coco chips

[alfred leslie goeltinger]

Hello Aquaponicer

Finally i have my 20x5 meter house.I have in it 2 growbeds 4x2 meter.

Each contains 150 kg of ligthstones 200 liter of charcoal and(oh my god) 10 bags of coco chips.

This coco chips drive me grazy there are defoamed but i have a very dark water. Flashing it out is one sollution,taking it out is impossible.

Anybody know another way?

 

 

[TCLynx]

What is flashing it out?

[alfred leslie goeltinger]

rinse or washing the dark coloring of the coco ships out

Thanks for the replie

Alfred

[TCLynx]

Well, a few water changes might reduce the amount of tinting of your water but I'm afraid that you are likely to experience some tinting of the water with the chips no matter what you do.

[RupertofOZ]

And they'll stay very wet unless irrigated only a few times a day...

 

They will break down over time and get into your pumps/drains... and a lot of the cheap coir products can also be very salty... or even laced with chemical fertilisers...

 

They'll also cause your pH to run at around 6.2 constantly...

 

As TCL says... they will always stain your water... everyone I know who has tried coir... has abandoned it as a media (including myself)..

[Kobus Jooste]

Rupert - the coir products that you say everyone has abandoned - is this the chips from the husk or the hair-like fibers?  I have been trying out the fibers in my towers and they are doing alright in the first few months.  If they are going to pack up in the end, what else is out these that is relatively cheap and light?

RupertofOZ said:

And they'll stay very wet unless irrigated only a few times a day...

 

They will break down over time and get into your pumps/drains... and a lot of the cheap coir products can also be very salty... or even laced with chemical fertilisers...

 

They'll also cause your pH to run at around 6.2 constantly...

 

As TCL says... they will always stain your water... everyone I know who has tried coir... has abandoned it as a media (including myself)..

[TCLynx]

Any organic material will break down in time with the high nitrogen and constant wetness.  But for very light weight, I do know some people who have been using charcoal for a while without too much complaint about it.  Just make sure it is natural wood charcoal and not the petroleum based bricketts.

 

Gotta rinse the charcoal well or the ash will affect pH though the ash would also provide potassium.

[Sanford Thompson]

Hi Rupert

Does it really make a difference if the water is dark?  I am not yet sure how it affects the quality of the water but all the rivers around my parts are dark waters due to the high orgainic material content.,  So will the darkness of the water be a deal breaker or was it preferance for you?
 
RupertofOZ said:

And they'll stay very wet unless irrigated only a few times a day...

 

They will break down over time and get into your pumps/drains... and a lot of the cheap coir products can also be very salty... or even laced with chemical fertilisers...

 

They'll also cause your pH to run at around 6.2 constantly...

 

As TCL says... they will always stain your water... everyone I know who has tried coir... has abandoned it as a media (including myself)..

[TCLynx]

Some fish are quite happy living in dark water however you want to keep the water clear enough so that you can see the bottom to make sure that you don't have excessive uneaten feed or fish poo collecting or dead fish down there.  If you can see the fish, it is hard to observe them.  If the coir makes the water too dark for me to see my fish, it would be a deal breaker for me.  You will have to make your own decisions.