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The successful keeping of fish depends
on their good health. Good fish health comes from having
acceptable water quality and from feeding a good quality
fish food.
In order to ensure that the water
is of an acceptable quality we always recommend the
use of test kits. Hozelock Cyprio test kits have been
developed to keep a check on the quality of the water
in a garden pond. They cover the four main chemicals
that are related to poor fish health and ineffective
filtration.
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1. Ammonia
- The major waste product from fish
and rotting material in a pond. It is toxic to fish, but
its toxicity is very dependent on the temperature and
the pH (acidity/ alkilinity) of the water.
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2. Nitrite
- The secondary waste product found
in the pond. This is produced not by the fish, but by
bacteria that feed on the ammonia and convert it into
Nitrite. Nitrite is not as toxic as ammonia, but it can
be just as deadly.
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3.Nitrate
- The tertiary waste product found
in the pond. This again not produced by the fish but by
another set of bacteria that live in the pond and filter
system. These bacteria convert nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate
is relatively harmless, but contributes to algae growth
in a pond, and in high concentrations can lead to fish
becoming stressed and subsequently unhealthy.
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4. pH
- This is a measure of how acid
or alkaline a pond is. Most pond tend to have pH higher
than 7. This means that they are alkaline. As a pond becomes
more alkaline, the effects of Ammonia are worsened.
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| The job of a biological
filter is to convert ammonia to nitrate. The nitrate encourages
floating algae to grow. We then remove the algae using
a combination of the biological filter and an Ultra Violet
Clarifier (or UVC). Then when the filter is cleaned we
are able to remove the algae (and the Nitrate they contain).
Also regular water changes help to dilute and remove the
Nitrate. |
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Conventional Biological
Filtration System
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Compact Biological Filtration System
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When a filter system is new or not
working properly this doesn't happen, the effects of
this can be sick or dying fish and a pond in poor overall
condition.
The Hozelock Cyprio testkits are
supplied in pairs, each set of test kits contains a
small yet invaluable booklet on water quality management.
Test Kit 1: Ammonia and pH
Test Kit 2: Nitrite and Nitrate.
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