Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey all,
I am looking for some advice on lowering the PH in my System.
My system is about a year old and has always had a PH of 8.2-8.4
The water I use to top off my system comes from a well and has a PH around 7.4

When I bought the IBC totes the seller said that the totes previously held some sort of Elmer’s glue or permaset glue.
I thoroughly cleaned the totes but my theory is that this is causing an issue.

Do you guys think this is a responsible deduction?

And has anyone ever lined an IBC tote or used a spay on liner coating?

If you cleaned the IBC to the point where there was no residue of the product left, then I would doubt very much that is the issue. Do you get a lot of evaporation in spring/summer?... Is rain able to enter the system, or is it covered?... What type of gravel are you running in the GB?

Take some of your top up/well water and let it stand for 24 hours in an open container then check the pH again. Sometimes the pH changes when the water is removed from the ground and left to sit.

Thanks for the advice guys!

Sorry for the delayed response, I could not find the thread after I posted it. lol

My system is in a greenhouse and the temperature got up to 100 degrees F a few times mid summer. So there was a decent amount of evaporation then. Does this have an effect on PH?

I don’t currently have any grow beds. I am using grow towers and a DWC bed.
For biological filtration I’m using a chipped pvc trickle filter and a MBBR.
For solid filtration I’m using a bead filter and a drum filter.

I removed the fish from one of my IBC tanks and isolated it from the system. I rinsed it out and refilled it. I have been testing the PH in this isolated tank and after a few days it seems to be rising.

I wasn’t aware that the PH of well water rises when removed from the ground. I put some water from my well in a glass jar and I will test that and see if I rises too.


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