Kitty litter causing high PH?

[Joshi83]

Hi everyone,

Im having an issue with higher than normal PH. It's been up around the 8.0 mark for a few weeks now, which I don't think is too much of a drama, but it is normally bang on perfect.

The only thing I have changed is (coming into spring) I have replanted some lilies and other plants and used the natural clay kitty litter (red bag) which I have read many many posts of people on here and in general google searches using it to good effect, but has anyone on here noticed a spike in PH when using the kitty litter?

I scooped some litter out of one plant and put it in a container, let it dry out, then filled it half with tap water (tap water is tested, perfect PH) let it settle for a day, then tested the water in the container and it's ph is about 7.6.

What should I do, I can't really pull all the plants out and remove the litter and replant (the lilies have just gone nuts with new pads surfacing too with the warmer days and the start of spring)
Will the kitty litter neutralise and lose it's alkalinity after a while? With regular water changes bringing the pond back into check? Or will it always be causing this PH issue?

 

[addy1]

I have a ton of kitty litter in my pond, it is sitting around ph of 7.7 or so. The kitty litter has not caused an increase in my ph. When I first got the pond running this spring the ph went as high as 10 it has now settled down to the 7-8 range. No reason for the increase, except my well water is very soft and acidic. I have been adding crushed coral to get the water harder.

When I added the lilies last year in kitty clay, the ph did not go up at all. I had to add baking soda to get it in the 8 range, our tap is 5.5

What ph are you aiming for? Your ph will vary with time of day also.

 

[Joshi83]

Well in all honestly I'm not sure what PH is 'ideal'. My test kit says 7.0 is 'normal', but then iv read people aiming for a higher PH. Some plants like it high, some like it low etc etc
The goldfish don't seem to mind at the moment and the plants are growing great too. I just don't want to come home and find my fish floating belly up!

Have tested in the morning and afternoon, both very similar results.

 

[addy1]

When mine was 10 the fish were spawning, fry growing, frog eggs everywhere. It did not affect them at all.
Have not lost any fish to ph issues, well disclaimer, when my pond was new, last year, put in some feeders they all died. But did not realize our well was a ph of 5.5.

This is a good read on pond water chemistry

http://users.vcnet.com/rrenshaw/H2Oquality.html

 

[koiguy1969]

7.0 isnt normal...its nuetral.....7.4 - 8.0 is just fine for ph. even up to 8.4 is acceptable long term as long as its stable...ph swings up or down is what you want to avoid! a "ph crash" is especially bad...when the ph drops significantly in a short time.

 

[Joshi83]

Thanks for the link Addy, very good read. Has put my mind at ease.

 

[addy1]

You are welcome, glad it helped

 

[sissy]

mine stays around 8 or 9 and you are fine not sure why your test says 7 is normal .I have never gotten down to 7 but think I may be slightly concerned when it gets down that low with my pond .

 

[Joshi83]

It all makes sense now. As koiguy pointed out, 7.0 is neutral, NOT normal. From all the reading iv done and what's being said on here, my PH readings are in the "normal" pond range

 

[addy1]

It all makes sense now. As koiguy pointed out, 7.0 is neutral, NOT normal. From all the reading iv done and what's being said on here, my PH readings are in the "normal" pond range

Yeah! great to hear