Dosing Rates for plant supplements

RupertofOZ

Why do you think that Maxicrop.. isn't a suitable product for aquaponics...

It is only used as a plant tonic... and trace element supplementation...

Frankly, not only are the hydroponic nutrient solutions hugely expensive... but some are probably down right dangerous or fatal to your fish...

They're all artificail chemical mixes... whereas Maxicrop is a proven fish safe natural product... in a chelated form...

As you're adding chelated iron, and worm tea.... I just can't understand why on earth you would use any of the products you list above...

Why bother with aquaponics.... if you want to do hydroponics??

TCLynx

Hay Rupe, I think he is actually doing some comparison testing (not actually in aquaponics.) At least I hope so as I wouldn't want to be adding those things in with fish either.

mantis

Which maxicrop are you talking about. There are a few different versions, like the one with added N:P:K, and the straight seaweed concentrate
http://www.multicrop.com.au/fertilis.ht ... oncentrate

freoboy

mantis posted this - though it belonged in here somewhere

Mr Damage

Quote:

I've been testing out 3 type of different nutriment (certified organic ) they are not cheap but are very concentrate and needs less.
1) CANNA flores
2 )BIOBIZZ bloom
3 ) B.A.C organic PK boost
4 ) B.A.C organic Bloom
plus adding 2tbs(to 1500lt) of chelate iron monthly
also I have a wormculture and make my brewing from the compost monthly, adding woodhash to the mix to benefit of potassium in an organic form.

I can tell you that Canna Flores is definitely not organic.

Biobizz would appear to be certified organic, according to their website.

As far as the BAC nutrients are concerned, the only reference to them being organic is made by the manufacturer themselves.
I couldn't find any organic certification on their website for the two products you mentioned, or any of their products. Maybe I missed it, but I would've thought they'd make any reference to organic certification stand out like dogs balls... with great big flashing arrows pointing at it!

However, it's not whether a nutrient is organically or synthetically derived that's the issue for use with fish... it's the contents, especially Copper, Zinc etc, contained within the nutrient solution that is an issue. Whatever the source of the nutrients in the bottle, these elements would still need to be in similar concentrations within the solution... so the organic alternative is no less harmful to fish.

The occasional dash of Seasol (or Maxicrop) and pinch of Iron chelates seems from my experience to keep the plants happy. Some people growing fruiting plants also find they need to add Pottasium, either through the addition of banana skins and worms to the GB's, or by adding Potassium in one form or another, they've been covered on here extensively. I think if you need to add any more than the items listed above, you may not have enough fish in your system, or the food you are feeding them may not be balanced.

Cheers.

TCLynx

happily enough seasol or maxicrop provides potassium along with appropriate amounts of most trace elements.

Or when buffering your pH up you can alternate a calcium buffer with a potassium buffer (like using calcium carbonate one time and potassium bicarbonate the next) or for those who need a fast acting substance to raise pH, calcium hydroxide (brickies lime) and potassium hydroxide (old fashion potash lye.)

paedur5

I have 20 jade perch in my 1000L FT. In my grow beds I've a range of plants but nothing is doing very well. I want to add chelated iron but have been unable to find it here in hong kong. I did find the product below. Any thoughts on the suitability and dosage?

I should mention my ph is relatively high at around 8.0

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk 2

Batty

Seems like a lot of Cu and Zn for a fish system. I'm sure there is Fe Chelate somewhere in Hong Kong, if not could be shipped?

TCLynx

If you can't find something that would be safe enough to dump in the system. You may be able to dilute it and spray it on the plant leaves to give your plants what they need without much risk to the fish if you avoid dumping large amounts of it in the system.

So paedur5, if that is the only nutrient you can find, perhaps mix it as a foliar spray and spray your plants with it instead of risking your fish.

Foliar feeding is often a good way to get trace nutrients to the plants especially if your system water pH is too high for the nutrients to stay available to the plants in the water.

scotty435

TCLynx wrote:

If you can't find something that would be safe enough to dump in the system. You may be able to dilute it and spray it on the plant leaves to give your plants what they need without much risk to the fish if you avoid dumping large amounts of it in the system.

So paedur5, if that is the only nutrient you can find, perhaps mix it as a foliar spray and spray your plants with it instead of risking your fish.

Foliar feeding is often a good way to get trace nutrients to the plants especially if your system water pH is too high for the nutrients to stay available to the plants in the water.

I'll second this comment.

Batty

Just make sure to foliar feed early to avoid burning the plants.

vk3laj

I use 'trace elements' from bunnings - same bottle as above. I put in about half a cup (then topped up with water) to mix it then dump into my sump.

Works fine, no fish issues - (i have 4500L tank, 5 growbeds and 2 sumps)

Samuel L Jackson

I've been using potassium sulfate for my potassium supplementation and it works great. My nitrates were around 50ppm last time I checked and so I kept adding K2SO4 until I got just below 50ppm. Is this 1:1 ratio good for vegetative growth? I had good success with this formula, but I read a lot of conflicting information on the internet. In hydroponics I aim for a 1:1, but closer to 150ppm of each. I know that some people will have their nitrates running at 0 but still have explosive plant growth. This confuses me

Stuart Chignell

I'm pretty sure I've asked this question before but how are you measuring the K.

Samuel L Jackson

http://www.horiba.com/us/en/application ... ter-17163/

It has worked great for me for the most part. I calibrate before every use, which is anywhere between 5-10 tests. I also use the same pens but for calcium (Ca2+) and nitrate.

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