Guide to pH Decreasers
|
A pH Decreaser is a great item to keep handy as part of your Natural Swimming Pool or Pond maintenance kit. Ideally, fresh-water systems should be kept between 6.5 - 7.5 on the pH scale to keep fish & water plants healthy. If your pH (alkalinity) is high, then you need to add some type of acid to bring your pH back down. We recommend a dry acid source as it is safer and easier to use than liquid products. Our favorite pH Decreaser is the Omni brand because it is gentle and, when used correctly, won't kill off the bacteria, fish and plants in your natural pool or pond. If you are looking for additional maintenance products, we recommend saving money by purchasing our four favorite maintenance products together in our Spring Package. Keep reading to learn about how we apply our pH decreaser.
|
|
Before you add any products, first test the pH of your water. Most standard test strips or kits will work, we are partial to the Microbe-Lift 5-in-1 Test Strips that test for Nitrates, Nitrites, Total Hardness, Total Alkalinity, and pH. Once you know your pH, you can add the appropriate amount of pH Decreaser. |
|
The Omni pH Decreaser has an added bonus of killing unwanted algae directly on stone or wooden surfaces. We DO NOT recommend treating every surface with this as the periphyton is a normal part of your ponds mirco-biome and contains mirco-organisms that help keep the water healthy & clean. You can use it on specific surfaces such as rocks you may be stepping on to enter the pond, or a featured area you want to look cleaner such as a major waterfall rock.
To remove algae, first harvest all the string algae you can yourself (its wonderful for composting), then lightly sprinkle the pH decreaser directly on the algae on rock surfaces you want cleared or in a zone of high circulation such as a waterfall or around the edge of your pond. This sprinkling should be very light - like putting salt on your food. The offending algae will die and look “dusty” after 12-24 hours, give any surfaces with dead algae a gentle scrub and either vacuum it up or allow it time to be filtered out through the skimmer and water circulation system. Any decreased water clarity from this should resolve in a day or so. Test your water pH again after 48 hours.
Before: algae growth from decomposing plants over winter in waterfall
|
During: dry acid pH Decreaser sprinkled on algae and waterfall wier rock
|
After: 24 hours later after a gentle scrub.
|