chloramines

[Rebecca B]

I'm still in the research phase of my aquaponics set-up.  It seems some or all of the aquarium water conditioners designed to deal with the chloramines in my municipal water can't be used with food fish.  Also, although I live on Maui, I'm at 3000' elevation---which doesn't get warm enough for tilapia without insulation. And, since I'm not fond of eating fish with little bones, I'm leaning towards koi.  Any advice/feedback?

[Shawn]

Aloha Rebecca- I'm in a similar climate as you here in Volcano on the Big Island at 3600ft. I've had my system cycling with Koi and tilapia since May and they are doing great. My system not balanced- I need more grow bed space and more fish to get there, but I am getting there. It took a long time for plants to be happy- only recently have mint and cherry tomatoes begun to actually grow, and I'm sure it is due to the fact that the bacteria took longer to establish due to our cool temps and low nutrients from the low fish-to-water ratio I have. It is also definitely beneficial to have shade tolerant varieties planted. Bottom line- be patient and don't give up.

But anyway- tilapia will be ok in our cool temps, but they won't breed. Mine are eating quite well and seem pretty happy. I don't plan on eating mine, because I too don't like them. I would like to eventually have a bigger system with rainbow trout- if you can get ahold of some of those tasty buggers, they will thrive in cold water.

[William Morgan]

You dont want to use any of the store bought de-chlorinators. Sodium Thiosulfate is the main ingredient in dechlor. You can get it online, aquatic eco has it. It wont make the fish taste bad and breaks down chlorine and chlorides. I grow Tilapia and Koi. Water is 71 degrees year round. The Tilapia are more susceptible to disease at these temps, but if they are not stressed and have good DO they will be fine. The koi will thrive though. Mid 70s and lower is there preferred temp.