Pond PH

[kurramiah]

Hi Guys
I am having a little trouble with the PH level of our outside pond.
The pond is about 1500ltrs. We keep an Eastern Long Neck Turtle and a few gold fish in it. Lately I have noticed that we are producing heaps of algae.
The pond is well planted with an excellent large filter and good water flow. We have just tested PH and to my shock it was 8.8. This is much higher than I expected.
What should the correct PH be?
What can I use to correct my PH?
Should I do a water change?
Regards
Trevor

 

[moose]

Just out of curiosity what water were you using? Town,Bore or naturally filled from rain?

I keep all my tanks at nuetral ph of 7. but in saying that Turtles can surprisingly handle a lot more than people give them credit for.

What sought of filtration do you use?

 

[jenjen]

Best thing to do would be take a sample of water to a reputable aquarium (not a pet shop that sells fish too) and have them test it. A heap of things could cause this problem, and most likely there will be other things not right with the water quality. I had the same PH problem in one of my fish tanks, and the aquarium found that my KH (Carbonate Hardness) was practically non existent. KH (at the right level) helps to stabalise the PH. Also nitrates or ammonia could be too high. A good aquarium can test all of that. As far as what the right levels should be, I have no idea! But I'm sure someone wil let you know soon.

 

[kurramiah]

Today we tested for:

PH:8.8
Nitrates: 00ppm
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia 0

I can test for Carbonate Hardness tomorrow, I suspected as such.
whats the best way to tackle 1000L at a time?

we have used either rain water & recently tap water.
we have a combination of Biological & mechanical Filtration with 1500L/PH Eheim.

How can I safely buffer the water & lower the PH?

Currently I have marine tanks, so I have a basic understanding,. however I'm not sure of the chemicals to use for fresh water to adjust levels?

Regards,
Trevor.

 

[moose]

Well im not sure about such a large Body of water, But in my own indoor Turtle setups i just use a Ph Conditioner. I cant see why this wouldnt Work , only on a larger scale.

Generally the only concern with water supplies is when using Bore Water, bores can cause problems dependant on your location and soil contents around the Bore opening. Salt usually being the biggest factor.

moose

 

[Renagade]

certain rocks can lift ph also. if you put some bog wood in there, it will naturally lower it. you an get a ph down liquid or powder from aquariunm shops, do partial water changes, the alge influx will increase with 1: direct sunlight and 2: hight nitrate -> amonia levels (waste).

 

[fishbot]

What is the pond made from? Concrete will continually raise the pH.

I have never kept turtles but it is my understanding that a higher pH is preferable. A turtle enthusiast I have spoken with fills his tanks and ponds with crushed coral to raise the pH to 8.0 or above at all times.

The best advice for buffering ponds/tanks is to do it slowly. Rapid change can be stressful to aquatic life.

 

[Midol]

PH conditioner is a serious waste of money. Ordinary bi-carb soda will LOWER your PH and RAISE your ALK (KH).

Crushed coral won't effect PH, Fishbot. Your friend is just lucky as crushed coral is not effective unless the PH is below 6.5 and flooded with CO2.

 

[kurramiah]

Hi
It’s a concrete pond.
After reading a bit, last night, on buffering fresh water I started using the same method I use for my saltwater tanks. Bicarb. It appears the recent rain may have caused the problem and my only concern is to raise the carbonate hardness. I will dose over the next few days and adjust accordingly.
Regards
Trevor

 

[fishbot]

PH conditioner is a serious waste of money. Ordinary bi-carb soda will LOWER your PH and RAISE your ALK (KH).

Crushed coral won't effect PH, Fishbot. Your friend is just lucky as crushed coral is not effective unless the PH is below 6.5 and flooded with CO2.

*Shrug* You seem to have a mixture of chemistry knowledge; are you being pedantic about terminology or do you truly believe that crushed coral does not influence pH? Because my experience from working in aquariums has shown me that a body of water containing crushed coral, shell grit, aragonite, etc will always maintain a high pH under standard conditions.

@ kurramiah - The concrete is the source of your high pH and buffering it will be very difficult. You could possibly seal the concrete with a rubber liner or fibre glass but as I said, I don't think that a high pH is a problem for turtles. For a more reliable source of turtle husbandry information can I suggest that you politely contact "expansa1" of this site.

Also, in regards to concrete ponds, can I suggest that you make sure that the turtles have an alternative smooth surface to exit from the pond; as crawling over concrete for long periods has been known to damage their shell.

 

[mrdestiny]

It appears the recent rain may have caused the problem

Rain water is acidic and should help the problem in this case.
Allan

 

[Chrisreptile]

Crushed coral won't effect PH, Fishbot. Your friend is just lucky as crushed coral is not effective unless the PH is below 6.5 and flooded with CO2.

as fishbot said, crushed coral will raise the pH of your water.

 

[amazonian]

PH conditioner is a serious waste of money. Ordinary bi-carb soda will LOWER your PH and RAISE your ALK (KH).

Crushed coral won't effect PH, Fishbot. Your friend is just lucky as crushed coral is not effective unless the PH is below 6.5 and flooded with CO2.

Bi-carb will raise the PH & alkalinity. As will crushed coral.
Those who have kept African Cichlids would know that a mix of bi-carb, non-iodised salt & epsom salts is a cheap alternative to the high priced Rift lake salts purchased from Pet stores.

Being a concrete pond it will always return to a high PH where it will stabilise. It will always be a nightmare to buffer IMO. What you may have to do is coat the concrete in a pool paint which gives a fibreglass type coating. Then if you want to lower the PH & acidicity you can add some bogwood or filter through peat moss.

 

[norris]

If the concrete is always going to be increasing the ph, than instead of constantly adjusting it and having a pond with an ever changing ph, it might be better to just leave in constantly high.

I guess it depends on how well a turtle will go with a ph of 8.8.

 

[norris]

To reduce algae make sure there is no direct sunlight. Plant some plants around it (ones that don't loose many leaves). Just make sure there is a little area where the turtle can go where there is sunlight.

 

[Midol]

*Shrug* You seem to have a mixture of chemistry knowledge; are you being pedantic about terminology or do you truly believe that crushed coral does not influence pH? Because my experience from working in aquariums has shown me that a body of water containing crushed coral, shell grit, aragonite, etc will always maintain a high pH under standard conditions.

@ kurramiah - The concrete is the source of your high pH and buffering it will be very difficult. You could possibly seal the concrete with a rubber liner or fibre glass but as I said, I don't think that a high pH is a problem for turtles. For a more reliable source of turtle husbandry information can I suggest that you politely contact "expansa1" of this site.

Also, in regards to concrete ponds, can I suggest that you make sure that the turtles have an alternative smooth surface to exit from the pond; as crawling over concrete for long periods has been known to damage their shell.

I keep marine tanks - I made a mistake in my post anyway, bicarb raises PH not lowers it.

Crushed Coral does hardly anything. After some research it appears it does do a bit to help stabliise PH but not too much.

Bi-carb will raise the PH & alkalinity. As will crushed coral.
Those who have kept African Cichlids would know that a mix of bi-carb, non-iodised salt & epsom salts is a cheap alternative to the high priced Rift lake salts purchased from Pet stores.

Being a concrete pond it will always return to a high PH where it will stabilise. It will always be a nightmare to buffer IMO. What you may have to do is coat the concrete in a pool paint which gives a fibreglass type coating. Then if you want to lower the PH & acidicity you can add some bogwood or filter through peat moss.

Yep, my mistake. I meant to say it will raise your ALK and your PH.