Water Treatment
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Frequently asked questions about water quality and water values
When talking about water hardness and measuring it, many people will initially wonder what it is. Water hardness can literally be translated to the hardness of the water in the pond. It is often recommended to measure the water in the pond for hardness, 3 water values are then tested: The total hardness (GH value), the carbonate hardness (KH value) and the oxygen level (pH value). But what many people don't know is that you don't need to measure the hardness of your water at all if the pond is set up properly.
The ideal hardness of the water in your pond is determined by the combination of the GH value, KH value and the PH value. Water values and therefore hard water is expressed in DH, which stands for German Hardness degrees. The correct hardness of water is between 8 and 12 DH. So this can be seen as ideal water hardness.
Pond water values today can be measured in a variety of ways. There are all nice values established for it, making it clear when the quality and hardness of your water is good. But did you know that measuring and keeping your pond water between the desired standards is a difficult or even almost impossible task. This is due to the changing weather conditions we face. This means that 24 hours after measuring, the water in your pond can look completely different again. For this reason it is not realistic to always keep your pond water within these standards. But what is the solution? Well there I have the perfect answer, I have namely a pond construction roadmap which describes exactly how you your pond by adding the right amount of substrate, oxygen plants and pond bacteria healthy without having to monitor the hardness of the water.
To get your pond clear, or better yet, to keep it healthy from construction, you can follow some steps that are guaranteed to lead to success, provided you follow the steps correctly, of course. In fact, it is not at all necessary to measure the hardness of your water or to soften the water in your pond. People often talk about lime in the pond but this problem does not arise when the pond is set up correctly, i.e. with substrate, bacteria, oxygen plants and so on.
Water hardness 1 means that there are 17.8 grams of lime in the water per 1,000 liters of water. The average hardness of water is between 8 and 12 DH. When the water in your pond is between 0-4 DH it means that your water is very soft, a water value between 4-8 means that your water is soft, between 8-12 means that the hardness of your water is average and a water hardness between 12-18 DH means that your water is quite hard. A DH between 8-12 is ideal.
Advice on pH value, gH value, kH value pond
Measuring water values is not necessary if you provide your pond with what it needs. We like clear water without the addition of chemicals. Read what to do if the KH, pH and GH levels are not up to standard in your pond.
Keeping the water in your pond clean and clear seems to be quite an art. Water values fluctuate and so it is constant work for the small biotope that is your pond. Yet it is possible to get and keep your pond in balance without a pump or filter, but especially without measurements and water tests. At Van der Velde aquatic plants we like to make pond water clear in a natural way.