Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Just a few clarifying questions on top off water.

I use 5 gallon buckets for my top off water. If we get rain I catch it off the roof, if not, I fill with tap water.

Will the chlorine off gas in 24 hours if I don't aerate the water? Or, is the aeration required to get it to happen.

When there is talk about bringing pH down by treating top off water it is always said to let it sit for 24 hours after bringing the pH down. Is that for the chlorine or is there something with the pH changes that needs to settle before adding to the tank?

Regarding pH adjusted water, it is often said to "add it slowly". Is that just adding it a couple gallons at a time and then letting the tank sit for 15 minutes? I guess, define slowly.

i would say it would gas off in 24hrs without aeration, probably half that with aeration, complete guesses.

ive brought an entire ibc full of fresh tap water online straight away in my system that only had one other ibc running, so 50% of the water was fresh tap water. Fish were fine, im guessing rainbow trout are quite hardy to chlorine.

Chlorine won't effect fish too much in the short term, however the purpose of the government adding chlorine to water is to kill off harmful bacteria. While this may have benefits for human consumption, it's really bad for Aquaponics. The chlorine in your system will kill the bacteria needed to convert the ammonia in your fish waste to nitrites and nitrates for plant nutrition. Add too much chlorinated water to your system and you can expect a rapid reduction in plant growth, and an increase in plant decay due to nutrient deficiencies. It's always safer to aerate the chlorinated water for at least 24hrs to gas off before adding it to your system.


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I already know why they put chlorine in the water and I know that it is generally not a good thing to add to aquaponics if it can be avoided.

What I didn't know is if aeration is required to get it to off gas in 24 hours?

I'm trying to avoid buying another air pump if I can avoid it.

I top up with strait tap water all the time. It gets diluted enough to not really have to worry.