Pond Water Quality | Good News! This is not Just Another Pond pH Article!
Pond pH is a subject area that is frequently mentioned in pond keeping circles. Like Grammarian's i.e. those that study English Grammar, some people go one step too far and make the subject area all encompassing and mystical sounding.
In simple terms, the pH of any substance is a reading between 0 - 14; 0 being extremely acidic and 14 being extremely alkaline. A reading of 7 is what is known as a neutral pH.
Examples: Sulphuric acid has a very low pH and caustic soda has a high very high pH. A lower pH, indicates a stronger acid; the higher the pH, the stronger the alkali.
So from the above scale it can be deduced that anything with a pH of less than 7 is classed as acidic. pH is a logarithmic scale i.e. the difference between a pH of 6 and a pH of 7 is actually a difference of 10 points; not 1.
Common vinegar known chemically as acetic acid, whilst acidic is nowhere near as acidic or dangerous as Sulphuric acid. In fact acetic acid is commonly used in small doses on the famous English dish - fish and chips.
At the other end of the pH scale is caustic soda (pH of 14); a strong bases or alkali.
A weaker alkali is common baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (taken for upset stomachs).
When a strong alkaline solution is added to a strong acidic solution there is a tremendous amount of heat generated, along with vigorous activity, as a chemical reaction takes place.
So what has this got to do with my pond?
From what you have read so far that would be a valid point. Further reading will make this clearer.
We tend to think of water as being neutral i.e. with a pH of 7; this is seldom the case. Pond water is in 99% of cases either acidic or alkaline.
Let's consider the following scenario, based on two trout streams; one based in the highlands of Scotland, and the other based in the warmer south of England.
The Scottish stream is fed from rain water that falls on the surrounding hills and mountains. The abundance of water quickly forms a stream that might easily turn into a raging torrent. This stream would characteristically have a small fish population and limited aquatic growth.
The fish population would be under developed in this poorly fertilized stream. In general the rivers found in Scotland tend to be acidic to neutral; but more acidic.
The stream in the south of England however has a totally different water pH reading. Unlike its Scottish cousin this stream has been formed by rainwater that has fallen and sunk below ground. On its journey underground it has passed through porous limestone that is alkaline.
Eventually leaving these underground chambers, the water flows to form streams and ultimately rivers. This alkaline water is ideal for the growth and development of aquatic plants and aquatic life forms.
For those pond keepers that have an abundance of aquatic plants and aquatic life, I'm willing to wager that the pH of your pond is alkaline, and not acidic.
Do Not worry too much about pond water pH
Novice pond keepers tend to pay too much attention to the pH reading obtained from their pond; often resulting in bad decisions and hasty remedies. This is often due to a fundamental lack of understanding, combined with some bad advice; freely available on the internet in forums etc.
If you were to measure the pond pH, early in the morning there would be a different pH level when compared with a reading taken in the late afternoon. This fluctuation is further compounded by garden fish ponds, containing aquatic plants.
Truly accurate pH readings are extremely difficult to gauge, in a pond environment. Hell, they are difficult to measure accurately in a laboratory that uses state of the art instrumentation.
This doesn't mean that the pond test kits that are available online or through your local garden centre are useless; quite the opposite in fact. The secret to obtaining accurate readings is to do the following:
- Take a reading at the same time every day for an extended period of time; say 2 weeks.
- Keep a written record of the readings and plot them on a graph.
At the end of the period you will be in a better position to know what your pond pH is because you will be able to see a trend. This will prevent you from hastily trying to either reduce or increase your pond pH.
When pH is talked about as being dangerous at a higher level this is not simply because the pond water has a high pH. It is mainly due to the fact that at a pH of 9.5 or higher, ammonia, the by product of fish bodily functions and decaying vegetation becomes extremely toxic.
Fish ponds containing large amounts of algae are capable of reaching a pH of 9.5 or higher. Don't panic because the majority of fish ponds or Koi ponds will not record pH levels as high as this, thankfully.
That is why it is important to remove algae using a UV Light (UVC Clarifier) of some description. A pond algaecide is an alternative, but the addition of chemicals to pond water is not something I recommend. This is mainly because there is the chance of over dosing, and also because it alters the pond water chemistry, including the pH.
Maintaining and keeping a pond is a fantastic hobby that is relatively straight forward and rewarding, most of the time. Let this continue and see the act of testing your pond pH regularly as part of the hobby. If nothing else it will let you see what happens throughout the changing seasons, or when you add new pond fish or pond plants.
This is best achieved using a suitable pond water test kit, and by keeping and monitoring the results.
One final thing! Don't stress too much about pH readings... almost certainly you won't encounter severe problems unless you have added stuff that you shouldn't.
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Happy Pond Keeping
Sean