Today I called Tony and asked if I could test his pond for TDS and EC and see if his parameters were as good as mine. The only difference is that these hobbyists have not done a water change since early Springtime when they did their Anoxic Filter clean-out. They now have about 26 Koi ranging in length from 18-25” (457.2-635mm) and some being over 27-years old now (Ed: The older Koi were my Koi at one time.) living in1600-USgals (6,056L) and the Anoxic Filter is 1000-USgals.
What you will see in the photos will shock you on how good their water quality is and the number of Koi and lets not forget one Goldfish that live in their pond. Chicago and outline suburbs municipal has a TDS 103-ppm and EC-229 right from the tap, and is Lake Michigan’s water that’s considered to be excellent in drinking quality, better than a lot of bottled water you buy at the store.
In case your not that familiar with the definitions of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) and EC. TDS is read in ppm and refers to the total amount of a substance that is in water besides H2O and EC refers to the electrical charge of the water. EC is read as µS {one millionth of a second} and will tell you how many ions you have in your water most being positively charge and how conductive the water is.
Here is a quote that they say about the Anoxic Filter in MPKS pond tour map this 2013-year.
QUOTE:
“The one thing we didn’t want to change is the Anoxic filter system by Kevin Novak that for the past 10 years plus has proven out to be one of the most reliable, inexpensive, and green systems that you will ever see. If you’re tired of how much work and money, one shells out to maintain a pond, come and checkout how some kitty litter and plant material allow your pond to more or less take care of itself and provide clean and clear water.”
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| All test were done @ 9:15 a.m. CST Chicago 7-6-13 and all test were conducted after stabilization of conductivity probe in a glass of pond water for over 5 minutes. |
TDS @ 112-ppm and EC @ 250-µS which is once again classified as excellent for a pond with this kind of a fish load and not having a water change done so far this year after filter clean-out. You see water here in Chicago isn't cheap and with taxes makes it worth it weight in gold, well almost.
Photo of pond and Anoxic filter so you can get a better perspective of the two. As you can see the Anoxic filter adds to the landscaping of the yard and doesn't look like an eyesore that needs to be hidden from onlookers. Many people come to see their pond and insist that they have some hidden filters somewhere that they are not telling them about.
QUOTE: From Koi forum
“Hi J.
As mats has said TDS can be a measure of how good....or poor...the overall water quality is.
I can only say about Koi ponds as that's what I know best.
Nothing can hide from a TDS meter... TDS measures everything that's dissolved in the water column.
This includes carbonates, bicarbonates, calcium, magnesium (tested with your KH & Gh test kits) along with other metal and mineral contents such as..Copper, salts, manganese, organic compounds etc...Everything that was once solid and is now dissolved.
So the main thing a high reading in a Koi pond indicates to me (let’s say a reading over 750ppm) would be either no water changes or insufficient partial water changes.
Or the use of mineral clays or bicarbonate of soda would also bump the reading up...as does the use of some chemicals.
A level of 200ppm would indicate a near perfect pond that has extremely well managed water changes. So we can use this measurement as a good indication as to what may or may not be being done.
What’s your pals TDS reading? What the reading from the bore hole? What fish does he keep?
Cheers for now
Andy T”
As mats has said TDS can be a measure of how good....or poor...the overall water quality is.
I can only say about Koi ponds as that's what I know best.
Nothing can hide from a TDS meter... TDS measures everything that's dissolved in the water column.
This includes carbonates, bicarbonates, calcium, magnesium (tested with your KH & Gh test kits) along with other metal and mineral contents such as..Copper, salts, manganese, organic compounds etc...Everything that was once solid and is now dissolved.
So the main thing a high reading in a Koi pond indicates to me (let’s say a reading over 750ppm) would be either no water changes or insufficient partial water changes.
Or the use of mineral clays or bicarbonate of soda would also bump the reading up...as does the use of some chemicals.
A level of 200ppm would indicate a near perfect pond that has extremely well managed water changes. So we can use this measurement as a good indication as to what may or may not be being done.
What’s your pals TDS reading? What the reading from the bore hole? What fish does he keep?
Cheers for now
Andy T”
(Ed: So I wonder what Andy T would say with a TDS @ 112-ppm and no water changes for the past three months. If 200-ppm is perfect, then the Battaglia's pond water must be absolutely pure in terms of water quality. I'm not criticizing Andy's statement, just food for thought, that's all.)
Anoxic Filtration Book... Still free
on Apple's iBook store
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