Page 7 of 7 FirstFirst ... 567
Results 61 to 70 of 70
  1. #61
    Members Jeff's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Tracy, CA.
    Posts
    143

    Re: How I DECIMATED my aquaponics system and I have no idea

    Just an update on things.........I have had the new 170 gallon airpump running in the tank 24/7 for two days now. I still see a large pH swing (from 8.6 at dusk to 7.4 at dawn). Do you know if this is normal or should there be something else I do to help buffer this?

    Most products on the market (like pH down) are only temporary things, so I really don't want to use those since I'm trying to tackle the root of the problem. During the day, the plants pull all the CO2 out of the water (driving the pH so high)......but at night, when photosynthesis isn't taking place, the CO2 drives the pH back down (to 7.4). I have read that fish should only experience a .4 to .8 change in pH.......and my swings are greater than that.

    Hopefully it all balances out soon. I don't know if that's even the root of my problem, or if the problem has been fixed yet (as far as improved water quality)......but I will keep you all posted.
    ------------
    My System: Jeff's Backyard System Here We Go!

  2. #62
    Moderator JCO's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Orange Park, Florida
    Posts
    1,830

    Re: How I DECIMATED my aquaponics system and I have no idea

    Jeff, I wish I had an answer for you but at this time I am as mystified as you are. Sorry, hope you find your answer soon.
    JCO
    Irish eyes are always smiling but
    • "In the eyes of the world, you are only as good as your last success"
    so never forget
    • "MAN IS ONLY LIMITED BY HIS IMAGINATION"

  3. #63
    Members Jeff's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Tracy, CA.
    Posts
    143

    Re: How I DECIMATED my aquaponics system and I have no idea

    Thanks JCO - I really do appreciate all the help you've given me up to this point. I think the problem is probably with the pH buffer (I think it's called KH???)......which is allowing such huge swings in pH from day to night.

    I also have a theory (although I don't know if it's true......you can give me your thoughts), but if a system has TOO MANY PLANTS, then they could add more CO2 into the water at night time which, depending on how many plants you have, it could really impact the pH swings.

    So I am thinking of cutting back on some of my plants with hopes that it will not cause the pH to swing so wildly. Aside from that (and the additional aeration I've already done), I don't know what else to do.

    I read about buffering the KH of the water, but I don't know if that's a good idea, nor do I want to keep messing with a system to make it worse. I am hoping that somehow, someway, it will naturally equalize and stabilize.
    ------------
    My System: Jeff's Backyard System Here We Go!

  4. #64
    Members Roger L.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Louisville, KY USA
    Posts
    384

    Re: How I DECIMATED my aquaponics system and I have no idea

    Jeff, while you take one grow bed at a time offline to clean them you will be removing the amount of plants in the system. You can use that time to verify your latest theory.
    At what point did our government cease to be of the people, by the people, and for the people?

  5. #65
    Members Jeff's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Tracy, CA.
    Posts
    143

    Re: How I DECIMATED my aquaponics system and I have no idea

    Well it's been a couple of days, so I thought I would post my progress.

    I am not seeing the wild pH swings anymore. I attribute this to the following

    - I've added a LOT more water to my system. Normally, my fish tank has a 110 gallon capacity but it's usually only filled about HALFWAY. So I have filled it up with treated water, roughly 2/3 of the capacity.

    - Every couple of days, I have been dumping about 10-20 gallons from my Radial Flow Filter (which captures some of the solids and crap from the water), and then replace this with 10-20 gallons of new, treated water.

    - I have noticed a fine brown film along the sides and bottom of the tank, which I have NEVER bothered to mess with. Now I am using a sponge and periodically wiping it off. This creates a little murkiness to the water, but the filter and pump seem to clear it up within 30 minutes or so.

    Since the wide pH swings are not happening, I have noticed the 4 remaining fish begin to swim around more. They're still not social (coming up to my hand), and they act very skittish if I approach the tank......but that's a far cry from the behavior I had been seeing. At least now, if I sneak up on them, I can see them floating near the surface, or at least "not hiding." They still aren't "PLAYING" with each other, but I'm not too worried about that.

    My only concern is that the used to come out when they saw me about to feed them, and now, they still are very hesitant. I have only been feeding a little food once or twice a day, but I may cut back to once every other day.

    I have also been pruning any dead or dying branches from my large tomato bushes, since less branches means less plant, which means less CO2 being returned to the water at night time.

    Aeration has been going full blast with the new 4-line air pump I got.

    My only remaining "tragedy" is a sick koi which can't swim right. He's been hanging on for almost two weeks now. (I thought he would have died a long time ago). He has began losing scales, and he can only swim in a tight circle when he's not laying on his side......but he's hanging in there. So I gave him a SALT DIP last night (3% salt solution for 30 seconds). It didn't really change his behavior, but he didn't get worse. If anything, he became more active (probably to the irritation that the salt has on the skin, but I figure it could help kill any parasites if he's afflicted with them).

    Here's a video of him BEFORE I applied the SALT DIP:



    More posts to come soon after I see how things happen.
    ------------
    My System: Jeff's Backyard System Here We Go!

  6. #66
    Members Jeff's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Tracy, CA.
    Posts
    143

    Re: How I DECIMATED my aquaponics system and I have no idea

    I just started a new topic to isolate an issue.....but it may be related to this. Basically, I had a "dead" fish come back to life. Read it here: Dead Fish Brought Back to Life --- How and Why?

    I wanted to make it a separate issue because this current one is going on 8 pages, and I felt it would be best to handle that as a separate discussion.
    ------------
    My System: Jeff's Backyard System Here We Go!

  7. #67
    Members Jeff's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Tracy, CA.
    Posts
    143

    Re: How I DECIMATED my aquaponics system and I have no idea

    For anyone who has been following this thread, you know that I have been going crazy trying to figure out what has been killing my fish. I've suspected ammonia (even though the readings were low)......I have suspected pH swings (which still may be a factor).......but I think I found something which is a HUGE RED FLAG.

    Over a year ago, I purchased a homemade DIY water heater. It works great. You simply set the temp you want the water to be, and it will shut on and off from a built in thermostat, maintaining the temperature. This was a good investment last winter, and once the weather warmed up, I just left it in the water because it was something the fish could swim around.

    Anyway, I pulled this thing out of the water a few days ago and I was HORRIFIED to see what it looked like. In fact, I filmed a video of it once I took it apart:



    I don't talk in this video, but you can see the following:

    - Something that looks like a RUST material. Granted, this could be dried fish poop since it's been out of my tank for a couple days now. So I can't tell if it's poop or metallic rust. Either way, it's not something healthy for fish to harbor that in the tank. My guess is that it's RUST because it looks more orange than brown.

    - More alarmingly, you can see the bare COPPER of the heating coil. This is because the silver coating is flaking off quite easily. In the video, I can easily scrape it off with my fingernail and it leaves a fine, powdery coat on my hands.

    I can only assume that is TOXIC to fish as well. Since pulling it from the tank, I've had no fish deaths, and they're starting to look more social.

    This may explain why no matter what I did, no matter how many water changes or water treatment, the fish kept dying....because this festering thing was in the water the entire time!
    ------------
    My System: Jeff's Backyard System Here We Go!

  8. #68
    Members dead_sled's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Nebraska
    Posts
    197

    Re: How I DECIMATED my aquaponics system and I have no idea

    Very interesting. It could be metal poisoning as well. I don't think the ph swings helped either.
    Less irritating avatar since 02/27/14.

  9. #69
    Members David - WI's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    182

    Re: How I DECIMATED my aquaponics system and I have no idea

    That's kind of weird, but I just saw a water heater element for sale with a notice saying:
    *THIS IS A RESTRICTED ITEM IN CA, LA, MD, VT. IT CANNOT BE USED FOR POTABLE WATER APPLICATIONS.*
    which would make me really suspicious about using it in a fish tank.
    It's all about the fish, dude.

  10. #70
    Members Aloha Don's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Honolulu, HI
    Posts
    310

    Re: How I DECIMATED my aquaponics system and I have no idea

    Did you ever use the sea shell grit or egg shells to try to buffer the ph?
    Put all excuses aside and remember this: YOU are capable - Zig Ziglar

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-05-2014, 01:38 PM
  2. Any Idea What This Is?
    By Jeff in forum Aquaponics Knowhow
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 09-26-2013, 08:43 AM
  3. going to bigger system ( first drawing of the idea )
    By moe in forum Aquaponics Knowhow
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 04-02-2013, 11:02 PM
  4. Grass filter idea.
    By jcx in forum Aquaponics Knowhow
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 05-31-2011, 11:12 PM
  5. First aquaponics system
    By jbarber in forum Aquaponics Knowhow
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 12-30-2010, 10:43 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •