Welcome to Koi Forum. Is this your first visit? Register
Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Gosai koicarpus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    317
    Thanks / Likes
    266

    Ideal KH and PH level

    This year I'd like to keep my parameters stable rather than chuck some bicarb in when KH gets low.
    When feeding heavy I would struggle to keep KH above 2, but probably only because I wasn't testing and adding bicarb often enough.
    Not sure how I'm going to do it but I was thinking of trying to keep KH at around 3-4 and PH at 7.5ish
    Just not sure how I can keep the bicarb going in frequently.
    P.S I'm on a meter

    Dave



  2. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Simon Fish's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Nottingham
    Posts
    357
    Thanks / Likes
    485
    What are the incoming levels on the water supply?
    How often how much change of water?

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by koicarpus View Post
    This year I'd like to keep my parameters stable rather than chuck some bicarb in when KH gets low.
    When feeding heavy I would struggle to keep KH above 2, but probably only because I wasn't testing and adding bicarb often enough.
    Not sure how I'm going to do it but I was thinking of trying to keep KH at around 3-4 and PH at 7.5ish
    Just not sure how I can keep the bicarb going in frequently.
    P.S I'm on a meter

    Dave

    Depending on your budget it may be worth looking at a PH controller you will also need a PH probe and dosing pump.

    Eutech Alpha PH560 Controller

  4. Thanks Feline Thanked / Liked this Post
  5. #4
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Gosai koicarpus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    317
    Thanks / Likes
    266
    Tap water has a KH of 3 and PH of 7.2
    Change about 500-1000g a week
    When feeding heavy in the summer that KH gets used up very quickly

    Quote Originally Posted by Simon Fish View Post
    What are the incoming levels on the water supply?
    How often how much change of water?

  6. #5
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Gosai koicarpus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    317
    Thanks / Likes
    266
    I have looked into these before Keith, maybe in the future, but with the probe and dosing pump it's a bit too much.

    Quote Originally Posted by keithatrax View Post
    Depending on your budget it may be worth looking at a PH controller you will also need a PH probe and dosing pump.

    Eutech Alpha PH560 Controller

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by koicarpus View Post
    I have looked into these before Keith, maybe in the future, but with the probe and dosing pump it's a bit too much.
    You could use a cheap Chinese dosing pump plugged into a timer set to dose at regular intervals just before nightfall.
    I use to do this before changing over to the controller.

  8. Thanks koicarpus, lee63, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  9. #7
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Kyusai 1meterchag's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    992
    Thanks / Likes
    278
    Stability is the key, where ever you are at it needs to be stable.

    i would spend the budget on water changes and good carbon pre filters

    Alex

  10. #8
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Somerset
    Posts
    6,653
    Thanks / Likes
    5635
    If your mains water has some KH in it then you can wire a pH controller up to a solenoid valve to open up a mains top up instead of using a dosing pump. But the pH probe and controller are still spendy items unfortunately.

    Before getting the full setup I used to check my Seneye readings for pH in the morning on the laptop and then when I was making a cup of tea for myself I would mix up a mug of bicarb for the pond at the same time depending on what the pH was doing. Adding a little bit daily gives you more stability than waiting for a significant pH drop each time before adding. You do soon get used to roughly how much bicarb the pond needs at various temps and feed levels so you don't have to think about it too much. In summer my pond was using up 2 heaped tablespoons of bicarb per day.

  11. Thanks Manky Sanke, Gray Thanked / Liked this Post
  12. #9
    I agree; little and often is the ideal way to top up the KH.

  13. Thanks Gray, koicarpus Thanked / Liked this Post
 

 

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:07 PM. Online Koi Mag Forum
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3
Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

vBulletin Improved By vBFoster® (Lite Version), © UltimateScheme, Ltd.