How do i lower the pH in my pond?

Question

My fishes are starting to gasp for air on the surface. i read somewhere that high pH causes this and that ammonia is really toxic when pH is high. i recently also seen that none of my goldfishes have erect dorsal fin, drooping to the side. i have been changing the water about 20% frequently. Is there any natural stuff to lower the pH or the ammonia? i read somewhere that by adding soda water or vinegar lowers the pH. Will this kill or affect the fish?
thanx for all replies

well i know it isn't lack of oxygen in my pond. i have a waterfall running. It is the pH and the ammonia. When i first bought the fish, the pond water was neutral (7.0) but i have recently tested the water and it is 7.9. Ammonia because my goldfish are having ammonia burns on their fins. Will soda water do the trick?

Answer 1

do you have a filter?go to the fish store in your area and buy some ammonia remover. but first change 25%of the water in the pond.if you do not have live plants and moving water you need these along with fish for a heathy pond

change 25%OF THE WATER QUICK and add to your waterfall a bag of ammonia remover

Answer 2

How long have you had the pond running? If over a few weeks, there shouldn't be any free ammonia unless your pond is seriously overstocked. Bacteria that are naturally present in your fishes' feces will have had the chance to reproduce, so after about two months, both ammonia and nitrite (both of which are toxic and can cause the "gasping" reaction) should be converted compltely to nitrate. Have you tested the water to be sure that ammonia (or nitrite) is even present? If you don't have the kits for this, take a water sample (in a clean container) to a pet store - most will test the water for you.

Another possibility is that the fish have a gill infection, which is making it harder to get enough oxygen. You might see if you can net one of the fish to examine the gill area to see if they're swollen or covered in mucus.

Are you certain that the fish are always gasping at the surface, or do they only do this when you're within sight of their pond? If this is only when they see you, they may just be expecting food.

Also, when do you test your pH? Try first thing in the morning, especially if you have plants in the pond. The plants take in carbon dioxide from the water and this raises the pH - you'll get a more accurate reading if it's done early in the day. Make sure there isn't anything in the pond (rocks or gravel) that may be causing the pH to go up. Test any rocks or some of the gravel by taking it out and putting a few drops of vinegar on it - if anything fizzes or bubbles, these objects will raise your pH and hardness. Beyond these, adding driftwood, as already suggested, is the safest way to lower the pH of the water.

Answer 3

Don't mess with your ph. Using chemical additives, or even baking soda, or any kind of soda or vinegar are only a temporary fixes and they will create a fluctuating up and down roller coaster. This is far more detrimental than a slightly high ph. With the exception of a few very sensitive tropical fish such as discus, fish can tolerate a wide range of ph levels from 6.5-8.5. If your fish are gasping for air at the surface, that has nothing to do with ph. That has to do with a lack of oxygen in the water. You probably don't have a filter/pump. Get the water moving and you will see a big change in the behavior of your fish. Also, whether ammonia is high has absolutely nothing to do with ph levels. Ammonia is toxic, but that is a result of high levels of waste and rotting food, leaves and other debris. Ponds are a natural environment. With only marginal maintenance by us, they will develop into their own eco-system. Clean out the leaves and other debris in your pond, make sure you have an excellent filter and good water movement, don't overfeed and your water quality and fishes' health should improve.

EDIT: Again, no temporary solutions, including soda water. If you feel you must lower the ph, you need to use permanent solutions such as driftwood, logs, peat or almond leaves. And again, ph has nothing to do with ammonia. Why your ph went up is a mystery, but it is just a coincidence and is not caused by high ammonia levels. And the levels for the ph are fine anyway. Unless your fish were wild, they won't mind the higher ph, but if your fish are getting ammonia burns, high ammonia is from too much waste or rotting debris and you need to do water changes to lower the ammonia and clean out any stuff off the bottom of the pond.

Answer 4

Your pond is going through a process called cycling. You add fish, the fish create ammonia via their waste. Beneficial bacteria exist in the water that break ammonia down, but it will take a few weeks for them to catch up with the new biological load. Ammonia is bad in high levels since it can inhibit the ability of the fish to "breathe" so you want to minimize it. You can get a product for that at pond or aquarium supply shops. You should also cut back or even stop your feeding until the ammonia is back down. More food = more waste.
In a pinch, to save the fish, you could change out some of the water to dilute the ammonia, but this can upset the cycling process so I would use it as a last resort.

Your fish are already in distress fro the ammonia, tampering with the pH would just stress them further. Goldfish like a pH a little higher than neutral. And for future reference vinegar can be added to lower pH. Baking soda to increase it.

Answer 5

Drift wood is the safest way to lower PH.Have you checked to see if the ammonia is high?You might want to start changing 50% of the water daily,if it is.


Nothing will remove ammonia,there are products that will lock it up,but don't actually remove it.I don't know anything about it though,maybe someone elese here does.

Answer 6

enable your water take a seat for some days to enable regardless of chemical components that are in it use up. no count number if it remains extreme, replace approximately 20% of it with opposite osmosis water. -it is likewise good to be conscious that their it incredibly is extra to water than its pH. do slightly prognosis on hardness and "buffers"- employing a compound to decrease pH could purely artwork for some day. in the journey that your water is stressful it is going to bounce lower back to a miles better pH, inflicting your fish stress. verify your pH ranges on a regular basis till it stabilizes at 7 (employing RO water to decrease it), after that verify it as quickly as in step with week. DONT use lemon juice. This does an identical element as a results of fact the acidic compound, and creates an environment for undesirable micro organism and fungus. i'm no expert. My suggestion gets you interior the course of the setup section. extra analyze is needed

Answer 7

Driftwood will lower the ph level. You need to prep the wood first. It needs to be boiled to remove the tannis (brown) material from inside the wood. Boiling it also removes parasites from within the wood.

For ammonia you need to buy some Ammo-lock to remove the ammonia.

Answer 8

realy you should start by testing the water properly (amonia nitrite nitrate) then check the filter assuming you have 1 vinegar will upset the fish but amonia will realy upset the ph
look for the cause of this before you start chucking chemicals in
(rotting food or detrius , unmaintained filter low water flow through the filter, over stocking of the water) most good fish shops will test your water for you
once you know some levels then you can fix the problem