Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hi all i got a question?

i was wondering if a high ph will effect plant growth.
i got a ph of around 8.2+ and would like to maintain that
due to the fish im keeping

thnc andrew

you may have lock-out of key plant nutrients...................

there is a picture of nutirent availablility VS PH somewhere here, i'm sure someone will link to it for you!

Steve

Here it is:
And the Ammonia one too:



Tony

thnx for the chart
this is a bit of a downer to my want to be aquaponic system
i must do some more research
so i can make fish + plant filter(aquaponic system) happy

Whys that fisho?

its all good now i think

i can lower my ph to around 7.6-7.8

the reason is that the fish that ill be keeping in my aquaponic system
will be cichlids from lake malawi due to my intrest in cichlids
ill try to keep (electric blues/yellows) which like the alkaline water
but due to some research i can keep the at 7.6-8 which should be
alright for plants i think????

Should be OK other than perhaps "Iron"... that's a problem many end up with and deal with by the addition of chelated iron to their systems....

Ways and means around most problems fisho... it's all about being prepared as you are doing.

I would expect your system to drift toward that range as it matures, indeed most people drift well beyond that, although most are probably starting from closer to neutral or 7.5 ....

You may have to apply a carbonate buffer at a later stage if you really want to keep your pH at those levels.... perhaps you can time your plant selection/growth patterns to coincide with the pH drift....

my bio filter contains 20kg of coral pieces with the addition of
lime stone(20ish kg) in the pond so it with probably stay up in the 8ish mark.
ill probably reduce the coral when i get my garden beds matured.

and thnx for the help

andrew

i've had electric yellows in my aquarium at 7.4 to 7.6 for nearly two years and they're very happy

Mine at the moment is 6 is that ok if not how do you increase it

welcome fisho,

the ph of my tap water is above 8 and i have struggled to get it anywhere near neutral. added a heap of lemon juice, stayed about 7 for a day or to then back above 8.

any one have any idea how i could get it down permanently other then not using tap water? can i use something to buffer it?

sorry to hijack.

F&F - the only concern would be that if your pH drifts too low then nitrification may cease. I had a litle system that recently went below 5pH and all nitrification ceased.

You are not alone in operating at about 6. Joel's system is about that from memory and is doing okay.

If you are concerned and want to raise and buffer the pH, I find the easiest thing to do is add some calcium carbonate powder that is sold at many rural stores for addition to horse feed. Be carefull not to raise if all at once though.

FF to increase your ph i use coral pieces/lime stone/lime sand

due to me only having knowledge of malawi cichlid i haven't tryed to
lower my ph before. but ill say using rain water, peat or bog wood should
lower it.

im one of those people that dont use too many chemicals or do any water checks, i rely on mainly natural stuff

HTH andrew

a rain water tank is in my wish list but not a priority atm.

the idea of peat sounds interesting. perhaps if i made a peat filter it would do the trick. it could maybe also function as a solids filter and worm bed.

gots me thinking.

i will give it a shot. could i use coco peat?

I have used shell grit also, but the beauty of calcium carbonate powder is that it becomes almost immediatelly available to the extent that it will buffer water to about 7.4pH. What is not used will dissolve as it is needed. I've not added any to my system in months and months, yet pH is stable. IMHO - you need to put in heaps more shell grit to get the same effect - but it still will do the trick.