Acidity (potential issue) please Advise - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T19:29:37Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/acidity-potential-issue-please-advise?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A560102&feed=yes&xn_auth=noyou guys rock!!! thanks!tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-04-28:4778851:Comment:5601302014-04-28T11:12:45.749ZNick Scudhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/NickScud
<p>you guys rock!!! thanks!</p>
<p>you guys rock!!! thanks!</p> Hi Nick (cool last name i.e g…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-04-28:4778851:Comment:5598992014-04-28T00:17:37.677ZVlad Jovanovichttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/VladJovanovic
<p>Hi Nick (cool last name i.e gammarus...a great AP detritivore)</p>
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<p>Alex is pretty much right on the money...but</p>
<p>"How much"? Will really depend on your particular and specific water chemistry...that being said, you can pretty much count on 6 grams of potassium bicarb (about a teaspoon) raising your KH (carbonate hardness) about 4 dH (degrees of hardness) points in 50 liters of water.</p>
<p>1 dH point equals 17.8ppm (or 17.9ppm depending on which scale you use).</p>
<p>So, 4…</p>
<p>Hi Nick (cool last name i.e gammarus...a great AP detritivore)</p>
<p></p>
<p>Alex is pretty much right on the money...but</p>
<p>"How much"? Will really depend on your particular and specific water chemistry...that being said, you can pretty much count on 6 grams of potassium bicarb (about a teaspoon) raising your KH (carbonate hardness) about 4 dH (degrees of hardness) points in 50 liters of water.</p>
<p>1 dH point equals 17.8ppm (or 17.9ppm depending on which scale you use).</p>
<p>So, 4 dH is equivalent to 71.2ppm of carbonate hardness. How much these ppm's raises your pH will depend on your specific water chemistry...confused yet? <img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/></p>
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<p>So, what you want to do...is grab a 5 gallon bucket of your systems water (measure and note the pH) and then put in some known (small) quantity...like maybe a teaspoon of potassium bicarb (KHCO3). Then measure and note the pH again...and just extrapolate from there. </p>
<p>REMEMBER THOUGH...you don't want to raise your systems pH by more that 0.4 points in a single 24 hour period. So it might be best to play with the 5 gallon bucket and your spoon until you come to an amount of KHCO3 that raises the bucket waters pH by about 0.4 pH points. then multiply that amount by 55 (to get your 275 gallons of total system water...if in fact that is the total amount of water you have in your system)...</p>
<p>Then you will know how much to add to your particular system..</p>
<p>Yes, you can add it to the sump</p>
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<p></p> So do I just add some potassi…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-04-27:4778851:Comment:5601022014-04-27T20:53:20.269ZNick Scudhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/NickScud
<p>So do I just add some potassium-bicarbonate powder to my tank and/or grow beds?? I guess the simple question is how much of it, and add it to what part of system?? (can be applied to sump, instead of tank-direct, for example)..</p>
<p>So do I just add some potassium-bicarbonate powder to my tank and/or grow beds?? I guess the simple question is how much of it, and add it to what part of system?? (can be applied to sump, instead of tank-direct, for example)..</p> Well, your system probably ha…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-04-27:4778851:Comment:5600372014-04-27T15:32:37.621ZAlex Veidelhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AlexVeidel
<p>Well, your system probably has a healthier population of bacteria than it did last year. Beneficial bacteria love a higher pH environment, yet produce various acids that lower the pH around them. This trait causes bacteria to essentially pave the way for the establishment of beneficial fungi, which create an environment more suitable for trees, shrubs, and other perennials (fungi produce ammonium, which is a form of nitrogen that trees prefer over nitrate, which is your veggies favorite…</p>
<p>Well, your system probably has a healthier population of bacteria than it did last year. Beneficial bacteria love a higher pH environment, yet produce various acids that lower the pH around them. This trait causes bacteria to essentially pave the way for the establishment of beneficial fungi, which create an environment more suitable for trees, shrubs, and other perennials (fungi produce ammonium, which is a form of nitrogen that trees prefer over nitrate, which is your veggies favorite food). So, your bacteria colony is causing your pH to lower over time. It's the way things are designed to be.</p>
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<p>Plenty of people have success with lower pH systems; plenty of plants prefer it. However, to keep your pH at the 6.8-7.0 range, you can adjust your KH level (carbonate hardness). Carbonates act as a pH buffer, which will stabilize your water parameters and slow the decrease in pH. Potassium bicarbonate is a popular choice.</p>
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<p><a href="http://theaquaponicsource.com/2014/02/02/the-carbonates-controversy-in-aquaponics/" target="_blank">http://theaquaponicsource.com/2014/02/02/the-carbonates-controversy-in-aquaponics/</a></p>