What is a good pH for Goldfish???

I was wondering what a good pH for Goldfish are? I just purchased a pond
testing kit and got a pH of about 7.8. Is this good?

Mike

The pH can be anywhere from about 7 to 9 with a little tolerance either
side. What is more important is the stability of the pH. If the pH is
jumping up and down, morning and evening, then the fish are being stressed
and stress causes disease. I don't run the pH, because I feel a test called
KH (carbonate hardness) is more important. If the KH is up, the pH will be
stable. I don't like to see a pond have less than 4 dH or 70 ppm, and the
higher the better for the filter bacteria, up to at least 300 ppm.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Mike" wrote in message
...
I was wondering what a good pH for Goldfish are? I just purchased a pond
testing kit and got a pH of about 7.8. Is this good?

Mike

I know Lee will want to answer this thread as soon as
she gets home from her week-end jaunt. She is a staunch
believer in KH readings. She uses baking soda faithfully
as do I. Rod Farlee- our absent chemist - told me to
use 1 cup of baking soda for 1,000 gallons of pond water
for 3 or 4 days. (I have a 3,000 gallon pond) I am like Lee.
I like to keep a healthy
reading on for KH. Your pH will stabilize at 8.4. This
is what we look for ... stability just as Rich says.

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"RichToyBox" wrote in message
et...
The pH can be anywhere from about 7 to 9 with a little tolerance either
side. What is more important is the stability of the pH. If the pH is
jumping up and down, morning and evening, then the fish are being stressed
and stress causes disease. I don't run the pH, because I feel a test
called
KH (carbonate hardness) is more important. If the KH is up, the pH will
be
stable. I don't like to see a pond have less than 4 dH or 70 ppm, and the
higher the better for the filter bacteria, up to at least 300 ppm.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Mike" wrote in message
...
I was wondering what a good pH for Goldfish are? I just purchased a
pond
testing kit and got a pH of about 7.8. Is this good?

Mike

Ok I did a KH test on my pond and it is at about 110ppm ( I guess its time
to add a bit of baking soda). At the same time I decided to do a GH test
and got a result of about 160ppm. Is this reading ok?

Mike


"Nedra" wrote in message
arthlink.net...
I know Lee will want to answer this thread as soon as
she gets home from her week-end jaunt. She is a staunch
believer in KH readings. She uses baking soda faithfully
as do I. Rod Farlee- our absent chemist - told me to
use 1 cup of baking soda for 1,000 gallons of pond water
for 3 or 4 days. (I have a 3,000 gallon pond) I am like Lee.
I like to keep a healthy
reading on for KH. Your pH will stabilize at 8.4. This
is what we look for ... stability just as Rich says.

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"RichToyBox" wrote in message
et...
The pH can be anywhere from about 7 to 9 with a little tolerance either
side. What is more important is the stability of the pH. If the pH is
jumping up and down, morning and evening, then the fish are being
stressed
and stress causes disease. I don't run the pH, because I feel a test
called
KH (carbonate hardness) is more important. If the KH is up, the pH will
be
stable. I don't like to see a pond have less than 4 dH or 70 ppm, and
the
higher the better for the filter bacteria, up to at least 300 ppm.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Mike" wrote in message
...
I was wondering what a good pH for Goldfish are? I just purchased a
pond
testing kit and got a pH of about 7.8. Is this good?

Mike

If your GH is naturally that high, you're fine. If you've added something to
get it that high, then back off just a teensy bit. The 125-150 range is
"ideal", but 160 certainly isn't going to hurt. As RTB suggested, raise your
KH a bit with baking soda. It will raise your pH a bit to 8.4, but it will
stabilize the buffering capability against rain and the infamous AM/PM
fluctuations. I have a heavily populated koi pond and run a bead filter; I
also live in an area where the rain's pH can be as low as 4.7, which can
DECIMATE the KH of any pond. My recent rainfall record was nearly 4 inches
in 22 minutes. It dropped my KH by 80 ppm, but the pH stayed solid and the
fish were happy. There has been some discussion that high KH is responsible
for losing the reds in koi, but a correspondingly high GH will usually
enhance the colors. You've already got the high GH (lucky you!), so go for
it!

Lee

"Mike" wrote in message
...
Ok I did a KH test on my pond and it is at about 110ppm ( I guess its time
to add a bit of baking soda). At the same time I decided to do a GH test
and got a result of about 160ppm. Is this reading ok?

Mike


"Nedra" wrote in message
arthlink.net...
I know Lee will want to answer this thread as soon as
she gets home from her week-end jaunt. She is a staunch
believer in KH readings. She uses baking soda faithfully
as do I. Rod Farlee- our absent chemist - told me to
use 1 cup of baking soda for 1,000 gallons of pond water
for 3 or 4 days. (I have a 3,000 gallon pond) I am like Lee.
I like to keep a healthy
reading on for KH. Your pH will stabilize at 8.4. This
is what we look for ... stability just as Rich says.

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"RichToyBox" wrote in message
et...
The pH can be anywhere from about 7 to 9 with a little tolerance
either
side. What is more important is the stability of the pH. If the pH
is
jumping up and down, morning and evening, then the fish are being
stressed
and stress causes disease. I don't run the pH, because I feel a test
called
KH (carbonate hardness) is more important. If the KH is up, the pH
will
be
stable. I don't like to see a pond have less than 4 dH or 70 ppm, and
the
higher the better for the filter bacteria, up to at least 300 ppm.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Mike" wrote in message
...
I was wondering what a good pH for Goldfish are? I just purchased a
pond
testing kit and got a pH of about 7.8. Is this good?

Mike