Your job slogan is My job is to take care of the water, the fish will take care of themselves!
- Most fish problems occur because of poor water quality.
- Get a good test kit and use it weekly. My water is clear so I don't need to test. Battery acid is also clear, but very acid. You can't diagnose or treat what you cannot verify with a test kit.
- Keep a salt level of 2.0 to 2.5 parts per thousand if you have plants. If you don't have plants, you can keep your salt level higher up to 5 ppt on a regular basis.
- A filter system with pads is not always enough. An external back wash filter is recommeded.
- Size the pump so the entire volume of water is circulated through the filter every hour.
- A bottom drain will make cleaning the pond much easier, and faster.
- If your pond has rocks in the bottom, please remove them. They only collect the debris from fish and plants which raises the bio-load for the bacteria.
- Green Water problems? Get a UV light. Enough said.
- Put an aerator in the bottom of the pond to help with oxygen. If your fish seem lethargic, check the oxygen levels first. A simple air pump will make lots of difference fish health.
- Keep the pH between 7.0 and 8.5.
- Use sodium bicarbonate to raise the KH or carbonate hardness. This will help the fish and bacteria as well.
- Soft water is nice in Japan, but harder water around 200 ppm will aid in fish health. Add calcium chloride to raise the GH or general hardness in the water.
- A good flow through system is recommended for ponds. We recommend a water change of 10% weekly.