Hi folks. Im sort of new here... I did my first post regarding high iron in my new pond due to well water with high iron. I got that problem resolved. last check was under .1. But now I cant seem to get my PH to go down to normal. Im using an API pond master test kit. Ammonia jumped a little last week but is now back to yellow; normal. But my PH is consistenly in the blues, I would say guessing 8.5 to 9, maybe higher. That makes me a little nervous. So far everything I read says its not so much the PH number but making sure it doesnt jump or spike, which can stress the fish.
So, Im in Cape May NJ, so its been pretty hot and humid up until a few days ago, where temps have been low 80's. I did a 10% water change this morning. I checked the well water PH to have a reference point and that was light green (guessing around 6.5 to 7 ph). Then this afternoon, it rained heavy and added about 3 inches of rain to the pond...I checked the ph of the rain water and that was about real light green (guessing a PH of 6 or 6.5) I drained the extra to get back down to my skimmer level mark and then checked the PH and it actually looked higher ( a bit darker blue). ??? I also bought a KH test on amazon and got it yesterday ...the KH was about 179 according to reference chart match.
Some more info...pond is about 3 weeks old? pond is 12 by 10 feet kidney shaped and 4.5 feet deep at deepest. Im guessing 4500 gallons? 2 large koi and about 12 gold fish. Previously in old pond which was way too small, one of the koi was fat/bloated since last season. After a few days in new pond and being able to swim more, she lost the fatness/bloat...I found a bunch of eggs all over everything too, so I guess you could say she was spawning. That was something new for me. she kept rubbing on the stones in pond and the other koi wouldn't stop following her. when I saw all these little eggs sticking all over the pump and filter skimmer, etc.
Moving on, I added several aquatic plants about a week ago, some lettuce and other plants. The fish seemed to like eating the lettuce, which the place I bought them warned me of. lol. I have also been feeding less to keep organic waste down until things get balanced out.
I am currently running a 4500 gph pump that runs from skimmer (I added a filter mat to the filter that came with it in the skimmer housing) ) to a bio fall that has bio balls in base and lava rocks on top (about 10 inches). Additionally, I am running a laguna pressure flo 3200 filter with a 2400? gph pump. The uv light isnt working in that, but I did get a stand alone 25 watt uv on amazon that it running inline from waterfall skimmer setup. the output of the pressure flo 3200 is going into a makeshift gravel upflow filter I made with a storage bin that ejects into pond which also helps add some bubbles. so I got the waterfall and the gravel falls making aeration. And additionally, I hooked up a 3000gph pump thats on its own running into waterfall to add a little more umph to the waterflow.
A few days ago water got pretty green (enough to not be able to see fish at bottom) I added some api algifix and it cleared up as of today. again, ammonia yellow and ph consistently blue . Ive been trying vinegar past few weeks adding about half a gallon a day with literally no change in ph so far. and I did add some API pond salt as a preventative measure for stress several days ago, about a quarter of recommended amount.
I just bought a digital PH tester so waiting for that from amazon. Maybe that will help me by having a number as opposed to color match.
Any ideas or suggestions?
All the fish are moving about and seem healthy. Only think odd was the koi acting a little funny and there was some foamy water for a day or 2, which got me concerned. but that ended up being her spawning. And I also found one of the gold fish in the skimmer, thank goodness still alive ( new pond owner so I check everything several times a day). This happened I think becasue I had the water level too low and she was able to swim over the weir door. Its an atlantic ps3900 skimmer. I ended up adding a little grated plastic square sheet in the provided slots at bottom of weir opening which allows for about 2 inched below water line but allows water to flow through, just not fish. seems to be working. Im keeping an eye on it.
So, I know PH fluctuation is worse then a consistent ph, but I would like to get that number down a little, safely of course.
I guess what I am asking is should I be more or less proactive? Will things eventually balance to a lower ph, or do I need to take more drastic measures? lol.
Sorry if I am writing too much. Just wanna give as much info to paint the whole picture for you all.
I'll try to keep to the point in future posts. Thanks also for all who responded to my last post. I got so much great information from all of you. I appreciate all your time and effort to help me.
So, Im in Cape May NJ, so its been pretty hot and humid up until a few days ago, where temps have been low 80's. I did a 10% water change this morning. I checked the well water PH to have a reference point and that was light green (guessing around 6.5 to 7 ph). Then this afternoon, it rained heavy and added about 3 inches of rain to the pond...I checked the ph of the rain water and that was about real light green (guessing a PH of 6 or 6.5) I drained the extra to get back down to my skimmer level mark and then checked the PH and it actually looked higher ( a bit darker blue). ??? I also bought a KH test on amazon and got it yesterday ...the KH was about 179 according to reference chart match.
Some more info...pond is about 3 weeks old? pond is 12 by 10 feet kidney shaped and 4.5 feet deep at deepest. Im guessing 4500 gallons? 2 large koi and about 12 gold fish. Previously in old pond which was way too small, one of the koi was fat/bloated since last season. After a few days in new pond and being able to swim more, she lost the fatness/bloat...I found a bunch of eggs all over everything too, so I guess you could say she was spawning. That was something new for me. she kept rubbing on the stones in pond and the other koi wouldn't stop following her. when I saw all these little eggs sticking all over the pump and filter skimmer, etc.
Moving on, I added several aquatic plants about a week ago, some lettuce and other plants. The fish seemed to like eating the lettuce, which the place I bought them warned me of. lol. I have also been feeding less to keep organic waste down until things get balanced out.
I am currently running a 4500 gph pump that runs from skimmer (I added a filter mat to the filter that came with it in the skimmer housing) ) to a bio fall that has bio balls in base and lava rocks on top (about 10 inches). Additionally, I am running a laguna pressure flo 3200 filter with a 2400? gph pump. The uv light isnt working in that, but I did get a stand alone 25 watt uv on amazon that it running inline from waterfall skimmer setup. the output of the pressure flo 3200 is going into a makeshift gravel upflow filter I made with a storage bin that ejects into pond which also helps add some bubbles. so I got the waterfall and the gravel falls making aeration. And additionally, I hooked up a 3000gph pump thats on its own running into waterfall to add a little more umph to the waterflow.
A few days ago water got pretty green (enough to not be able to see fish at bottom) I added some api algifix and it cleared up as of today. again, ammonia yellow and ph consistently blue . Ive been trying vinegar past few weeks adding about half a gallon a day with literally no change in ph so far. and I did add some API pond salt as a preventative measure for stress several days ago, about a quarter of recommended amount.
I just bought a digital PH tester so waiting for that from amazon. Maybe that will help me by having a number as opposed to color match.
Any ideas or suggestions?
All the fish are moving about and seem healthy. Only think odd was the koi acting a little funny and there was some foamy water for a day or 2, which got me concerned. but that ended up being her spawning. And I also found one of the gold fish in the skimmer, thank goodness still alive ( new pond owner so I check everything several times a day). This happened I think becasue I had the water level too low and she was able to swim over the weir door. Its an atlantic ps3900 skimmer. I ended up adding a little grated plastic square sheet in the provided slots at bottom of weir opening which allows for about 2 inched below water line but allows water to flow through, just not fish. seems to be working. Im keeping an eye on it.
So, I know PH fluctuation is worse then a consistent ph, but I would like to get that number down a little, safely of course.
I guess what I am asking is should I be more or less proactive? Will things eventually balance to a lower ph, or do I need to take more drastic measures? lol.
Sorry if I am writing too much. Just wanna give as much info to paint the whole picture for you all.
I'll try to keep to the point in future posts. Thanks also for all who responded to my last post. I got so much great information from all of you. I appreciate all your time and effort to help me.