A  P  R  I  L     2  0  0  1 1 7 W  A  T  E  R     Q  U  A  L  I  T  Y Academic reference for technical checking: Individual water chemists and representatives of the DWI and WRc
Copyright, Ann Telford, AllClear Water Purifiers Fish  keepers  can  expect  them  to
treat  more  water  than  they  can
possibly  do,  and  send  water
through them too fast.        For  real  koi  protection  you
need  to  insist  that  suppliers  work
out  how  much  of  your  tap  water
the  purification  media  will  treat
before  they  become  exhausted,
and    how    fast    water    may
pass  through  the  media  for
the    effective    reduction    of
unwanted substances. WHAT’S IN YOUR TAP WATER? Don’t  panic  –  it’s  easy!  Whether  you
have  an  aquarium,  a  koi  pond,  keep
bees,   use   renal   dialysis   or   have
other  special  water  needs,  water
companies  are  obliged  to  provide  you
with water information.      Your  water  company’s  telephone
number is on your water bill. Ring them
and  ask  for  a  ‘Drinking  Water  Quality
Report’ for your                                                       supply
zone.  If  your  water  company  is
Yorkshire Water, you need to ask for a
PWZ report.        If  you  are  one  of  those  rare  koi
keepers  who  find  it  difficult  to  get  the
information  you  want,  contact  your amounts  of  metals  are  present  in  the
water, then the life of that resin will be
automatically shortened. HOW MUCH TAP WATER WILL
MY PURIFIER TREAT? Let’s forget purifiers for a moment and
talk about cars. Statement: ‘You can put
a  single  gallon  of  petrol  in  a  lawn
mower; a 1 litre car; a 1.6 litre car; a 2
litre  car  or  a  sports  car,  the  engine  will
always  allow  each  vehicle  to  travel  the
same number of miles to one gallon of
petrol’. Not true! Car owners know that
the  bigger  the  engine,  the  greater  the
use  of  petrol  and  therefore  the  fewer
miles to the gallon. Engine performance
and petrol consumption is something so
obvious that it is taken for granted. It is
exactly the same for purification media.
The more the purification media has to
do the shorter the effective media life. A
batch  of  purification  media,  will
never treat the same amount of water
for all the different types of tap water. Purification  media  can  be  abused. water purification supplier.      Most  Drinking  Water  Quality
Reports  provide  sufficient  technical
information. In some instances metals
testing  may  be  required  but  your
water  purification  supplier  should
be  able  to  advise  you  once  they
see  your  water  report.  Getting
scientific  water  information  is  as
simple as that! CONCLUSION Just  because  something  is  called  a
purifier,  it  doesn’t  automatically
mean  your  koi  will  receive  the
protection  they  deserve.  Carefully
investigating  your  tap  water  and
choosing  an  appropriate  purifier  for
your  pond  could  pay  dividends  in
terms of your koi health.      Part   of   that   process   is   the
effective rated life of the purification
media   is   altered   to   meet   the
demands   made   by   your   own,
individual, tap water.      What if you are told these processes
are  unnecessary  for  whatever  reason?
Tell  yourself,  that  is  the  difference
between  buying  something  called
a   purifier   and   achieving   real
koi protection. HOW TO CHOOSE & USE A PURIFIER 1   Forget the word ‘purifier’ – seek koi protection. The two things aren’t always the same.
2   Send copies of your drinking water report to appropriate companies. Tell them about the      amount of water in your pond, water use for topping-up, vacuuming, filter flushing, and
     fish health.
3   Compare advice and product specifications; choose the purifier you feel will best      protect your koi. If in doubt, ask questions. Ask your supplier to calculate how much of
     your tap water the purification media can treat effectively. Don’t accept a standard rating
     supplied to everyone regardless of the influent tap water, that won’t protect your koi.
4   Install your purifier as per instructions provided, remember to change your      cartridges/media at the correct ‘koi protection’ intervals.
While going through steps 1 – 4, ask yourself some very important questions:
•   How can you be sure the purifier has been tested and rated correctly for koi protection?      What evidence is offered to support performance claims?
•   Referring to the sections on activated carbons and resins, are the flow rates of water through the purifier and the amount of water the media’s claimed to treat realistic? HOW DO YOU KNOW YOUR CHOICE WAS RIGHT? •   MONITOR YOUR FISH
•   If your fish flick and flash when adding new water to the pond - the purifier is NOT      protecting your koi.
•   If you need to treat your fish frequently for small wounds, parasites or bacterial infections
    something is wrong with either the pond management or the purifier.
•   If you suspect the purifier is adding metals to the water, take a sample of water from the purifier and get it tested. Green water like this below doesn’t necessarily mean bad water Effective Resin Life 25 50 75 100

Total concentration of All Influent Dissolved Toxic

Metals. Value ug/l