In order to have the healthiest fish in your pond, the water conditions should always be stable. The restrictions which include water temperature, oxygen, ammonia and nitrite should all be maintained in the levels that are advantageous. This also goes most especially to the pH levels in the water. pH7 to pH9 is the bracket in which the pond water should fall.
The test of pond water pH is the most commonly used and the one that should be regularly checked. Each pH test should always show a slightly alkaline pH which is not greater than pH9. On the contrary, however you want it to be stable, there are several factors that make the pH level fluctuate. This is a normal occurrence for which you should be alarmed of. This is of course unless the pH swinging becomes unstable that it goes out of the ideal pH bracket.
As you run the pH test, you find out that it has reached the pH that is greater than 9.0. How did it happen and what should you do?
First and foremost you need to understand that too much water alkalinity can cause fish to gasp at the surface of the pond. And if not taken care of as soon as possible, the fish will eventually produce excessive amount of milky protective mucus film on their skin.
Alkaline enters the pond on many ways. It can either come from untreated concrete run-off or pure builder's lime like also known as calcium hydroxide. The higher the alkaline content means the greater the pH levels can be.
The introduction of alkaline in the pond can be controlled to a minimum and desirable level by neutralising lime in cement or concrete. Neutralising agents can be added to cement or concrete mixture before putting it in the pond.
Painting all the cement and concrete exposed to the water can also work to prevent alkaline from overtaking the pond. The paint that you can use should work with a sealant to make it water proof. Remember that alkaline only goes into the pond once the water gets directly in contact with lime.
Now the alkaline has been dealt with in the pond. You do some pH tests again and find out that the pH level has reached below 7.0! This just means that there is too much acidity going on in your pond. Acidic water can cause a lot of health problems to the fish. Apparently, the signs that you see in low pH are almost identical with high pH.
The main cause of too much acid in the pond is the presence of ammonia. How you may ask. Bio filters function mainly to breakdown ammonia into nitrite. The hydrogen ions released as the breaking down process occurs acidify the water. Therefore, the higher the level of ammonia in the pond the lesser pH level there will be.
The best thing to do to prevent pH levels from drastically descending is to do a regular water change. This should be done for at least once every four weeks. This will not just stabilize pH levels of the pond but also prevent other impurities from staying in your water system.
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