By performing routine pond water testing, you ensure that your pond with stay fit and so will the plants and animals that inhabit it. While testing your pond water might seem cumbersome and unnecessary, remember that replacing it and everything in it will be much more work. Hopefully I will convince you 
that running these tests are crucial to the survival of your pond. You will need to know how to test, when to test and what to test for. And you can learn all of that right here.
First of all, you will need a test kit when performing pond water testing. You can pick this home kit up at just about any pool or pond store. This kit will enclose a container, a chemical and a color chart. Don’t worry, the color charts will be simple and easy to read.
Knowing when to test is your next step. Obviously, there is less activity in your pond, if any at all, during winter so your pond water testing isn’t as frequent. But, in the summer, you may need to test every couple of weeks depending on the size and the amount of plants and animals in your pond.
Now, what will I be testing for? Fortunately your test kit will have a color chart that explains in laymen’s terms exactly what you should be looking for. But if you want to have a better idea of what you are looking for then you have come to the right place.
Ironically, the most toxic thing in your pond will be ammonia which actually is created by fish waste. Next, you have your nitrites. These are not as toxic as ammonia but can minimizes the capability for the 
blood to transport oxygen. Other things you will examine when pond water testing are nitrates, ph level, temperature, water hardness, chlorine and copper.
You don’t have to test your pond every single day. Most importantly you can take a look at your pond and determine whether every thing appears to be in order. If it does seem to be flowing quite nicely then limit the actual testing to once a week or maybe three times a month. The bottom line is that you must care about your pond. If you care about your pond then pond water testing is an easy way to help maintain a safe habitat for your plants and animals for years to come.
