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#1
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pH Problem
Hi,
My pond is about 6 weeks old. I've been testing the water almost daily and cannot bring down the pH to a safe level. It has been running consistently at 9.0. Over time I have poured about 5 bottles of PH Down and other pH lowering brands but with no luck. I test the water around 6:00 am and some evenings. The pond is about 2600 gallons with liner, 4' deep in middle, rock bottom, 6' stream with 2 waterfalls, 4000GPH Nursery Pro pump, lava rocks and plants in the waterfall box. My tests have been running 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 Salt, 9 wide range ph. I have 15 fish from 2" - 4" which seem active and healthy. I also have many marginal plants. I've been adding a dry bacteria about every 2 weeks. My water is very clear but with a greenish tint. I am worried this high pH will harm my fish. I am a beginner and still don't know much about ponds. Thanks, Lois |
#2
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wrote in message news:1125493848.e09eb0ad4d5b35678ddb98cbd347caa0@t eranews... Hi, My pond is about 6 weeks old. I've been testing the water almost daily and cannot bring down the pH to a safe level. It has been running consistently at 9.0. Over time I have poured about 5 bottles of PH Down and other pH lowering brands but with no luck. I test the water around 6:00 am and some evenings. The pond is about 2600 gallons with liner, 4' deep in middle, rock bottom, 6' stream with 2 waterfalls, 4000GPH Nursery Pro pump, lava rocks and plants in the waterfall box. My tests have been running 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 Salt, 9 wide range ph. I have 15 fish from 2" - 4" which seem active and healthy. I also have many marginal plants. I've been adding a dry bacteria about every 2 weeks. My water is very clear but with a greenish tint. I am worried this high pH will harm my fish. I am a beginner and still don't know much about ponds. ============================ You can harm them more adding products that as you can see do not work or work for a brief period of time. If the PH of the water from your tap is lower than what's in your pond - you can do some water changes. However I found over the years that pond fish can adjust to high PH. Rapid shifts in PH are what causes them a problem. -- McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995... My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
#3
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x-no-archive: yes
wrote in message news:1125493848.e09eb0ad4d5b35678ddb98cbd347caa0@ teranews... Hi, My pond is about 6 weeks old. I've been testing the water almost daily and cannot bring down the pH to a safe level. It has been running consistently at 9.0. Over time I have poured about 5 bottles of PH Down and other pH lowering brands but with no luck. I test the water around 6:00 am and some evenings. The pond is about 2600 gallons with liner, 4' deep in middle, rock bottom, 6' stream with 2 waterfalls, 4000GPH Nursery Pro pump, lava rocks and plants in the waterfall box. My tests have been running 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 Salt, 9 wide range ph. I have 15 fish from 2" - 4" which seem active and healthy. I also have many marginal plants. I've been adding a dry bacteria about every 2 weeks. My water is very clear but with a greenish tint. I am worried this high pH will harm my fish. I am a beginner and still don't know much about ponds. ============================ You can harm them more adding products that as you can see do not work or work for a brief period of time. If the PH of the water from your tap is lower than what's in your pond - you can do some water changes. However I found over the years that pond fish can adjust to high PH. Rapid shifts in PH are what causes them a problem. Thanks for your reply. I feel better now and I can find much better things to spend my money on then chemicals! Lois |
#4
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"Lois" wrote in message news:1125508633.d40d28beeb13fe09de19e1f9db8f96d7@t eranews... x-no-archive: yes wrote in message news:1125493848.e09eb0ad4d5b35678ddb98cbd347caa0 @teranews... Hi, My pond is about 6 weeks old. I've been testing the water almost daily and cannot bring down the pH to a safe level. It has been running consistently at 9.0. Over time I have poured about 5 bottles of PH Down and other pH lowering brands but with no luck. I test the water around 6:00 am and some evenings. The pond is about 2600 gallons with liner, 4' deep in middle, rock bottom, 6' stream with 2 waterfalls, 4000GPH Nursery Pro pump, lava rocks and plants in the waterfall box. My tests have been running 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 Salt, 9 wide range ph. I have 15 fish from 2" - 4" which seem active and healthy. I also have many marginal plants. I've been adding a dry bacteria about every 2 weeks. My water is very clear but with a greenish tint. I am worried this high pH will harm my fish. I am a beginner and still don't know much about ponds. ============================ You can harm them more adding products that as you can see do not work or work for a brief period of time. If the PH of the water from your tap is lower than what's in your pond - you can do some water changes. However I found over the years that pond fish can adjust to high PH. Rapid shifts in PH are what causes them a problem. Thanks for your reply. I feel better now and I can find much better things to spend my money on then chemicals! Lois ================ This is so true. Also, don't buy the overpriced pond fish food. My koi and GF are thriving on catfish and trout chow mixed with a little kitten and puppy chow. It's a fraction of the price. :-) -- McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995... My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
#5
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More improtant than the pH is the KH (carbonate hardness). The KH will
prevent pH swings, or at least severely restrict them. The carbonate hardness is the ability of the water to absorb acids without changing pH. For the pH Down to work, it first must consume all the KH before the pH starts to change. Once the KH is gone, a pH crash is imminent. For a good stable pond the pH should be above 80, with values of 100 being better and 200 or 300 not being unreasonable. Filters generate acids that consume KH, and require resonable values of pH to function. So KH must be replaced periodically. If your tap water has good KH values, this replacement of KH can be accomplished by water changes which at 10% per week is needed anyway. If the KH of the tap water is not high, then the addition of baking soda is advisable. -- RichToyBox http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html wrote in message news:1125493848.e09eb0ad4d5b35678ddb98cbd347caa0@t eranews... Hi, My pond is about 6 weeks old. I've been testing the water almost daily and cannot bring down the pH to a safe level. It has been running consistently at 9.0. Over time I have poured about 5 bottles of PH Down and other pH lowering brands but with no luck. I test the water around 6:00 am and some evenings. The pond is about 2600 gallons with liner, 4' deep in middle, rock bottom, 6' stream with 2 waterfalls, 4000GPH Nursery Pro pump, lava rocks and plants in the waterfall box. My tests have been running 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 Salt, 9 wide range ph. I have 15 fish from 2" - 4" which seem active and healthy. I also have many marginal plants. I've been adding a dry bacteria about every 2 weeks. My water is very clear but with a greenish tint. I am worried this high pH will harm my fish. I am a beginner and still don't know much about ponds. Thanks, Lois |
#6
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x-no-archive: yes
More improtant than the pH is the KH (carbonate hardness). The KH will prevent pH swings, or at least severely restrict them. The carbonate hardness is the ability of the water to absorb acids without changing pH. For the pH Down to work, it first must consume all the KH before the pH starts to change. Once the KH is gone, a pH crash is imminent. For a good stable pond the pH should be above 80, with values of 100 being better and 200 or 300 not being unreasonable. Filters generate acids that consume KH, and require resonable values of pH to function. So KH must be replaced periodically. If your tap water has good KH values, this replacement of KH can be accomplished by water changes which at 10% per week is needed anyway. If the KH of the tap water is not high, then the addition of baking soda is advisable. I haven't checked my pond water for KH. I guess I better buy a test for that. I did forget to mention that my pond was filled with water from my well. Thanks for the information. Lois |
#7
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x-no-archive: yes
"Lois" wrote in message news:1125508633.d40d28beeb13fe09de19e1f9db8f96d7@ teranews... x-no-archive: yes wrote in message news:1125493848.e09eb0ad4d5b35678ddb98cbd347caa 0@teranews... Hi, My pond is about 6 weeks old. I've been testing the water almost daily and cannot bring down the pH to a safe level. It has been running consistently at 9.0. Over time I have poured about 5 bottles of PH Down and other pH lowering brands but with no luck. I test the water around 6:00 am and some evenings. The pond is about 2600 gallons with liner, 4' deep in middle, rock bottom, 6' stream with 2 waterfalls, 4000GPH Nursery Pro pump, lava rocks and plants in the waterfall box. My tests have been running 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 Salt, 9 wide range ph. I have 15 fish from 2" - 4" which seem active and healthy. I also have many marginal plants. I've been adding a dry bacteria about every 2 weeks. My water is very clear but with a greenish tint. I am worried this high pH will harm my fish. I am a beginner and still don't know much about ponds. ============================ You can harm them more adding products that as you can see do not work or work for a brief period of time. If the PH of the water from your tap is lower than what's in your pond - you can do some water changes. However I found over the years that pond fish can adjust to high PH. Rapid shifts in PH are what causes them a problem. Thanks for your reply. I feel better now and I can find much better things to spend my money on then chemicals! Lois ================ This is so true. Also, don't buy the overpriced pond fish food. My koi and GF are thriving on catfish and trout chow mixed with a little kitten and puppy chow. It's a fraction of the price. :-) Good idea! |
#8
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================
This is so true. Also, don't buy the overpriced pond fish food. My koi and GF are thriving on catfish and trout chow mixed with a little kitten and puppy chow. It's a fraction of the price. :-) Good idea! Not! ;o) Just for the record Lois, many of us don't recommend using these gamefish foods. There is a lot of stuff in it that doesn't digest well in a koi and goes straight thru to the foul the water. If you wouldn't feed pig chow to your dog, don't feed gamefish chow to pet koi/goldfish. You may save a buck or 2, but it isn't healthy for pet fish, who you want to have long healthy lives, not fatten up for the dinner table. I'm just repeating what the koivets recommend. ~ jan See my ponds and filter design: www.jjspond.us ~Keep 'em Wet!~ Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a To e-mail see website |
#9
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x-no-archive: yes
================ This is so true. Also, don't buy the overpriced pond fish food. My koi and GF are thriving on catfish and trout chow mixed with a little kitten and puppy chow. It's a fraction of the price. :-) Good idea! Not! ;o) Just for the record Lois, many of us don't recommend using these gamefish foods. There is a lot of stuff in it that doesn't digest well in a koi and goes straight thru to the foul the water. If you wouldn't feed pig chow to your dog, don't feed gamefish chow to pet koi/goldfish. You may save a buck or 2, but it isn't healthy for pet fish, who you want to have long healthy lives, not fatten up for the dinner table. I'm just repeating what the koivets recommend. ~ jan See my ponds and filter design: www.jjspond.us ~Keep 'em Wet!~ Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a To e-mail see website Ok, I did find some inexpensive Koi food at a discount store that all my fish seem to like. I also heard that most fish do very well on their own finding food themselves. So feeding isn't necessary except maybe a treat now and then. Lois |
#10
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On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 08:37:44 -0400, Lois wrote:
I also heard that most fish do very well on their own finding food themselves. So feeding isn't necessary except maybe a treat now and then. You were talking about koi in a "liner" pond? A koi, that is a bottom feeder fish that has teeth in the back of, or behind their mouth for crushing snail and muscle shells found in a mud bottom environment. It ain't so much what folks don't know, but so much of what folks know ain't right. Regards, Hal |
#11
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Feeding is not necessary, if the population is small. Most of us have more
fish than the pond will support naturally. We have to have large filters, extra aeration, and food for the fish. There are foods that are relatively inexpensive, and then there are very very expensive foods. The quality of the food is generally shown in the price. Better food, better digestion, less waste, also less food needed to support the growth of the fish. Many people supplement the food with treats such as oranges, watermelon, romaine lettuce, brown bread, and a host of other foods. As the fish get larger, they do not require as much protein in their diet, and these treats are good. For young fish, they really need more protein, as they are growing very fast. -- RichToyBox http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html "Lois" wrote in message news:1125664677.3634ae82b080f0f1a0105a1c6cf959d9@t eranews... x-no-archive: yes ================ Ok, I did find some inexpensive Koi food at a discount store that all my fish seem to like. I also heard that most fish do very well on their own finding food themselves. So feeding isn't necessary except maybe a treat now and then. Lois |
#12
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Hal wrote:
On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 08:37:44 -0400, Lois wrote: I also heard that most fish do very well on their own finding food themselves. So feeding isn't necessary except maybe a treat now and then. You were talking about koi in a "liner" pond? A koi, that is a bottom feeder fish that has teeth in the back of, or behind their mouth for crushing snail and muscle shells found in a mud bottom environment. It ain't so much what folks don't know, but so much of what folks know ain't right. One of which would be that koi won't find those things in a liner pond? Mine always had plenty of little inverts, and the koi always ate them. The fish probably didn't grow as fast as they would if they were fed a high-quality food, but they were always healthy. I only ever fed them irregularly. -- derek |
#13
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"Lois" wrote in message news:1125664677.3634ae82b080f0f1a0105a1c6cf959d9@t eranews... Ok, I did find some inexpensive Koi food at a discount store that all my fish seem to like. $$ Food at discount stores not used by anyone I ever knew. They're often stale and totally lacking in nutrition. I also heard that most fish do very well on their own finding food themselves. $$ Yes, if the pond is huge, has a natural soil bottom and is full of native vegetation. Young fish are big eaters and our liner ponds don't offer enough for them to thrive. So feeding isn't necessary except maybe a treat now and then. $$ I hope you're talking about guppies or other tiny fish. Goldfish and koi are large fish .......... :-) -- McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995... My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
#14
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On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 13:49:08 -0300, Derek Broughton
wrote: It ain't so much what folks don't know, but so much of what folks know ain't right. One of which would be that koi won't find those things in a liner pond? Mine always had plenty of little inverts, and the koi always ate them. The fish probably didn't grow as fast as they would if they were fed a high-quality food, but they were always healthy. I only ever fed them irregularly. I tend to think other folks have a pond like mine with more fish than such a small ecosystem could naturally support. I've seen people keep fish from growing and wouldn't want to raise them in that manner. I try to not get sticky over the fish's feelings, just don't think I want to keep them or anything else without feeding them. Regards, Hal |
#15
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As I recall, the pH scale is 14 maximum with 7 being neutral--how can you
have a pH of 80? "RichToyBox" wrote in message ... More improtant than the pH is the KH (carbonate hardness). The KH will prevent pH swings, or at least severely restrict them. The carbonate hardness is the ability of the water to absorb acids without changing pH. For the pH Down to work, it first must consume all the KH before the pH starts to change. Once the KH is gone, a pH crash is imminent. For a good stable pond the pH should be above 80, with values of 100 being better and 200 or 300 not being unreasonable. Filters generate acids that consume KH, and require resonable values of pH to function. So KH must be replaced periodically. If your tap water has good KH values, this replacement of KH can be accomplished by water changes which at 10% per week is needed anyway. If the KH of the tap water is not high, then the addition of baking soda is advisable. -- RichToyBox http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html wrote in message news:1125493848.e09eb0ad4d5b35678ddb98cbd347caa0@t eranews... Hi, My pond is about 6 weeks old. I've been testing the water almost daily and cannot bring down the pH to a safe level. It has been running consistently at 9.0. Over time I have poured about 5 bottles of PH Down and other pH lowering brands but with no luck. I test the water around 6:00 am and some evenings. The pond is about 2600 gallons with liner, 4' deep in middle, rock bottom, 6' stream with 2 waterfalls, 4000GPH Nursery Pro pump, lava rocks and plants in the waterfall box. My tests have been running 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 Salt, 9 wide range ph. I have 15 fish from 2" - 4" which seem active and healthy. I also have many marginal plants. I've been adding a dry bacteria about every 2 weeks. My water is very clear but with a greenish tint. I am worried this high pH will harm my fish. I am a beginner and still don't know much about ponds. Thanks, Lois |
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