Page 43 - Koi Net - On-Line Koi Magazine - Issue 92

MAKING WATER

SAFE FOR YOUR KOI

Andy Finch.

Water, we all take it for granted. Turn on the tap and
we can drink it, but if it’s not treated it’s toxic to our Koi.
Nearly every water report has a section stating that if
you’re using the water from the tap that it must be
treated if it’s used for aquatic life or fish.
All tap water contains Chlorine and some supplies
contain Chloramine. This is used to disinfect the water
supply to kill bacteria and make it safe for us to drink.

Chlorine levels differ all over the country and in my
experience talking to customers all over the country
0.45mgl or 450ppb is around the national average.
If Chlorine is not treated before it enters your pond it
will damage your fish and could result in fish deaths as
a reading of 0.02mgl or 20ppb is detrimental to Koi!
WATER If Chlorine does enter your pond at low levels, it will
also have a detrimental effect on the filters in your pond
FROM THE as Chlorine is designed to kill bacteria.

TAP MUST BE I have one customer who gave us a call who had
TREATED IF started up his pond and was going through new pond
syndrome where your filters go through the maturating
IT’S USED process converting Ammonia to Nitrite and Nitrite to

FOR AQUATIC Nitrate. Everyone goes through this process with a
new pond which normally takes a few months to get
LIFE OR FISH established. The customer had been going through this
process for a year!
I asked him a few questions and then asked him if he
was checking the water he was changing in the pond
for Chlorine? No, was the reply. He rang me back and
said he had Chlorine in the pond. So, his filters were
starting to deal with the Ammonia and then he would
carry out a water change and introduce Chlorine into
the pond. So every time his filters started to mature
43