Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Wondering what is wrong with my Tilapia No white spots but entire "belly" area organs appear to be black, Very low pH in the tank but other readings are normal. Have four of them and the other three do not look like this but all four are very sluggish, stay on the bottom and do not eat. Did a 1/3 water change twice in the last week and still no improvement. Running an external carbon filter and leave grow media pump running 24/7 so water in entire tank is going to the plants for filtering. Any ideas? Thx

Very low PH,how low is that,Tilapia although very hardy ideally want close to 7,i run 6.5 and mine are happy at that,but if very low PH means 6 or lower this might be the problem.

Thanks. Have been monitoring pH for several days and tried a couple "remedies" including Tetra's SafeBalance and a product called phUP, but so far still around 6.0. Not sure how much to add at a time as the instructions are not very helpful for how much to add to a 180 gallon tank to raise any certain pH level. The test strips that I have says 6.0 which is the lowest that the strips report. Ordered some AquaUp but that is taking forever to be shipped here for some reason. The fish were happy and actually ate and had some energy after the SafeBalance (one capful per ten gallons) was added but only for a few hours. Now back to the lethargic, not eating again. Perhaps I should just try hyrdraponics as I can not figure out how to keep tilapia alive. The plant are not happy either. Just not able to make this Aquaponics concept work.

Do you have water test results? Ammonia? Nitrites? tilapia are very hardy. I would check those, salt to 4ppt and do a 50% water change with non chlorinated water. Then no food for a few days and check water again.

temp 75.7, nitrate 10, nitrite 0, hardness 150, chlorine 0, alkalinity 20, pH <6, ammonia 26. Am running a external filter with carbon and ammonia chips. Did two 1/3 water changes within last five days, do not know how to calculate how much aquarium salt to add to get to 3ppt in 180 gallon tank, nor any test to measure salt content. Will the salt kill the plants? Water is from a well, not chlorinated to begin with. Thx

Try 2 Kilos of sea salt to begin with,at 3ppm your plants will be ok,some like strawberries and celery don’t like it if it starts getting higher than this.
In my system to buffer/control my PH,i use calcium hydroxide[builders lime] and potassium carbonate which i make myself from wood ash,as the PH starts falling i will add one,then daily monitoring shows me when my PH starts dropping again so i then add the other.I am able to keep my PH in the 6.5 ish range plus aim adding these two important nutrients into the system.
Dont despair ktazz it will all become easier as your experience level increases and this forum is the best place for all the information you will need.just one thing keep the pics coming.

2 kilos of salt for 180 gallons tank? That is 4.4 pounds right? Cant imagine that much salt. I added 1/4 cup for 180 gallons last time but obviously do not know what is correct. What is the desired salinity ppm and how can I measure that? Thx. Earlier today I added about 1/4 teaspoon of each calcium hydroxide and potassium carbonate that I ordered from Aquaponicsource. (Each individually mixed with water in a cup first then poured into fish tank) Will test pH in the morning and add some salt as well. Here is a picture of my layout.

In my 55 gallon aquarium, I use 1/2 cup when I salt. I read that rate in an aquarium site for chiclids.

My PH has been as low as 6 to 6.5 and as high as 8 and I havent noticed any change in behaviour with my tilapia. The tilapia came from the local creek and Ive only lost one that died from a broken neck because the Barra couldnt swallow it. Other than that the tilapia doubled in size in the last couple of months and 2 have hatched hundreds of young. The downside is that the parents are giving all the other fish a hard time due to their protective nature. They will have to go.

Tilapia are greedy and will eat all day. Best fish for aquaponics. If they are not eating pellets then they are cleaning the inside of the tank of algae.

My water temps have been as high as 32c.

Ktazz,just do the maths its your system,180 gallons is 681 litres,you want 3ppm so 2.5/3 kilos of salt is going to give you want you want.

Kaiser please tell me how does this post,obviously posted to decry what i suggested help the poster???????????

Thanks everyone for the help. This mornings readings are 74.8 degrees, ammonia 3.0 (added 50 ml of Ammonia Remover), nitrates 20, nitrites 0, hardness 150, chlorine 0, alkalinity 0, pH <6 (added 13 teaspoons of Olympus pH UP), and added 3/4 cup of aquarium salt. Will retest tomorrow.

what type of water chemistry testers does everyone use? I have been using the tetra strips but am wondering if I should find and use a vial with test solution drops such as those used in caring for a swimming pool to be more accurate.

Get a liquid reagent pH test kit. Sub 6 is pretty darned low, even for a hearty fish like Tilapia but before you do anything, you want to have a more accurate test protocol than strips.

K

Since adding the Ammonia remover, the salt and the Olympus pH Up the fish are much more active and even eating! Wow! will keep monitoring and posting the test results.