Iduun, maybe its the era I grew up in but I have a close affinity to
chemicals! ;-)

IMHO PP, KMnO4 is a very handy agent to have if you fool with
fish. Its good for MArine fish, fresh water fish and ornamental
fish., However there is a few species that do not tolerate PP well, a
bit of reading up on the compound will shed the light as to what
fish they are.....

PP is a powerfull oxidizing agent, that will react with anyorganic
matter such as algae, bacteria, fdish, particulate and dissolved
organics, and orgsnic bottom sediemts. Its commonly used to treat
fish pathogens such as gill parasites, and external bacterial and
fungal infections. Contrary to what you may have heard PP does not
add any significant levels of oxygen to water, but actually decreases
oxygen levels in the process of oxidizing the algea that produces a
lot of the oxygenin a pond.

The most common and safe treatment rate is the 2 parts per million
(ppm) or milligrams per liter (mg/L) However a rate of 10ppm can be
utilized for a 10 minute tank treatment. Since the actuall doseage
rate is needed for the use of PP to be effective and safe, its
imperative to accurately estimate the colume of water that is to be
dosed.

Estimating water total capacity is perhaps the mosty challenging
aspect of using PP. Too little PPp used means an ineffective
treatment, and the need to repeat dose, thus putting fish through more
stresses. Too much PP and disasterous results can happen, however
properly used PP is a ponders friend.

PP is getting harder and harder to acquire through most commonly
available channels. Yu can order it from online source such as KoiVET
and get taken for a ride for a few ounces of it, or order it from
places like Aquatic Eco Systems and get it at a fairly reasonable
cost, and in some Lowes stores yu still may find a container of it in
their pond supply section. The lowes store in this area has removed
all PP from their stock however. Its also rfeferred to as Green sanf
filter cleaner and you may find it in some big box stores that carry
water softener chemicals, as well as in Sears stores in the water
softener section......HOWEVER due to its properties it carries special
shipping costs for Hazzardous Materials if you mail order it. Last
I looked it was approx $28 for a 3 ounce container of it from a well
known online source associated with a online forum.......PLUS
associated shipping costs.

I can buy a 55 pound pail of it locally from a Chemical Supply house
for approx $1.05 per pound @ 55 pound pail minimum quanity.....So if
there is other ponders in your region check around and go in on a
group purchase of a larger pail and save money. Most areas have
Industrial Chemical Supply Houses.....However a pail of PP will last
for years if kept dry in original container, so its not going to go to
waste or spoil.

Chlorox can also be used to oxidize ponds and aquatic equipment,
howver fish and plants have to be removed. PP on th eocan be used
with out removing the fish or plants, and often times even just dosing
PP as a preventative measure makes plants and fish look a lot better
than they did before the treatment. On floating plants with long roots
it cleans off the roots of junk. My hyacinths and sensitive fern
always perks up big time after a PP treatment.....

I use it 2x a year here in the deep south.Columnaris and Fungal
problems are common here in early spring, with protein rich waters,
lots of warm rains and heat......and with fish just coming out of a
long cold rest they are very prone to such problems as fungus etc. I
always had to contend with these problems until I started to dose
with PP. Now those problems have virtually dissapeared.....Of
coursewater quality is more manageable in a liner type pond and I have
primarily mud or natural ponds, but even a liner or preform will
benefit from a spring time treatment of PP to get it off to a good
start.

Happy ponding!


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I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!