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  1. #1
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Ruffers22's Avatar
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    Not What You'd Call A Crash?

    Hi Guys,

    Another pH question I'm afraid....

    Since start up and for the last 10-12 months my pH has always hovered between 8.0 >8.5 .

    However I've noticed a very slow decline in the readings over the last 3 months to a very acceptable 7.6 >7.8.

    Not What You'd Call A Crash?

    Should I be concerned or not?

    Is it just a case of a maturing pond and also now the covers are on for winter there's no rain water and no algae growth etc.

    I could be wrong, but I don't think the lowering is down to any build up of decaying organic matter that I can see?

    I clean the sieve every couple of days, drop the water on the inlet side drum filter to waste and purge my bottom drain every 2 weeks, change the floss in top my bakki every week and breeders secret goes in every night.


    EZ-pond 1200i Semi-Raised Pond, Spin-drifter BD, Oase Aquaskim, Oase Proficlear Compact Gravity, 1x Bermuda 10,000, 1x Evo-Aqua 20,000 Vari Wi-fi Pumps, 2x Evo-Aqua 70L Air Pumps , Evo-Aqua 55w UV, Aqua-Sieve Midi, 3 Tier Fabricated Stainless Shower, Hydro-Pro Z7 Heat Pump, 48" Big Blue De-chlorinator, Profi Auto Feeder & Seneye Pond Pack.
    "That'll do pig. That'll do"

  2. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Twhitenosugar's Avatar
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    I'd say not to be worried. If anything it's a good sign that the pond is maturing - which will eventually lead to nitrite dropping off too (if it's not done so yet).

    What's your kh like?

    As long as that's acceptable, then I wouldn't worry about the pH dropping, as the kh will protect you from a pH crash.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk
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  4. #3
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Ruffers22's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Twhitenosugar View Post
    I'd say not to be worried. If anything it's a good sign that the pond is maturing - which will eventually lead to nitrite dropping off too (if it's not done so yet).

    What's your kh like?

    As long as that's acceptable, then I wouldn't worry about the pH dropping, as the kh will protect you from a pH crash.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk

    KH of around 275 so should be fine?
    EZ-pond 1200i Semi-Raised Pond, Spin-drifter BD, Oase Aquaskim, Oase Proficlear Compact Gravity, 1x Bermuda 10,000, 1x Evo-Aqua 20,000 Vari Wi-fi Pumps, 2x Evo-Aqua 70L Air Pumps , Evo-Aqua 55w UV, Aqua-Sieve Midi, 3 Tier Fabricated Stainless Shower, Hydro-Pro Z7 Heat Pump, 48" Big Blue De-chlorinator, Profi Auto Feeder & Seneye Pond Pack.
    "That'll do pig. That'll do"

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  6. #4
    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Twhitenosugar's Avatar
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    I only know about degrees of hardness, so not sure where you're at?

    But if you say it's a good level, I think you'll be ok pH wise.

    Although I would say to keep an eye on it.

    I typically had about 5 kh and didn't test for a while and when I did retest it was down to 2 kh Not What You'd Call A Crash?. So it can drop a lot if you are not careful, especially in the summer (or if heated) when the bacteria are using it all up.

    How I see it (rightly or wrongly) is if you take care of the kh, the pH should look after itself (although in my case, I have barely any blanket weed, minimal organic matter breaking down in the pond, plus rock hard tap water).



    Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk
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  8. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion davethefish1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ruffers22 View Post
    KH of around 275 so should be fine?
    hoping thats 2.75 meq/l not ppm

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  10. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Ruffers22's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Twhitenosugar View Post
    I only know about degrees of hardness, so not sure where you're at?

    But if you say it's a good level, I think you'll be ok pH wise.

    Although I would say to keep an eye on it.

    I typically had about 5 kh and didn't test for a while and when I did retest it was down to 2 kh Not What You'd Call A Crash?. So it can drop a lot if you are not careful, especially in the summer (or if heated) when the bacteria are using it all up.

    How I see it (rightly or wrongly) is if you take care of the kh, the pH should look after itself (although in my case, I have barely any blanket weed, minimal organic matter breaking down in the pond, plus rock hard tap water).



    Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk
    I get a bit confused myself with the hardness and KH thing

    My water is hard though.

    According to United Utilities tap water checker on their website, my postcode water has a Hardness Clarke of 15.47.

    My test kit instructions say add 1 drop at a time until colour changes ( each drop = 1 dKH or 17.9 ppm KH .) It took 15 drops last time I tested so 268.5 ppm KH ?

    Screenshot (25).png
    EZ-pond 1200i Semi-Raised Pond, Spin-drifter BD, Oase Aquaskim, Oase Proficlear Compact Gravity, 1x Bermuda 10,000, 1x Evo-Aqua 20,000 Vari Wi-fi Pumps, 2x Evo-Aqua 70L Air Pumps , Evo-Aqua 55w UV, Aqua-Sieve Midi, 3 Tier Fabricated Stainless Shower, Hydro-Pro Z7 Heat Pump, 48" Big Blue De-chlorinator, Profi Auto Feeder & Seneye Pond Pack.
    "That'll do pig. That'll do"

  11. #7
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Doesn't 275 equate to around 15 dH ?

    Sounds a lot so maybe I'm wrong.

    My pH is pretty consistent all year round at 8.2 but gets a spike to 8.3 or 8.4 for a week or 2 at the back end of Spring, then sometimes another spike to 8.3 at the end of September, then it tails off to an average 8.1 in winter, with the lowest reading being recorded at 7.9 last December.

    This pattern has more or less repeated every year and I would guess algae growth in Spring causes that little spike, and possibly the lower reading in Winter being down to less water changes, or more accurately using the plentiful supply of rainwater for winter water changes.

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  13. #8
    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Twhitenosugar's Avatar
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    15 drops for KH!

    You sure that's not GH?

    Blimey. If that is kh, you have nothing to worry about regarding pH crashes... for now.

    I start to relax once mines back up to 5 lol

    Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk
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  15. #9
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Ruffers22's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Twhitenosugar View Post
    15 drops for KH!

    You sure that's not GH?

    Blimey. If that is kh, you have nothing to worry about regarding pH crashes... for now.

    I start to relax once mines back up to 5 lol

    Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk

    That's it I'm off home to check. I'm sure that's what I was testing

    Will report back.
    EZ-pond 1200i Semi-Raised Pond, Spin-drifter BD, Oase Aquaskim, Oase Proficlear Compact Gravity, 1x Bermuda 10,000, 1x Evo-Aqua 20,000 Vari Wi-fi Pumps, 2x Evo-Aqua 70L Air Pumps , Evo-Aqua 55w UV, Aqua-Sieve Midi, 3 Tier Fabricated Stainless Shower, Hydro-Pro Z7 Heat Pump, 48" Big Blue De-chlorinator, Profi Auto Feeder & Seneye Pond Pack.
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  17. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion smartin's Avatar
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    ,My ph is quite stable 7.0 - 7.5 the KH however is always dropping, i use SB quite regularly to get up to 4/5 but it reduces back to 3 over time and will get down to 2 but i do buffer with SB quite regular to keep it at acceptable levels....
    2200 gallons,infinity window,
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  19. #11
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Ruffers22's Avatar
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    Phew!!! Not What You'd Call A Crash?
    I was using the water harness drop test lol
    The KH test is reading 6 from the pond & 5 out of the tap

    Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk
    EZ-pond 1200i Semi-Raised Pond, Spin-drifter BD, Oase Aquaskim, Oase Proficlear Compact Gravity, 1x Bermuda 10,000, 1x Evo-Aqua 20,000 Vari Wi-fi Pumps, 2x Evo-Aqua 70L Air Pumps , Evo-Aqua 55w UV, Aqua-Sieve Midi, 3 Tier Fabricated Stainless Shower, Hydro-Pro Z7 Heat Pump, 48" Big Blue De-chlorinator, Profi Auto Feeder & Seneye Pond Pack.
    "That'll do pig. That'll do"

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  21. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Twhitenosugar's Avatar
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    Ah.

    Well, it sounds like you have a decent kh level to cover you for a pH crash for now.

    I may be missing something here, but I don't really get why pond test kits come with GH tests as standard. I'd rather it came with two kh test kits, or just reduce the price of them.

    Most people will generally know if they are in a hard or soft water area. And unless people are using RO systems (who could just buy a single GH test kit), then I can't see why you really need to test for it.



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    13,000L fibreglassed raised pond with window

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