Comment

Comment by TCLynx on October 21, 2012 at 7:16pm

Unfortunately the site here chopped off part of the description from the You Tube post

Here is an example of doing the Fizz test on some media for an aquaponics system before you go buying a truck load. As you can see the shells on the Left fizz the water to a white cloudiness when dropped into a jar of vinegar. On the right we have some expanded shale which is exhibiting a tiny bit of bubbles but probably still worth using. Limestone it likely to react much like the shells do in vinegar.

As Vlad said, it is using the acid/base reaction to judge if a media will be appropriate to use in aquaponics.

And while you might not think people would use shells, some people will try.  I did.  And I recommend not doing it now.  Many people will also use pea gravel for aquaponics because some one else did and it worked fine.  Unfortunately, pea gravel really only describes the shape of the gravel and doesn't say what kind of rock it is.  Around here the cheapest pea gravel is gonna be limestone which will react much like the shells and is totally inappropriate for aquaponics.

If your media has calcium carbonate in it, you can't get your pH down and using acid to try will only bounce the pH and make things worse.  I know, I've tested it.

Comment by Vlad Jovanovic on October 21, 2012 at 12:46pm

Bob...there is "Das Kapital" type volumes written on "the fizz test"...When choosing rocks for media dropping them into an acid (like vinegar) will give you an idea of whether they contain significant amounts of calcium carbonate. (Which will mess with your pH and keep it too high, hence would not be a good choice as a media/substrate). This is a simple acid/base reaction. Acid + base = fizz don't use the rocks...No fizz = use the rocks. Seashells are calcium carbonate...many types of gravel come from limestone rocks (limestone is calcium carbonate).

It would be very helpful to your AP endevours to familiarize yourself with acid/base reactions, acid/base buffering and what pH is, how it works, and how most all chemical processes in nature are pH dependent. I'm not being a dick, I just sound that way...You'd be amazed at how everything around us as well as inside of us is wholly dependent on the right pH...From plant essential element uptake or lockout, to how ammonia will affect (kill) your fish, to whether your bacteria survive and thrive, or crash and burn...Start learning all you can about pH, it'll only help...

Comment by Bob Rogers aka The White Lion on October 21, 2012 at 12:26pm

I don’t mean to be rude but it would be nice to have an explanation for your experiment. Who grows in “ Shells “ ?   What are you after ?  You should maybe have a short explanation to help the new people otherwise this looks more like a chemistry experiment.