[Ponds-Koi] High pH and low KH.
In a message dated 7/27/2008 1:47:28 P.M. Central Daylight Time, littlebaber1@yahoo.com writes:
Hi, I have been searching for a cause of missing fish (herons, raccoons bullfrogs) and now come to the conclusion that it could be due to water quality issue. My pond is >5 years old, well planted, with a liner surrounded by field stone. My nitrites and nitrate levels have always been undetectable. However, the GH levels have been decreasing over the last few years (range 8 to about 4 degrees hardness now) and KH has always been relatively low (2-4 degrees). What I have finally noticed is that the pH levels change relatively drastically from a minimum of 7.5 to 9.0 over the course of weeks. I plan on testing pH throughout the day tomorrow (am to pm) to see if the changes are occurring rapidly (as I suspect). So I would like to see if I can increase the buffering capacity with either sodium bicarbonate or calcium carbonate, to reduce the pH fluctuations. Any thoughts on which would be better and if this could explain loss of fish (which I assume if they are stressed enough, die and then are consumed by the remaining fish, since we have never found body parts in or out of the pond). Any help is greatly appreciated!
What is the KH and GH coming out of the tap? Let the water run for a few minutes, then draw a sample for testing. It will be interesting to see what you are putting into the pond. The GH and KH levels should maintain your PH unless you have high levels of carbon dioxide in the pond which could be because of the plantings. I know of no test that can determine levels of this. Bill or Lonnie might be able to help here. While PH bouncing all over the map can cause stress, illnesses and even deaths, you should find a body every once and a while I would think. If you tap water has sufficient supplies of KH and GH, water changes should maintain your ph well enough. I like to see KH at least 60ppm (1 drop multiplied by 17.9 will give you ppm) and a GH around 78-80 ppm (same math). You certainly can add baking soda or crushed limestone to the water, but I would check your tap water first. You may just have a free supply coming right from your water source. Sue
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