Skoot Cat my whole point is the seaweed is not even close to being a potassium supplement at the rates you are using it. Sorry if I offended you, was not my intention, rather to get your attention and think about the numbers, all of them including cost. So letÂs say you wanted it as a supplement. What percentage are you looking for? 5%, 10%, what? That little 11-ounce bottle only contains less than ½ am ounce of potassium. Now you said that your area requires as much Potassium as it does Nitrogen in a calendar year, right? Well SA needs about 3 to 4 pounds of Nitrogen per calendar year in 3 to 4 applications. Well do the math and see how much of that seaweed stuff you have to use to get to 5 or 10% of 3 or 4 pounds per year. (6.4 ounces is 10% of 4-pounds or 15 bottles per 1000/ft2) Even if you could afford it, since it is water soluble, it is gone just after a couple of good rains, right down the drain so to speak. Hope that makes since, dollar since that is. If your soil is so sandy that it cannot hold Potassium, then find a source of Texas, Arkansas, or New Jersey Green Sand. It is a mineral like a ground rock. It is not water soluble and stable in the soil. If applied at the recommended rate of 40-pounds per 1000/ft2 will last 5 to 10 years with a single application. Then you can quit using all those expensive organic over priced MG voodoo products and just use straight Soy Bean Meal from the feed store. Alfalfa is OK, but requires 2 to 3 times more product than SBM. ThatÂs all from me, good luck.

Ramoth41's(and Ron's) Reef The Tank: It's a 125 pre drilled allglass. 2 overflows one on each end. 2 175w MH and 2 each 6ft VHO white/blue. The hood is DIY, plywood with the front hinged for access. I cringe when I look at it because it is suspeneded from the ceiling by bright yellow chain! We can raise and lower as needed. The plan is to wall the tank in but that hasn't happened yet. (yet ANOTHER unfinished project! lol) I actually have a curtain I made to cover it up. Pretty ugly!! lol! We have a 50g rubbermaid tub as a sump, which BTW I don't recomend this as it is the 2nd one they crack and leak but it was all we could find. There is a DIY BDS (big damn skimmer) counter current venturi variety. All I know is the BDS is about 4 feet tall and noisy! The main recirculating pump for the BDS is a magdrive 1200. and there are various smaller power heads around the tank to move water.We recently added a fluidized bed filter but it really isn't up and running just yet as it needs more "tweeking".(uh oh I was just informed that he is "brainstorming" again! can you say UPGRADE BUG?) The current configuration for the main return is 2 1k gph Quietone pumps.This makes the turn over somthing like 15-18 times in an hour. Substraight: about 200-250 lbs of LR. Somthing like 100lbs of live sand mixed with crushed coral which the convict blennies love to move around. They have quite the condo going under the LR. Maintance: Well um .. we do a 40 gal water change every week and use Reef Crystal salt mix using RO/DI only. . As far as testing we subscribe to the "Don't mess with the magic" theory. We do test for Alk and Calcuim levels using Salifert test kits. But to be honest if it looks good we leave it alone. Let the LR and LS do it's job. This can and has backfired on us, but most of the time it works pretty well. Actually for about 7-8 years we didn't even own a test kit and just did water changes and that was really the best it ever looked! Granted at the time it was in the 55 and had over 200lbs of LR! Inhabitants include : Fish.. coral beauty, singapore angel, 2 convict blennies, marine betta, 2-4stripe damsels, false perc, yellow tail damsel, yellow tang. BTW the yellow tail is one of my cyclers and is about 11yrs old the coral beauty is almost 10yrs old and the clown aint far behind about 9yrs old! Corals... brown buttons by the ton! Brown mushroms all over! red & green shrooms, pink stars, monster devil's hand leathers, green tree leather, napthia, MR Bubble, purple & brown gorgonias,a corky finger gorgonia, frogspawn, torch, favia, 2 neon green brains, green & orange buttons, capanella, lg brown/green acro (with red crab), sad little moon & pagoda that survived the crash and are doing thier best to come back. blue coral, candy cane coral, galaxia, lettuce coral, red open brain, pink acroporia w/coral crab, Inverts.... CB shrimp, 3 pepermint shrimp,several big serpent stars, as yet to be ID'd crab (long thin black & white stripes on legs and small claws small body about 1inch total diameter possible sally lightfoot.) 50 each snails and hermits. 4 urchins (long spine in sump, pencil in over flow and 2 in tank knocking stuff over on daily basis) and some aptasia that just won't take the hint and go away! And green fuzzy stuff I don't have any idea where I got it from, (darn green algae) I think thats it I prolly missed somthing!

You know, I live in the SF Bay Area, and I WS for the first time two weeks ago (just before Thanksgiving), and I haven't had a single seedling pop up. I used milk cartons too, sliced like yours, and took off the cap, duct taped them, and cut holes in the bottom to drain the soil. So far though, nothing-- I wonder if this is the problem. It's been in the 60's, generally sunny, with some foggy mornings, but nothing abnormal for around here. I have them on the east side of my house, where they get sun until about 1 or so. I haven't watered them, but the soil still looks moist. I figured it'd be ok to WS so early because all the natural sprouts are coming up-- all the poppies and what not are out in the yard, doing they're winter process. Seems like the right time to seed things here. But is this not removing the top thing probably the problem?? Or should I just wait more?? If this is the prob, it'd be great to include the info in the FAQs area-- I'd hate to loose all 25 of my jugs..... I have been wondering what's taken them so long though-- two weeks is usually enough to see something somewhere...... :( Guess I should take off the tops?? Does anyone have experience WS in the Bay Area?

Rust isn't my main reason for removing rings although it sure helps prevent it and the damage to the jar threads than can result. My main concern is the molds, yeasts, and bacteria that can grow there in that nice dark, snug, place from the boil-over during processing and any residual dampness. I won't go into the exploding jars that can't pop their lids because they have a ring left on. ;) Per the BBB - "Before placing the jars in your pantry, remove the bands and wipe off the lids and jars to remove any food residue. Rinse and dry. Do not replace the bands. " Since it is recommended that the jars and threads are all wiped down before putting in storage anyway, the rings have to be removed to do that. So why wipe down the jar and threads and then put a dirty ring back on? And, it also gives you yet another opportunity to check your seals and discover any weak ones. Once the jar is opened for use it is easy to simply add a ring back on the jar or use one of the plastic ones for fridge storage. At any rate, it's up to you of course but I have linked two of the longer previous discussions on this that you might want to review. ;) Dave Rusting rings on jars Here is a link that might be useful: Rings on jars?