This was a hard lesson learned, I had to take my rain barrel and convert it to be my solids filter. Do Not Use Aircrete in an aquaponics system! The lime in the concrete will breakdown if there is any way the concrete can come in contact with the water and your PH levels will be way to alkaline. My fish have been gulping for air for the past few days and I haven't been able to normalize the ph by adding acid to balance.
Steepshot
I wonder if you could use a topcoat of hydraulic cement to prevent water from flowing in and out of the aircrete pores.
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hrmm...interesting Idea, not so sure, if it has lime in it as well then it would still breakdown and contribute to a high ph regime I believe. I was excited to use the aircrete for the cone but you really have to watch anything that can affect the water chemistry.
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All concrete has lime in it, but hydraulic cement is made to withstand long term exposure to water. If the lime kept dissolving out it would eventually crumble like a wet cinderblock.
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Hrmm, I think if there is any lime present there will be an interaction with the system. It would be a good experiment, I need to find something to do with this vortex barrel now. It may get buried on my property and used as an overflow water storage to water my trees.
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My boss is a materials expert. He says that what you need is a top coat of latex modified grout.
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Nice! thank you @professorbromide. If it seals everything up it should be gtg.
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I'm geeking out on the chemistry of cement, mortar, grout, and concrete over lunch today. Check this page out: https://www.concreteconstruction.net/how-to/grout-or-mortar_o
I found at least two references that claim mortar has little or no lime in it.
This stuff looks like the perfect solution for you. It is $125 for a 50 lb bag. Kind of expensive, but it comes in a lot of pretty colors!
Or this stuff on Ebay. 3 lbs for $30
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Nice research! I might grab that stuff from ebay. I would like to use this vortex filter in some application I may be able to seal the entire vortex section with this stuff. Thank you brother!
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Doh!
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Yeah man it was a bummer. Glad I learned, I hope I don't lose my fish.
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When you are doing anything just try to think of the relationship between 'one thing and another'. That is what I continually try to tell myself at least. Sometimes it is difficult to decipher what that 'relation' is because we are focused upon the 'results'. Anyway hopefully the fish will live to 'live another day' but if they do not then what you have learned will help other folks to not make similar mistakes. Sometimes it is difficult to see what our actions will cause.
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I have really fucked some things up over the years because of not thinking things completely through. What I suggest here is to just to always look at the things that your mind does not instantly notice. It may sound like some wisdom but it is merely being practical and pragmatic. In other words break things down to there 'base elements' and try to really grasp the relation between one 'base element' and another. The stuff that you are doing is really cool and all but really what is going on is just that you are trying to create an 'un-natural' environment for some very 'natural' organisms. The stuff that I do in nature is pretty expansive and I (like yourself) often see the 'results' in a very fundamental way...so in other words shit dies or it lives. It is not so much some great burden to bear but an obligation to foster life. There is always going to be what I call a 'learning swerve' there because we ourselves are not excluded from the process...so in other words be easy on yourself and embrace your failures just as much (if not more) than embracing your accomplishments. That is my two cents and I hope it helps.
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Yeah man it was a
Bummer. Glad I learned, I hope
I don't lose my fish.
- makinstuff
I'm a bot. I detect haiku.
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howdy there makinstuff! sounds like an honest mistake I wouldn't beat myself up over it. .well I might but you shouldn't, the fish will be fine, they'll recover I'm sure. what kind are they?
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They are Tilapia, the easiest fish to start with because they can handle many extremes of water chemistry.
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howdy back sir makinstuff! oh I didn't know that but I like to eat them, thanks for getting back to me!
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