pH Moderation - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T18:47:32Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/ph-moderation?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A5506&feed=yes&xn_auth=noalrighty, thanks tcl. the ra…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-01-08:4778851:Comment:2745002012-01-08T02:37:14.364ZMichael Brownhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/MichaelBrown
<p>alrighty, thanks tcl. the rain water route seems easy enough. wish i had a system in place to do that already, guess that's my next project <a style="cursor: pointer;"><img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"></img></a> <br></br> <br></br> <cite>TCLynx said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/ph-moderation?id=4778851%3ATopic%3A3122&page=4#4778851Comment274499"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Citric acid is antibacterial and not really recommended,</p>
<p>However some fresh lemon juice…</p>
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<p>alrighty, thanks tcl. the rain water route seems easy enough. wish i had a system in place to do that already, guess that's my next project <a style="cursor: pointer;"><img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/></a><br/> <br/> <cite>TCLynx said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/ph-moderation?id=4778851%3ATopic%3A3122&page=4#4778851Comment274499"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Citric acid is antibacterial and not really recommended,</p>
<p>However some fresh lemon juice is not as strong and probably wouldn't hurt so much but I doubt it will be super effective for you and using acid to adjust your tap water or well water constantly long term is not the best option (it will simply be releasing more calcium into your water and will likely cause some issues with potassium lock out because of too much calcium.)</p>
<p>collecting rain water or perhaps using some RO filtered water would be a better choice.</p>
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</blockquote> Citric acid is antibacterial…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-01-08:4778851:Comment:2744992012-01-08T02:30:15.837ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Citric acid is antibacterial and not really recommended,</p>
<p>However some fresh lemon juice is not as strong and probably wouldn't hurt so much but I doubt it will be super effective for you and using acid to adjust your tap water or well water constantly long term is not the best option (it will simply be releasing more calcium into your water and will likely cause some issues with potassium lock out because of too much calcium.)</p>
<p>collecting rain water or perhaps using some RO…</p>
<p>Citric acid is antibacterial and not really recommended,</p>
<p>However some fresh lemon juice is not as strong and probably wouldn't hurt so much but I doubt it will be super effective for you and using acid to adjust your tap water or well water constantly long term is not the best option (it will simply be releasing more calcium into your water and will likely cause some issues with potassium lock out because of too much calcium.)</p>
<p>collecting rain water or perhaps using some RO filtered water would be a better choice.</p> very interesting discussion o…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-01-08:4778851:Comment:2746512012-01-08T02:20:42.428ZMichael Brownhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/MichaelBrown
<p>very interesting discussion on ph here, i've read a couple of pages and noticed talk of using citric acid as a ph down. fresh lemon juice, from a lemon... that wouldn't cause harm to the bacteria? i'm just remembering reading in sylvia's book that citric acid should not be used due to a negative effect on the bacteria. maybe i'm remembering incorrectly, any information on the citric acid would be greatly appreciated!</p>
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<p>just to add to this... i have a 10 gallon "ornamental"…</p>
<p>very interesting discussion on ph here, i've read a couple of pages and noticed talk of using citric acid as a ph down. fresh lemon juice, from a lemon... that wouldn't cause harm to the bacteria? i'm just remembering reading in sylvia's book that citric acid should not be used due to a negative effect on the bacteria. maybe i'm remembering incorrectly, any information on the citric acid would be greatly appreciated!</p>
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<p>just to add to this... i have a 10 gallon "ornamental" system setup in my house. my water source has been tap water since the start. it has been a tough road since it's treated with chloramine and has a ph which tests off the charts of my test kit at 9+. i started with five store bought molly fish, i've lost two in the process. the system has been running for about four weeks and my ammonia/nitrites are 0, nitrates hovering around 30-40ppm. my ph has been steady at 8, so my system has been doing a good job at bringing the tap water down from the 9+ whatever it may be. the molly fish like the higher ph from what i've read and seem very happy. so just a bit of background on what i'm dealing with. would it be ok to add a bit of fresh lemon juice to a gallon of tap water in a bucket to drop the ph down slightly then add that into the system next time i do a water change? also, i'm using a 10 gallon grow bed filled with hydroton.</p> local water chemistry play a…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-01-08:4778851:Comment:2747122012-01-08T01:44:11.738ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>local water chemistry play a bit roll in what pH adjustment or supplementation might be required just as much as the fish feed used.</p>
<p>local water chemistry play a bit roll in what pH adjustment or supplementation might be required just as much as the fish feed used.</p> I'll chime in... when the PH…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-01-07:4778851:Comment:2743712012-01-07T16:41:23.645ZPatrick McKeehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/PatrickMcKee
<p>I'll chime in... when the PH is not at the optimum for aquaponically grown plants the first problem we have is a lack of chlorophyll production, yellowing or chlorosis from a nutrient deficiency. One solution is to adjust the PH towards the plants. I adjust to about 6.8 to 7 a little more towards the fish. I supplement with an organic chelated foliage micro nutrient spray. The iron, manganese and other nutrients only go into the plants through the leaves not in the water column. The…</p>
<p>I'll chime in... when the PH is not at the optimum for aquaponically grown plants the first problem we have is a lack of chlorophyll production, yellowing or chlorosis from a nutrient deficiency. One solution is to adjust the PH towards the plants. I adjust to about 6.8 to 7 a little more towards the fish. I supplement with an organic chelated foliage micro nutrient spray. The iron, manganese and other nutrients only go into the plants through the leaves not in the water column. The nutrients needed for plant growth and chlorophyll production may be there but are "locked" out because the ph is out of a range they can get into the plants through the roots. Chelated just means the nutrients can enter the plant through the leaves, this is good because once inside the plant they can do their job until they are used up and you can add more. I know we don't want to add anything to the system unless necessary. Fish alone do a pretty good job of providing nutrients to the plants but fish alone do not provide the exact levels of nutrients needed for optimum plant growth.</p> This is a good thread. I"m c…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-09-18:4778851:Comment:2205372011-09-18T00:08:06.125ZLonny Harperhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LonnyHarper
<p>This is a good thread. I"m cycling my system right and experiencing the same issues Lori is having. Nothing is registering. I'm almost two weeks into it running. Based on what I've read, I just purchased my Master tester.</p>
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<p>This is a good thread. I"m cycling my system right and experiencing the same issues Lori is having. Nothing is registering. I'm almost two weeks into it running. Based on what I've read, I just purchased my Master tester.</p>
<p> </p> Thanks Aleece and Murray. I a…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2010-06-30:4778851:Comment:64192010-06-30T01:12:43.000ZLori Platthttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LoriPlatt
Thanks Aleece and Murray. I appreciate you jumping in here. I've ordered the API master test kit - I actually don't think the strips are faulty so much as they did not go high enough! HA! I've also done a quick experiment on the water to see what/how much vinegar will do... looks like 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar in my 300 gal would be approp (in order to make only very small changes :-).... <b><i>however</i></b> I will wait and continue to just let it be and see what happens for a few more days.
Thanks Aleece and Murray. I appreciate you jumping in here. I've ordered the API master test kit - I actually don't think the strips are faulty so much as they did not go high enough! HA! I've also done a quick experiment on the water to see what/how much vinegar will do... looks like 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar in my 300 gal would be approp (in order to make only very small changes :-).... <b><i>however</i></b> I will wait and continue to just let it be and see what happens for a few more days. Lori,
I fear your test strips…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2010-06-30:4778851:Comment:64182010-06-30T00:54:16.000ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
Lori,<br />
I fear your test strips may be suspect since you mention that they were reading a different pH than the other test you did.<br />
I would definitely get some more accurate tests to check and see if your test strips are telling you the real story.<br />
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In my system with high pH, my nitrates tend to be rather high because the plants struggle to take up the nitrates.<br />
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My well water is high pH water from a limestone aquifer. It does take time for the bio-filter to use up the excess buffer in the water…
Lori,<br />
I fear your test strips may be suspect since you mention that they were reading a different pH than the other test you did.<br />
I would definitely get some more accurate tests to check and see if your test strips are telling you the real story.<br />
<br />
In my system with high pH, my nitrates tend to be rather high because the plants struggle to take up the nitrates.<br />
<br />
My well water is high pH water from a limestone aquifer. It does take time for the bio-filter to use up the excess buffer in the water but it can happen. I did use some sulfuric acid (pool acid) to reduce the pH of some of my well water but it did rebound back up to 7.6 for a time until the bio-filter used up more of the buffer capacity. Since you have fish in the system, I don't recommend that you go adding lots of acid into the system directly. I would recommend you get a barrel and do some pH adjustments to your well water so you can experiment to see how much acid you need for a given amount of water and then leave it to bubble overnight and measure again to see what the pH is. Then use the pH adjusted water to do top ups to the system so you can very slowly adjust your system pH. If you go putting too much acid into your AP system with fish and plants you might cause a complete crash or if there is something in the system buffering the pH some how, you could cause some major pH bouncing which is also pretty bad.<br />
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So, once you sort out your testing.<br />
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Then you can experiment on pH adjusting some water before you use it to top up or do small water changes on your system to slowly adjust the pH of your system till you get it down close to 7. It is best to move very slowly going only a point or two a day since the fish, bacteria and plants will all have to adjust to the change. Hi Lori,
It takes time for th…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2010-06-29:4778851:Comment:64162010-06-29T23:27:33.000ZMurray Hallamhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/MurrayHallam
Hi Lori,<br />
It takes time for the NITRITE and then the NITRATES to show up in the system...as the saying goes, "it won't happen straight away. but it will happen" Watch the ammonia during the "cycling" stage . Make sure it does not get too high.<br />
It is not uncommon to have algae in systems especially in the early stages. Keep direct sunlight off the water and that will help to limit algae growth. Small amounts of algae will not influence pH , but algae takes up oxygen and nutrients which we do not…
Hi Lori,<br />
It takes time for the NITRITE and then the NITRATES to show up in the system...as the saying goes, "it won't happen straight away. but it will happen" Watch the ammonia during the "cycling" stage . Make sure it does not get too high.<br />
It is not uncommon to have algae in systems especially in the early stages. Keep direct sunlight off the water and that will help to limit algae growth. Small amounts of algae will not influence pH , but algae takes up oxygen and nutrients which we do not want to happen in an aquaponics system.<br />
<br />
<cite>Lori Platt said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/ph-moderation?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A6415&xg_source=msg_com_forum#4778851Comment6415"><div>I am beginning to get algae growth in the fish tank and on the pipe openings where the water enters the growbeds and returns to the fish tank. It has finally gotten warm here and water is no longer diving down to the 50s at night, so, yeah. Getting some algae. Does algae affect the ph??<br/> We washed the lava rock pretty well - it was rained on for 2 weeks straight, then we rinsed it a lot when we put into the GB... water ran clear when we hooked it into the system.<br/>
As for cycling... I'd think it was all cycled... however I have yet to have any Nitrite or Nitrate readings on my test strips. The test strips DID register nitrates in the water that the baby tilapia came in.... I added that water into my tank hoping to do some good :-) But so far - I have lots of fish, but apparently pretty *empty* water. Seems a bit weird to me</div>
</blockquote> I am beginning to get algae g…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2010-06-29:4778851:Comment:64152010-06-29T22:14:55.000ZLori Platthttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LoriPlatt
I am beginning to get algae growth in the fish tank and on the pipe openings where the water enters the growbeds and returns to the fish tank. It has finally gotten warm here and water is no longer diving down to the 50s at night, so, yeah. Getting some algae. Does algae affect the ph??<br />
We washed the lava rock pretty well - it was rained on for 2 weeks straight, then we rinsed it a lot when we put into the GB... water ran clear when we hooked it into the system.<br />
As for cycling... I'd think it…
I am beginning to get algae growth in the fish tank and on the pipe openings where the water enters the growbeds and returns to the fish tank. It has finally gotten warm here and water is no longer diving down to the 50s at night, so, yeah. Getting some algae. Does algae affect the ph??<br />
We washed the lava rock pretty well - it was rained on for 2 weeks straight, then we rinsed it a lot when we put into the GB... water ran clear when we hooked it into the system.<br />
As for cycling... I'd think it was all cycled... however I have yet to have any Nitrite or Nitrate readings on my test strips. The test strips DID register nitrates in the water that the baby tilapia came in.... I added that water into my tank hoping to do some good :-) But so far - I have lots of fish, but apparently pretty *empty* water. Seems a bit weird to me