Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello helpful people,

I have attached my system thread on the bottom so you can see pics etc.
Still testing each fish tank every second day. Thought that things had stabilised out and that I only needed to wait for the pH to drop as the system matured.
I have 0 for ammonia and nitrite. My nitrates fluctuate in the 20 - 40 range.
I have plant growth but the plants were looking a little sad (light green rather than a bright healthy green) so I added 10ml of chelated iron into each tank yesterday.
My pH is a bit of a worry. It has been at 8 since I started the system. Today it is up at 8.2. I was advised to add limestone (in rock pieces) as a buffer initially, but then I did some more reading and took that out a few days ago.
I normally top up with treated tap water. We also have ground water which i could use - pH tested at 6.4.

So, what do i do now? Wait it out or add something to lower the pH?

Thanks

How old is your system..?

It is just over 3 weeks old. We did purchase second hand clay balls from a functioning system so the initial cycling with fish went faster than I expected

I would take the limestone out and wait for pH to settle down. Add it again when it drops to around 7


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Thanks Ben. I took the limestone out 5 days ago and now the pH has increased. Was wondering if I should top up with the groundwater as the pH is 6.4? Happy to wait it out as long as the plants won't experience nutrient lock out. My SP fingerlings are skittish like normal, but otherwise seem to be OK

Topping up with the lower pH water should help but patience is the key. It's fairly normal to have a high pH in a young system


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yep just be patience