Kh

[rubyduby]

My test kit (API Pond Master Kit) does not have a test for kh....it just has ph, nitrite, ammonia and phosphates...should I be testing for kh also?

 

[WaterGardener]

Definitely yes. You have to buy the KH kit separately. I consider it to be one of the most important things to test for.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

It's pretty much the only thing I test for. We get a lot of rain here & it lowers my kh, so I have to keep an eye on it.

 

[rubyduby]

I ordered one last night...Thanks!

 

[GBBUDD]

And what do you do to counter balance if the rain water drops the kh.?

 

[WaterGardener]

I use baking soda. And I boost the KH before an expected rain to prevent any drop in the pH. It doesn't hurt anything to have a high KH, so there is no harm in running it up.

 

[GBBUDD]

Yeah the harm will be to my pocket book i'm sure for 12 to 18000 gallons that's a lot of baking soda that's needed. not that baking soda is needed but i can't see buffering pond water from rain when ever carp in the world deals with rain water in there ponds

 

[WaterGardener]

That depends on how much the KH needs to be raised.

Large bags of baking soda are $12 to $13 at Costco. I haven't bought one in several.months, so that may have changed a bit. But it's very inexpensive. I usually need one, rarely two bags a year for a 6000+ gallon pond.

It would be a lot more expensive to have to replace your fish that were lost in a pH crash. The proper level of KH will prevent that from happening. I think it's pretty cheap insurance.

Those wild carp you are talking about live in natural ponds that have a continuous flow of new water coming into them, from a spring or a stream. That new water is constantly replenishing the KH.

They don't live in artificial ponds that are recirculating the same water, constantly depleting the KH.

 

[Mgessert]

Do you think that limestone in the pond will help stabilize these parameters and serve as a buffer over time?

 

[WaterGardener]

It can, but I've never used it.

If it is actually rock, it doesn't dissolve very fast. Think weeks to months. In the powdered form it would of course dissolve much more quickly.

However, the more acid the water, the more quickly it will dissolve. Once the water becomes more acidic, the rate of dissolving would decrease.

Baking soda is easy for me and is what I have always used, so I'm familiar with it. And I'm older every day and don't welcome too much change!

But whatever works for you and your situation is good. Just keep an eye on the KH and if the limestone keeps that high enough for your pond, that's the main concern.

 

[GBBUDD]

I don't know unless your ph is way out of whack. I think you do more harm if adjusting is done too fast. Guess I'm lucky everything I bring a sample for testing everything is a ok

 

[Mgessert]

Oh definitely, don’t go adding lime to your pond. I actually meant using limestone rocks for long term control. My apologies.

 

[WaterGardener]

Sorry, but I should have said that as the water becomes more alkaline, ( not acidic) the limestone will dissolve more slowly.

 

[WaterGardener]

You don't want to adjust the pH quickly. That will stress the fish. But if the KH is kept at a good level, the pH will not move. That's the whole point of KH. It keeps the pH stable. If you have very low or no KH, the pH can crash, killing the beneficial bacterial and your fish.

My pH is always 8.3 and has been for the last 8 years. It doesn't move because I keep a lot of KH in the system. KH is lowered by rain and by the acid produced as a by product of the nitrogen cycle. If it is allowed to be depleted, the pH will drop to acidic levels, very, very quickly.

 

[rubyduby]

You don't want to adjust the pH quickly. That will stress the fish. But if the KH is kept at a good level, the pH will not move. That's the whole point of KH. It keeps the pH stable. If you have very low or no KH, the pH can crash, killing the beneficial bacterial and your fish.

My pH is always 8.3 and has been for the last 8 years. It doesn't move because I keep a lot of KH in the system. KH is lowered by rain and by the acid produced as a by product of the nitrogen cycle. If it is allowed to be depleted, the pH will drop to acidic levels, very, very quickly.

I'm confused... My PH is always around 7.5 but my KH is at 89.5...Won't adding baking soda bring my PH up?