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tem1160
11-08-2010, 06:56 PM
I installed three new grow beds and converted my system to CHOP2. After completing the work I checked my water and my PH went to 7.4 and the nitrates were 60ppm. I cleaned my bio filter and the two older grow beds and the nitrates dropped to 40ppm. PH didn't change. My fish (goldies) still eat everything I put in the tank. I only feed once a day but haven't fed for three days. Plants are doing great but I'm concerned about the PH. Any ideas as to the problem and how to correct it?

tem1160
11-08-2010, 07:09 PM
I installed three new grow beds and converted my system to CHOP2. After completing the work I checked my water and my PH went to 7.4 and the nitrates were 60ppm. I cleaned my bio filter and the two older grow beds and the nitrates dropped to 40ppm. PH didn't change. My fish (goldies) still eat everything I put in the tank. I only feed once a day but haven't fed for three days. Plants are doing great but I'm concerned about the PH. Any ideas as to the problem and how to correct it?
Here are couple pics of the updated system...

urbanfarmer
11-09-2010, 12:32 AM
Very nice!

keith_r
11-09-2010, 06:29 AM
what was your ph before adding the new gb's?
what is the media in your new growbeds? any limestone? you can put some of the media into vinegar, if you get bubbles, the media would be the problem

davidstcldfl
11-09-2010, 09:15 AM
Keith is making some good points...

along that line....

How much 'new' water did you add ?....how much water did you have to start with...?
(looking for a percentage...was it enough to effect the conditioned water ? )

The new water that was added...what was it's PH, before added....? and was it well water ?(which can change it's ph after being 'above ground' )

I'm grasping at straws Tem....sometimes it leads to a 'Da Huh'... :D

tem1160
11-09-2010, 03:42 PM
The media is washed gravel. The ph was around 6 before I started and I did add a lot of water to the system. Since I changed the system to CHOP2 I added a 50 gallon sump and the three grow beds probably hold another 10 - 15 gallons each so that is quite an addition to the 550 gallons already in the fish tanks. Almost 20% more water. The water is from the tap and the PH is most of the time neutral. I'm guessing it is the gravel. The last time I added gravel the PH did not change but this is a different batch. The PH I can change, my main concern was the nitrates. Is 60 ppm too high or should I expect that with the amount of fish I have(150 goldies)?

badflash
11-09-2010, 05:27 PM
I wouldn't worry about the pH or the nitrates. It is nitrites and amonia that you need to worry about. As your plants grow they will pull the nitrates down. Most fish have no issues below 100 ppm nitrates, certainly not goldies. Tilapia are fine at 250 ppm.

tem1160
11-10-2010, 09:07 AM
Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better. I am fixing to put 100 tilapia fingerlings in the tank and did not want to kill any of them.

badflash
11-10-2010, 09:25 AM
Be prepared for the tilapia to go belly up. Just about everyone I know who has cycled using goldies have lost their 1st few batches of tilapia. I suspect goldfish carry some sort of disease that kills them.

tem1160
11-10-2010, 07:56 PM
That's good to know. Maybe I shouldn't get the tilapia after all. Do you know how long you need to cycle the water after removing the goldies before it is safe for tilapia? Or perhaps a complete water replacement? I thought i read somewhere on here that guys were mixing godies and tilapia in the same tank. Did I miss read? or was there just not as many fish?

rfeiller
11-10-2010, 11:40 PM
fish such as feeder goldfish have been exposed to a lot of bacterial strains such as aeromonas and have built up an immunity/resistance to the disease and although they may not show any symptoms can be carriers. the tilapia have possibly not been exposed to the disease and will succumb to it.

the hatcheries use a lot of antibiotics to keep the fish alive and the strains of bacteria that the fish carry are many times are resistent to different antibiotics.

there are aeromonas strains that can wipe out a hatchery in a very few days. anyone that remembers the angelfish/discus plague will know what i am talking about.

i believe that if you bought the goldfish at a top quality KOI dealer that you would not have that problem.

tem1160
11-11-2010, 08:02 AM
Bought them when they were about 3/4 to 1 inch long from PetSmart. They are now 4 to 6 inches long and have had very few die. I guess I'll take my chances with the tilapia and see what happens. Thanks

badflash
11-11-2010, 05:55 PM
The probability isn't 100% and I don't know what the pathogen is. No way for me to tell you how long or what to do.

tem1160
11-11-2010, 08:17 PM
Thanks. I put them in this afternoon. Time will tell how long it takes before I start to see problems. Maybe I'll get lucky and they will survive.

rfeiller
11-15-2010, 03:29 PM
Anytime you ck Ph from tap aerate it first to stabilize gasses. O2 raises Ph, co2 lowers Ph. A closed system should read lower then fresh water because of the bioload. You probably knew these things but they can catch you.
Hope your fish are doing ok.