Hope I didn't sacrifice one to save the other.

[ashirley]

I have always worried about the fish wiggling through and getting stuck. To me plants aren't worth keeping if it takes much effort . I wouldn't have the lotus if it weren't a father's day gift the year I built the big pond.

Thought about that and went with lava rocks instead. I love the plants almost as much as the fish.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Oyster shells do work as a long range solution. However, you need to get the GH up quickly.
Home Depot carries "Pool Time Hardness Increaser". This is 100% Calcium chloride (no additives.

 

[ashirley]

I will try to get some tomorrow. How much should I add for a 4500 gallon pond?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Use 2 oz. of calcium chloride for every 1,000 gallons of water to raise the GH ppm by 10. For your pond with a GH of Zero, that would be about 5.5 pounds.
Don't forget to also add an equal amount of Epson Salts at the same time as was recommended in an earlier Forum thread.

 

[ashirley]

How soon after adding should i be able to see a difference when testing? Will raising it that much at once affect the fish?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

How soon after adding should i be able to see a difference when testing? Will raising it that much at once affect the fish?

Add gradually as I previously recommended (one pound of each per application). You may want to test the GH after each application to monitor the GH level. Once the application has thoroughly mixed in the water, results will be seen. To speed up the mixing, these applications can be added at the waterfall. I would space the applications to every 4 to 6 hours.

 

[ashirley]

Thanks. Hopefully i can find it tomorrow.

 

[Smaug]

Actual kh or gh has very little affect if any on fish. What it does do is buffer and keep from having pH swings which DO have an affect on the fish. My water is so hard I call it liquid limestone and I even keep soft water acidic loving amazon fish in aquarium.

 

[addy1]

Thought about that and went with lava rocks instead. I love the plants almost as much as the fish.

One reason I stuck with Shubbies, They are real pretty and leave the plants alone.