Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Steve i belive we have chlormine here and i have not used water ager in 6 months [just top up from the tap][every 3 weeks]

we are on chlorine just "down the road" and i just top up too, but trying to steer the newbies in the right direction................

us AP gods can de-chlorinate water just by sticking our finger in it i'm working on the water to wine thing.................

Let me know when you've got that one down pat will you Steve

Steve , Could you make it water to beer for me?? please

thats food and fish's area

We had some goldfish that went to fishy heaven last year and the pet store people said that the most likely reason for their quick death was the fact that we used rainwater. they then sold us some water conditioning stuff to add the 'essential minerals' that the rainwater was missing.

Have I been led up the garden path? Is rain water really good enough for fish without treatment. Or is it that the minerals needed leach out from the gravel in short order?

I do have a couple of dams that I can draw water from and I thought this might be a good alternative but I read that this could introduce undesirable fungi into the system which can cripple the fish or plants.

As far as fungi go they can get into your system via wind dispersal anyway... there would simply be an elevated chance of it happening - you COULD introduce numerous bugs etc into your system... but if you have fish in the dams already which are healthy chances are your fish will be too (as long as they are native... )

I have used aged tap water with no ill effects... never used the water conditioner...

Rain Water is generally "Soft Water" and a pronounced lack of minerals in the water when the fish are used to a certain hardness, pH, and salinity can hurt the fish. If using rain water, you will probably want to make sure you have some diverse minerals mixed with the gravel, keep an eye on the salt levels as you will probably need to add some salts, and avoid huge water changes so you don't shock the fish/plants with drastic fluctuations in their environments.

Diverse minerals? My plan was to go to the landscape yard and pickup half a meter of something that looks about right. How would I add diverse minerals to this? I was going to throw some seashells into the sump to buffer the pH...would a couple of tablespoons of iodised table salt thrown into the tank (1000L) take care of these issues?

Monkey... dont use iodised salt in your system... most table salts and even some pool salts... having anti-caking agents.... both will probably kill you fish....

If you need to add salt... use sea salt, rock salt... pool salt if you very carefully read the label...

You can get water hardner and water hardness test kits from your local aquarium if you really need it.

Hi monkeypuncher A couple of table spoons in 1000 litres you may as well pee in for all the good that will do I allways use olsons pool salt $9.00 for 30 kg 3 kg per 1000 gives 3 parts per thousand

Hardness is important for fish health. See the FAQ/Useful Information section. Steves posted something about it in there.

I tend to go for a bet each way.
Sometimes I top up with rain water and sometimes I use tap water.
With the tap water, sometimes I use water ager and sometimes I don't.

Now thats decisiveness