awh53

hi
at present i have a 1000 gallon pond with two koi and 4 large goldfish
everything is ok but the water in my area is way to soft
the GH is only 1 dh
PH is 7
nh3 is 0
KH is 2
n02-n is 0
no3-n is 0
is there a cheap easy way to alter the GH as my local aquatic dealer sold me a little tub of powder enough to treat the whole pond once for £15.00p
will be doing a water change this coming week i change about a third of the water around every three weeks is this often enough

ogawa only

hi


what is your tap water gh/kh/ph ??


in general , people using R.O are aiming for what you have , but your pond size could lead to massive swings in ph via its daily cycle .

see what your tap water holds , as it could be a case of regular water changes just to top it up , if you can test your ph as early as poss in the morning , and then again as late as poss , just so you know what cycle it goes through .

if your tap is very low , and it gives you little or no buffer , you can add bicarb , but becarefull , not to over buffer , as a big hike in carbonate hardness will raise your ph , which , in large jumps shock your fish , also a big raise of ph will make any ammonia more toxic , each 0.1 increase , makes ammonia more toxic by X10 .

if you test your water , and its a bit higher in kh/gh/ph do little changes per day , as thats better than a big one per week .

at the min , i'm running my pond with 3gh , 2.5kh, ph7 just do your early morning test , just to make sure it doesn't drop during the night below 6.9ph

where abouts are you , as i might move there , and save myself a fortune on RO membranes

steve

awh53

just done test straight from tap PH 7
GH 1
kh ? using NTLabs water test kits in GH test one drop should change water to blue then add one drop untill water turns yellow each drop means 1 dh after water turns blue
water for test (tested two lots) stayed yellow
so on that i would say KH 0.5

i live in west cumbria our water come from a lake which is only four miles away

ogawa only

as your water comes from a lake , are you on a meter ??

so your pond kh is 2 , but the tap water is 0.5

what is your pond made from ???

as for a buffer you could use bicarb , but i wouldnt add alot , here's a bit of reading , look at the articals , on reversing a trend , softly does it , magic water on this link Magazine Articles Written By Mike Snaden

steve

awh53

pond was treated with tetra pond pH/KH Plus to increase Kh but using whole tub only put it up to 2

will read article thanks for your quick replies

ogawa only

ah , right .

you are better to buy bicarb in bulk , as it would work out much cheaper

steve

koimaster

im with steve on this one i have a low kh being in the s.west people think soft water is good it has its problems keeping things just right

ogawa only

believe me ,you two guys are very lucky !! a quick dose of bicarb , and the problem is sorted , if i lived in either of your house's , i be buying land left right and center to set up a koi farm !!!!!!

steve

koimaster

so would i but i aint got the dollor lmao