Comment

Comment by Meir Lazar on March 22, 2012 at 2:53pm

I just tested the PH again and either it dropped down to 7 or I contaminated my first test. Looks like I won't need lashes or leaves after all :D

Comment by Jon Parr on March 22, 2012 at 2:05pm

Replacing lashes? Silly autocorrect. Replacing leaves, I meant. Yes, bummer about the dark water. And it gets so dark you won't even know if there's fish in there. I don't mind that on some tanks, but some I'd like to keep clear too. Wood and sawdust work too, to naturally acidity, but with the same effect. Carbon dioxide also works, bit it's hardly a natural way to go, and fish don't appreciate too much. I used to have no difficulty keeping pH down, now I can't keep it down, and I'm not sure what has changed. The media is the same, and pH in all systems is 8.0-8.2 unless I actively fight it down.

Comment by Meir Lazar on March 22, 2012 at 11:26am

Hi Jon,
Thanks for your suggestion, it sounds like it wouldn't hard to put oak leaves in my grow-beds, but the color change is sad though. I like how crystal clear it is...
I'll see if the PH naturally drops down due to the nitrification process which should automagically bring it down, if not, I will have to consider it as an option. Thanks for sharing!

Comment by Jon Parr on March 22, 2012 at 9:55am

Hello Meir. I'm guessing you might be dosing a little heavy on the pee to cause that kind of a spike, but I'm not experienced in that. I am, however, using a 5 gallon mesh bag (paint strainer) of oak leaves in a 120 gallon FT to try and lower my pH from my 8.2 well water. It's slow, but I'm down to 7.4 in two weeks. I plan on adding another bag this weekend, and then replacing lashes every month or so. Pros? It's abundantly available, year around, natural, it's free, and my Redclaws have found a second heaven. I thought they were escaping, then I found them all in the leaves. Cons? Just one, so far. Oak leaves turn the water black. Very black, maybe 1' vis. :)

Comment by Meir Lazar on March 22, 2012 at 9:05am

So I've noticed that after I dose my systems with aged urine, the PH spikes to about 9. I was wondering if anyone has any natural buffers against this kind of base? I don't want to use ph down or any chemical acids (I used to use phosphoric acid when I was into hydroponics). I'm currently using crushed coral as a buffer from the PH swinging too low, but now I need a buffer from the PH swinging too high. Any ideas or anyone using anything themselves? Thanks!

Comment by Vlad Jovanovic on March 20, 2012 at 3:39pm

Dave... Carey was kind enough to explain his greenwall in the Pee Ponics thread up above...

Comment by David Schwinghamer on March 20, 2012 at 10:39am

Explain your greenwall Carey

Comment by Carey Ma on March 20, 2012 at 6:20am

That's why I use a greenwall. It acts as a giant bio filter. I piss directly into the trough as the water is running every week or so.

Comment by TCLynx on March 20, 2012 at 6:10am

if the bio-filter stalls or it stinks then dilution by partial water changes should take care of it and I'm sure some dirt plants would like some of that water (diluted first) to boost them.

If the plants start showing signs of damage, dilution might come too late but they might recover too.

Comment by TCLynx on March 20, 2012 at 6:08am

Well when no fish are in the system, only dangers are killing plants, causing a spike high enough to stall the bio-filter, or making it stink.

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