Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So my PH is going crazy!! I added some hose water ( tested at 6 from the hose ) to try and get it down.

Would the plastic tubs ( growbeds or tank ) be causing the high PH ? What can I use to get it down that wont kill the plants?

Outside of the PH, do the other levels look ok? Seems My nitrite is going up, nitrate staying same, and amonia is rising slightly to around .5

Greetings heningto

The first thing I would do is slow down with the additives. I wouldn't add anything to the system. It's hard to tell exactly what your ammonia reading is but your in the death zone for fish. I would do a water change to get it down. You must know where your water is coming from. If from the city you must degas it before putting into you system. When checking PH of house water you must let it sit over night before testing to get a true reading. Your PH is going to continue to change until you stop adding stuff and let nature take its course. Your PH isn't that bad right now. It will lower over time. Your ammonia should read zero most of the time as should your nitrites. I like to keep my nitrates between 40and 80ppm. I just posted a paper on bell syphons. Check it out very informative. It's going to take several weeks to several months for a system to cycle. It can take up to a year or more for it to mature. Things can be done to speed the process but that's when problems arise. You just have to have patience. TJ

So my PH has gone down, but now my Nitrites have spiked up to near 5ppm. Is this expected?



My plants are not looking very healthy either. Yellow spots and dead edges. Is this because of the nitrites?




On the plus side, all 3 goldfish are doing fine, and new seeds have sprouted.

Although goldfish are essentially bulletproof... I don't think yours will survive long in such water, or if they do, they are going to have permanent disabilities and/or stunted growth caused by the exposure to high ammonia and nitrite levels. To maximise their survival chances (for now) add 1ppt salt (1kg pool salt per 1000L of water), then do nothing (for maybe a week or so) and allow the ammonia and nitrites to fall to zero; then see where the nitrates and pH end up and work from there.

Don't add anything or do anything (except maybe add some more plants) and let things settle. Most importantly, do NOT feed the fish. Pumping continuously will probably help, as will adding air. Check the system twice daily for any dead fish and remove them, otherwise leave the fish alone to minimise stress. Once the ammonia and nitrites are at zero and the system equilibrium has been found, then you can gently move the system one way or another as required e.g. make slow changes to the system, such as starting a feeding regime for any surviving fish, changing pumping schedules, pH adjustments if required etc. For now though, "Spectate. Don't participate."

You need to be monitoring water temperature in addition to the ammonia levels.

Consider doing a change out of one third of the water daily for a week, remembering to salt the top up water before you add it to the system during the daily water change.

Thank you Bunson, i'll stop feeding them. I've been feeding them daily, but doing nothing else. Pump runs continuously. The bell siphon seems to cycle very fast. About 3-4 min to fill / start syphon for each tank. Any lower pressure and the siphon never starts.

Ill add some salt. My tank sits outside, so the temp changes through out the day, how hot is too hot for it?

I live in Perth, West Australia where in summer the temps are up to 45C and minima in winter of -2C at my house. My outside 1000L FT temps generally sit between 12C and 30C. In previous years I've kept goldfish all year long. Our annual fluctuations are the reason we keep trout in winter and barramundi in summer, and/or silver perch all year.

so I took some water straight from the hose, and immediatley tested it ( previous posts ) and the PH was very low. I let it sit for overnight in a plastic bucket and the PH is now extremely high. This is obviously why my PH is so high? Will it even itself out? Is this the reason for high PH or is it because of the plastic tubs i'm using for grow beds / tank ?

Water sat for 24 hrs from hose


I tested my tank after adding quite a bit of water to dilute it, and here are the results today Amonia went way up, and Nitrites back up a bit.


The PH is down, because of the dilution, but since it keeps going back up obviously my water source is high in PH ? If the water sits long enough will it PH neutralize ?

so i thought i had my water dialed in, then bam. My PH is way high again, my Nitrites are up, Nitrates are way down, and my Amonia is heading in the right direction.


is that normal?

i want to transplant everything into a new grobed i built, and use a single bed instead of two because i'm having siphon issues. Growth is apparently OK. Looks like my plants are doing well so i'm hesitant to mess with them.

Ok my plants are going crazy, and I now have 15 goldfish in the tank. It looks like levels are evening out, so does this mean my system is "cycled" ?

I'm concerned that my Nitrates are too low. Do i have a bad balance of Fish to Plants?