Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Back on the h2o2, it is not uncommon for it to be used in RAS as an emergency measure for adding oxygen. The problem is that it is antibacterial, and we love our bacteria. It is the glue that makes this whole thing work.

ah, that makes sense....

I still have 3 live fish!!!

(so sad) but enough to start a nitrogen cycle?

hopefully.

and with only 3 fish in a 55 gal tank, presuming they live and can recover from what I tried to do to them, should be pretty easy to not overburden the system (trying to look on the bright side.) and I learned what NOT to do.

Hey spindog, yes, sad alright, poor fish. Live n learn.
3 fish, and hardy fish too, will keep the nitrogen cycle ticking along. Presently I have 6 fish in roughly 1000 gallons and have a reasonable quantity of vegetables growing.
Imo, get your confidence back up and slowly build on the fish numbers staggering their sizes.

thanks Skeggley....I actually found another one hiding so I have 4!!! but I took them out out of the system and they are in a bucket with a bubbler. I need to conquer the PH problem before I put them back in. I am thinking I am going to do a full water change and start over because the PH just keeps going back down every time I try to correct.

I am trying to isolate why my system is taking my PH6-7 tapwater (from a well) down to a 4(!!!!) what things can change the acidity THAT MUCH?

I thought maybe it was the plants I’d put in there because I didn’t get very anal about rinsing the original dirt off of them. But I put one of theplants with dirt on it in a bowl of water yesterday and when I measured the water this morning it is fine…about 7.

So I need to go further. I have started experiments…

everything that is in my system separated out and soaking in bowls of tapwater that I will test tonight. my grow media is Hydroton, which should be neutral but I have a bowl of water with the hydroton in it also just in case.

I do know I overstocked my system. Could CO2 overload bring the PH down that much? I have a 55gal aquarium and only intended on keeping 6-8 fish in there (bluegill) But they sold them in minimum amounts of 25 and I couldn’t find anyone else interested in splitting them. I was going to give the rest away or save them for an outdoor pond we are constructing in the spring. But I thought I had a bit of time because they are so small at this point (about 2” long)

But they all died off immediately.

I wish to heck I’d thought to make a note of the ph before they went in so I don’t know if it was them that caused the ph change because they caused so much co2 or if it was already acidic. I am kicking myself now for that oversight. But I did one of those strip tests with all the things on it and remember that everything was registering as low or non-existant except the mineral content. I got sidetracked about the mineral thing and forgot that a low value on ONE of the readings (PH) was a BAD thing

So bucket of water sitting out overnight with fish in it is still fine (7)

System is working it’s way back down…(5) this morning. I have the high mineral content so it is either buffering the heck out of it or whatever is making my system so acidic is still doing so. Head-desk.
So what else can affect ph like that that I might be missing? Could the dirt still have been the original problem but the acid has all just gone into the system at this point and all I need to do is a full water change?

I WILL figure this out!!!!!!! this will not break me. (depress me all to heck, though)

What media are you using, and what are the minerals that contribute to your very hard water?

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I am using hydroton.

The test I have just says "hard"

are there tests that will tell you what minerals are making it hard?

Well, most spa-type kits can at least break it down to carbonates, calcium, etc. but when you purchased the house there should be a water analysis (or you can have one done). Hydroton is pH neutral so that ain't it. Though the pH is reading neutral or close, there's SOMETHING in the water that's wonking things up. What is the grow bed/fish tank made of? Anything else in contact with the water that could be alkaline?

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