Great info! I'm very familliar with silica/the negative effects of it as i use it in my blast cabinet. I'll put some down(the food grade type) before I go out of town.
Found mites i think, some small holes in leaves. I sprayed them down with canola/water mixture. The leaves are definitely droopy as a result. I have heard that rosemary oil is good, I need to find some and do a final spray. I know that there were anywhere between 3-10 on a few of the leaves that i physically removed but i dont seem to see any left now. I am seeing that the stems have some red spots, kind of looks like what happened to my lavender plant that was killed by mites.
On the bright side, the watering system is set up. It will just recirculate water for 30 minutes intervals 3 times per day. Its as simple as it gets, as long as I can replace the water between trips it should suffice.