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View Full Version : Rock wool okay ? using fish?



Pine
03-17-2011, 04:43 AM
Hello I am currently building an aquaponics system
I was wondering if rock wool is okay to use to hold my seedlings while using fish. The rockwool will sit in my hydrotron grow bed and receive a rise and fall of water and nutrients from a fish tank through the use of a pump and bell siphon. Will the glass etc from the rockwool be detremental to the fish? or is it okay to use.

urbanfarmer
03-17-2011, 04:46 AM
Rockwool is fine. Make sure to pre-soak in a 5 to 5.5 pH solution to remove the residual lime from the processing, then rinse with tap water. Good luck!

Pine
03-17-2011, 05:12 AM
Ok thanks very much!

I have seeds in it now :s removing them to wash the rockwool would be cumbersome

My tank is cycling for a few weeks, would just washing the lime away into the system and lowering the pH of the system manually to a stable level be safice?

urbanfarmer
03-17-2011, 09:52 PM
Yes. If your pH is high, leave it there until your system is cycling. This will speed up the process dramatically. Once the bacteria establish themselves, you can lower the pH to have a better balance for the plants, fish, and bacteria.