Some of my dad's koi fish are flashing. I don't have a 100x microscope to look at the scales; 50x is the best I've got. Will I be able to tell what parasites they are, if any, at that magnification? Should I just go ahead and salt the pond at 0.3 percent and hope it works?
Koi flashing; no access to 100x microscope
- Thread starter STN0091
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I'm not an expert at all, I'm sure someone with more knowledge than I will answer you soon. Meanwhile I know they will tell you to check all the levels, Ammonia, PH, Nitrates and Nitrites. Be careful with the salt if you have plants in the water, they can't tolerate the higher range of the salt. There is a lot of good information on previous threads for you to read in the meantime. Good Luck and I'm sure someone will get to you soon...
I picked up the Sentry AQ Mardel Mini-Master Test Kit from Petsmart.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Alkalinity: 120-180ppm (mg/L) (test chart says "ideal" at 180)
pH: 7.0-7.5
Hardness: 25-75ppm (mg/L) (chart says "very soft" at 25 and "soft" at 75)
I actually just got access to a microscope with 100x magnification so I'll get back with some results.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Alkalinity: 120-180ppm (mg/L) (test chart says "ideal" at 180)
pH: 7.0-7.5
Hardness: 25-75ppm (mg/L) (chart says "very soft" at 25 and "soft" at 75)
I actually just got access to a microscope with 100x magnification so I'll get back with some results.
I don't know if you're intending to keep the pond at that pH or it just happens to be 7.0. If the later you might consider a search on "pond buffering". 7.0 isn't bad or anything, just difficult to keep stable. I don't think the flashing has anything to do with the pH, just it could be an issue in the future.
Having a pH above 7.0 is fine, correct?
In any case, I tested the water again. Everything else is the same except for ammonia. It's now somewhere between 0.2 and 1.0. :sad: See the attached pictures for details. Ammonia binders are what I'm looking for, right?
For any questions about my filter, I just finished my Doc bio filter on Sunday. It's filtering out all the solids, but I can't say if there's any bacteria doing any work yet; it doesn't seem like there would be since most people say that it takes a few weeks to get going. I'll be adding a venturi to the inlet tomorrow also.
I'll do another ammonia test in the morning to see if it varies; both of the previous two tests were done late at night.
In any case, I tested the water again. Everything else is the same except for ammonia. It's now somewhere between 0.2 and 1.0. :sad: See the attached pictures for details. Ammonia binders are what I'm looking for, right?
For any questions about my filter, I just finished my Doc bio filter on Sunday. It's filtering out all the solids, but I can't say if there's any bacteria doing any work yet; it doesn't seem like there would be since most people say that it takes a few weeks to get going. I'll be adding a venturi to the inlet tomorrow also.
I'll do another ammonia test in the morning to see if it varies; both of the previous two tests were done late at night.
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I have read if your ammonia is going up, do a partial water change to bring it back down.
This link has some good information on ammonia
http://users.vcnet.com/rrenshaw/H2Oquality.html#ammon
This link has some good information on ammonia
http://users.vcnet.com/rrenshaw/H2Oquality.html#ammon