Mr Bump
Koi Lover
Aug 8, 2006, 6:41 PM
Post #5 of 6
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Re: [bindusar] First Time Koi Owner
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You can buy digital pH testers, but they are expensive and TBH the colour gradient litmus paper tests will give you a good enough idea of what the pH is anyway - you don't really need to know to the closest .1! And yeah, slightly alkalie water isn't a problem, if that's what you have - mine is 8.2 and the fish are fine! (And the reason I know the figure so precisely is because my girlfriend works in a lab and has access to an expensive high grade digital pH meter!)
As for salt, if you can get your pond up to about 0.1% saline, it is very beneficial to the fish (helps gill action) and is a good pH buffer (to stop any wild pH swings), so it's worth adding. Don't add table salt though - buy proper pond salt from a koi or aquatic shop.
I also have a 25W uv clarifier available but not in use as my green water self resolved. Last I checked the amonia and nitrites were zero
You will probably need the UV once the fish are insitue - and I would expect the nitrates etc to be zero if you have no fish in there yet - it's once they are in that you have to watch. Add your fish a few at a time if you can, with maybe a week or so between each addition, to give the filter a chance to get up to speed. The thing with bio filters is they won't get going without fish waste to feed off, but if you chuck a whole load of fish in all at once, the filter won't stand a chance and you'll poison your fish!
Also, once you have some fish in there, feed them very little or not at all to start with - I know it's difficult when your Koi are all looking at you like they haven't eaten for months on end, pointing imploringly at their empty mouths, but you have to be strong and resist!! 
(This post was edited by Mr Bump on Aug 8, 2006, 6:56 PM)
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