I Need Help Please

[MikeM]

A lot of folks would consider general hardness in the 80-110 range to be about perfect for koi. Oyster shell will maintain your KH just fine. Rinse well to remove fines, and add about a quart-sized amount of the grit at a time to be sure it does not have too much immediate impact.

[Birdman]

Quote: Originally Posted by MikeM A lot of folks would consider general hardness in the 80-110 range to be about perfect for koi. Oyster shell will maintain your KH just fine. Rinse well to remove fines, and add about a quart-sized amount of the grit at a time to be sure it does not have too much immediate impact.

Thanks Mike, and everyone else that has tried to help me here.

[Birdman]

I was feeling better this morning after the large water change, but not so much tonight. All day long as the sun got brighter the PH kept climbing. It started out at 8.3 at 6AM this morning and topped out at 9.4 at 4PM. Man I hope it comes down tonight. KH and GH both 125.

[dcny]

Any way that you can get some shade for the pond? Even floating a few sheets of styrofoam may help.

-Dan

[luke frisbee]

Birdman,
natural fluctuations whether seasonal or daily aren't going to hurt your koi...they can deal with them...but if you keep tossing crap at them they will suffer....
Think of it like this...
What's the perfect temp to keep pigeons? Well whateever it is i bet that every night your birds could go 30 degrees below that or in the daytime take 30 degrees above that and they would be strong healthy birds..as long as it naturally occured.
I've read on several boards and in an article or two that green algae can cause a very big shift in pH from the morning to the evening...I don't worry about it and neither do my koi...just keep doing methodical small but often water changes and the koi will kiss you for it.

[Birdman]

Quote: Originally Posted by luke frisbee Birdman, natural fluctuations whether seasonal or daily aren't going to hurt your koi...they can deal with them...but if you keep tossing crap at them they will suffer.... Think of it like this... What's the perfect temp to keep pigeons? Well whateever it is i bet that every night your birds could go 30 degrees below that or in the daytime take 30 degrees above that and they would be strong healthy birds..as long as it naturally occured. I've read on several boards and in an article or two that green algae can cause a very big shift in pH from the morning to the evening...I don't worry about it and neither do my koi...just keep doing methodical small but often water changes and the koi will kiss you for it.

I quite tossing crap yesterday. it's just water changes from now on. And a little to maintain hardness. I found out to much stuff just messes up things.

[Birdman]

Quote: Originally Posted by dcny Any way that you can get some shade for the pond? Even floating a few sheets of styrofoam may help. -Dan

I was talking about this with the wife tonight. She's pretty much against stuff floating in the water, or a big tent over the pond. She suggested getting a lot of potted lily pads to add shade.

[Birdman]

Yesterday, durning the day the PH went from 8.3 to 9.4 at 4PM. I was hoping it would come back down durning the night, but it didn't. Still 9.3 at 5AM. Whats going on?

[MikeM]

Have you tested your well water after it has set for 24 hours?

[PapaBear]

Quote: Originally Posted by MikeM Have you tested your well water after it has set for 24 hours?

That was about to be my next question. If the well water has high CO2 content or other organic acids they could be oxidizing/flashing off allowing ph to rise over a 1-2 day period. Getting enough Calcium Chloride in suspension to buffer to a constant 8.5+/- seems to be the order of the day, but the constant need for water changes would partially self-defeat it if the well water has issues