High dGH

On Fri, 4 Jun 2004 14:44:48 +0100, "ciel" wrote:

Hi all

Newbie here please advise.!!

Pond is about 9 months old with a 55Gal Biofilter + (UV installed this week)
Plus a newly setup Veg filter 300gals
Plus 2 waterfalls (in and out of veggie filter) for oxygenation
2000 Gals in total

Water Temp 60 degrees (Noon today)
Amonia= 0
NO3= 0
NO2= 0
PH= 8.5

How high does your pH tester read? If only to 8.5, perhaps it is much
higher? Very few plants can take the nutrients they need out of the water
at 8.5 and up. They actually become less effective removing nutrients after
8.0, but can manage, also filter bacteria don't do as well either.

Salt 1% or 0.1%? Big difference, every plant in your pond is gonna succumb
if it truly is 1%.

How old are all your test kits? ~ jan

dKH= 4.5
dGH= 21.....................????!!!
Salinity= 1%

15 fish all under 9" mostly Koi

Water Hyacinths are browning and curling up at edges as is Water
Lettuce.....!
Although yesterday having read various postings on web I added 1 tablespoon
Potash

This dGH reading is worrying me ..what is it telling me?
Anyone have a solution please

Many Thanks

Regards
Chris



(Do you know where your water quality is?)

Hi Chris:

See excellent this study of salt tolerance of pond plants:

http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/...m=salt%20plant

It shows death of water hyacinth and lettuce at 0.1%
I've always heard the rule of thumb of 0.1% for ponds with salt.
Now I don't believe it. I've been maintaining 0.05% but never get
more than a month or two from either water lettuce or hyacinths.
I also maintain about 30 ppm potassium (Potash) - it doesn't help.
I'm in the process of lowering my salt closer to 0.025% with hopes
that this will solve the problem. (Yes, I have test kits for salt
and potassium, as well as iron - which is lacking in my tap water.)

As far as the high GH goes, my tap water is _twice_ that so I add
only softened water which results in my dGH and dKH riding around 12,
good levels I believe, the best I can get without adding distilled
water! But... my father's pond - he lives next door so I know his tap
water is the same as mine - dGH = 76! Why? His pond has no drain so
he just keeps topping off. Evaporation keeps jacking up his GH.
But... his plants do fine! His salt is at 0.03%. So, are you just
adding water when the level gets low, or are you doing some percentage
water change at regular intervals?

Steve J. Noll | Ventura California
| Glass Block Pond http://www.kissingfrogs.tv



On Fri, 4 Jun 2004 14:44:48 +0100, "ciel"
wrote:

Hi all

Newbie here please advise.!!

Pond is about 9 months old with a 55Gal Biofilter + (UV installed this week)
Plus a newly setup Veg filter 300gals
Plus 2 waterfalls (in and out of veggie filter) for oxygenation
2000 Gals in total

Water Temp 60 degrees (Noon today)
Amonia= 0
NO3= 0
NO2= 0
PH= 8.5
dKH= 4.5
dGH= 21.....................????!!!
Salinity= 1%

15 fish all under 9" mostly Koi

Water Hyacinths are browning and curling up at edges as is Water
Lettuce.....!
Although yesterday having read various postings on web I added 1 tablespoon
Potash

This dGH reading is worrying me ..what is it telling me?
Anyone have a solution please

Many Thanks

Regards
Chris

Steve J. Noll | Ventura California
| Glass Block Pond http://www.kissingfrogs.tv

HI All


Many Thanks for all your input.
As I said I am a newbie to KOi.
I had been doing my reading during the winter and read a few articles on
what a good idea it was to dose the pond with salt in early spring to 1% as
a precaution and preventative for parasites etc...........
HOwever I did not read the rest of the advice to do water changes and bring
this down afterwards.

It has remained at 1% for a couple of months now so I guess not surprising
the plants are suffering..
Thankfully the fish seem none the worse !!

As the saying goes "A little knowledge is often worse than none at all" !!

I shall continue to read on.........!!
A 30% water change today............?

And if the worse comes to the worse I shall introduce Cod and Mackerel to my
little "sea" in the garden LOL


Once again thanks for all your advice

Regards
Chris




"Steve J. Noll" wrote in message
...
Hi Chris:

See excellent this study of salt tolerance of pond plants:


http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/...m=salt%20plant

Many Thanks

Regards
Chris

Steve J. Noll | Ventura California
| Glass Block Pond http://www.kissingfrogs.tv


On Fri, 4 Jun 2004 14:44:48 +0100, "ciel"
wrote:

Hi all

Newbie here please advise.!!

Pond is about 9 months old with a 55Gal Biofilter + (UV installed this
week)
Plus a newly setup Veg filter 300gals
Plus 2 waterfalls (in and out of veggie filter) for oxygenation
2000 Gals in total

Water Temp 60 degrees (Noon today)
Amonia= 0
NO3= 0
NO2= 0
PH= 8.5
dKH= 4.5
dGH= 21.....................????!!!
Salinity= 1%

15 fish all under 9" mostly Koi

Water Hyacinths are browning and curling up at edges as is Water
Lettuce.....!
Although yesterday having read various postings on web I added 1
tablespoon
Potash

This dGH reading is worrying me ..what is it telling me?
Anyone have a solution please

I am totally amazed your fish arent dying or dead with 1% salt that long. are you
sure it isnt 0.1%?
how much salt did you put into how much water?
In some places they got trouble doing their chemistry and getting the decimal points
in the right places... in some koi books too, so be very very careful about adding
chemicals of ANY kind including salt without checking carefully.
0.1% is good salt concentration long term (0.9lb per 100 gallons of water)
from 0.1% - 0.3% must be used short term and with caution as some fish respond poorly
or can be burned.
0.3% and up is only a bath, not in the pond concentration. Ingrid

"ciel" wrote:
I had been doing my reading during the winter and read a few articles on
what a good idea it was to dose the pond with salt in early spring to 1% as
a precaution and preventative for parasites etc...........
HOwever I did not read the rest of the advice to do water changes and bring
this down afterwards.

It has remained at 1% for a couple of months now so I guess not surprising
the plants are suffering..
Thankfully the fish seem none the worse !!

As the saying goes "A little knowledge is often worse than none at all" !!


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