pond ph after rain

[barry]

my pond sits at ph of 7.0, if i get a heavy rain (which is quite often in ireland) the ph drops to 5.0, which is very acidic - iv lost 3 fish because of this (i think). because the pond is still new, do you think the pond will settle and learn to cope itself?

iv got a few plants in the pond growing, when they spruce up will this help control the ph?

 

[addy1]

Mine does the same, you might need to go out and buffer it with some baking soda after it rains.
if you get a lot of rain, crushed oyster shells help.

 

[barry]

problem with the baking soda thing, is that it rains about 10 times a day here in ireland lol - so it would be a huge inconvenience to do that


will oyster shells solve my problem?

 

[addy1]

I am getting crushed oyster shells to put into the system, the shells are going to be put in the bog where water will flow over them continuously as it goes back into the pond..Over time they will begin to stabilize your ph.
Our pond is filled by well water (ph5), which is acidic, the rain water is acidic. I have been using baking soda to balance it out a little, but have only two small fish in it so have not worried too much about the ph so far.
But this spring I want to get some more goldies, and need to stabilize the ph.

A good balance of plants helps also, but in the winter when they die back your ph will most likely get out of wack again.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Here's an interesting tidbit, although I'm not sure if it really helps you. The decaying leaves and plant matter that most of us try so hard to avoid in our ponds is actually beneficial for this problem. As the plant matter decays, it releases CO2 into the water. This in turn increases the hardness (kh I think?) which stabilized the pH in water, preventing the pH from swinging quickly.

Of course I'm not advocating you go out and throw a pile of leaves in your pond. With the increased CO2, the decaying matter also releases other deadly gases, plus you need to increase your oxygen to balance the CO2 so your fish don't suffocate... its all a huge balancing act. And as evident by the suggestions of baking soda, there are many different things you can put in your water to affect the chemical balance. I believe the limestone in a block of cement will raise your kh, and lower your pH, both contributing towards less of a swing in your pond when it rains.

The main thing is that a wild swing in pH indicates a very low kh. Get a water hardness test kit that checks your kh, and try to find out what options you have to raise the kh in your pond.

 

[barry]

limestone n in cement raises your ph, that was my first issue - to much cement leaking lime into the pond which sent it crazy to 9+ph

 

[barry]

im going to try and get some crushed oyster shells tomorrow,

correct me if im wrong - farms use it quite alot for chickens laying eggs? so am i right in saying this is the same stuff and should be able to get it from a farmers market?

 

[barry]

is this the stuff?

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/crushed-oyster-shell-for-birds-by-happy-pet-36489

 

[addy1]

Here they sale it in farm supply stores, bulk. That would work, I think, lol.

 

[koiguy1969]

oyster shells wont alter ph, but will buffer (help lock it in) when you get it where you want it. a $4.00 bag lasted me 2 years. it was still working but at that price i swapped it out any ways.. put it in an old sock or nylon stocking and hang it in an area of good water flow. mine is in my filter in front of the output.

 

[barry]

i have a fishnet laying around, coul be creative and it could look decorative

 

[barry]

my pond is 200 gallon, how much oyster shells should i put in? or does it really matter? is it a case of the more the merrier?

 

[j.w]

I'm just guessing but I'd say you should go out and buy about 50lbs of Oysters and crack them open and send me the oysters inside and then you can grind up the shells and you'll have plenty to last ya for a long while and I will be really happy

 

[koiguy1969]

normally, a 1/2 cup should be more than fine for 200 gals .. but more than that wont hurt a thing.

 

[j.w]

I thought limestone and Oyster shells did pretty much the same thing :
Calcium carbonate is the name of a chemical substance , CaCO3.
Ground oyster shells are a natural product mainly containing CaCO3, along with other minor ingredients.
Limestone is a sediment mineral composed mainly of calcium carbonate, very similar to oyster shells.
Chalk (Blackboard chalk is NOT made of chalk!) is a form of calcium carbonate, having the same chemical composition as ground calcium carbonate, limestone, marble, and precipitated calcium carbonate.

So how do each of these work differently in a pond or do they?
And which kind of lime should you never put in your pond?
Seems as tho once you start putting this stuff in the pond you better take care to check your levels often or it could end up killing your fish :lol:

Then there are these:
Horticultural lime, also called hydrated lime or Ca(OH)2 is produced by adding water to CaO.

Quick lime is CaO, a very aggressive substance. It is produced from CaCO3 containing limestone or shellsand by heating it to 1200°C, hereby CO2 is driven off the CaCO3 molecule, leaving CaO.