How To Lower Salt Content In Pond

[Liam]

Good Morning All... I've Just Joined Your Forum, And I'm An Inexperienced Pond Owner Living In Southern New Jersey USA.
I have a 1800 Gallon Pond ( I Personally Constructed In September 2019 ).
Current Residents 6 Comets & 6 Koi ( All About 6 Inches Long )

Due to seepage & Evaporation, My Pond Experiences 10 - 15% Water Change Weekly. Water Is Replaced By An Automatic Float Valve
Shown To The Right Of The Skimmer In The Photo Below.

The Problem....
Replacement Water Comes From My Well, Which Has A Ph Of About 5.2, This Forces Me To Add Baking Soda Weekly To Keep Ph Around 7.4
( Which I Hope Is Correct ) . The Salt Content In The Baking Soda Drives Up The Pond Salt Level ( Currently 356 PPM )

The Question...
How Can I Keep The Ph Up Without Raising The Salt Content?

I'm Guessing The Only Way To Lower Salt Content Is By A Water Change, Which Forces More Baking Soda ( And Salt )

There Is No Limit To What I Don't Know About Ponds & Fish, So All Comments & Suggestions Are Greatly Appreciated.

Thank You All.

Liam

 

[WaterGardener]

Welcome. You have a lovely pond there.

There really is no "correct" pH. The important thing is that pH stays stable. Yours is pretty acidic out of the tap, though, so the beneficial bacteria and fish would have a hard time living in that. A pH as high as 10 can be okay, but ammonia would be more toxic at that high a level. Mine stays around 8.3 and I keep the KH around 200 ppm at least. In my opinion, for whatever that is worth, KH should be at least 100 ppm.

I don't think you need to worry about your salinity. 356 ppm is only .0356%. A lot of pond owners keep their ponds at .1% salinity at all times. I don't recommend that, but it's a common practice. It used to be the norm, but times have changed and it's not looked upon as necessary or so desirable these days. You are well below that mark, so it should not be an issue.

 

[Liam]

Welcome. You have a lovely pond there.

There really is no "correct" pH. The important thing is that pH stays stable. Yours is pretty acidic out of the tap, though, so the beneficial bacteria and fish would have a hard time living in that. A pH as high as 10 can be okay, but ammonia would be more toxic at that high a level. Mine stays around 8.3 and I keep the KH around 200 ppm at least. In my opinion, for whatever that is worth, KH should be at least 100 ppm.

I don't think you need to worry about your salinity. 356 ppm is only .0356%. A lot of pond owners keep their ponds at .1% salinity at all times. I don't recommend that, but it's a common practice. It used to be the norm, but times have changed and it's not looked upon as necessary or so desirable these days. You are well below that mark, so it should not be an issue.

Thanks For The Compliment And The Quick Reply.
Glad I'm Not Hurting My Fish ( They had A Hard Winter )
I'm A retired Engineer, So I Tend To "Overthink" ( Over Worry? ) Everything.

Best Regards,
Liam

 

[Stephen Noble]

Welcome to the forum, Liam! You have a beautiful pond. Here is an interesting link showing how one person claims to raise pH naturally. I like natural approaches. You might consider just keeping a few goldfish.

how to naturally raise the pH of a pond - Search Videos

www.bing.com

 

[WaterGardener]

I'm no engineer, but I do tend to be a worrier, so I understand that. I don't think it's such a bad thing, since because we worry, we try to do all we can to learn not to screw up! I'm not always so successful there, but I try.

Sounds like you are doing a very good job. Best of luck with your pond and fish.

 

[Liam]

Welcome to the forum, Liam! You have a beautiful pond. Here is an interesting link showing how one person claims to raise pH naturally. I like natural approaches. You might consider just keeping a few goldfish.

how to naturally raise the pH of a pond - Search Videos

www.bing.com

Hi Stephen!
Thank You.

I watched The Video ( Very Cool! ) I Never Thought Of Crushed Coral.
I Wonder If the Coral Is Continuous Release? ( Could Be Better Than The Sudden Baking Soda Ph Rush )

Best Regards
Liam

 

[j.w]

@Liam

 

[Liam]

Hello j.w!
Glad To Be Here.
My Neighbor Moved Away Last September And Gave me His Goldies.
That's How I Got Started ( I Dug The Pond With A Shovel ( Never Again )
Never Realized How Relaxing A Fish Pond Can Be.
I Hope to Make Good Use Of The Experience & Knowledge To Be Found On These Pages.

Best Regards,
Liam

 

[Tula]

Welcome

 

[poconojoe]

10%-15% water loss weekly seems like a lot to me. Am I calculating that correctly at 180-270 gallons? That's a lot of water. Where is all that water going? Can that be corrected?

 

[IPA]

A lot of us use crushed oyster shells: it available at feed and seed stores and quite inexpensive.

 

[Phaewryn]

Crushed coral, limestone/dolomite, or seashells will raise pH without adding salt (assuming they are rinsed well). All these can be purchased by the bag as aquarium substrate (such as Carib Sea Aragonite or Florida Crushed Coral) or decor (rocks). You can often find seashells at craft stores and limestone at quarries or landscaping suppliers. Adding additional aeration can also help. If you have any drift wood (or peat) in it, remove it, as the tannins they release lowers pH. Likewise for any leaves that fall in. I use activated carbon to keep tannins in check in my pond since it's under trees, and I skim with a hand net daily. You might consider a pond net, since you're under a lot of trees too. Those leaves are not helping you at all.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

My well water is 5.3 ph and very soft, won't even register on a hardness test, when I first built the pond I killed the first fish I put in, not knowing our water was a acid bath. I started adding 100 lbs of crushed oyster shells (chicken grit from a feed store) every year for about 3-4 years. Now my ph is real stable. I have a large bog with a lot of water flow I would toss the grit in the bog. Now my ph sits at 7.6.

 

[sissy]

welcome and once you get your ph stable use crushed oyster shells to keep it there .you can even get the small bags at walmart