Water testing

Hi everybody.

We are converting our above ground swimming pool into a water garden/pond. After much reading here and listening to advice, I have decided to wait until next Spring to make my Skippy filter (300 gallon stock tank), and get the system "properly" up and running. However, since I am not putting chemicals into the pool now, and the water is getting green, rather than close it up for the winter early, I decided to put some feeder goldfish into the pool to be sure the pool liner is indeed "safe". The water tests free of chlorine and stabilizer, and I never use any other chemicals. I am just going to run my existing pool sand filter off and on during the day to get some circulation and oxygen into the water, and not worry about the rest of it until next Spring.

Here's my question. I have a water test kit because I have an aquarium indoors. My kit has liquid reagents, and is very accurate. However, it only tests for pH, high range pH, nitrites, ammonia, calcium hardness, and general hardness. In an outdoor pond, is there anything else I should be testing for other than what I have here? I will only have goldfish to start with, and lots and lots of plants. It is a 13,000 gallon pool.

Is the hardness really important to fish, or mainly the pH, ammonia, and nitrites? How often do you test the water? I usually did the swimming pool twice a week.

The goldfish so far look great. It has not yet been 24 full hours though, but their fins are nice and perky and they don't seem to be in any distress. They like the roots of the water hyacinths I put in there. People are giving them to me by the bags full because theirs are so out of control and they have been throwing them away!

Thanks for your input regarding testing my water.

Sandy

Water testing

#1 joesandy1822

#2 rdk

#3 hewhoisatpeace