PH Test Results Over 5 Weeks

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My Dad brought over some water from his pond for me to test, And his PH wasn't good so I recommend he got something to equalise the PH in his pond and to get his own kit for testing it.

3 Weeks Update "Nope son, still no good!"
"Ok Dad but just take your time with it, follow the instructions on the bottle, slowly but surely... probably... just keep adding the stuff you bought to equalise the PH so it's not so extreme"


4 Weeks Update "Nope son, no change at all, this PH UP Stuff just aint cutting it"
"............PH............UP............ Dad your Test Results are Purple......"
 

TheFishGuy

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We like to say as long as your PH is stable and your fish are happy it's fine, but if you do add chemicals it is definitely better to add the right ones!
 

Mmathis

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As long as the pH is stable, it should be OK. Trying to control it up or down — that “swinging,” or bouncing around is harmful to the fish.

What is the pH level? And what is the pH of the source water?

Can you get hold of a liquid test for KH (carbonate hardness)? I’m no chemist, but in the simplest terms, the KH level is a buffer that keeps the pH from swinging. You want your KH to be high, like around or above 120.
 
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agree with MMathis; your Kh must be doing it's job. Don't force pH. My water is from a well and is typically 8.4 and has been for 10 years with no adverse effect. As a matter of fact, koi colors tend to be more vibrant (the sumi) with hard water.
 
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Well the main issue I think he was having was trying to lower his PH with PH up, but I did try to explain to him that since his pond rocks are limestone that he is probably not going to have much luck lowering it. So is PH 9 ok for fish, I thought it would be a bit high to have fish in
 

Mmathis

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Well the main issue I think he was having was trying to lower his PH with PH up, but I did try to explain to him that since his pond rocks are limestone that he is probably not going to have much luck lowering it. So is PH 9 ok for fish, I thought it would be a bit high to have fish in
It is a little high, BUT, if it runs that all the time, it’s probably OK. It’s the up and down swings that are a problem. Mine usually runs around 8.4. There are others here who have very low and some very high readings. Get a KH kit and check his KH.
 
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The pH in my pond was 9 or more when it was first built. It stayed that way for several months and then dropped a bit. But since I keep the KH high, my pH stays around 8.3 or so.

My fish were fine at a pH of 9 and should be fine even at a pH of 10. Any higher than that might be a problem. As long as it is stable, the fish should adjust. Trying to aim for a specific number will make it jump around since you are adding things to change it. It will return to what it is and messing with it will only stress the fish.
 

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