Questions about using well water for a koi pond.

[sissy]

The house was new when all this was done so we had all the info and he told us pumps normally only last 10 to 15 years because of going on and off .I then found out the bigger the pressure tank is the less the well pump has to work less .I put in a bigger pressure tank and put in the new welltrol brand .Which is the best out there and also found out just like a water heater they should be flushed to get rid of dirt in them .I have learned a lot with the help of you tube and looking on the internet

 

[addy1]

We bought a new pressure tank, on honies list to do.

 

[MitchM]

Just remember that water has no dissolved oxygen, so spray it in when you add water.

..

I don't agree with that.
Well or tap water will have a buildup of CO2 though, because bacteria are active as they consume various nutrients.
Most bacteria require oxygen to survive.
PH will rise as tap or well water is aerated because the CO2 buildup is equalized with the above ground air.

 

[Lisak1]

Just remember that water has no dissolved oxygen

What now?

 

[addy1]

PH will rise as tap or well water is aerated because the CO2 buildup is equalized with the above ground air.

I need to test that. I know when I pull our tap water it is 5.4 or so, last time I tested it. I do spray the water via the garden hose into the pond. It sort of waterfalls into the pond. But with the volume of the pond the low ph water going in doesn't harm it.

 

[carolinaguy]

If you see wide swings in pH, that might signal that there is just not much inorganic material dissolved in the well water. So any slight addition of a basic or acid tendency salt will push the pH dramatically in one direction or the other. pH is shorthand for percentage hydrogen, so the well water is not buffered and will shift one way or the other wildly with the addition of a small amount of acidic or basic solute. A buffered solution tends to resist the swings. For us, baking soda is simple, easy and cheap to apply and never has failed us in 16 years, but then again we sundown test every Saturday.

 

[sissy]

well water can be effected by your filter .Depends on what it uses to clean the water .Look at alot of bottled water and you will see sodium listed on some

 

[MitchM]

If you see wide swings in pH, that might signal that there is just not much inorganic material dissolved in the well water. So any slight addition of a basic or acid tendency salt will push the pH dramatically in one direction or the other. pH is shorthand for percentage hydrogen, so the well water is not buffered and will shift one way or the other wildly with the addition of a small amount of acidic or basic solute. A buffered solution tends to resist the swings. For us, baking soda is simple, easy and cheap to apply and never has failed us in 16 years, but then again we sundown test every Saturday.

By "not much inorganic material dissolved in the well water", I'm thinking you mean carbonates and salts?
Basically, you can make sure your pond has a stable PH by measuring KH and GH and adjusting accordingly.
6 of one, half dozen of another.

 

[Bluerooster]

I'm on a flowing spring. Water is pumped from the spring to a cistern. From there it's distributed to the rest of the property via various pipes and spigots. PH measured at the spring is 6.8, measured at the hose running into the pond is same. Hardness is not measurable. There's a couple mudbugs living in the spring box, so there must be at least a little oxygen in the water. I get my water just as it exits the ground. What water I don't use flows on downstream to fill the creek which flows to lake Alatoona.