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vermiman
05-12-2015, 02:38 PM
I have an 18 gallon tank(gold fish right now) and an 18 gallon grow media container. When ever I grow tomatoes they seem do grow well with no additives. But this last year I tried growing cucumbers and they did not grow as well. Yellowing leaves. What types of additives do I need to add to my system and how do I add them without harming the fish?

davidstcldfl
05-13-2015, 04:23 AM
Hi vermiman (http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/member.php?1419-vermiman),
The yellowing, may have been, a shortage of iron.


Your signature may be the answer.
I use worm tea...using AP water to start it. Besides the worm castings, I add...molasses (It has iron and trace minerals, plus it aids in the bacteria production) and maxicrop with iron.
Filter and spray on the plants...:)

Chelated iron can be added to the system's water. Again, maxicrop with iron is popular in AP. Plus, it too, has trace minerals.

vermiman
05-13-2015, 05:00 AM
Hi vermiman (http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/member.php?1419-vermiman),
The yellowing, may have been, a shortage of iron.


Your signature may be the answer.
I use worm tea...using AP water to start it. Besides the worm castings, I add...molasses (It has iron and trace minerals, plus it aids in the bacteria production) and maxicrop with iron.
Filter and spray on the plants...:)

Chelated iron can be added to the system's water. Again, maxicrop with iron is popular in AP. Plus, it too, has trace minerals.

I use AVCT(aerated Vermi-compost Tea) weekly or bi-weekly. I spray the leaves of the plants in the growbed nearly every time that I brew the tea, I also throw a few worms on the media every year to start a worm colony. Tomatoes do fine in my system with no problems. It may be that the tomato's roots grow deeper into the grow media. I use a solar powered pump system. On cloudy days, I let the pump function far less than on sunny days. I'm afraid I'll kill my battery if I let its' voltage get too low. On these days I believe that tomato is able to get it's nutes deeper in the media.