8 replies to this topic

[chris]

Testing the water levels in your koi pond are critical to keeping vibrant healthy living conditions. It is very important to test the water for certain chemicals because some of these chemicals are poisonous to fish and can kill them. So what chemicals do you test for in freshwater ponds? To start off with, it is important to test water conditions for ph, ammonia, nitrates and algae.

A good place to start in the testing the water is to find out the pH or how acidic or alkaline the water is. On the pH scale, 0-6.99 is acidic, 7.0 is neutral and 7.01-14.0 is alkaline. PH by itself is never a problem, but when the pH combines with other factors in the water it can become very toxic. pH levels that are less acidic combined with increasing water temperatures can be extremely poisonous to fish. These conditions create higher levels of free form ammonia, which are very dangerous to koi fish. The problem with trying to control the pH level of your pond is that it is very reliant upon the surrounding pond area, which is out of individual control. It is possible to purchase pH testers, though, that will tell you the present pH level in the water. Taking this information, you can do a partial water change if necessary to regulate and change the pH readings to acceptable levels.

Another factor that is important to consider is how much ammonia is present in your pond. Ammonia is a byproduct of fish waste that is eliminated through their gills into the water. It is impossible to avoid getting ammonia in the water, but it is imperative to control the levels of it because certain forms of ammonia are poisonous to fish. If a pond has an effective filtration system, then ammonia is broken down into nitrates which then turn into either free form ammonia or ionized ammonia (not as dangerous). What you need to worry about is the free form ammonia. What does ammonia do to koi fish? It can interfere with their ability to regulate water and it can damage their gills. If testing shows you that ammonia levels are high, it is very important to partially change the water to bring the levels down.

Besides the factors described above, nitrates are another chemical that needs to be monitored and regulated. Nitrates are a byproduct of ammonia that are not harmful by themselves. But, because nitrates create great conditions for fertilizing, they encourage the growth of algae. Algae growth is never good for freshwater ponds, as it sucks oxygen out of the water. Oxygen is vital to fish life and needs to be maintained at an appropriate level at all times. Because of this, testing for the levels of nitrate is also important. If nitrate levels are high, you may do a partial water change to regulate the pond.
For more information about Koi, Koi Pond or koi Fish, please visit Azlan and Irda website at http://www.myownkoipond.com

[Kokotai]

I didn't realize that you had to test the water levels. Oops.

[Kokotai]

I didn't know you had to test the levels. I will do so now.

[ninikins]

The water/koi thing can seem a bit daunting at first but do remember that most places sellign koi will test your water for you for free to help you get started.

[PS3]

i have my pond for 15 years i never checked my water
but last fall they started dieing and no body told me to check the water

[digginponds]

checking the PH is critical,especially if you have a algae problem. Algae thrives in high PH water.

[coolwind2003a]

What do you use to lower the ph ??
Tks greg

[robchester06]

agree

[DrDave]

PS3 said:

i have my pond for 15 years i never checked my water
but last fall they started dieing and no body told me to check the water

If you had been on this forum then you would have been asked to do so.