the beginning...

Single tomato flower. They kept falling off in the beginning.

Purple okra never did well. They were infested by aphids. I had them removed later.

 21 March

Gave the tomato plants some trimming. Lots of flowers but no fruits.

Left growbed

Ripening chilli fruit

Fully ripen chilli next to a green one

During that time, my chilli plant went berserk and produced around 15 fruits. Juicy chillies! They were hot as well.

15 April

Trimmed the tomato again. Bak choy showing signs of deficiency. The bottom was also getting overcrowded that time.

This is a single piece of root from ONE tomato plant that had been clogging the right growbeds outlet pipe.

Okay, back to present time. Now the bad news...
The plants have been showing signs of nutrient deficiency. It looks like a lack of potassium or magnesium... or maybe both. I dont really know. Also, I removed all except one Bak Choy plant because they werent growing so well. Most were stunted with brown edges. I threw most of them in to the tilapia tank.

Chilli plant had stopped bearing fruits like crazy

Leaves yellowing with brown edges. Curled up as well. What could it be?

Roselle have not been doing well since the beginning

New growth showing sign of chlorosis. Growth is slow too.

The remedy the problem, Ive been adding potassium in to the system in the form of cream of tartar. I couldnt find any other forms of potassium. Previously, I used to bury banana flesh in the growbeds.

For magnesium, I used dolomite lime. It contains calcium and magnesium, but I read from somewhere that I shouldnt use too much of this stuff.

Finally, the good news...! :D
The good news weve all been waiting for!

WE...
HAVE...
TOMATOES!!!

Indeterminate tomato plants need plenty of space. Im still learning how to grow them.

Green tomato!

A red one there! 4 on the left! Dont ask... Yes, I have eaten that one. Firm, sweet, & juicy!

More tomatoes!

My tomatoes didnt bear any fruits at first. Just flowers, no fruits. That was until I started adding cream of tartar in to my system. I wasnt sure how much cream of tartar Im supposed to put in to my system, so I just added 1 teaspoon every week. Ive already stopped adding them and will only continue once my plants show signs of potassium deficiency again.

This basil plant which once was a mysterious seedling now growing healthily. I wasnt sure how the seed got there. I think it is Genovese.

Fish water is getting clearer recently. Im not entirely sure why, but I think its due to the tomato plants working hard to suck out nitrates from the system which then improves the efficiency of the nitrifying bacteria. Or maybe its due to the massive tomato root system which helps to capture suspended solids in the water.

Its been a year since I bought my tilapia and they havent reached plate size yet. They dont eat much; only a handful of pellets everyday. They also dont grow at the same speeds. Some are like 9 inches long while some remained at only 3 inches. Im not very experienced with fish keeping, but I think water quality effects their growth. Its like the fish instinctively go on a diet to reduce poop saturation levels. Oh well, not that Im in a hurry.

Thanks for reading!

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Lions Mane Mushrooms

A few years ago, I became interested in mushroom cultivation.  Ive grown oyster mushrooms in the past, and I just harvested some Lions Mane mushrooms that I got for the holidays.  Ive heard some pretty cool things about these mushrooms.  Apparently they can increase you memory and mood.  Paul Stamets is a mushroom expert with some interesting thoughts about Lions Mane.  You may have seen his TED talk, 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save The World.

I saw Paul give a talk about mushrooms at Burning Man this past year.  The talk was very interesting, and one of the things he mentioned was that Lions Mane promotes growth of cells in the brain.  He also mentioned that they taste like lobster when sauteed with butter.  I had to give it a try! 

I prepared the grow kit around December 27th, and I made a mushroom fruiting box a few days later.  The fruiting box is a large clear bin with holes drilled in it, and moist perlite at the bottom.  This keeps the humidity high so that I dont have to mist the bag as often.  I still fan out the box once or twice a day.

From Jan 15th-ish?

 I harvested on Jan 20th

I sauteed them up with some red onions and butter, and a little salt and pepper.  They were pretty tasty, though not my favorite.  I am excited to harvest another flush in a few weeks, and hopefully I can prepare the next batch a little better, and theyll taste more like lobster!

Heres Pauls website where I got the kit:

http://www.fungi.com/shop/mushroom-kits/indoor-mushroom-kits.html

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