Water questions

[Gilles Pitre]

I

I am new to aquaponics and have a concern on water before I fire up a system

 

How do I fix a PH, Nitrate, Amonia or whatever  in the fish tank.

I found what the readings should be but not how to correct a situation.

 

Thanks in advance for your reply

 

Gillesp

 

 

[Steve Champion]

Hi Gillesp,

Most systems will ballance them selves over time. Unless they are WAY out of wack!! There is Ph-up and Ph-down, that is avalable from your local hydroponics store. As far as amonia, too low ad more. Too low give the system time it'll take care of it's self.

Take a deep breath and give it time.

Steve

[Roger]

Gilles - Check the "Water Topics" section in the forum.  There is a load of information in this section that will help you answer all your questions.  When beginning to cycle my system I relied on this section quite a bit to help answer my questions.  If you can't find exactly the answer you are looking for feel free to privately message me and I will help you out.

[WaterFish22]

First advice that I say to everyone is that your fish tank filter can never be to big.

Second advice the more water you have in your tank means the less frequent water changes.  I only drain like 30 gallons out of the tank on a water change. (on my 180 gallon tank I do like water changes every 2 weeks, because it's so under stocked with fish. )

Third advice when you setup a tank or you added more fish do water changes 2 times a week. Until it's  has been cycled.

(Also test your water with a simple test kit.)

PH ---- I don't even mess with this, unless it's out of whack but most of the time I don't have a problem at all.

Nitrate and Amonia--- Bigger filter get rid of unwanted fish food and clean your filter media more often. Plus water changes! 

Having a bigger tank and filter cost more to begin with, but it will save you in the long run so you aren't constantly having to restock your tank or your fish aren't getting stressed and getting diseases all the time.

[Gilles Pitre]

Thanks for the info guys

Gillesp

[RupertofOZ]

Why do you do water changes??

WaterFish22 said:

 

Second advice the more water you have in your tank means the less frequent water changes.  I only drain like 30 gallons out of the tank on a water change. (on my 180 gallon tank I do like water changes every 2 weeks, because it's so under stocked with fish. )

Third advice when you setup a tank or you added more fish do water changes 2 times a week. Until it's  has been cycled.

 

[WaterFish22]

Okay well water changes help remove Nitrate and Amonia. There also get rid of other basic waste fish produce in there environment. Plus No filter system can extract 100% of the waste materials that accumulate. Okay, maybe you could make one but it's not practical by any means or every beach and lake would be crystal clear.

Fish that live in the nature get water changes from the rain. If ponds has to many fish in one environment nature kills things off and starts over again.

[RupertofOZ]

Ah yeah... but in aquaponics...  and our filters convert the ammonia to nitrates... and our plants extract the nitrates...

And the rest of the "fish wastes" are dealt with.. by the worms in our grow beds... releasing/recycling the trace minerals... needed for plant growth..

That's the beauty of aquaponics... it deals with all the problems... and turns them into solutions...

We don't have the need to exchange water... except for top ups due to transpiration loses...

That's why aquaponics is such a water efficient way to grow food...

 

Aquaponics is not based upon aquaria....

[WaterFish22]

I was kind of looking at the questions from the point of view of just having a fish aquarium and keeping the fish healthy. Your right, though if you have your system almost balanced then you should hardly need to do water changes... except for top ups due to transpiration loses. Since plants do lose a lot of water through leaves and use most of the nutrients up it makes it really efficient.

I'm planing on growing most of my fish inside and pumping the excess fish waste through regular water changes to a garden or a flood media bed on a timer. I'm sill waiting to get my fish though. That way if I want to add fertilizer out side just to my plants i can do that, but I don't think it will be necessary.

[Jon Parr]

Waterfish, it seems  your experience stems from aquaria, which is good. Always nice to get input from many sources. But Rupe is right, or course. Be careful giving aquaponics advice when the advice is not based on aquaponics experience or understanding. No offense, just be cautious.

A very simple and practical aquaponics system needs no help removing nitrate or ammonia, or solids for that matter. And water being crystal clear or not does not have much to do with health of fish. Nor does it imply that clear water is healthy for fish or plants. Proper water chemistry should be learned and understood. You minimize the concern for pH, but it's careful manipulation and maintenance is the most important thing in AP. I keep mine around 6.4, and always below 6.8. 

While I agree that using aquarium water changes to fertilize the garden is a great practice, it is not aquaponics. Aquaponics is recirculating, and top-up water is not a "water change", it is "water added". Big difference. I have had sytems almost three years old with nothing removed other than fish and produce, and I bet Rupe has me beat by many years. 

Gilles, in order to advise how to "correct a situation", we must first know the "situation" that needs correcting. What are your present levels, your desired levels, your stocking densities, your timeline, and so on. Assuming you are brand new, then google ammonia cycling, or fishless cycling, easy easy. Use HCl to lower pH, and oyster shells to raise pH. There are many other products to do the same job, and many reasons for using one product over another, but the answers are beyond the scope of the question. 



WaterFish22 said:

Okay well water changes help remove Nitrate and Amonia. There also get rid of other basic waste fish produce in there environment. Plus No filter system can extract 100% of the waste materials that accumulate. Okay, maybe you could make one but it's not practical by any means or every beach and lake would be crystal clear.

Fish that live in the nature get water changes from the rain. If ponds has to many fish in one environment nature kills things off and starts over again.

[Tommy D]

John Parr...You are a Gentleman and a Scholar.

[Jon Parr]

Hehe, I wouldn't go that far, but thanks. Likewise...

[WaterFish22]

Advice is only advice, the only way things will work out for you is to go out and experiment with your own system and try and learn why other people have setups the way they do.

Jon Parr said:

Hehe, I wouldn't go that far, but thanks. Likewise...