need advice, high ph

[cauzeneffeckt]

Hey all

I tested my ph aboput 1 1/2 ago and got a 9 ph, 0 ammonia and nitrites. Is this bad, i did a water change about 4 days ago, just about 5 percent. Pond is about 700-1000 gals. Thanks!

 

[koikeepr]

9 Ph i crazy high, yes! 5% water changes do nothing. You need 20% water changes each week. In your instance, I would start with at least a 40% water change. Then do 20% changes thereafter. Then lets us know your numbers!

 

[jason081180]

I agree water changes. But I'm wondering how are your fish acting in this PH?

 

[cauzeneffeckt]

my fish are acting like normal, got home from work and fed them.. i decided to check the ph, this weekend it was 7.5 so i didnt think anything of it. Im going out of town and decided to check it, freaked out when i saw it. GOnna have to have my dad do the water change for me.

 

[cauzeneffeckt]

i have no idea what could have made it spike... nothing has changed, should i turn of my UV, or really not related at all?

 

[jason081180]

I don't think a UV would affect your PH

 

[cauzeneffeckt]

I'M on my way out of town and checked ph it's somewhere between 7.5 -8. Will have water changed today still though

 

[oldmarine]

I'm not a chemist, nor do I have the pond wisdom that most here at this forum have, but I found that well planted pond or aquarium will balance out the PH levels on it's own. In the past I have tried to chemically alter the PH in heavely planted aquariums, only to find that the plants will create their own PH balance in that body of water.

I'm at a point where if I have a good balance of fish, snails, plants, and adequate filtration, there is no need to be concerned about PH and amonia levels. Especially if you do regular water changes.

Happy ponding,

 

[koikeepr]

Do you dechlor your water when you do a water change and add new water back in?

Do a small test and grab a cup of water from your hose tap and test it using the same test strips. Let us know what the water parameters are, particularly the PH. Let's see if this gives us some leading info.

 

[cauzeneffeckt]

I did a tap water test yest also all seemed good 7.2 ph no ammonia or nitrites

 

[koiguy1969]

just keep in mind large ph swings in either direction can really stress a fish...you might consider daily smaller water changes ...10% or so until its where it needs to be. and then add some crushed oyster shells or other buffer to help lock it in. the souster shells can be put in an old nylon stocking or 2 and put in your filter or somewhere with good water flow.

 

[cauzeneffeckt]

Oyster shells like the ones they sell in the frozen food dept in the market???? I have a bunch of those empty shells. That works? Thanks f all the help guys

 

[koiguy1969]

You can buy them real cheap at any pond store or petsmart too, i think. A $4.00 bag will last a real long time.

 

[koikeepr]

I did a tap water test yest also all seemed good 7.2 ph no ammonia or nitrites

Ok, that's helpful. So 7.0 is considered neutral, but koi/goldfish can live quite comfortably in Ph from 6.8 to 8.0 as long as there are no rapid swings and spikes.

Small shifts over a 24 hour period are okay, but not big spikes. Is your pond heavily planted? Heavily planted ponds can have more severe pH swings because plants give off oxygen during the day and take away oxygen at night and giving off carbon dioxide.

Typically, your lowest pH reading will be early in the morning. If you can do a test in the morning and then compare it to a test in the evening after dark, see what it tells you. This would be helpful if you have lots of plants.

Koiguy is right in that crushed oyster or coral shells do help buffer water. If I was having swings, I would buy a Ph buffer in Petsmart. I don't usually recommend chems, but with something like this you need to get it under control quickly as high Ph increases the toxic nature of ammonia.

Are you seeing big swings in a 24 hour period, or is it consistent at a higher end number?

If your tap is 7.2, which is perfectly good, then something is happening when it is in the pond. Lack of water changes for so long would be one. Too many plants can be another, etc. What other things can you come up with that can help us solve this?

 

[cauzeneffeckt]

Well last week in the tn strums we had we recieved abot 12-15 inches of water. Which overfilled my pond but do to the way it's built it didn't harm the fish. Andfor the past to weeks we have had water restrictions. That's why I did that minor water change. Been a month since solid water change.

As for plants I have about 50-60% surface cover with floaters. A parrots feather which is pretty new about 2 months old, 2 umbrellas and 2 small Bunches
of oxygenators