Month: November 2010

Plant Type= Basil

Growth Status= 3 sprouts, one dead plant, strange black (possibly fungal) growth on plants.  New seeds planted in dormant pods.

Water Temp= +/- 72 F

Water Ph= 7.3 (will be lowered today)

Fish Count= 25

Light Cycle= 15 on/ 9 off

News: We almost had two casualties today. There were two fish being sucked into the filter until I came in to view our progress and saved them.  On a lighter note a 3 new plants are  in the beginning stages of sprouting hopefully to maintain  growth. We removed the media from the filter to hopefully gain more waste and nutrients provided by the fish to help our plants grow. The fungus is still continuing to grow on one plant and has killed off two plants. The 3 new plants have not yet begun to grow fungus, we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Sincerely

Jeffrey J. Woytowich

November 11, 2010

Plant Type= Basil

Growth Status= 3 sprouts, one dead plant, strange black (possibly fungal) growth on plants.  New seeds planted in dormant pods.

Water Temp= +/- 72 F

Water Ph= 7.3 (will be lowered today)

Fish Count= 25

Light Cycle= 15 on/ 9 off

News= On Friday, our fish continue to stay alive and live a healthy life. The black spots on our basil leaves are continuing to get bigger which as previously noted in our blogs it is a type of fungus which is caused by a nutrient deficiency. We are trying to figure out a way to try and save the plant, if a solution is not met, we might have to regrow our Basil plants

Sincerely,

Jeffrey J. Woytowich

Plant Type= Basil

Growth Status= 3 sprouts, one dead plant, strange black (possibly fungal) growth on plants.  New seeds planted in dormant pods.

Water Temp= +/- 72 F

Water Ph= 7.3 (will be lowered today)

Fish Count= 25

Light Cycle= 15 on/ 9 off

News= Well, on Tuesday we added 25 new goldfish to the system.  We went with a smaller population, in order to keep our toxin levels at a more reasonable level. So far we have had great success, here we are, 2 days in and NO casualties! The water is also looking much clearer than it has in the past, perhaps this can also be attributed to the removal of our wooden plant structure.  The new watering system is working well, keeping the Rock Wool moist, and the plants fed.  I have noticed our growth is much slower than most of the other groups, this must be because we are not feeding our plants the nutrients like the other groups, and the fish aren’t producing enough waste to keep things fed.  Hopefully we will continue to have this slow, yet steady growth amongst our basil.  Well, I promised you all pictures of the new system, so I guess I will wrap this up and get to the good stuff. Happy Veterans Day.

Plant Type= Basil

Growth Status= 4 sprouts, beginning to grow taller.

Water Temp= +/- 72 F

Water Ph= 7.0

Fish Count= 0

Light Cycle= 15 on/ 9 off

News= Since  we have replaced the water our Ph still has been at all time high of 8.5. This still and continuously has been our biggest downfall in our Aquaponics system. Today again both Phil and I have lowered the Ph to 6.5 hopefully it sustains. On the lighter note the water has remained clear and the plants are continue to grow but is not flourishing with live and healthy fish.  Next tuesday there will be 50 brand new gold/feeder fish once again introduced to our system. Wish us luck

Sincerely,

Jeffrey J. Woytowich

Plant Type= Basil

Growth Status= 4 sprouts, beginning to grow taller.

Water Temp= +/- 72 F

Water Ph= 7.0

Fish Count= 0

Light Cycle= 15 on/ 9 off

News= WELL. Again we are complete aquaponic failures. The fish population is gone. While we are making progress ( the fish lasted a week longer than they did the first time.) We did some testing and our ammonia and nitrate levels were through the roof.  Our pH is also high, after holding steady for a week and a half… It’s time to do some research and find out how we can keep these levels lower.  We also did some more custom fabricating and changed the plant holding system, getting rid of the wood, in case it was releasing some of the toxins. We will have pics up soon.