Attempting aquaponics, help please

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T

tehfishdude

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 11, 2011
23
0
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Michigan
I have several fish tanks set up atm and more that are sitting empty. I am Looking to offset the the cost of running all my aquariums by using them to grow vegetables for my family. I have read a ton of info and I am ready to get started. The main problem I am running into is that the PH of our tap water is HIGH, VERY HIGH... My liquid API testing kit for high range PH doesn't effectively measure our tap water PH because it appears to be over 8.8 or w/e the test maxes out at. I use the tap water for all my aquariums, and I don't have any problems with my fish. I have had problems using tap water on non aquarium related plants and it didnt seem to go well, the plants died.

So, to grow the vegetables am I going to need to lower the PH of the water in my tanks and maintain it lower, around 6.5-7 or w/e to grow plants; or are there just plants that will grow in the high PH water?

If I have to lower the PH in my tanks, what's the most effective way? everyone seems to be against chemicals that lower PH, but aquaponics websites seem to promote them(I am sure for financial reasons). Do I have to get a RO system to hook up to my tap or something and mix it was regular tap water to get a desireable PH?

Any information would be helpful, I want to get this going but I DON'T want to fail right away lol.

Thanks for checking this out,

Tehfishdude
 
The big question I ask is, Whats your PH in all of your tanks after a 30% weekly water change? I ask this because even if your TAP water is at 8.8 or above what really maters is the PH inside the tank after a water change. If you do a water change and the PH in your tanks stay around 7 then it doesn't need further buffering. However if you need to lower your PH then Peat Moss is the way to go especially if you plan on growing things to eat from this water then you need to make sure that you are NOT PUTTING ANY CHEMICALS in the water that you don't want to be eventually consuming. The more natural way of doing things, like peat moss, is always the better way. I like to think of it as Nature Knowing the best way to keep things alive and healthy.
 
Thanks for the help guys,

I usually do larger water changes once a week, like 50% min up to 75% sometimes on tanks that are stocked more heavily.

The PH in the tanks are all still high after a water change, should I be doing less? The PH in the tanks has always matched my tap water PH as far as I can tell because its off the chart.

Will filtering through peat moss be sufficient to lower my PH 2 points? guess I will give it a try and see what happens and if it doesn't work I guess I will have to get a RO unit if this is something I would like to still try to do.

Thanks again

tehfishdude

EDIT: I am going to try filtering through just the peat moss first before I think about a RO unit. When using use the moss should I just fill the planter with it? I was planning on just using pea gravel in the planter to hold the plants in place. Would mixing it all with a lot of the peat moss be the best place for it? Or could I just plant in peat moss? don't know anything about peat moss, why I had to ask.. thanks
 
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