In this week’s video we’ll talk about pH in your pond and why it’s important to know what it is.
Here’s some additional tips regarding pH.
As noted in the video, pH will vary and fluctuate throughout the day. However if the swings get fairly wide and fall out of the tolerable range for fish (7.0 to 9.0) then a buffer might need to be added. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is great for this and basically grabs up the excessive hydrogen ions and it thereby limits it’s fluctuations.
Although we don’t recommend adjusting the pH just to make it perfect, there are times when the pH might be at really high or low levels and in that case it probably should be adjusted somewhat, particularly if you have fish. If you have very low pH, adding lime to a pond (of any size) can help bring the pH up.
For a pH that’s fairly high, you can add a commercially available pH reducer, which is slightly acidic and this can bring the pH downward. Be sure to follow label directions and reduce the pH slowly to reduce stress on fish.
And finally, it’s important to understand that pH, regardless of where it is, it often reflective of the main source of the water used to fill a pond, or a direct result of the pond environment itself. For example some ponds that have concrete liners, will naturally leach lime from the concrete. In a case like this, it would be best to seal the pond liner to limit this leaching rather than trying to constantly adjust the pH down.
In the end, it’s best to keep any adjustments to pH at a minimum in our opinion. Most fish can handle a fairly high pH (9.0) without too many problems. However wide pH swings, whether man made or natural, are best to avoid.
And finally, here’s some additional information on where we recommend picking up a digital pH meter for pennies on the dollar.
2 users commented in " pH And Your Pond "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackHow does Ph affect algae growth?
Thank you
Hey Rich,
Well contrary to what some folks may say, I’ve found algae growing in a wide variety of pH levels…you name the number, something has adapted to it.
With that said, and at least in the way we look at natural algae control, it helps beneficial bacteria work better if the pH is near neutral or 7.0. Something from 6.7 to 7.5 or so if fine. But as you get out to the extremes, with the low of 6.0 and a high of 9.0 or beyond, then bacteria activity really can slow down and they don’t work as efficiently, but there probably is an algae that can. So it may thrive where a bacteria cannot.
Hope this helps.
Mark
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