High ph...

[Meyer Jordan]

@Meyer Jordan , the pH of my pond use to be 7.4 which I was very happy with. However, this year the kh was 53.7 and because I was concerned about pH fluctuations, I added baking soda to increase the kh. So therefore, the increase of pH too. I don't necessarily want a pH of 8.4, but that is the outcome of keeping a higher kh. Is there another way to increase the kh without increasing the pH?

What was the KH in previous years?

 

[budgenator]

Just curious. Why does it seem that most hobbyist ponds, especially dedicated Koi ponds, have a pH in the 8's. Are that many commercial water sources that Alkaline? Or is this a preferential thing?
Cyprinids prefer a pH of 7.4 - 7.6. Why keep it above 8?

I think it's partly because people are afraid of pH crashes at night when the plants start consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide, but mostly because the word acid is scary.
Now I'm getting curious my pond tested at pH 8.4 Sunday, I wonder what the well's pH is.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I think it's partly because people are afraid of pH crashes at night when the plants start consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide, but mostly because the word acid is scary.

And here is part of the problem. The only organisms that utilize Oxygen at night are submerged plants and algae....but not in that great of an amount. The daily Oxygen production of algae, and submerged plants, far exceeds what they utilize at night. If this were truly a problem, there would be no living fish in any natural woodland pond.

 

[cas]

What was the KH in previous years?

In the previous 4 years the KH was steady at 80.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

In the previous 4 years the KH was steady at 80.

KH of 53 is still OK.
More organics this year?!
What is the GH now and also previous years?

 

[cas]

More organics this year?!
What is the GH now and also previous years?

GH for years was pretty steady at 60. This year I added Epsom salt and calcium chloride to raise the GH to 107, to get the pH down from 8.8+.

The difference in the pond this year is 1) more aeration (added an air stone to circulate water at bottom of the pond) 2) larger fish (3 are around 12", 7 are around 5-6") (As a reminder - my pond is 1,000 gallons.)

Before adding any baking soda, Epsom salt or calcium chloride to the pond my readings were:

For the rest of the year I have been maintaining KH at 107, GH at 107, and the pH has been steady at 8.4.

 

[carolinaguy]

I've seen ph as high as 9.6 in my pond visits, especially to ponds on well water. The fish appear fine even with a constant high level. There is the suggestion in the literature that high ph contributes to fish splitting. If the water comes from a city source, check their EPA report to see what they target and measure annually. If they target 9.6 I would just accept it or buy a water softening system.