DrDave...

[sharonf239]

sharonf239 sharonf239 is online now

Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 17
Dr. Dave---Warning: LONG RESPONSE/REQUEST

I read your responses, look at you filter designs and really pay attention to what you say. And I do grasp your meaning with the 'no uv system'. However, I really do not know what to do.

2700-2800 gal Pond dug/filled with water - @ 8wk ago; plants put in 3 lg barrels/planters-- except for 3 water lilies, parrots feather (in small filter) and of course lettuce and hyacints.

Filtration: 100 gal Skippy filter; 1 30 Skippy filter; 1 1000 gal PondMaster.

Fish added 2 wk later -- 4 small

Dirt from my clumbsiness began clouding water...added 4 more fish and quilting batting....WATER CLEARED in 36 hr.

2 wk. ago 90 degree sunny day -- pond begins to turn green -- 3 sunny days later is PEA GREEN. Added new batting....NOTHING.

Now have 12 fish 4" - 6". I have made rings of hyacints and lettuce to try and block sun but still have @ 65 percent exposed. Biolift added last week.

Water parameters show normal even phosphate Except PH...as day heats up so does PH.....goes as high as card reads.

Have ordered hardness kit but in interim used strip...it reads the GH 30 and the KH 40....but then it also reads PH as 7.5 vs 9 with the kit.

Now DrDave...I am most concerned about the PH and really just don't know what to do. I find guidance for raising and stabilizing PH but not lowering and stabilizing it.

ANY guidance/suggestion is so appreciated...Sharon
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[DrDave]

It would help to know where you are. Please add your location using the UserCP at the top of the page.
Temperatures and PH values. Just saying it is off the chart does not tell us how high the chart is.
Do you know what is causing the high PH? is this the condition of the water right out of the tap or ground?

 

[sharonf239]

Location: Orange, VA --between Richmond & DC

Water Temp currently 78; PH Currently 7.5; 6.5 out of tap (city water).

By mid afternoon, PH can go as high as 9...which is as high as card reads.

I have no idea what causes the PH to go so high....but seems like 7.5 to 9 is quite a swing.

Oh...there is no concrete, lime etc....I use no chemicals in or aground the pond.

Any thoughts?....Sharon

 

[DrDave]

Please add your location using the UserCP at the top of the page.
No idea what could be causing it. There must be something reacting in the water. Do you have rocks in the water?

 

[Robyn]

I would suggest adding a buffer.

This is a great article that explains exactly what PH is and why it normally CAN fluctuate throughout the day: http://www.pond-doctor.co.uk/longpHlevels.html

 

[DoDad]

First of all you should test your water from your tap. This way you know if it something goin on in your pond or aproplem with your source.
My source water measurments are ph 8.9, gh less than 17.9 and kh less than 17.9.
After buffering the pond the ph is a solid 8.3 and the kh is 180.

 

[sharonf239]

Robyn - DoDad

You're right, Robyn...it is a great article. What I notice in this article as in others is that advice is given as to raising the PH and stabilizing it but not to lowering it and/or stabilizing it.

My PH this a.m. was 7.5 (@ 7 out of the tap)....late yesterday, the PH was at least 9...9 is as high as my card shows.

Sooo...I don't know if that swing is dangerous or how to stop it without adding something (no idea what).

The only things in the pond besides fish are plants and several large stones/rocks (not concrete, cement, limestone) from a nearby creek which were put in weeks before adding fish.

DODAD....what do you use for bufferiing?

thanks for you input....please continue to respond to my feeble attempts to figure out what is going on before I do damage.

Cheers...Sharon

 

[Robyn]

For buffering, I have ordered this:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7322

As far as I can tell... it looks decent and is decently priced.

 

[DoDad]

Sharon, You should test your pond waters alkalinity using a kh test.
Know your ponds gallons.

Add 1/3 of a cup of Baking Soda per 1000 gallons to raise the KH level 25 ppm. Raising more then 25 ppm each day may cause stress to KOI. In the event that you are losing fish due to a PH crash, consider adding more baking soda to raise the PH. PH crash occurs around a PH of 5.5 or lower.

Water quality operating ranges to maintain when keeping Koi fish.
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate: 0-80
GH:50-150 WATER HARDNESS / Calcium
KH:80-200 (125-150 Ideal) ALKALINITY / bicarbonate concentration
PH:7.2-8.2 (7.6-7.8 Ideal) My pond a solid 8.3
Salt: 0 unless your treating a sick fish

 

[DoDad]

My old pond is really over stocked and I do two 25% water changes a week.
That product is slow and could not keep up with my water changed. That's why I use baking soda.

For buffering, I have ordered this:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7322

As far as I can tell... it looks decent and is decently priced.

 

[MassKoi]

I was at my local pond shop last week and asked about crushed coral to buffer my high PH and was told by a woman that has worked there for years that it would raise my Ph.
Any comments from the crew???

 

[MassKoi]

Has any been told that crushed coral will raise the Ph of a pond? Some people say it buffers the Ph and now I'm told that it won't.

 

[stroppy]

i think its crushed oyster shells masskoi

 

[Robyn]

I cannot say I know about ponds. I will not lie. My experience for ponds comes from research and from being the manager at a pet store that had a contracting company that did ponds.

I WILL say that I have coral in my cichlid tank to buffer, and in my reef tanks.

Ok... I round something! It CAN raise your PH... sort of. It raises the hardness... which means that the PH can remain high instead of dropping out as it tries to do naturally. And it only raises low PH... ballancing it out between 7 and 7.3.

http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/koi-pond-water-chemistry-94792.html

Helpful?

 

[MassKoi]

Thanks Stroppy and Robyn. After reading the article I think I will leave well enough alone and not worry about my high Ph. The fish are all happy and healthy...