Hi everybody,''I new to ponding in fact I just filled mine up with water
yesterday. I still have to finish around the edges, but maybe by the
weekend. Today I', going to get a test kit. Could someone post what
water paramenters I should shoot for.

I know that ammonia and nitrite should be 0, but what about the ph , kh
, salt level and anything else I'm missing. What is an acceptable level
for Nitrate? Thanks

Kevin

Don't worry too much about the pH. If the KH is around 100 or higher, then
the pH will be rock solid in a range acceptable to the pond fish. Salt
level is one of those things that some want salt, others don't, and there is
no convincing the other side. The salt level for treating sick fish is
0.3%, but for most plants, a level higher than about 0.1% can be hard on
them. Nitrates are a low level irritant that if the numbers get high can
cause problems with fish health. The recommended maximum is 25ppm, though I
have never been able to get that low.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"KRF" wrote in message
...
Hi everybody,''I new to ponding in fact I just filled mine up with water
yesterday. I still have to finish around the edges, but maybe by the
weekend. Today I', going to get a test kit. Could someone post what
water paramenters I should shoot for.

I know that ammonia and nitrite should be 0, but what about the ph , kh
, salt level and anything else I'm missing. What is an acceptable level
for Nitrate? Thanks

Kevin

I don't know.... I think it's possible to have too high a pH, with rock
solid KH, so I'd still have a pH test kit on hand. Otherwise, ammonia,
nitrite & nitrate are the important tests, but in a planted pond, and
frequent partial water changes, nitrate shouldn't be a problem, but that's
not to say, the test isn't worth by-passing. ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

On Thu, 08 Apr 2004 23:35:06 GMT, "RichToyBox" wrote:

Don't worry too much about the pH. If the KH is around 100 or higher, then
the pH will be rock solid in a range acceptable to the pond fish. Salt
level is one of those things that some want salt, others don't, and there is
no convincing the other side. The salt level for treating sick fish is
0.3%, but for most plants, a level higher than about 0.1% can be hard on
them. Nitrates are a low level irritant that if the numbers get high can
cause problems with fish health. The recommended maximum is 25ppm, though I
have never been able to get that low.