Organic nutrients?? - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-29T07:37:48Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/organic-nutrients?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A342938&feed=yes&xn_auth=noWell it's good that your back…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-03:4778851:Comment:3456822012-06-03T20:33:49.423ZVlad Jovanovichttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/VladJovanovic
<p>Well it's good that your back on track. <img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/> And just in time too! It might be good to slow down or stop feeding entirely for a day or two.</p>
<p>Well it's good that your back on track. <img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/> And just in time too! It might be good to slow down or stop feeding entirely for a day or two.</p> Update: Got a proper pH test.…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-03:4778851:Comment:3457242012-06-03T16:53:56.541ZAllisyn Woodhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AllisynWood
<p>Update: Got a proper pH test. It was low, about 5.5. I've been adding the potassium bicarbonate that arrived and I've also put a pile of marble chips in with the fish. I expect it to take up to 5 days to get the pH to about 6.8. Water is clear. Food is eaten. Nitrates are about 60. Nitrites are 0. Ammonia is between .25 and .5. I'll keep a close watch on it. </p>
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<p>Thanks again for all the help.</p>
<p>Update: Got a proper pH test. It was low, about 5.5. I've been adding the potassium bicarbonate that arrived and I've also put a pile of marble chips in with the fish. I expect it to take up to 5 days to get the pH to about 6.8. Water is clear. Food is eaten. Nitrates are about 60. Nitrites are 0. Ammonia is between .25 and .5. I'll keep a close watch on it. </p>
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<p>Thanks again for all the help.</p> Sheesh...and I thought my tes…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-01:4778851:Comment:3444882012-06-01T15:26:27.769ZVlad Jovanovichttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/VladJovanovic
<p>Sheesh...and I thought <em>my</em> test strips were crappy...</p>
<p>hmm...it just says "alkalinity"? Maybe that's synonymous with carbonate alkalinity or carbonate hardness (KH) over there in Florida?...it doesn't say any more anywhere, like on the little piece of paper inside the box? At any rate, I'm thinking that they mean your water is (KH) hard. So, by topping up with that source water, you are buffering up the system a bit...which is good right now. (Which was the conclusion you…</p>
<p>Sheesh...and I thought <em>my</em> test strips were crappy...</p>
<p>hmm...it just says "alkalinity"? Maybe that's synonymous with carbonate alkalinity or carbonate hardness (KH) over there in Florida?...it doesn't say any more anywhere, like on the little piece of paper inside the box? At any rate, I'm thinking that they mean your water is (KH) hard. So, by topping up with that source water, you are buffering up the system a bit...which is good right now. (Which was the conclusion you yourself came to about your top up water :)</p> Yeah, I didn't really want to…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-01:4778851:Comment:3444652012-06-01T11:39:48.446ZAllisyn Woodhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AllisynWood
Yeah, I didn't really want to get them, but that was the lowest test in my town... I really don't know what it means by alkalinity. Just ppm according to the test kit.<br />
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By no reading, they all came back yellow, which wasn't on the test color comparison chart, so I'm assuming that's a non-read. I know my tap and pool water pH should have come back at 8ish... Just a crappy kit. I knew better. I tested two separate tanks, old tap, fresh tap and pool water.
Yeah, I didn't really want to get them, but that was the lowest test in my town... I really don't know what it means by alkalinity. Just ppm according to the test kit.<br />
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By no reading, they all came back yellow, which wasn't on the test color comparison chart, so I'm assuming that's a non-read. I know my tap and pool water pH should have come back at 8ish... Just a crappy kit. I knew better. I tested two separate tanks, old tap, fresh tap and pool water. By "turns out my alkalinity i…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-31:4778851:Comment:3441112012-05-31T21:14:31.777ZVlad Jovanovichttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/VladJovanovic
<p>By "<span><em>turns out my alkalinity is very hard</em>" Do you mean that you carbonate hardness (KH test) is very high in your tap water? </span>Which would be good for you (right now, and perhaps in the future). </p>
<p><span>Were those 5 different tests all in one source water, or did you try say, testing your tap water as well, and got a 'no reading' too? At any rate, those little test strips generally really suck, and are all but useless. They don't seem to be real accurate (at least…</span></p>
<p>By "<span><em>turns out my alkalinity is very hard</em>" Do you mean that you carbonate hardness (KH test) is very high in your tap water? </span>Which would be good for you (right now, and perhaps in the future). </p>
<p><span>Were those 5 different tests all in one source water, or did you try say, testing your tap water as well, and got a 'no reading' too? At any rate, those little test strips generally really suck, and are all but useless. They don't seem to be real accurate (at least the ones I had aren't...Hatch Co. Aquacheck pH test strips from Aquatic Ecosystems...I never got a 'no reading' though).</span></p>
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<p><span> </span></p> Some seriously needed rain! I…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-31:4778851:Comment:3436772012-05-31T13:09:12.982ZAllisyn Woodhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AllisynWood
Some seriously needed rain! I got a strip test yesterday but I think it's defective as 5 different tests all came back with no reading. However, turns out my alkalinity is very hard. Not sure what that means now, or in the future, but that's where it's at. Headed to our sprawling metropolis of Jacksonville to try to pick up a digital pH reader from the hydro store this weekend. Waiting patiently for my potassium bicarbonate...
Some seriously needed rain! I got a strip test yesterday but I think it's defective as 5 different tests all came back with no reading. However, turns out my alkalinity is very hard. Not sure what that means now, or in the future, but that's where it's at. Headed to our sprawling metropolis of Jacksonville to try to pick up a digital pH reader from the hydro store this weekend. Waiting patiently for my potassium bicarbonate... The hardness in tap water in…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-31:4778851:Comment:3435702012-05-31T02:19:38.974ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>The hardness in tap water in many places is enough to keep the pH from dropping too low. But it is best to know where it is.</p>
<p>I like my pH on the API regular pH test to read green. My well water is so hard, I rarely get to see that though. Wish I had the gutters hooked to my rain water tanks for all that lovely rain we just had.</p>
<p>The hardness in tap water in many places is enough to keep the pH from dropping too low. But it is best to know where it is.</p>
<p>I like my pH on the API regular pH test to read green. My well water is so hard, I rarely get to see that though. Wish I had the gutters hooked to my rain water tanks for all that lovely rain we just had.</p> Yeah, that's a pretty good co…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-30:4778851:Comment:3433562012-05-30T17:51:38.113ZVlad Jovanovichttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/VladJovanovic
<p>Yeah, that's a pretty good conclusion (about the top-ups with city water). I don't have an API test kit but I think TC, Nate Story and other folks mentioned that basically at or <em>anywhere</em> below 6 the color is the same.</p>
<p>Really you don't need a Tetra Test brand kit, but those are the one of the ones I happen to use and know they go down to 5. Any decent brand will do.</p>
<p>Yeah, that's a pretty good conclusion (about the top-ups with city water). I don't have an API test kit but I think TC, Nate Story and other folks mentioned that basically at or <em>anywhere</em> below 6 the color is the same.</p>
<p>Really you don't need a Tetra Test brand kit, but those are the one of the ones I happen to use and know they go down to 5. Any decent brand will do.</p> Yeah, I didn't really think m…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-30:4778851:Comment:3433522012-05-30T16:23:37.976ZAllisyn Woodhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AllisynWood
Yeah, I didn't really think my pH was below 6 because the color matches, but hopefully our local fish store has the kit you recommended (in the other post) then we'll (I'll) really get a handle on it. I do add my city water weekly ( up to 20 gallons over a couple of days). Maybe this is what has staved off disaster so far... It just got filled up with Beryl.
Yeah, I didn't really think my pH was below 6 because the color matches, but hopefully our local fish store has the kit you recommended (in the other post) then we'll (I'll) really get a handle on it. I do add my city water weekly ( up to 20 gallons over a couple of days). Maybe this is what has staved off disaster so far... It just got filled up with Beryl. No the plants would LOVE a pH…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-30:4778851:Comment:3433192012-05-30T12:45:49.219ZVlad Jovanovichttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/VladJovanovic
<p>No the plants would LOVE a pH 'well' below 6, it's your bio-filter that wont dig it. Like TC explained (we seem to have 2 threads going on at once on the topic)...</p>
<p>If your bio-filter starts to crash, you should see an ammonia spike...personally I wouldn't wait. But since you haven't ever buffered before and dont know how much of what to add to raise your pH slowly (0.2 to 0.4 units per day or so), and you don't know where your pH is really at, doing something at this point is going to…</p>
<p>No the plants would LOVE a pH 'well' below 6, it's your bio-filter that wont dig it. Like TC explained (we seem to have 2 threads going on at once on the topic)...</p>
<p>If your bio-filter starts to crash, you should see an ammonia spike...personally I wouldn't wait. But since you haven't ever buffered before and dont know how much of what to add to raise your pH slowly (0.2 to 0.4 units per day or so), and you don't know where your pH is really at, doing something at this point is going to be a touchy feel-y kind of affair because of the fish...Raising pH too quickly will stress them...Anything you might do, or at least anything I can think of, is going to involve a bit of guess work...and is not ideal</p>
<p>Though if I were in your shoes and I had to...I'd do something like take a 5 gallon bucket of top up water and see how much lime, baking soda or KHCO3 (whatever I had immediately on hand) it would take to raise pH 0.4 units. Multiply that amount by 20 (I think you said your system holds about 110 gallons, right?), dissolve it in a bucket and add it to the system as a "First AID Emergency kind of band-aid" measure pH in 3 or 4 hours...Then tomorrow I'd cut that amount in half and add it to the system again, and measure pH again hoping to see something above 6...And hopefully by that time I would have gotten a hold of a pH test kit that can measure below 6...I'd keep buffering 0.2 or so units per 24 hours...</p>
<p>If anyone sees anything wrong with this idea...please advise. Seems better than waiting for your system to crash...</p>
<p>And I wouldn't make a habit out of ever doing something like that again :) (not knowing where my pH was at). Also, topping up with as much "hard" water as you can at this point might help too...</p>
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