Water Testing

[Darren Felvus 91]

Hi All as alot of you know im new to ponding and am still trying to find out what i need to test my pond for what to test it with how often to test it what level shoud i be testing for and how to treat high levels or low levels of what ever the pond is tested for


Many Thanks

Daz:goldfish:

 

[DrDave]

This is what I test for:
Nitrate
Nitrite
Hardness
Chlorine
Alkalinity
PH
Salinity
One test strip does all but the salinity. So you need 2 kits unless you don't salt your pond.

Testing in the beginning is important, after the pond is established you don't have to test unless there is a problem or by a schedule it you want to keep a record.

 

[bunnymp]

I test for:
Ammonia
pH
Nitrites
Nitrates
Salinity
I usually test 1-4 monthly and salt more often.

 

[amery buck]

Hi All as alot of you know im new to ponding and am still trying to find out what i need to test my pond for what to test it with how often to test it what level shoud i be testing for and how to treat high levels or low levels of what ever the pond is tested for


Many Thanks

Daz:goldfish:

Hi all,

I am also test Nitrate, Hardness, PH and salinity because these test are very important for your fish. If you don't test your pond this will harmful for your fish and may be your lovely fish died. :skull: So every newbie must check their pond salinity and other important tests.

 

[c2c7390]

i test Nitrate Hardness and PH...if you have a filter thats been running for a while your ammonia and nitrite shouldnt be detectable

 

[justakillakoi]

Hi All as alot of you know im new to ponding and am still trying to find out what i need to test my pond for what to test it with how often to test it what level shoud i be testing for and how to treat high levels or low levels of what ever the pond is tested for


Many Thanks

Daz:goldfish:

the cheapest and best way is to get liquid tests to test your water.
But, you might want to start with test strips to get used to testing and it's easyer. laguana test strips seem to be the best for your money.
they test ph, nitrates, akaline, but no ammonia. so get a liquid ammonia test also. I forgot about the ammonia when i started writeing. it's one of the most important.

ammonia, nitrate, and ph are musts and the test kits will tell you what the best readings are for your fish.

once you got your system going good you don't need to test all the time. just if you water gets murky, it rains, or the fish act wierd. atfirst with a new pond you would want to test dayly and when it gets up to speed weekly and when it's doing well just monthly or so. unless you got to many fish. then back to weekly.

 

[garry jack]

Yeah i also use first test strips for checking water hardness. Than include these minerals and chemicals in pond. This is the best for your koi.

 

[bunnymp]

I also test monthly for Hardness and PH (I forgot about those 2 in my earlier post). Honestly, the hardness test confuses me because I do not understand what to do in the event the result is not optimum. How do you adjust for hardness? I've heard baking soda, but I thought that was for pH adjustments?

 

[D&RW]

No nitrites or nitrates, but the pH is 6.4 and the alkalinity is way low. Water reads as very soft. Tested it out of the tap--same pH. Bought a phosphate tester today and have between 0-50ppm. Fish are all goldfish right now, but I'm thinking about easing into KOI. I'm going to do a bit more reading first, but I'm concerned about that alkalinity and pH.

 

[koiguy1969]

baking soda will safely raise your ph if thats what you want to do. and crushed oyster shells put in a old nylon stocking or two will lock it in once you get it where you want it

 

[c2c7390]

i like the test strips because you dont have to wait for the chemicals to mix...although the drops is way more accurate IMO

 

[D&RW]

thanks. i'll go slow cause i know it's changes in pH that can be hard on fish. i'd like the pH just a bit more toward 7.

 

[D&RW]

planning on 4 new Koi. But I'm concerned they're going to want the water more basic than 6.4

 

[Cranorm7]

Hi All i just Tested my Pond Water and the Results i got worry me... All the Results are from my Test Stick and from the Chart on the Tub

NO3 60
NO2 40
PH 6.0 - 6.5
KH 0.5 - 1.0
GH 80

If possible i like some feedback on this and whats the Best Way to Sort it..

My pond is 6ft long, 4ft wide, 3ft deep.. Pump is a Fishmate 4000 with a Hozelock 9000 with built in UV... If you need more info let me know and i help in any way i can

 

[BBK]

Well to be honest you need to invest in a liquid test kit. The strips are horribly inaccurate. Look into the 'API Freshwater Master Test Kit' your fish store will have one, or you could get one from ebay.

The no3 is normal. PH is fine, GH and KH are workable. The only thing that worries me is the NO2 AKA NitrIte. It shouldn't be above 0. Do you have an ammonia test? Ammonia, No2 and no3 are the only ones you NEED. Your PH won't fluctuate much so there is no need to test it often and your KH and GH are a one time test as they are usually what your tap is.


How long has this pond been set up? Nitrites should be at 0 if it is fully cycled.