[bardies]

Hi, I am new to this forum. Thanks for being here!
I friend of mine, Joel, recommended this site for my question - he said JR (or someone else) might be able to help.

We've just moved our soft water Washington State koi to Oklahoma. My water quality is fine, zero on all the toxins and about 170ppm for KH. My problem is my water supply. I've just spoken with the water company and he says that they are fairly stable at pH 8.5 to 9.2. Currently the water is measuring at 9.0. I've already managed to kill a nice midorigoi by making a 20 percent water change. 4 of the remaining fish seem to be ok with it, but the ochiba has lost all of its brown (not a big deal in itself) but also seems more sensitive. I dont know if it will eventually 'come around' or continue to do only 'so so' until he is weak enough to catch something.

From the internet, there are more failure stories than positive stories re chemically adjusting the pH.

There are just as many places that advise water changes or 'leave it alone'.

Most tell me to find and correct the source. Pretty hard to correct in this case.

And most sites tell me that pH that high is really detrimental to koi health.

No place seems to give me detailed procedures on how to manage the pH using an acid....there was one place that went into detail as HOW to do it - but failed to mention what sized pond one was adding a cup of acid to...or by how much the pH would be expected to change.

Anyway, sorry for rambling.

Any advice or ideas?

I am coming close to having some old pool water tested (we havent added any chemicals since moving in) and using it for supplemental water. It's pH is 7.5 - probably due to heavy rain dilution from about a month back.

Thanks! Kim