N Cycle of pHish Ponds on Golf Courses

by Scott Morrison at Turfhuggers.com

With a growing trend towards dedicating water features as wildlife habitat, turf staff must now find ways of balancing the aesthetic value of a water feature with the challenge of a hazard while preserving the ecological integrity of the pond.

Learning the basics of pond chemistry can help turf staff understand how flora, fauna and human influences play an intricate part in the nitrogen cycle. Here's a basic review.

pH is perhaps the most complicated chemistry topic when it comes to understanding water chemistry. pH is the measurement of free hydrogen ions in water as measured on a logarithmic scale of 1 to 14, with 7 considered neutral. Ponds should be between 5.5 and 8.5, the ideal range is 7.0 and 7.4.

High pH readings indicate that more hydrogen ions have bonded and are part of a molecule, primarily water molecules. Low pH readings indicate more free ions in the water.

To provide healthy pond water conditions for fish, the pond requires ample water molecules with oxygen as well as a reasonable amount of free hydrogen to bind with oxygen at the surface and at aeration points such as water fountains, stream inlets and water falls.

Higher pH readings indicate more hydrogen within water molecules and so reflect the degree of water molecules in the pond. These molecules make oxygen available to fish, plants and aerobic bacteria. The pH in a pond is always changing. Seasonal temperature and aquatic plant growing trends mixed with the constant removal of oxygen by fish and the introduction of organic matter all have significant influence upon water quality.

The decomposition of organic matter, also known as nitrogenous waste, by aerobic or oxygen using bacteria generates the waste product ammonia. If a pond is high in ammonia there are either too many fish present (fish produce waste high in ammonia), there is a low concentration of nitrosomonas bacteria, or there is an outside source of ammonia leaching into the water table. Often when fish are seen “gasping for air” on the surface there is either low dissolved oxygen in the water, a low pH, or the presence of ammonia or nitrite. As soon as you have ammonia in the pond, the nitrogen cycle becomes a major player in the state of your water quality.

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