Somewhat neutral ponds for native fish? (Australia) ... Seachem buffer products

[GreenAsJade]

I'm interested in achieving somewhat neutral (not necessarily 7 exactly) because I read that Australian native small fish like a 7-8 environment.

I read in an old thread here that buffering to 7.0 "is too expensive to be practical, even if possible".

• Seachem's Acid Buffer and Alkaline buffer say on their labels that they can be used together to buffer to selected phs all the way down to 7. Is this false advertising?
  
  
• Do I need to worry about being in the mid-8s, as all threads here seem to advise and aim for?
  
  My pond currently rarely goes below 8 ... the main problem at the moment is stopping it peaking during the day (I'm waiting for CaCl to arrive... are there any other solutions?)

 

[j.w]

@GreenAsJade
No clue on the question you have, sorry.

 

[WaterGardener]

7 to 8 is a pretty wide range.

Most pond fish can adapt to a range of pH values. A particular number isn't necessarily required.

Anytime you are aiming for a specific number like 7 you are going to be constantly adjusting things and risking a very unstable pH that is frequently moving, stressing the fish.

What is the pH of your water?

You don't need anything more than plain old baking soda to raise pH. It works very well for that.

 

[GBBUDD]

I prefer trying to add chicken grit/ crushed oyster shells to buffer the ph and keep it up there.

 

[GreenAsJade]

7 to 8 is a pretty wide range.

Most pond fish can adapt to a range of pH values.

Thanks! This is what we are concluding too: the native fish in there (pygmy perch, murray rainbowfish) appear to be thriving, so perhaps the advice that "they need a neutral ph" is overstating it.

What is the pH of your water?

It's 8.1 in the morning, and on sunny days peaks up to 9 in the afternoon

5000l, the kH is 6, tap water ph 7.7.

I prefer trying to add chicken grit/ crushed oyster shells to buffer the ph and keep it up there.

Does this help with the "it peaks too high" part of the problem"?

Thanks!

Pond Project

Explore this photo album by Martin & Anna on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[WaterGardener]

That works, too. No need to buy some overpriced product from the store that is likely to be the same as one of those two things.

 

[GBBUDD]

the bigger question is where is your kh and gh levels. 7.0 is acidic water that will literally burn fish slowly i'm hardly an expert with Africans or down under species but i thought they preferred some salt in the waters

 

[GBBUDD]

Thanks! This is what we are concluding too: the native fish in there (pygmy perch, murray rainbowfish) appear to be thriving, so perhaps the advice that "they need a neutral ph" is overstating it.



It's 8.1 in the morning, and on sunny days peaks up to 9 in the afternoon

5000l, the kH is 6, tap water ph 7.7.



Does this help with the "it peaks too high" part of the problem"?

Thanks!

Pond Project

Explore this photo album by Martin & Anna on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

no only to bring it up

 

[GreenAsJade]

The bigger question is where is your kh and gh levels

The pond kh is 6 degrees (110ppm). Sounds like I need to get a gh kit