hi there water is reading 6.7ph is that fine or should i be worried temp is 22 c if it is to low what should i use to bring it up.

I think its fine mine average between 6.8 and 7.2

Hi Shawn

Did your ph always measure below 7? Cant remember but sure it was much higher in the past? Sorry but on cellphone now and not easy to search old posts but if your ph is dropping over a period of time it might be a sign of problems. Mine is 8.2 in bloem. Wish it could be a bit lower but you can not control it much but if you had a high reading in the past and now it is much lower you might be heading for a problem. Remember it is a log scale so a reading of 7 is 10 times lower than 8 and when you reach 6 it is 100 times more acid than 8

If I also recall correctly from what Wayne said the hardness off CT water is very low so if you not careful the ph might swing a lot. I might be totally wrong about what I say about your ph but please make sure it is stable and more or less the same as a few months ago. Dont think the 6.8 is a problem but if you had higher ph levels in the past you might have a problem now if it dropped in a short time

H there guys ok i went backto every post i have done in the past and it was always 7ph n october and nov 2009 that was with the tablest i have an elsctronic one now will do the tablets again and see what i get tomorrw, think back then i was told to put oyster shells in my fillter to bring the ph up is that correct mayne what i can do is fill one of my bakkies on my shower with shells see if that brings it up to the 7's

pease let me knbow what you think.

Sorry I was wrong. If it is stable I wont worry to much. Every pond is unique

Hi Marius and Angryant

Dont uyou put oyster shell or coaral in if your ph is too high?

Thanx
Karel

As far as I know, Oyster shells will have no effect in high pH water or neutral water. It needs acid to disolve it(and to work). If your pH is below 7 (acidic), the acid will start to disolve the shells and neutralize the acids, and buffer it by bringing it back to or closer to 7. It therefore prevents pH swings (in the lower range)

So what you are saying is 6.7 is low and for me to get it to 7 or a little higher i need to add oyster shells to my system.

Hi Shawn

As 7,5 is ideal 6,7 is fine as long as it id stable (any PH for that matter)

I like oyster shels but for us not easy to come by

I have been and I know that Colin Hunt uses Bi Carb. to up the KH to stabilise PH

Read this

http://koi4u.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=111:ph-stabiliser&catid=19:medication&Itemid=59

"As 7,5 is ideal 6,7 is fine as long as it id stable (any PH for that matter)"




Shawn,


pH - EFFECTS ON KOI

0- 3
Rapid death

3- 4
Extremely stressful. At lower end some fish would survive for a few hours. Lethal to eggs.

4- 5
No reproduction, slow growth. Fish becomes excitable making rapid swimming movements, gasping and tending to jump. Excess mucus production, reddened areas on skin especially in the ventral region. Irritated gills due to acid count.

5-6
Growth may be influenced negatively. Stressful if temperature is low or the calcium sodium and chloride concentrations are low.
No biofilter bacterial growth.
Fish susceptible to bacterial infections

6-6,5
Not harmful to unless the free carbon dioxide concentration is higher then 100mg/l

6,5 - 9
Recommended guideline range 6,5 - 8,2 ( pH 8-8,8..........ideal for Nitrosomonas growth)

9-10
Negatively influences growth and reproduction
Inhibit Koi’s ability to excrete ammonia from the body.
Koi become agitated and jump frequently.
Gill tissue and fins can be destroyed

10-11
Prolonged exposure to upper limits lethal to Koi

> 11
Rapid death

Lower pH readings could also cause some chemicals to become more active! (Malachite Green, Chloramine T, Potassium Permanganate)

So what are you trying to say here that has not been said.

Admin wrote:

As far as I know, Oyster shells will have no effect in high pH water or neutral water. It needs acid to disolve it(and to work). If your pH is below 7 (acidic), the acid will start to disolve the shells and neutralize the acids, and buffer it by bringing it back to or closer to 7. It therefore prevents pH swings (in the lower range)

Paul is right.

Lol, if i had R 1.00 for everytime i had to post this statement i could retire by now.

Forget about PH, measure Total Alkalinity. PH is a moving target and changes every minute of every hour of every day. If your Total Alkalinity (Buffering) is good then you dont have to worry about PH.

People without oyster shell should either.
1. Buy Oyster shells
OR
2. Do weekly water changes to keep their buffering the same as the tap water.
OR
3. Add bicarbonate of soda. (My least prefered option but sometimes it is nessecary)

People with oyster shell should....not worry about PH or total alkalinity and just watch the amount of oyster shells. In winter we Cape Tonians get Acid rain that eats the buffering of our water in koi ponds away faster than the oyster shells can replace it - that is when i have to do number 3 above and add bicarbonate of soda.

It is important to have a good volume of water going through the oyster shells and they must not get clogged up with dirt. I easily go through 9 bags a year. This is probably the more natural way of controlling the water.

My own total alkalinity is between 20-30 yes that is low but the oyster shells keep it to where it should be most of the time. PH...hmmm I never really measure this.

According to the article i always post that was written by Mike Snaden the most growth is achieved in water with a low TA.

I am so sorry for annoying you, but you just keep giving me so much to work with!

...

Mistake

You are not annoying me, you are just busy destroying this forum as well.

Who I am to argue, after all you are the KIA on the forum!

...

Good day All I have not been on the Forum for a few days and really dont like what is going on, I must say this is not what I intended when I started asking questions about my system, Please if there is anyway everyone can just shake hand. Every person has there right to there way of doing things thats why we are here if there was only one right way the forum would not work,

I cant thank anyone enough for there help,

Ok back to the pond, I was told to take a reading early morning which was 6.8ph and anothere late at night, was also 6.8ph so it is stable.

I cant seem to get hold of any Oyster shells does anyone know were I can get I know were I can get Abalone shells can I use them.

All have a great day.

Hey AngryAnt, I usually get from Cape Koi. But unfortuantly you have to inform them that you need it and check with them weekly as a reminder to them. The trouble is they have to get them from somewhere and then clean it and i understand that that is the problem...the cleaning part. I am actually also in need of a top up in the oyster shells.

I am very seriouse dont check your PH, it is just going to frustrate you. Measure the Total Alkalinity and accept that PH will be where it should be in your pond. PH is affected by the hardness (buffering) in the water, oxygen, tempreture and cycle of the day. It is nearly impossible to get PH fixed on a certain level.

Example during the night there is less oxygen in the water than during the day because plants use oxygen at night and release carbon dioxide...that means there is more carbon dioxide in the water at night....Carbon dioxide is accidic in nature and therefor eats a way your water buffering. The less buffering you have and the less oxygen you have to more accidic the water is. More accidic water results in a lower PH. So in short PH will be lower in the morning than in the evenings.

In water that has a high tempreture less oxygen is present and therfor the PH is unstable again. I dont understand the exact relationship between Oxygen in water and PH but from what i have read there is relationship...somehow.

Ponds with lots of oxygen, stable buffering, good degassing and stable water tempreture will have the most stable PH.

Books always tell you koi need PH of 6.5 -7.5 for example....but koi are happy anywhere between 6.0 and < 9.0 If you dont have oyster shells and are paranoid then add bicarbonate of soda so that your TA is atleast 80.

Also check your TA of your source water (tap or borehole). One cannot expect the pond water to have a diffirent chemistry makup of your source water.

If your source TA is low like in my case then accept that you cant control it and that you need oyster shells. As long as you do water changes your pond water will remain roughtly the same as your source water.

Thanks for the reply Wayne, Ok I have a test kit and have looked but cant seem to find the one or is it not in my list. which one reads my TA here is the list.

Ph, kH, gH, Fe, NO2, NO3, NH4, NH3, PO4, Cu.

Will see if I can find any Oyster shells and let you know.

thanks.

Shawn ....you should consider the Crystal Bio now in SA and available from Dream Koi

CRYSTAL BIO

The newest Bio-filter Medium suitable for the 21st Century !
Crystal Bio is made from a glass substance. It has an extraordinary porous structure of light-weight ceramic, which is obtained by burning the mixture of glass substance particles and foaming agent at high temperatures of 900 degrees.

Excellent nitrification
Crystal Bio has an extraordinarilly large amount of surface area because of its porous structure, which enables propagation of aerobic bacteria in it. Crystal Bio itself is a little alkaline and can buffer the pH of rearing water.
Easy maintenance

This product purifies the exisiting water, which means you aren't required to use so much new fresh water to refill your pond with clean water. This will lead to a reduction of water heating cost because you will use the exisiting water.

Personally, I would strongly recommend it as prime media for trickle towers/bakki showers .
Similar to Momontaro media, but, better and cheaper.

Yes Bobby that is the way to go,

So die CRYSTAL BIO gaan oplos en opbreuk met tyd? Want om impak op die water tehe moet dit iets vry laat.

Moet se dit raak nou moeilik om Oester skulpe in die hande tekry....het julle enige pearly vriende? Want perlemoen skulpe sal net so goed werk.

Hi Wayne

ek glo nie dit sal oplos ek weet nie hoe dit die buffer gaan veroorsaak maar dat dit n goeie produk is is baie waar.

Ek het vandag met iemand gepraat en hulle gaan binnekort iets hier vervaardig wat net so goed soos Ogata se doed gaan werk, Ons sal maar moet sien.

Intussen het ons Vaalies geen ander keuse as om Gips te gebruik nie en amper vergeet ek Blou Bul horings nie dis nogal volop Ha Ha Ha. Kry baie dooie bulle so langs die pad.