I have a bead filter and a very heavy fish load, which is a bad combination
for KH. A bead filter isn't "happy" unless the KH is over 200; I keep mine
(basically) in the 11-13 drop range, which is about 200-230 ppm. You can
keep a stable pH at 8.3 (give or take a tenth!) with KH in the 150 range,
and still have enough wiggle room for rains. Just check the KH after a good
rain and bring the KH back up.

Use regular baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), nothing fancy. You can get the
generic stuff at the grocery store and it works just as good as Arm and
Hammer. I won't say that you "can't" add too much, but the folks that import
fish and are even more overstocked than *I* am routinely keep their KH at
400-500 to avoid crashes. It should have no affect on your lilies
whatsoever. For that matter, the potash should have made the plants
stronger, not weaker. Lily pads don't last much longer than 2 weeks or so
anyway, depending on the "breed" of lily. Some last a goodly amount of time,
and others are prolific, but short-lived.

BTW, add about a cup per 1000 gallons of baking soda to your pond and
measure the difference and adjust as necessary. Using that formula, I can
raise my KH by one drop. If you have a skimmer box, you can just drop the
whole cup in and walk away, but you must keep that concentration away from
the fish. If you don't have a filter or something away from them, mix the BS
in a bucket of pond water and splash it around the pond.

Lee

"Weldon Wallick" wrote in message
...
So you try to keep your KH in what range?

And you do this with Sodium Bicarbonate?

Can you add too much bicarb?

I ask these questions because it seems every time I put something in
my pond, the lily pads get soft spots or something.

It may be Muriate of Potash that causes this problem - I stopped using
it for the present.


On 29 Jul 2003 10:11:29 -0500, "Lee Brouillet"
wrote:

Get your KH up and you will buffer the pH automatically. One day not long
ago, we had 4" of rain in 23 minutes. It dropped my KH by 80 points, but
the
pH held solid.

Lee

"Weldon Wallick" wrote in message
.. .
Hmmmmm, guess I'll start checking the pH of rain water.

I did notice a good drop in pH back when we were getting all that rain
- not much lately - rain that is.

Figured that was from the normal absorbtion of CO2.

You may be nearer one of the "bad" phosphate plants.


On 29 Jul 2003 07:50:17 -0500, "Lee Brouillet"
wrote:

Hey Weldon! Land O' Lakes . . . the rain coming from your direction is
REALLY acid - if it hasn't rained in a while (like during the
drought),
I've
tested the pH at 4.7! That will really knock the stuffing out of the
pond's
pH, especially if you get a couple of inches of it!!

Lee

"Weldon Wallick" wrote in message
.. .
Where might you be near the "phosphate mines"? I'm in Bartow.