article: Testing the Water Garden

Testing the Water Garden

You most likely have an idea what you want your water garden to look like when you are finished detailing it, and adding fish or plants are most likely a factor in what your final creation is going to look like. The well balanced water garden is going to be semi free of pollutions, balanced in how the elements of the pond take care of each other. Testing your water garden once it has become established is one method of ensuring that the environment continues to be balanced and that you don’t have to interfere with the environment of the water garden. Sometimes it will be necessary for you to use additives in the water garden, like when you are fighting a pest or disease or when you are first establishing a water garden.

It is recommended that you stay away from chemical treatments when ever possible so that your plants and fish continue to ‘try’ and take care of their selves. Over treating a water garden can lead to the fish and plants being unable to care for their needs in the natural environment as they are conditioned to rely on you and chemicals.

Some types of test kits that you will use in the water garden over the years of your water gardening hobby are:
pH kits, which is a test and an adjustment kit will run you about ten dollars each. You should do this monthly to make sure that your water garden remains in top shape.
Chlorine neutralizer kits are about fifteen dollars. This is another test you should run monthly if you have a smaller garden that you are constantly adding water to keep the water levels up.
Ammonia test kits will run you about five dollars each, but you really only need this test when you find that something is wrong in the water garden and you want to be sure that the water garden is balanced.
The aerating pump is not a test, but a solution when you have problems in the water garden and you need to freshen the water for the fish to thrive.

Once you have fully established your water garden and your water is clear, fish are swimming and the plants are blooming, you will know what your balanced water garden is like just as you will know when something is wrong and you will have to test to ensure that you work on balancing the water garden.