figures,, AFTER I get home from water pond store, I test my water & find it
is very high in PH/ alkaline.

calling around the stuff they make for ponds , is about $14. per pint & I
would need 4 of them for a 3000 gal pond, ( yes??)(was told they treat 800
gal).

anyway.......can I use the regular swimming POOL chemicals in my pond???
first off I have NO fish or plants in yet ( just filled it ).
if , so how long before it would be safe to put fish in?
or is there a cheaper alternative????

*muffin* wrote:
figures,, AFTER I get home from water pond store, I test my water & find it
is very high in PH/ alkaline.

calling around the stuff they make for ponds , is about $14. per pint & I
would need 4 of them for a 3000 gal pond, ( yes??)(was told they treat 800
gal).

anyway.......can I use the regular swimming POOL chemicals in my pond???
first off I have NO fish or plants in yet ( just filled it ).
if , so how long before it would be safe to put fish in?
or is there a cheaper alternative????




-- you dont metion what your ph/alkalinity is here in New Mexico my
pond runs about 8.5--8.9 my plants and Koi do just fine ( plants are a
litle slow but they grow well over the season )
if its above 9 then start messing with it otherwise dont a stable Ph
is more benificial to the fish than a lower one and up and down swings
as you try to keep it at a certain level are more harmfull than anything





John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

good judgement comes from bad experience, and that comes from bad
judgement

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com

You did not say how high your pH is, but the ponds can have pH up to 9 with
no bad effect on the fish. I don't worry about pH, I control my KH
(carbonate hardness) which stabilizes my pH. If you use baking soda to
raise the KH then your pH should be rock solid and somewhere close to 8.3 or
8.4. Getting a pH of around 7 usually results in a pond with little or no
KH and then you get a pH crash that can kill fish.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
figures,, AFTER I get home from water pond store, I test my water & find
it
is very high in PH/ alkaline.

calling around the stuff they make for ponds , is about $14. per pint & I
would need 4 of them for a 3000 gal pond, ( yes??)(was told they treat 800
gal).

anyway.......can I use the regular swimming POOL chemicals in my pond???
first off I have NO fish or plants in yet ( just filled it ).
if , so how long before it would be safe to put fish in?
or is there a cheaper alternative????

*muffin* wrote:

figures,, AFTER I get home from water pond store, I test my water & find it
is very high in PH/ alkaline.

calling around the stuff they make for ponds , is about $14. per pint & I
would need 4 of them for a 3000 gal pond, ( yes??)(was told they treat 800
gal).

anyway.......can I use the regular swimming POOL chemicals in my pond???
first off I have NO fish or plants in yet ( just filled it ).
if , so how long before it would be safe to put fish in?
or is there a cheaper alternative????

Before you do that, just what was the ph?


Joe



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ok, ok,
I'll re-check the ph & alkaline tomorrow morning.(with the regular aquarium
water testing kit)
I used a 'quick' dipstick test (this afternoon) & both the alkaline & PH are
over the high point which was 8.5
I figured I 'might' have a problem since we were using well water which
smelled 'sulphery'.



"joe" wrote in message
...
*muffin* wrote:

figures,, AFTER I get home from water pond store, I test my water & find
i
is very high in PH/ alkaline.

calling around the stuff they make for ponds , is about $14. per pint &
I
would need 4 of them for a 3000 gal pond, ( yes??)(was told they treat
800
gal).

anyway.......can I use the regular swimming POOL chemicals in my pond???
first off I have NO fish or plants in yet ( just filled it ).
if , so how long before it would be safe to put fish in?
or is there a cheaper alternative????

Before you do that, just what was the ph?


Joe



-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

*muffin* wrote:
ok, ok,
I'll re-check the ph & alkaline tomorrow morning.(with the regular aquarium
water testing kit)
I used a 'quick' dipstick test (this afternoon) & both the alkaline & PH are
over the high point which was 8.5
I figured I 'might' have a problem since we were using well water which
smelled 'sulphery'.


where are you ??? that sounds like Swee****er hills water

John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

good judgement comes from bad experience, and that comes from bad
judgement

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com

north/central OHIO.
: )

the property a LONG time ago was set up for gas/oil wells, they used the
water to push the stuff.. we only know there is at least ONE pipe going
into the ground where we can pump out water ( I'd never use it for
household),, we use it for watering our lawn etc.
( we just drop a pump attached to a garden hose down this 'pipe' & pump it
out..)

"John Rutz" wrote in message
...


*muffin* wrote:
ok, ok,
I'll re-check the ph & alkaline tomorrow morning.(with the regular
aquarium
water testing kit)
I used a 'quick' dipstick test (this afternoon) & both the alkaline & PH
are
over the high point which was 8.5
I figured I 'might' have a problem since we were using well water which
smelled 'sulphery'.


where are you ??? that sounds like Swee****er hills water

John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

good judgement comes from bad experience, and that comes from bad
judgement

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com

that is hydrogen sulfide. I treated the water with a bit of potassium permanganate,
altho aeration alone will get rid of the smell. shouldnt hurt the fish in small
water changes. Ingrid

"*muffin*" wrote:

ok, ok,
I'll re-check the ph & alkaline tomorrow morning.(with the regular aquarium
water testing kit)
I used a 'quick' dipstick test (this afternoon) & both the alkaline & PH are
over the high point which was 8.5
I figured I 'might' have a problem since we were using well water which
smelled 'sulphery'.

*muffin* wrote:
north/central OHIO.
: )

the property a LONG time ago was set up for gas/oil wells, they used the
water to push the stuff.. we only know there is at least ONE pipe going
into the ground where we can pump out water ( I'd never use it for
household),, we use it for watering our lawn etc.
( we just drop a pump attached to a garden hose down this 'pipe' & pump it
out..)

"John Rutz" wrote in message
...



all I can tel you then is there are stock tanks around me that have gold
fish in them and have that kind of water mine doesnt have the sulfer
smell but my neibors do




John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

good judgement comes from bad experience, and that comes from bad
judgement

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com

wrote:
that is hydrogen sulfide. I treated the water with a bit of potassium permanganate,
altho aeration alone will get rid of the smell. shouldnt hurt the fish in small
water changes. Ingrid

"*muffin*" wrote:



adentum to my earlyer reply the stock tanks here that have goldfish in
them are constantly being refilled and some of theese fish are over 7
years

--





John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

good judgement comes from bad experience, and that comes from bad
judgement

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com

Another thing to remember: If you're using well water, unless it was
degassed before it went into the pond, the water hasn't "mixed" yet, and the
readings will be all over the place. You probably have zip for oxygen and
really high CO2 readings. The trick with pH is not the actual reading, but
how stable it is. Each of the points is 10X the previous reading (like the
Richter scale for earthquakes), i.e., 7.5 is 1000 times less than 8.5!
Fluctuations in pH are stressful to the fish, the actual reading, if stable,
is not. A high pH is preferable, in my opinion, to a 7.5 reading, especially
of your KH is low. Most people have acid rain: up there in Ohio, I bet yours
is pretty bad. Low pH, have a good rain while you're at work, come home to
dead fish from a pH crash. High is *not* bad, as long as it's stable. RTB
has the right idea: I keep my KH artificially high, and I never have to even
check my pH: I know what it is, and I'm protected from *my* acid rain!

Let the water mix; add aeration, if you can. Don't mess with the chemistry
until it stablizes, or you'll be messing with it for weeks.

If nothing else, ponding has taught me patience! As much as I may want it, I
can't always have it NOW GBG!

Lee

"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
figures,, AFTER I get home from water pond store, I test my water & find
it
is very high in PH/ alkaline.

calling around the stuff they make for ponds , is about $14. per pint & I
would need 4 of them for a 3000 gal pond, ( yes??)(was told they treat 800
gal).

anyway.......can I use the regular swimming POOL chemicals in my pond???
first off I have NO fish or plants in yet ( just filled it ).
if , so how long before it would be safe to put fish in?
or is there a cheaper alternative????

" -- you dont metion what your ph/alkalinity is here in New Mexico my
pond runs about 8.5--8.9 my plants and Koi do just fine ( plants are a
litle slow but they grow well over the season )


OK,this morning tested with fresh water aquarium testing kit.
PH is 7.8
KH is in range of 200-400 PPM
GH is in range of 100-200 PPM
ammonia is 2-3 PPM

there are no plants of fish in the pond

ok, now what? is there anything to fix? & with what?
(I'll test again tonight)

*muffin* wrote:
" -- you dont metion what your ph/alkalinity is here in New Mexico my

pond runs about 8.5--8.9 my plants and Koi do just fine ( plants are a
litle slow but they grow well over the season )



OK,this morning tested with fresh water aquarium testing kit.
PH is 7.8
KH is in range of 200-400 PPM
GH is in range of 100-200 PPM
ammonia is 2-3 PPM

there are no plants of fish in the pond

ok, now what? is there anything to fix? & with what?
(I'll test again tonight)


everything sounds fine to me eept the amonia without fish there
should be none
which type of kit are you using dip sticks or liquid drops ?

one of our chem gurus jump in here and help with this one

--





John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

good judgement comes from bad experience, and that comes from bad
judgement

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com

the testing kit is the liquid drops ( the dip stick one I did yesterday,
read way OVER 8.5 for ph/alkaline)
( I'll look for a 2 part ammonia tester tomorrow,,,,,,, do they have 'em at
pet stores?)

umm I don't have the pump running either,, yet,( for filter & water
falls,,,, havent built the falls yet
will that help??

somewhere I read using "Amquel" to lower the ammonia? is there anythign
else? ( can *this* be purchased at a pet store??)

I have a couple gold fish ,, 'ON HOLD' at store,, needed to pick them up &
put in pond this weekend,,,,,,, umm, bad idea?


Muffin dang, had a pond 20 yrs ago & never tested anything, wonder how it
survived!

OK,this morning tested with fresh water aquarium testing kit.
PH is 7.8
KH is in range of 200-400 PPM
GH is in range of 100-200 PPM
ammonia is 2-3 PPM

there are no plants of fish in the pond

ok, now what? is there anything to fix? & with what?
(I'll test again tonight)


everything sounds fine to me eept the amonia without fish there
should be none
which type of kit are you using dip sticks or liquid drops ?

one of our chem gurus jump in here and help with this one

John Rutz

Muff look for the ** hope this all helps enjoy

*muffin* wrote:
the testing kit is the liquid drops ( the dip stick one I did yesterday,
read way OVER 8.5 for ph/alkaline)
( I'll look for a 2 part ammonia tester tomorrow,,,,,,, do they have 'em at
pet stores?)

*** should be sure to check for the expiration date

umm I don't have the pump running either,, yet,( for filter & water
falls,,,, havent built the falls yet
will that help??

** definitly will go ahead and fire it up you can always rerout it to
the waterfalls later

somewhere I read using "Amquel" to lower the ammonia? is there anythign
else? ( can *this* be purchased at a pet store??)

**they should have it

I have a couple gold fish ,, 'ON HOLD' at store,, needed to pick them up &
put in pond this weekend,,,,,,, umm, bad idea?

*** retest the amonia make sure it realy is up, false readings do happen

if it is use the amquell if not keep the amquell for just in case
give it a day or three to stabalize and add your fish

Muffin dang, had a pond 20 yrs ago & never tested anything, wonder how it
survived!


OK,this morning tested with fresh water aquarium testing kit.
PH is 7.8
KH is in range of 200-400 PPM
GH is in range of 100-200 PPM
ammonia is 2-3 PPM

there are no plants of fish in the pond

ok, now what? is there anything to fix? & with what?
(I'll test again tonight)



everything sounds fine to me eept the amonia without fish there
should be none
which type of kit are you using dip sticks or liquid drops ?

one of our chem gurus jump in here and help with this one


John Rutz





--





John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

good judgement comes from bad experience, and that comes from bad
judgement

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com