My pond is very acidic. How much baking soda???

[jsam]

JW Direct Pond test strip
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Total Hardiness 50
Free chlorine 0
Total alkalinity 0
Carbonate 0
PH 6.0
Water temp 62 F

30,000 gal vinyl lined swimming pool converted 2 years ago. 4ft to 9ft deep

Clear water 9 ft deep end of Feb. Use Algaefix by API pond. 1 cup every 2-3 weeks. Then pollen!!!!!!!!!!

Filter is by constant water flow thru 28x9x 3ft deep rock filled bog full of plants

Periodic filter thru Pentair sand dollar pool filter but have bio balls and not sand.

Also have intermittent large pond aerator at deep end that runs 30 min intervals about 10 times day. 1/4 of the pond is under sail shades and I am just now replanting water lilies so water is getting Georgia clay added.

Rain has kept our pond full and I have not added any tap water for about 5 months or more.

I have added two 1/2 lbs of baking soda over last 3 days and chemicals have not changed.

We had several hawks watching our fish for about two weeks and then we had algae bloom & pollen and have not seen fish since so I may have only about 6 koi and 2 goldfish or None at all. Have not seen any fish last 3 weeks.

Clear water was end of February about time hawks came. They fly over still but no longer sit on 10 ft post at pond side.

 

[WaterGardener]

Koiphen.com - Koiphen's Koi Calculators

As the largest Koi and pond community on the internet, the forum provides help and advice on pond building as well as Japanese Koi and Goldfish care including disease prevention and treatment.

www.koiphen.com

Choose Alkalinity/KH at the top, in the white blocks, then fill in the spaces below that. Just be sure to raise the KH slowly, since the pH will also go up and you don't want to do that too fast.

If you aren't already aware, you can get baking soda very reasonably priced and in large quantities at Costco and Sam's Club.

 

[jsam]

Thank you for the advise. I ended up adding 18 pounds of baking soda over the last 3 weeks. Ace has 10 pound bags at a reasonable price but next time I am in BJ will see if they also have bigger bags. My pH is still low but the Alkalinity/KH are in the correct zone. We have also not had any rain lately so seems to be stable at this time.

Since I am not into spending a lot of money to feed the hawks in our area, I purchased only small goldfish and Koi and they are doing well. I figure I have about 1 year to figure out how to best deter the hawks yet keep my pond still enjoyable to view.

 

[WaterGardener]

Your pH should have increased with the KH. That makes me question the accuracy of your tests.

I see that you are using test strips. Those are not recommended as they are not reliably accurate. They start to deteriorate as soon as they are opened and exposed to air.

Liquid type tests are more accurate. I would encourage you to get those tests and check the pond water again.

 

[jsam]

Thank you for the advise. I ended up adding 18 pounds of baking soda over the last 3 weeks. Ace has 10 pound bags at a reasonable price but next time I am in BJ will see if they also have bigger bags. My pH is still low but the Alkalinity/KH are in the correct zone. We have also not had any rain lately so seems to be stable at this time.

Since I am not into spending a lot of money to feed the hawks in our area, I purchased only small goldfish and Koi and they are doing well. I figure I have about 1 year to figure out how to best deter the hawks yet keep my pond still enjoyable to view.

 

[jsam]

What brand do you recommend if you can do that on this web site?

 

[WaterGardener]

API makes a Master kit for ponds and many here use it. It does not include tests for KH and GH. Seachem also makes tests and some prefer those. I just bought individual tests for years then finally splurged for one with more tests since I needed one for iron. That one is made by Nutrifin and includes everything I want to test for.