Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

What effect does having an ionizer in an AP system. This is in relation to a 55kl pool. It has different setting and can be turned off all together. Can it be utilized for anything in an AP.

I always thought it was the device that produced chlorine from the salt..............

If I am right then it had NO PLACE in an AP system. put it on ebay

No that's a chlorinator. This uses silver and copper to clean the water. Running well and you end up with drinking water(better than out of the tap). Does kill algae and bacteria, not in the quantities i'll have after the pool cycles. Just thought it could be handy if the system goes south. Or use it to clean water.

If the water comes into contact with the copper.... then it has no place in an AP system....

Put it on eBay ...

Nah - just send it to me...cut out the middle man

Think it's copper, about the size of a packet of lifesavers. Why is copper bad, been drinking from copper pipes for a while now. Is it somthing to do with the fish? Wait up they brew beer in copper, forget the fish. What have they been doing to my beer.

Yep - is the fish.

Here we go again

The copper in your household water pipes is in contact with said amount of water for a very short time. The water in your pipes is not acidic (hopefully).

The copper in an AP system is in contact with the system lots. Your AP system will end up being slightly acidic, and the copper will end up being very dissolved. Fish die at very low concentrations of copper. People get sick at very low concentrations of copper.

Mind you 55kl of water is a lot, might just have conductive fish.

Do a google for copper toxicity in fish, and people.

A lifesaver size copper bar, would be bad

DANGEROUS subject

Yeah, you know it

Dufflight,,,bestto think about AP water being very corrosive,,,it willleach the copper into thewater much faster than water used for beer or your homewater supply.
VERY small amounts of copper are used foliar sprays etc recommended here but they are VERY small amounts.

Copper is anything BUT these small amounts is deadly to fish and especially deadly to Yabbies etc.

And has a "cumulative" affect.... an extremely important point, given that we are talking "recirculating" systems....

Copper is a "heavy" metal... and will accumulate in fish flesh readily...

Will take it out, maybe use it for the hot tub instead.

Handy to know about the metals. Shouldn't need to worry about the current water in the pool as it is only a couple of months old. It turned into a pond while I was away. Lot of time to empty and clean out. Now going to turn it back into a pond, funny how that worked out.