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Hig PH/Water quality

25 10:02:09

Question
Thank you for offering your expertise.  I have a 17ft. by 24ft. pond that contains fish, frogs, and plants.  It is three yrs. old but I put in a new pump and waterfall earlier this summer and I have had only a week or so of clear water. It is now green. I use Microblift and do not feed the fish, they are all healthy but the water is very green.  I have two biofalls and a skimmer, with a 3200gpm and a 6600gpm pump.  The pond is in part sun, part shade and is 40% covered by plants, with some anacharis on the bottom.  I have high PH, alkaline and hardiness readings today, and all the sources I usually go to are mixed on whether to mess with PH and how to go about it if you do.  I hate the green but I will be patient if need be, but I want to be sure my fish are not in any danger.  What is your experience with PH and whether or not to alter it?  Thank you-

Answer
The PH should be about 7.3 to 7.5. I have been very fortunate to have not required adjusting it. What I have found is a very good stabilizer is pond peat, it come in a nylon bag and can be put in a filter or just sink the bag. I have never used but understand some barley straw works well in reducing algaie. If the PH is really far from the above numbers you may need to adjust it.It seems you are doing everything right but unfortunately the green happens.
Try some barley straw. That may help Certainly if the PH is way out of whack that will contribute to the greens.
I don't think your fish would be in danger. Check and try the above. An algacide will cause the algaie to clump and you can skim it but that may only be short term.


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