The Importance Of Water Parameters/Water Quality
Water quality is the most important factor in ensuring a healthy pond particularly if it is stocked with fish but quality is not the same as clarity. Just because water appears crystal clear does not guarantee that it is heathy for your koi. When it comes to water parameters and quality, you are not going to get any clues simply by looking. A bit of science is what you need and the good news is that with today’s readily available and user-friendly Water test kits, it has never been easier to do.
What to keep an eye on
There are seven main things to be keeping an eye on
Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, PH, Dissolved Oxygen ,Carbonate and water hardness
The first three on the list ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all nitrogen-containing chemicals and form part of a natural cycle, one sort of bacteria breaking down ammonia to form nitrites, which another kind makes into nitrates. Koi turn around five per cent of the food they eat into ammonia which they then excrete. All three of these nitrogenous chemicals are toxic and if they are allowed to build-up in your pond, they will cause potentially serious health problems for your fish. The ideal ammonia and nitrite levels need to be as close to zero as possible and nitrate no more than 50 parts per million (ppm). A good bio-filter can do this, making use of resident bacteria to make nitrite and then nitrate but although nitrate is the least toxic of these nitrogenous compounds, it is an excellent plant nutrient and excess can feed algal blooms.
Oxygen dissolves naturally in water, though the amount held varies with temperature the warmer the water the less it contains, which makes the possibility of low oxygen levels a potential summer issue typical when your koi need more rather than less. A good fountain, waterfall or cascade arrangement or a simple air pump with an air stone should help ensure that sufficient is added to meet their needs, but do remember that although plants contribute lots of oxygen to the water during daylight, they also use it at night time. If the pond is heavy planted or green with algae together would drain of fish and plants may deplete oxygen levels as dawn approaches especially if the previous day warmed up the pond water.
Different species of fish have their own particular needs when it comes to pH and water hardness sometimes the limits can be fairly narrow this is obviously important to be sure that the water in any pond suits the specific requirements of its inhabitants. Testing the carbonate levels is helpful because it gives an indication of the stability of the pH; carbonate and bicarbonate ions act as buffers, stopping the acid and alkali balance from altering too quickly fluctuating pH does no good at all to fish of any kind.
Ideal Water Parameters For Healthy And Happy Koi Should Feature:
- Zero/Negligible Levels of Ammonia and Nitrite
- A Reading of 20 to 60ppm for Nitrate
- A pH Level of between 7-8.5
- Minimum Oxygen rate of 6mg/Litre
- No Chlorine, Iron, Lead, Zinc Or Copper
Testing You Pond Water
Water quality problems are most likely in young or new ponds, so testing should be particularly rigorous after the first stocking of fish and then throughout the following three to four months, particularly if any further fish are to be added to your pond. However even well established ponds can suffer water quality problems during the spring, as things begin to wake up again but at different rates sometimes leading to a short term imbalance, so intensive testing early in the year can also be something to consider if your pond seems to be affected. Once things have settled down and your water parameters are stable, fortnightly or monthly checks may be all that is needed even for serious koi ponds and even less frequently for others. Some things like pH and dissolved oxygen fluctuate naturally over the course of the day, so always try to test at the same time of day so you can make useful comparisons between your results. writing your results down keeping a log or journal will be beneficial as You never know when you might want to refer back to them.
Only with a regular testing regime can problems be spotted before they escalate into a serious problem to the health of your pond and Koi enabling appropriate action to be taken. Often solving the problem is fairly simple if caught early enough, such as cutting back on feeding if any of the nitrogen readings are too high, adding some limestone is a good source of carbonate to buffer a fluctuating pH or turning up the air pump if the oxygen is too low.
It is often said that if you look after the water, the fish will look after themselves, which is a pretty fair comment when you consider that the majority of the health problems and deaths in fish ponds can be due to poor water quality. While it may not be so critical to get the chemistry just as spot-on for wildlife or plants, for instance as it is for koi the same principle applies; A healthy pond needs to have good water quality the science is as simple as that.
Different Testing Kits Available
Test kits come in three main forms: liquid, test strips, and digital. Test strips are the quickest and easiest to use but can be not as accurate as other test kits but liquid test kits are also very simple and are accurate Digital water testing units are becoming very popular with more tech-savvy pond keepers but can be quite expensive. At Cotswold koi we would recommend the Colombo Test Kits. However, as well as the type of test kit, you also need to choose what chemical parameters the kit measures. The most common things you’ll want to measure are: ammonia and nitrite, as these are toxic to fish. pH is sometimes an issue, and nitrate and phosphate may be worth checking if you’re experiencing algae problems.
What Features Should I Look For When Buying A Test Kit ?
You have two main options: purchase individual test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and pH, or purchase a master test kit that includes separate test kits for each water parameter. Colombo test lab comes in a complete kit and when you need to you can replace each different testing component individually rather then the whole kit. Test kits typically have a working life of up to a year, so do expect to replace them each season to ensure you get accurate results.