Water Quality

Introduction

“Look after the water and the Koi will look after themselves”, is a common phrase amongst Koi Keepers.  In many ways this sentence couldn’t be more true.  95% of Koi health problems are due to poor water quality.

So what exactly is poor water quality?  What makes good water quality?

There are a number of key parameters we can measure to give us an idea of the pond water quality.  There are also thousands more we could measure…

The chemical equation for water is H2O i.e 2 Hydrogen atoms and a single Oxygen atom.  However water is an extremely complex element.  There are many water ‘makeup’s and there are still many questions with regard these ‘makeup’s and their effect on Koi.

The Basics

Without a doubt, every Koi Keeper needs to be aware of the basic Water Quality parameters.  Without this knowledge, unless you’re very lucky, your Koi will die – bottom line.  For the more advanced/curious Koi Keeper, later on we shall explore some of these parameters in more detail and introduce a few more.  See ‘beyond the basics’.

• Ph
• Ammonia
• Nitrite
• Oxygen
• Temperature

Beyond the basics

• Ammonia - understanding TAN
• Carbonate and General Hardness (KH, GH)
• Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
• Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP or Redox)