Do you test your water?

[migsly]

I didn't mean to imply that anybody did. It's just that I've done 100% water change. It was at the end of the summer and the water was murky with algae everywhere and dead plant leaves. Now that it's cooler, the water stays clear.

 

[rdk]

I did two 90% water changes this spring and the ammonia level got twice as bad real quick.

 

[migsly]

All I know is my fish are happy with it.

 

[oldmarine]

I did a 1/3 water change in September. Only because I noticed a slight tint to the water when I removed the boi-filter. I'm sure that I may have stirred up some sediment that returned to the pond. Prior to that, I believe I did a 1/3 water change sometime this last May.

Right now my pond is crystal clear.

 

[koikeepr]

100% water changes are truly over the top. If you do a weekly or every other week change of 20% or so, you never get that murkiness.

Better to do smaller changes more often, than one massive change at one shot. Leaves should be removed as they fall in so that never becomes an issue.

 

[migsly]

Thanks.

Actually, I made a boo boo when I said 100% water change. It's more like 99%. The fish are still in the pond when I change it.

 

[DrDave]

Why would you do that???

 

[migsly]

The fish can still swim around I mean. They are goldfish. It's not stressful. They look like they find it interesting at most.

 

[DoDad]

I do use a TDS meter which comes in handy and is esy to use.

 

[oldmarine]

Hi DoDad,

Sorry I had to ask, but what's a TDS meter?

 

[Mrshkoiluver]

Hi DoDad,

Sorry I had to ask, but what's a TDS meter?

Used to measure total dissolved solids in water. We have an R/O system and it helps determine if the membrane should be replaced.

 

[Mrshkoiluver]

I tested everyday when first setting my pond up. Now I just do it in the spring when it gets really hot.

 

[oldmarine]

Okay, now you really lost me. What is a R/O system, and what's a membrane that would need to be replaced? I have never heard anyone ever refer to a TDS meter, R/O system, or any kind of membrane in referance to maintaining healthy pond water or fish. I'm sure I'm not the only one confused here.

 

[nc0gnet0]

reverse osmosis filter.....it uses a rubber membrane as a filter substrate, not usually seen in koi ponds as it will produce water that is nearly identical to distilled water.

 

[DoDad]

Total Dissolved Solids?
1. "Dissolved solids" refer to any minerals, salts, metals, cations or anions dissolved in water. This includes anything present in water other than the pure water (H20) molecule and suspended solids. (Suspended solids are any particles/substances that are neither dissolved nor settled in the water, such as wood pulp.)

2. In general, the total dissolved solids concentration is the sum of the cations (positively charged) and anions (negatively charged) ions in the water.

3. Parts per Million (ppm) is the weight-to-weight ratio of any ion to water.

4. TDS is based on the electrical conductivity (EC) of water. Pure H20 has virtually zero conductivity. Conductivity is usually about 100 times the total cations or anions expressed as equivalents. TDS is calculated by converting the EC by a factor of 0.5 to 1.0 times the EC, depending upon the levels. Typically, the higher the level of EC, the higher the conversion factor to determine the TDS

Again, the same conductivity meter that measures TDS also measures salinity. It is the exact same measurement but expressed in either % or ppt (parts per thousand).

At 1% salt content, the TDS meter should read 10,000 ppm.
Say you put 0.3% salt in the pond to help with whatever. Well, that would be a TDS reading of 3000 ppm. It won't kill the fish!
This is a good way to measure salinity of your pond or q-tank.