I Need Help Please

[junglegeorge12]

That was the first thing jnorth and I both recommended you to check. The ph on tap water always changes after sitting for a day, how much is yours changing is question # 1. If after a day it sits at 9.3, the problem is not in your pond, you will have to get an R/O or other high quality filter system. Oyster shells may or may not fix it if it is the source water, you can try it and see if an R/O system is too much for you.
In terms of it being your water supply- It is very possible since your friend is on the same water. A large amount of dust or ash in the air will affect things as well. There are a number of changes the well water or treatment system could have gone thru to cause this. An R/O system will solve them all. Just make sure to premix it with tap water and test the mix to make sure it is coming out right. (Yes that means letting it sit aerated for 24 hrs to check the ph)

I personally do not treat algae as a cause of ph problems but as a symptom.
I guess your wife prefers dead koi floating around over some pieces of styrofoam? Make sure she is brushed up on her fish recipes. lol

[Birdman]

Quote: Originally Posted by junglegeorge12 That was the first thing jnorth and I both recommended you to check. The ph on tap water always changes after sitting for a day, how much is yours changing is question # 1. If after a day it sits at 9.3, the problem is not in your pond, you will have to get an R/O or other high quality filter system. lol

I have let the well water set out before and the PH does not change very much. I have 3 fluid bed filters I have been playing with. Each one is about 70 gal. and each one has 5 cubic feet of media in it. All three are full of well water to pre soak the media and because I was bored and needed something to play with. All three have been full for over 3 weeks. 2 are just sitting, one has been airiated with a hekko 40 and a 9" difuser for about 3 weeks. Anyway a few minutes ago I checked the PH in them and the two still ones are reading 8.1, the one with the air is 8.3, not much difference. I also did a 500 gal water change in my pond at 7AM and just tested the water and my PH has come down from 9.3 to 9.1. I am confused to say the least.

[jnorth]

Quote: Originally Posted by Birdman I am confused to say the least.

I feel your pain. I went down this road last year and still haven't figured out exactly what went wrong.

[MikeM]

You may have variable pH in the well water...not likely, but things can happen based on your specific geology. The pH can rise based on photosynthetic activity of the algae, but if that is the case the pH should drop overnight as a result of algae releasing CO2. Typically a permanent rise in pH that is not a result of de-gassing of CO2, etc. is caused by exposure of the water to an alkaline substance/material, such as cement, stones or the like. With all these eliminated, I can only say: Re-check everything starting with a fresh bucket of source water, and then retest after a few hours and again after 24 hours.

....Is the well your personal well, or is it a community well? Could someone be doing some maintenace work that is causing disruption of well water from time to time?

[junglegeorge12]

Can we see some pics of your water clarity and color, your pond and your filtration system in it's entirety?

[Birdman]

Quote: Originally Posted by junglegeorge12 Can we see some pics of your water clarity and color, your pond and your filtration system in it's entirety?

George, take a look at
http://www.redroselofts.com/koi-pond.htm

The small end past the bridge is no longer there. This is where my new indoor pond is going.

[Birdman]

George, here's some pictures of the green water.

[junglegeorge12]

The two things I think of right off looking at your location and filtration, are fines and sand, dirt, and dust blowing into the pond, and the sunlight reflecting off of it producing algae blooms en masse. Have you checked your tds and can you see fine particles in the water or on the bottom if u dive down and look real close?

The other question would be, how do you clean out the accumulated junk at the bottom of your "Biofalls", and do you aerate it to prevent settling of solids there and keep the beneficial bacteria growing well instead of anaerobic?

Looks to me like your biofalls needs some serious air and some oyster shells

Living here in PR, I dont even know where to get those here but wouldn't mind some to play with, if u find a good source let me know. A friend of mine here from VA(my home state) and I have been salivating over oysters and steamed bay crabs with old bay seasoning on them every time we talk.....maybe one day we wil open our own surf/seafood joint here for families and surfers to chill out in and eat crabs......he makes these cool tables out of old wooden surfboards....

[junglegeorge12]

Oh, and what are your nitrates and nitrites reading?

[Birdman]

Quote: Originally Posted by junglegeorge12 The two things I think of right off looking at your location and filtration, are fines and sand, dirt, and dust blowing into the pond, and the sunlight reflecting off of it producing algae blooms en masse. Have you checked your tds and can you see fine particles in the water or on the bottom if u dive down and look real close? The other question would be, how do you clean out the accumulated junk at the bottom of your "Biofalls", and do you aerate it to prevent settling of solids there and keep the beneficial bacteria growing well instead of anaerobic?

Yes, my yard is a work in progress, no lawn yet, lots of dirt, dust, and sun living in a desert. No ammonia or nitrites. My biofalls is fed with a 3" line. I backflush it once a week. This is about a 7 foot drop so the whoosh of water is pretty good.

P.S. eating is my favorite hobby