Just starting out - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-29T14:44:24Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/just-starting-out?groupUrl=aquaponicsforbeginners&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A531172&groupId=4778851%3AGroup%3A28135&feed=yes&xn_auth=noYea, some small amount of bub…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-12-16:4778851:Comment:5366902013-12-16T23:04:23.585ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Yea, some small amount of bubbles escaping from media dropped into any liquid will be normal and a small amount of dust on the surface of the media may well cause some fizz in vinegar. But if you drop limestone or shells into vinegar it is going to fizz to the point of turning the vinegar totally cloudy or even be a bit like alkaseltzer.</p>
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<p>FYI, certain expanded shale or slate will fail the distilled water test totally because it has alkali dust on the surface and putting a…</p>
<p>Yea, some small amount of bubbles escaping from media dropped into any liquid will be normal and a small amount of dust on the surface of the media may well cause some fizz in vinegar. But if you drop limestone or shells into vinegar it is going to fizz to the point of turning the vinegar totally cloudy or even be a bit like alkaseltzer.</p>
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<p>FYI, certain expanded shale or slate will fail the distilled water test totally because it has alkali dust on the surface and putting a sample of it into a container of distilled water will cause the pH reading of the distilled water to be very high the next day. However, I can tell you that I have done very well using expanded slate in my systems because that dust only affects the pH of the initial wash water and only affects the system pH right at first (the same way using some calcium hydroxide would affect the pH) and thereafter doesn't pose a problem to system pH.</p> I totally agree with TC when…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-12-15:4778851:Comment:5364992013-12-15T14:31:39.810ZLeo White Bearhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LeoWhiteBear
<p>I totally agree with TC when testing your anticipated media but, also keep in mind that with a dry media the vinegar will seem to fizz while actually air is excaping from the micro pores on the surface of it. To the inexperienced this may look like it fizzes so the best test in my opinion is to place that handfull of media into pH nutral water that covers it by about an inch and test it with your pH strips, solution or whatever you choose to do the testing 24-hours later. This gives the…</p>
<p>I totally agree with TC when testing your anticipated media but, also keep in mind that with a dry media the vinegar will seem to fizz while actually air is excaping from the micro pores on the surface of it. To the inexperienced this may look like it fizzes so the best test in my opinion is to place that handfull of media into pH nutral water that covers it by about an inch and test it with your pH strips, solution or whatever you choose to do the testing 24-hours later. This gives the media a chance to hydrate and change the pH if it is going to.<br/> <br/> <cite>TCLynx said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/just-starting-out?groupUrl=aquaponicsforbeginners&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A536602&xg_source=msg_com_gr_forum#4778851Comment536602"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Pay attention to the weather and you might notice a pattern on sudden changes in the amount of evaporation experienced in a system. On windy dry days, it is amazing how much more water seems to evaporate compared to the calm hot days.</p>
<p>Also, once there are plants in the system, it can be amazing how much water they can suck up some days.</p>
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<p>As to will the pH go up again? Once your bio-filter is busily working at converting ammonia to nitrite then to nitrate it will have an acidifying effect on your system, however if you are regularly topping up with hard water that will have the tendency to raise your pH. If you for some reason have a situation where you are not using the hard water to top up and your pH rises then it is a sign that you may have some anaerobic action going on in your system. (gunk build up that is decomposing without enough oxygen) This can cause pH to go up as well as give off bad compounds into your water so you want to find where this is happening and clean it up. Normally it will give off very bad odors which can help you find the anaerobic spot. Look for major clumps of goop or algae or debris in the bottom of a tank that may be sending up some bubbles to the surface. Settling tanks that don't get cleaned out often enough can cause this.</p>
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<p>By far the most common cause of high pH in a new AP system, especially one that is flood and drain media beds is either the source water or sometimes people make the mistake of using limestone as media. The Limestone media situation can't be fixed with acid, the media needs to be replaced. You can test media by dropping a hand full in vinegar.</p>
<p>If it fizzes then it is probably not a good choice of media to use. (but an FYI, lots of expanded products will fizz in vinegar if it is not well rinsed off first just because of the dust on it.)</p>
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</blockquote> Pay attention to the weather…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-12-15:4778851:Comment:5366022013-12-15T13:45:17.488ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Pay attention to the weather and you might notice a pattern on sudden changes in the amount of evaporation experienced in a system. On windy dry days, it is amazing how much more water seems to evaporate compared to the calm hot days.</p>
<p>Also, once there are plants in the system, it can be amazing how much water they can suck up some days.</p>
<p></p>
<p>As to will the pH go up again? Once your bio-filter is busily working at converting ammonia to nitrite then to nitrate it will have…</p>
<p>Pay attention to the weather and you might notice a pattern on sudden changes in the amount of evaporation experienced in a system. On windy dry days, it is amazing how much more water seems to evaporate compared to the calm hot days.</p>
<p>Also, once there are plants in the system, it can be amazing how much water they can suck up some days.</p>
<p></p>
<p>As to will the pH go up again? Once your bio-filter is busily working at converting ammonia to nitrite then to nitrate it will have an acidifying effect on your system, however if you are regularly topping up with hard water that will have the tendency to raise your pH. If you for some reason have a situation where you are not using the hard water to top up and your pH rises then it is a sign that you may have some anaerobic action going on in your system. (gunk build up that is decomposing without enough oxygen) This can cause pH to go up as well as give off bad compounds into your water so you want to find where this is happening and clean it up. Normally it will give off very bad odors which can help you find the anaerobic spot. Look for major clumps of goop or algae or debris in the bottom of a tank that may be sending up some bubbles to the surface. Settling tanks that don't get cleaned out often enough can cause this.</p>
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<p>By far the most common cause of high pH in a new AP system, especially one that is flood and drain media beds is either the source water or sometimes people make the mistake of using limestone as media. The Limestone media situation can't be fixed with acid, the media needs to be replaced. You can test media by dropping a hand full in vinegar.</p>
<p>If it fizzes then it is probably not a good choice of media to use. (but an FYI, lots of expanded products will fizz in vinegar if it is not well rinsed off first just because of the dust on it.)</p> He, well I don't have fish ye…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-11-22:4778851:Comment:5314162013-11-22T21:56:20.865ZGillian Burrushttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/GillianBurrus
He, well I don't have fish yet, nor any leaves. But there is something sneaky.
He, well I don't have fish yet, nor any leaves. But there is something sneaky. Water is a sneeky element. I…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-11-22:4778851:Comment:5310942013-11-22T21:49:31.073ZLeo White Bearhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LeoWhiteBear
<p>Water is a sneeky element. I am constantly (at least twice a week) filling my FT. Being indoors, naturally I'm concerned with water leakage but I can't find any, anywhere. As long as I can't find any evidence of water around the FT I chalk it up to evaporation and transpiration from the plant leaves. I do have a hunch that the fish are up to something like possibly a jail brake, I'm watching them closely!!!</p>
<p>Water is a sneeky element. I am constantly (at least twice a week) filling my FT. Being indoors, naturally I'm concerned with water leakage but I can't find any, anywhere. As long as I can't find any evidence of water around the FT I chalk it up to evaporation and transpiration from the plant leaves. I do have a hunch that the fish are up to something like possibly a jail brake, I'm watching them closely!!!</p> Okay, so I might have an enti…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-11-22:4778851:Comment:5311722013-11-22T13:40:21.322ZGillian Burrushttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/GillianBurrus
<p>Okay, so I might have an entirely new problem. Wednesday I went ahead and planted and added maxi crop and topped off the water in the FT. Last night about 1/2 the water was gone! I refilled it again today, and cannot see any place where water may leak. Could this have happened because of the additives? the ground was dry around the bed.</p>
<p>Okay, so I might have an entirely new problem. Wednesday I went ahead and planted and added maxi crop and topped off the water in the FT. Last night about 1/2 the water was gone! I refilled it again today, and cannot see any place where water may leak. Could this have happened because of the additives? the ground was dry around the bed.</p> I really haven't worried abou…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-11-22:4778851:Comment:5313322013-11-22T04:13:18.547ZTom OBrienhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/ThomasKOBrien
<p>I really haven't worried about my pH a whole lot. Our water is a little hard and I was worried about it, but I asked at the local hatchery where I got the fish and they said their water pH was around 8.0. I haven't had any fast changes or large swings, so generally I don't monkey with it much. I'll change water or maybe try to buffer it if it is getting low, but I don't do that often. TCLynx has much more experience than I do so she's a better resource, but pH hasn't been a big problem for…</p>
<p>I really haven't worried about my pH a whole lot. Our water is a little hard and I was worried about it, but I asked at the local hatchery where I got the fish and they said their water pH was around 8.0. I haven't had any fast changes or large swings, so generally I don't monkey with it much. I'll change water or maybe try to buffer it if it is getting low, but I don't do that often. TCLynx has much more experience than I do so she's a better resource, but pH hasn't been a big problem for me so far. </p> Gillian, again I would wait f…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-11-21:4778851:Comment:5313262013-11-21T23:40:15.900ZRobert Jhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/RobertAJohnson
<p>Gillian, again I would wait for or reach out to TC on your issue. Only time i've had ph issues is when adding too much city water, especially in the cold weather.</p>
<p>Gillian, again I would wait for or reach out to TC on your issue. Only time i've had ph issues is when adding too much city water, especially in the cold weather.</p> Will the hydrochloric acid ke…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-11-21:4778851:Comment:5311112013-11-21T01:19:07.091ZGillian Burrushttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/GillianBurrus
<p>Will the hydrochloric acid keep the ph down or will it eventually go back up? I want my water balanced before I add fish, so I am willing to wait if I need to. </p>
<p>Will the hydrochloric acid keep the ph down or will it eventually go back up? I want my water balanced before I add fish, so I am willing to wait if I need to. </p> You can use Hydrochloric acid…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-11-17:4778851:Comment:5303712013-11-17T15:00:47.652ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>You can use Hydrochloric acid (Muratic Acid) to lower pH initially before you get fish. If you use any acid after you already have fish in the system, I recommend only doing the pH adjustment to the top up water (and mixing it/letting it stabilize for several days before using it in the system.) </p>
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<p>You should probably get a bucket of your system water and add an air bubbler to it, then add a small measured amount of acid to the water and let it mix then check the pH, then wait…</p>
<p>You can use Hydrochloric acid (Muratic Acid) to lower pH initially before you get fish. If you use any acid after you already have fish in the system, I recommend only doing the pH adjustment to the top up water (and mixing it/letting it stabilize for several days before using it in the system.) </p>
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<p>You should probably get a bucket of your system water and add an air bubbler to it, then add a small measured amount of acid to the water and let it mix then check the pH, then wait 24 hours and check the pH again. Once the pH is down into a good range and stays there for 24 hours, (by keeping track of how much acid you use in total for a given amount of water) you have figured out how much acid you might need to dose for a given amount of water to bring your system water down to the desired level, do the math to figure out how much acid in total you will need for the system.</p>
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<p>Always use safe handling practices with acid. Never add water to acid, always add acid to water. Wear gloves and goggles and don't breath the vapors from the jug. Work in a well ventilated area.</p>