"ray hucek" wrote in message
...
Joe,
On my kits, the levels of the Ammonia and Nitrite are on the bottom part of
the scale. The PH shows a little high.

I do not use a declorinator in my water. I have storage tubs that I place
on the edge of the pond, fill them, and let them sit for 24-48 hrs. I do
not know what is in my water and will see if I can find out.

I have a pre-filter on my pump, which I clean every few weeks. I have an
external filter that I clean weekly. I have had good success with them so
far.

thanks,
Ray

I would use stress coat in the water simply because while aging water may get
rid of chlorine and help soften the water, if your local water system uses
chloramine as mine does, it does not degrade as rapidly or as easily, and may
still be in the water at unacceptable levels when you put it in the pond. I use
stress coat with Aloh Vera, because it seems to soothe any damaged areas of the
fish and helps them to heal. In addition, it will totally eliminate both
chlorine and chloramine from the water, and help the fish develop their
protective slime on their skin/scales fins, etc. It is a good product, and one
I would always recommend. When my fish are sick, the first thing I do is set up
a medical isolatiopn tank in which to isoloate them, add some salt (use salt
formulated specifically for aquatic use - do not use iodized or rock salt), and
stress coat to the water, and then try to diagnose them further. The salt and
stress coat seems to help as an initial treatment. If you don't know what the
water company is putting in your water, assume the worst - use stress coat.