Search results

Toxic ammonium (or nitrite) levels are way too low to be detected by smell.    

NH4 is ammonium, NO2 is nitrite, NO3 is nitrate. The fish generate NH4 (highly toxic to fish) and nitrosomona bacteria oxidise it into NO2 (slightly less toxic). Nitrobacter oxidise that into NO3. Nitrobacter reproduce at a much slower rate than nitrosomonas so it can take a while for them to...

The only way to know for sure is to test the NH4 level, although its not essential testing the NO2 and NO3 level is useful.    Having too much filtration is always better than not enough. More importantly, if you switch the filter off the bacteria colony will die and you`ll be completely reliant...

I`d leave the filter on, especially if the tank isnt cycled and/or the media in your growbeds is new. Too much filtration wont hurt because it`ll all convert the ammonia into nitrite and ultimately nitrate for the plants. Worms will help reduce any solid waste build up in the growbeds but with a...

A 1.005g NaCl solution made from table salt and distilled water using a 20g x 0.001g scale gives a TDS of 1007 which is comparable with +/- 1% store bought solutions. With a 0.01g scale, Steve`s margin for error will be higher but it`ll be good enough for his verification purposes.

if it isnt mites, my money would be on a toxic ph down overdose.

Add 0.491g of NaCl to a clean, accurate measuring container, top up to 1000ml with distilled water. TDS: 500mg/L (ppm), EC: 1.0 Alternatively, add 1.005g of NaCl for TDS: 1000mg/L , EC: 2.0 Note the EC`s are related to 0.5 scale, which is probably the most common.

I dont think it`ll be a problem in a nice cool basement. If anything it`ll only be the lid which is easily fixed with a piece of mylar or some b/w poly.  The plants  have another week of luxury then they`re off outside.

That looked fairly painless, its easier getting the roots out than back in :) The blackout should fix the algae issue but i`d keep an eye on the water temperature for a day or two just in case it picks up more heat.   quick update on soil to aero root conversion, more white roots than brown now

It looks like a shortage of potassium,(K). Its a mobile element that can be taken/stolen from the older leaves and relocated elsewhere in the plant. Google suggests mater magic has an NPK of 5-5-9 so the K is lower than ideal for toms.

I wouldnt worry about the ph rise too much, the faster uptake and more frequent top ups will offset it. Best get the lightproofing done before the roots get too bulky to switch out the lid :)

Any updates Peter? I put some ex-soil plants into the indoor setup to convert them over to aero. After 2 days:  

You can build a solid 160ft2 x 9.5ft high greenhouse from thirty 8ft lengths of timber. If you stretch to 10ft`ers you can have 250ft2 x 11.5ft high. Greenhouses can never be too big :)

The lower flow submersible pumps tend to have lower heads so you might not be able to run quite as many sprayers.

I`ve never had much luck getting paint to stay stuck on plastic, a wrap of black and white poly (white side out) does the trick. I made my aero cloner from a green plastic planter, not an ideal color for spotting algae ;)

Great vids, looks super healthy what are you feeding it with?  Rising ph is likely due to the rapid increase in nitrate uptake. A bit of black tape on the sight tube will fix the algae issue, just leave a narrow vertical slot over the working range.

If you are overdoing the spray the plants will let you know by showing signs of overwatering. Its easy to spot, the leaves will start to look a little wilty but the stems will remain bolt upright. With underwatering, both the leaves and stems will look wilty. 

I use a constant reading ph monitor with a replacable bnc probe. I paid $35 for it about 9 years ago and its been running ever since. 

Nice tidy build. You`ll find the roots head straight for the floor and fill the container from the bottom up. I think you have a few too many nozzles for the space but it`s all good. I would consider using a timer to give the roots a breather, it`ll also help prevent the water heating up too much..

Commercial liquid nutes are concentrated stock solutions so there`s no need to do anything ;) I find standard 1:100 stock solutions (500g/5L) the most convenient.