KH, pH, and don't assume everything's ducky

[Telkwa]

Hey, there, Pondcrastinator -

Do you have a source? Our pool/spa shop doesn't have the good stuff. Where we work they useta get industrial strength H2SO4 for regenerating the cation beds, but several years ago they pulled out the deionizer trains and replaced with banks of RO. Dangit.

 

[HARO]

Sorry, Telkwa, but that's about the only thing I remember from Chemistry class:
Willy was a chemist's son, but Willy is no more
For what he thought was H2o, was H2So4!
John

 

[Waterbug]

pH = 8+, possibly closer to 9. The PondMaster test kit has one color for 8, then another for 9. Not particularly helpful, but the test looked closer to the unmistakably blue '9' than the teal '8'.

For color type color test kits I called that close enough. If you're really trying for 8.3 exactly and you think you're measuring what 8.5-8.7 I think you'd need to invest in a good pH meter. Color tests are ballpark tests. You could be at 8.3.

If you have to have 8.3 pH dead all the time it gets more complex. You'd have to start looking at smaller and smaller factors such as time of day, phosphates, tannins, borate, silicate. This is way beyond what most people do for their ponds even at the high end.

 

[Waterbug]

H2SO4

Now you're just messing with me right?

You just added all that baking soda to get your KH up and now you're thinking about adding H2SO4 to burn it all off and crash your pH? :banghead3:

 

[Telkwa]

Yeah, WB, where's that "I'm being goofy here" smiley icon when I need it?

I assumed Pondcrastinator was pulling my leg, so I continued in the same vein. Adding sulfuric acid to our pond? Not gonna happen.

Now that you mention it, I'm seriously thinking about getting an electronic pH tester. We were involved in a water quality monitoring project for our river basin a few years ago. I was in charge of maintaining the very expensive YSI DO and pH/conductivity/salinity meters. I calibrated the pH meter before we went out testing, kept the buffer solutions fresh, etc. So I know a little bit about them.

pH/salinity meters can be had for less than $100 nowadays. I'm sure it wouldn't be as precise/accurate as the YSI but it'd be way better than a reagent kit.

We don't need exactly pH 8.3 all the time, but my wife isn't happy with 9 - or what looks like it could be 9 - so we're working on raising GH this week to lower pH.

 

[DoDad]

My two ponds pH is .8.3 as is my tap water. MY kh and gh are 0 or might I say you can't read them with test kits.

 

[Waterbug]

Yeah, WB, where's that "I'm being goofy here" smiley icon when I need it?

I assumed Pondcrastinator was pulling my leg, so I continued in the same vein. Adding sulfuric acid to our pond? Not gonna happen.

I wasn't sure, so you got me. It does often go that way.

Now that you mention it, I'm seriously thinking about getting an electronic pH tester. We were involved in a water quality monitoring project for our river basin a few years ago. I was in charge of maintaining the very expensive YSI DO and pH/conductivity/salinity meters. I calibrated the pH meter before we went out testing, kept the buffer solutions fresh, etc. So I know a little bit about them.

pH/salinity meters can be had for less than $100 nowadays. I'm sure it wouldn't be as precise/accurate as the YSI but it'd be way better than a reagent kit.

We don't need exactly pH 8.3 all the time, but my wife isn't happy with 9 - or what looks like it could be 9 - so we're working on raising GH this week to lower pH.

A lot of people really enjoy the technical end of the hobby. I try to stay away but my next pond may have an aquaponics component and I would like a lower pH as some nutrients are bound up at higher pH. There are other buffering agents that allow for lower pH. I've never heard of any of this being used in water gardens or Koi ponds but have read about them in aquariums and aquaponics.

If you get a meter I'd sure be interested in your data.

 

[sissy]

chemicals are not in my book to be used in my pond and don't understand all the fuss about keeping every test perfect this is not a perfect world .I just care and love my fish and keep them healthy . glad I don't want perfect .poor willy no more

 

[addy1]

I picked up a nice ph meter, it does make it a lot more accurate to see a read out rather than a color. I use mine for more than just the pond.

 

[Telkwa]

I ordered one of these yesterday. Nothing is as simple as you'd like it to be. You need to keep fresh buffer solution around for regular calibrations, and you cannot let the electrode dry out. That'll ruin them.

addy, what meter did you get?

sissy, I don't like dumping chemicals in but a hardness of almost zero can't be good for the fish.

We have a tri-tail goldfish, some mutt we picked up years ago. He's moped around for at least 2 years now. Never feeds with the rest of the fish, acts more lethargic all the time, etc. I expected him to die a long time ago but he must nibble on the algae to survive. The last coupla days he's been hiding in the bottom of the pond. Patti saw him yesterday. His tail looks tattered and he's grayish colored. WTH

So the other fish seem to be getting better, but our worry child is now getting worse. I put a UV light in the loop yesterday that's been sitting around unused for a coupla years. Kill the free-swimming parasites anyway...

 

[sissy]

could there have been bacteria in your well or even like I read your hose ,I never knew how much bacteria and mold builds up in a hose .Well I got those free sticks from the well water testing place and they turn color for bacteria and other stuff in your well .There are five sticks and I used them on my hose and was surprised at how fast the test strip changed for bacteria in my hose and it was the top color on the scale .I had already bought 1 hose and then bought another of the new hoses out there and will use the others only in my garden or to wash the car now after seeing this .I tried the one for mold and it was high but not as high as the other one

 

[Telkwa]

Dunno, sissy, never tested our hoses for bacteria. The worry fish is still hunkered down in the bottom of the pond. We're not adding any chemicals for a while. Firing up the UV filter is the only change from the last coupla days. We'll run that for a week.

 

[addy1]

I ordered one of these yesterday. Nothing is as simple as you'd like it to be. You need to keep fresh buffer solution around for regular calibrations, and you cannot let the electrode dry out. That'll ruin them.

addy, what meter did you get?

milwaukee Martini ph meter, similar to what you picked up. Works great

 

[Telkwa]

I started a new post in Illness about the tri-tail. He's at the surface now, looking very weak. I don't understand how his tail could look so badly in just a few days??

Anyway, I know it's kind of ridiculous to ask for suggestions over the internet, but I don't think he's gonna make it thru the day so we haven't got much to lose by trying something..