Fish dying daily help! - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T11:29:06Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/fish-dying-daily-help?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A617971&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI've heard that with an ammon…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2015-11-14:4778851:Comment:6181942015-11-14T04:01:09.411ZJeff Shttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JeffSullivan
<p>I've heard that with an ammonia/Nitrite problem that won't go away there may be something dead in your tank (fish maybe) and the decaying would produce ammonia. </p>
<p>I've heard that with an ammonia/Nitrite problem that won't go away there may be something dead in your tank (fish maybe) and the decaying would produce ammonia. </p> Michael,
I'll look up that l…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2015-11-12:4778851:Comment:6180922015-11-12T17:57:24.647ZChris Akershttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/ChrisAkers
<p>Michael,</p>
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<p>I'll look up that lab and send them a water sample.</p>
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<p>Phil,</p>
<p>I used bare cedar locally available, I was afraid that the arsenic treaded lumber would leech into the water somehow. I'll check out the link for more info on it.</p>
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<p>I really wish that I had used regular IBC totes for the fish tank like most everyone else did. It would have made mounting my grow beds so much easier! The lady from the aquaponic source really talked up round…</p>
<p>Michael,</p>
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<p>I'll look up that lab and send them a water sample.</p>
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<p>Phil,</p>
<p>I used bare cedar locally available, I was afraid that the arsenic treaded lumber would leech into the water somehow. I'll check out the link for more info on it.</p>
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<p>I really wish that I had used regular IBC totes for the fish tank like most everyone else did. It would have made mounting my grow beds so much easier! The lady from the aquaponic source really talked up round tanks so I went that route. I also sank my sump down in the ground to try and regulate the water temperature, but that has added problems as well. Live and learn I guess.</p> Chris,
Looks like your gettin…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2015-11-12:4778851:Comment:6180892015-11-12T16:27:37.218ZPhilip Knapphttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/PhilipKnapp
<p>Chris,</p>
<p>Looks like your getting some really good feedback, I'll add one observation, from looking at your pictures you have some wood over the top of your tank, hopefully its not treated lumber, there are some real nasty things in the chemistry used in the treating process and a small ecosystem would have a hard time dealing with direct or even occasional contact from condensation dripping back into your tank. The link I've added has some really good info on the subject.…</p>
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<p>Chris,</p>
<p>Looks like your getting some really good feedback, I'll add one observation, from looking at your pictures you have some wood over the top of your tank, hopefully its not treated lumber, there are some real nasty things in the chemistry used in the treating process and a small ecosystem would have a hard time dealing with direct or even occasional contact from condensation dripping back into your tank. The link I've added has some really good info on the subject.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2714&q=324870" target="_blank">http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2714&q=324870</a></p>
<p>Good luck,</p>
<p>Phil</p> I did it online with a nation…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2015-11-11:4778851:Comment:6180692015-11-11T14:14:41.669ZMichael Welberhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/MichaelWelber
<p>I did it online with a national company. I think they are called National Labs. Do a search on water testing. It costs about 100 bucks but is well, well worth it. </p>
<p>I did it online with a national company. I think they are called National Labs. Do a search on water testing. It costs about 100 bucks but is well, well worth it. </p> Not a bad idea! Where did you…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2015-11-11:4778851:Comment:6182382015-11-11T14:13:37.427ZChris Akershttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/ChrisAkers
<p>Not a bad idea! Where did you go to get your water tested?</p>
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<p>Not a bad idea! Where did you go to get your water tested?</p>
<p></p> Have you had your water teste…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2015-11-10:4778851:Comment:6179812015-11-10T22:42:44.007ZMichael Welberhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/MichaelWelber
<p>Have you had your water tested? I was using cistern water in my system and discovered that I had .013 ml of zinc in the water. That was enough to start killing fish after about 3 months. And, just like you, they were dying regularly. I'd strongly suggest you have the water tested, if you haven't already. BTW, I had tried EVERYTHING else before I discovered the problem. </p>
<p>Have you had your water tested? I was using cistern water in my system and discovered that I had .013 ml of zinc in the water. That was enough to start killing fish after about 3 months. And, just like you, they were dying regularly. I'd strongly suggest you have the water tested, if you haven't already. BTW, I had tried EVERYTHING else before I discovered the problem. </p> Thanks for the feedback!Your…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2015-11-10:4778851:Comment:6179712015-11-10T15:54:11.091ZChris Akershttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/ChrisAkers
<p>Thanks for the feedback!Your correct, I did mean that I'm not filtering the solids prior to the grow beds. I'll go and look up the salting and the rules of thumb. The water here is pretty high PH, we had to put in a water softener and use RO to our well water to cook with in the house. We live in Texas hill country and whenever I dig in the yard I pull up Oyster, clam and seashell fossils, not to mention super high PH rock is more present than soil.</p>
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<p>Thanks for the feedback!Your correct, I did mean that I'm not filtering the solids prior to the grow beds. I'll go and look up the salting and the rules of thumb. The water here is pretty high PH, we had to put in a water softener and use RO to our well water to cook with in the house. We live in Texas hill country and whenever I dig in the yard I pull up Oyster, clam and seashell fossils, not to mention super high PH rock is more present than soil.</p>
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<p></p> You do, in fact have a filter…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2015-11-10:4778851:Comment:6180412015-11-10T15:04:41.533ZGeorgehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/Geoge
<p>You do, in fact have a filter since gravel growbeds function as bio and mechanical filters. I think what you mean is that you do not filter solids prior to the growbeds, which is a very common practice and generally not a problem.</p>
<p>The nitrate level is irrelevant and it's likely that nitrite killed your fish. Usually, this is done before a problem, rather than after, but you may be able to mitigate nitrite damage by salting, the normal dosage being one kilo of non-iodized salt per…</p>
<p>You do, in fact have a filter since gravel growbeds function as bio and mechanical filters. I think what you mean is that you do not filter solids prior to the growbeds, which is a very common practice and generally not a problem.</p>
<p>The nitrate level is irrelevant and it's likely that nitrite killed your fish. Usually, this is done before a problem, rather than after, but you may be able to mitigate nitrite damage by salting, the normal dosage being one kilo of non-iodized salt per 1000 liters of water. I'm no expert on this subject so be sure to search this site for more information.</p>
<p>If you read START HERE/RULES OF THUMB on this site, you will see that ammonia and nitrite levels should be no greater than .75 ppm. What I suspect may have happened to your system is the PH was allowed to go down too far and then your bacteria population crashed, resulting in high ammonia and nitrite. In a normally functioning aquaponics system, nitrification drives down PH so it's unusual that PH would need to be adjusted down, instead of up.</p>
<p>The water changes you are doing should be changing the test results. Read the testing directions carefully. </p>
<p>Good luck</p>