Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thanks Ben so when I add Brickie's lime test water the next day or two etc to get the pH to rise so when is it safe to put say the Eco fungicide in the system you were saying use both eg good for when flowering and when fruiting sorry to bore you with stupid questions just trying to get it right without stuffing up also is it normal for my water to have a light yellowish look to it

No worries. You can just alternate between the two. Add hydrated lime one day. Then add potassium bicarbonate the next day until your ph is where you want it. But only a tablespoon at a time to avoid large ph swings which will harm the fish


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@bender I read somewhere that your meant to leave a week between each variety of buffer?

Haven't heard that one. The method I use is based on advice from rupertofoz on this forum


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Hi all update today i don't think i need to start upping the ph yet what do you guys think

Looks like about 6.6 or 6.4 so that is perfect. If it gets any lower then you can bring it back up. Now would be a good time to add shell grit


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Ok Ben will do any ideas were to get it in Bunbury besides the beach?

farm supplies have it.

Looks more like 6.6-6.8 to me

Yep stock feed shops. Good for your chooks too. Otherwise find a lump of limestone around or cuttle fish or use the garden lime you already have. Garden lime is simply crushed limestone


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Thanks again

Hi all this is the first time my nitrites have gone out of the blue i have been going ok for 4 months now have been feeding fish exactly the same amount of food every day my ph has been dropping and have been adding lime etc and also my ammonia is a bit high i have been told it could be fish are much bigger and producing more ammonia is it normal after 4 months for nitrites to go up and am i in danger of loosing my fish i have taken a few plants out but have replaced still have lots growing Ben has advised me to stop feeding and test again which i will do thought i would show water test anyway

I had ammonia in my system throughout trout season with yearlings. Didn't see nitrites though. I think your system will be fine - just sorting its self out - you could do a water change or top up. Or maybe you could increase media beds. The more water and beds you have the more stable when it swings. - even an NFT tube system would help. Bio filter etc etc.

I wouldn't be too concerned as the temps are low yes?

yes Jay the temps are very low fish seem to be all right but i might top up with some water i still cant decide if i should just be on cf and top up as high as i can go or do fd also would add a bio filter or tube system but not confident enough

I would just run cf until the nitrites are gone. Fish should be fine as you have added salt. Should sort itself out if you just hold off the feed for a day


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20 trout - how much media?

I had 30 trout and 750 litres of filtration last year. This year I'm trying for 40 trout. But I also have 750ltre sump + 1000 ltr fish tank.

You could try hanging some bio bags >>?? I think Tom from sydney did this in his sumps. I'm no expert, but I think it was to reduce or increase his nitrates.