Question about pH

[ashirley]

When I tested my pond water on Friday, the ammonia was .25 and the pH was 8.8. I purchased some zeolite and placed it in the skimmer and biofilter. Just tested again and the ammonia is a little less but pH has dropped to 7.6. Did the zeolite cause the drop? We had huge rains last weekend 4+ inches. Fish are all active and do not seem stressed other than begging for food which I was holding off on due to ammonia.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Not enough information. Can you post a photo of your pond? Does it have an overflow outlet? Was the pH 8.8 before the rain or after? How much zeolite was used? What is the size (capacity) of your pond?

 

[ashirley]

The pond is about 4500 gallons. It does have an overflow pipe in the skimmer to keep it from washing over the liner in heavy rain. It was 8.8 a week after the rain. No idea what it was before. I used maybe 3 8oz cups of zeolite in panty hose in the filter. I also have carbon in the filters. My test kit is at least 3 years old do I am going to order a new one.

 

[Smaug]

Get rid of the carbon,it is truly doing nothing for a pond that size and if you have enough to actually affect water quality then eventually it will just bleed out phosphates.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

The pond is about 4500 gallons. It does have an overflow pipe in the skimmer to keep it from washing over the liner in heavy rain. It was 8.8 a week after the rain. No idea what it was before. I used maybe 3 8oz cups of zeolite in panty hose in the filter. I also have carbon in the filters. My test kit is at least 3 years old do I am going to order a new one.

OK. We can rule out the rainfall as affecting a pH drop from 8.8 to 7.6.
There are many different zeolites that have been identified. It is purported that some may impart a buffering effect to pH in water. However, in your case 24 oz.of zeolite is not going to cause any negligible effect in a 4500 gallon pond, certainly not a major drop in pH.
Either the test kit is too old or something else is going on in your pond.

 

[barryian]

@Meyer Jordan ... Feel like pulling my hair out but it's shaved. Why didn't you ask what her kH was? That amount of zeolite in 4500 gallons of water didn't affect the pH. So, what is the kH?

 

[sissy]

ph always goes up or down at different times during the day so it is best to test at the same time but even 7.6 is acceptable range .You can also add quilt batting to your filter to lower ammonia .Rain can raise and lower ph because rain ph can be different .I had lots of rain last week and my ph went up to 9

 

[ashirley]

The test that I have doesn't measure kh. I am going to order a new test kit to rule that out. The fish appear fine. I lost one last week that I had freed from the skimmer a few days before and panicked. Do the new tests test for kh or do I have to get a separate one?

 

[ashirley]

Thanks. I keep quilt batting for my ongoing battle with green water but had not replaced it after cleaning the bags.

 

[ashirley]

OK. We can rule out the rainfall as affecting a pH drop from 8.8 to 7.6.
There are many different zeolites that have been identified. It is purported that some may impart a buffering effect to pH in water. However, in your case 24 oz.of zeolite is not going to cause any negligible effect in a 4500 gallon pond, certainly not a major drop in pH.
Either the test kit is too old or something else is going on in your pond.

How much zeolite should I use?

 

[sissy]

liquid barley will work on some of the green water .I use the peat and barley ,but peat raises the ph also .I have a hard time keeping the ph in one of my stock tanks so it works great there .What kind of fish do you have and how many ,how deep is the pond and big is it also .That will help .I am now waiting for my pond salt as salinity test was really low .I add koi clay also to my pond it helps clarify the water .I turn the pumps off and add it and wait a half hour and turn them back on .I have the aerator going because it helps mix the clay in the water .Since all the rain I have added 2 cups to 5000 gallons

 

[Smaug]

Sissy your experiance with rain and peat raising oh go against everything I've ever experienced. I keep a blackwater planted tank and use rain water and peat in the filter and substrate to LOWER ph. Rainwater has a ph of less then 6 usually and peat is a softening agent.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

@Meyer Jordan ... Feel like pulling my hair out but it's shaved. Why didn't you ask what her kH was? That amount of zeolite in 4500 gallons of water didn't affect the pH. So, what is the kH?

Calm down, barryian! If indeed the pH in Annie's pond dropped from 8.8 to 7.6 in less than a week, it is a foregone conclusion that the KH was not sufficient to buffer against the unknown factor that promoted this 1.2 point drop. So no real need to ask what the KH is (was). The question is what factor precipitated this drop, if indeed there was one. I am suspicious of the pH test results especially the one that gave a pH of 8,8 after a 4+ inch rain event. Until other information is revealed, I lean to faulty test results

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Sissy your experiance with rain and peat raising oh go against everything I've ever experienced. I keep a blackwater planted tank and use rain water and peat in the filter and substrate to LOWER ph. Rainwater has a ph of less then 6 usually and peat is a softening agent.

Rain water is acid and peat is also acid (humic). Acids do not raise pH. Also Quilt batting has no effect on Ammonia. It may serve as a sub-strate for colonization by nitrifying bacteria but would quickly clog due to his colonization providing very little additional nitrification.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

How much zeolite should I use?

If your Ammonia reading is 0.25, you really do not have a problem at your present pH (if this is a correct reading. Many ponds will present a TAN level of up to 0.30. This is not unusual and will only become a problem if both temperature and pH spike.