Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well I can tell you that the only contributing factor to the fish loss was chloramine. All parameters were perfect and prior to this, these fish were in this same tank for 2 years with the water being treated before doing a water change with ZERO losses. I had read that people were getting away with topping there tanks off with untreated water. I thought I could save some money so I tried it, and guess what, they died. That’s fine that people have gotten away with it and I’m glad that you are able to as well, however I am not comfortable doing so and that’s purely my decision. I know some species are more tolerable to levels than others so I can only assume this is how you are able to do so with no deaths.




This is probably my short term answer. I did read in some forums about people having trouble with this type of treatment but you have encouraged me to research further. Looks like my initial reaction to this was incorrect. Thanks for the info

Definitely do what you need to do to feel comfortable. I strongly believe we should all do a bit of our own research and then make our own decisions. While some people may be able to get away with topping up or doing water changes with chloramine treated water, other people are likely to find that their water utility uses more of the stuff, or if you happen to be closer to the water plant or for what ever reason, it is possible to have higher concentrations of treatment chemicals even from the same utility.

Some people find they can't even bake bread with chloramine treated water without using a carbon filter on the water because the chloramine will kill the yeast.

And with a new system, the less treatment chemicals the better. A mature system may be able to handle a 5% top up no problem but a new system without a strong biofilter is a different story.

Look what I found this morning.

woot woot!

Exciting stuff!

Majic Happend again............. I love it when the plan comes together. I hope my radishes come up soon.

Well just a quick update. My wife and I went on vacation for a week and I swear the growth has at the very least doubled since we were gone. Guess everything is working as planned. I have moved the light up three times for the basil.

Edit: I have been trying to upload the picture but no luck. It will have to wait until I get on my computer tomorrow

Here is a picture.

i was actually curious about this myself... what if you ran the clorine threw a filter comprised of half coal (fish store stuff) and sand, would that clean it out? if so then it would just a matter of hooking a garden hose to that filter and the output straight to your system


havea read at this, i know its a wiki but still i know coal is used in chem suits to obsorbe certain chemicals so why not... http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Activated_Carbon

Time and aeration are your friends. If it is chloramines, vitamin C can also be a part of the clique.

If your tap water has chlorine, then they have carbon filters that can remove it, they even make ones you can put right on your garden hose.

Chloramine is harder to remove since it requires a really long resident time in a carbon filter in order to actually remove it.

Here is another update.

The plants are doing great but I have a few questions.

The lettuce seems really rubbery. I would think it should be crisper, but maybe it just isn't ready yet.

Also, the lettuce has some dark spots on the edges of some of the leaves, the picture is below. What would cause this?

you can improve the rubbery lettuce by letting it soak in cold water for 15 to 30 minutes before you eat it or put in the frig. That trick helps lots of vegetables, even ones from the store.

Lettuce that gets bitter definitely benefits from a soak in cold water for a bit before drying it and eating or putting in the fridge.

Looks like you might want to add a little chelated iron and possibly a cap of seaweed extract.

The crisping of the tip of the leaves of the lettuce may be tipburn. that can happen from the lighting or it could be a sign of calcium deficiency.