Messages

61

Pond Chat / Re: Problems with Microbe-Lift Algaway ??

« on: June 05, 2007, 12:48:11 PM »

A UV light doesn't remove any nutrients that cause green water, just kills the algae and leaves the nutrients for more growth.

If you know your fish are struggling for air, hydrogen peroxide is an emergency aid. It adds oxygen to the water.

Patients is a virtue...

62

Pond Chat / Re: Fish safe wood finish??

« on: June 05, 2007, 10:18:24 AM »

I don't know of any finishing product that would be safe for fish. Paint product generally have anti-fungals, and oils I'd be afraid of. Constructing of redwood or similar wood may help. I would expect it should last awhile unfinished and look natural that way... Sorry, I'm no help.

63

Pond Chat / Re: Problems with Microbe-Lift Algaway ??

« on: June 05, 2007, 10:13:06 AM »

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I used Microbe-lift once a useless product IMHO. Dying algae can be a problem, and lots of aeration is a good thing. Many plants will help to consume excess nutrients. Feeding the fish also adds food for algae.

Your pond filtration could use some help. I too have the Savio skimmer and biofilter. I have added six brushes and an additional mat to the skimmer. I have also added a 6" thick roll of blue Matala mat in the biofalls on top of the Springflow. I have also added scraps of nylon tie strap material to the Springflow. I've also added an additional layer of mat on top of the Matala. It seems to almost be enough filtration for my low fish load. I also use watercress in my falls and pond which I pull out when it gets big and ugly—removing the nutrients they have absorbed.

Here's my skimmer...

http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47378&highlight

You have to join to see the pictures...

64

Pond Chat / Re: Need pump advice quickly

« on: June 04, 2007, 03:21:28 PM »

Tsunami is supposed to make really good submersibles. Sounds like you need a pump to push 5000 gal at 11' or more of head. You will find if you install an external pump your electric bill will give you a noticeable reduction in operational cost. You mention pumps not pump. What circuits do you run them on? Do you have a pressurized filter?

Figure 5000 gph for the pond volume (one time per hour turn over), 10 feet of head for head height, you need to add up the length of your pipes and fittings, and include pipe diameter, then check the chart for friction loss. This will tell you what gph pump you will need at what head loss—height plus friction loss. Do you run all the pond water over the falls?

Most reputable pumps will have a chart that shows gph vs height of head.

http://www.aquaart.com/pondFLC.html

Yes stay away from Cal pumps...

External pumps: W. Lim or Artesian are good.

65

Pond Chat / Re: The experiment begins! And now the conclusion.. Drum roll please

« on: June 03, 2007, 08:44:34 PM »

How deep in the water is that lotus? Is it in a pot of some sort?

66

Koi Feeding, Nutrition and Diet / Re: Do Color-Enhancing Foods Reall Work?

« on: June 01, 2007, 06:53:13 PM »

My feeder comets have changed color dramatically—well mostly all have lost the cute black accents they used to have. One was almost black and faded to bronze. Another had black fins on an orange body it's just about all orange now. 
I had a sarassa with an orange hat on its head, it faded away and now it's all white.

I never fed them at all until just recently. The foods say they enhance color but I can't say I've seen any difference, other than the algae growing more...

I started with the Tetrafin flakes and now feed them Topfin floating pellets. I saw the Higari brand for twice the price, but the ingredients appeared to be about the same. I recently read that phosphorus content is something to look at for water quality... Whew! I don't even know what fish food to buy...

67

Pond Construction & Filtration / Re: Liner thickness and liner tips..

« on: May 31, 2007, 08:35:11 PM »

They make some pretty deep kiddie pools, if you think it will take you some time. If you have raccoons you may need to cover or fence the pool to keep them out—I noticed you had a fence around the pond. If your going to keep those koi ask folks over at koiphen about your plans to get some feed back for what you may need to do different. My guess is deeper will be suggested, among other things. Good luck!

68

Pond Construction & Filtration / Re: Liner thickness and liner tips..

« on: May 31, 2007, 07:25:26 PM »

Is this going to be a koi pond, a GF pond, or a water garden?

The liner is best bought after digging, as the size of the pond may get bigger than you planned, it's a bummer to have a liner on its way and decide you want to dig a little more here or there.

The submersible pump can be used with the BD. The BD is gravity fed to a settling chamber and the pump goes in there. You'll probably have to use some mats or some such in it until you get an external pump.

Check out some of the construction threads at koiphen. Research now will pay off tons later.

69

Pond Chat / Re: Overcrowded?

« on: May 31, 2007, 07:11:09 PM »

Do lots of research before you build, it will be time well spent.

70

Pond Chat / Re: Wife hates the ugly Skippy cover

« on: May 30, 2007, 01:57:03 PM »

If you do have filter media in the skippy now and your going to remove it, yes that could be a problem. Plants in and of themselves are not enough IMHO, if you have fish. If that's what you have had, then you shouldn't be upsetting the apple cart to add more plants. It is good to have mechanical filtration and biofiltration, the plants are the icing on the cake.

Some people have filtration up the wazoo, some have none. It's a matter of where your going to be on that spectrum. If you have koi you need to move higher up the scale and have a great deal of filtration, volume, depth and a whole bunch of stuff I don't have a clue about. If you have goldies then you don't need all that stuff, but a bottom drain, skimmer, and biofilter is probably a good thing to have. Depends on the time you want to devote to cleaning the pond to keep your fish healthy and happy. If your growing just plants...who cares?

I had a friend who had a pump with a piece of mat filter with a spitter chock full of plants and comets that bread like rats. When he drained the pond and gave me a few fish and plants the plants were really gross in the roots—all kinds of black yuk and stank. But they sure grew well. It's a matter of whether to collect that stuff in a pond, or collect it in a filter.

71

Pond Chat / Re: Bye bye fish pond

« on: May 30, 2007, 01:40:41 PM »

It sounds like your skimmer is doing its job. It could be doing more than its job. What other filtration devises do you have?

There are always seasonal issues. I get a great deal of gunk in the skimmer for periods of time then I have times of respite. If I stir things up, more goes into the filters.

A bottom drain will help remove a great deal of gunk—but they should have their own mechanical filter.

What all do you have workin' for you in that pond?

72

Pond Chat / Re: So if your pump keeps tripping...

« on: May 30, 2007, 10:02:53 AM »

It sounds like a weak seal, as it won't hold up to the pressure of depth. Again if it's under warranty send it back.

73

Pond Chat / Re: Bye bye fish pond

« on: May 30, 2007, 10:00:13 AM »

I think relocating the koi is a great thing to do for the koi. I do think that the requirements for GF is much less. Why not do incremental steps? Loose the koi and see how it goes. I think the GF would be fine IMHO.

74

Pond Chat / Re: Wife hates the ugly Skippy cover

« on: May 30, 2007, 09:51:44 AM »

Jerry that last sentence is asking what are you going to use for a biofilter if you change your skippy from a biofilter to a settling tank. (I'm assuming it's a biofilter now.)

Bacopa has been great in my yard. Stuff with little white flowers, blooms almost all year long. Mine looked great till this winter and a week of freezing temps. It's just about all gone now.



It's the stuff behind the pond growing down the rock wall.

75

Pond Chat / Re: Wife hates the ugly Skippy cover

« on: May 29, 2007, 08:48:24 PM »

Karen your pond is beautiful.

There is a little cafe here in town and in the outside seating area they have a narrow concrete trough that is maybe 6" wide and maybe 10" deep and 5' long. It has only equisedum in it. It makes for a very nice clean fence.

Jerry the rocks look good. What does your bio when the skippy becomes a settlement tank?

76

Pond Chat / Re: The Deer have left one for me...

« on: May 29, 2007, 08:37:10 PM »

Hey Lou:

 I agree it's a war, i.e. just when you think you've one they attack with a vegence!  My copper trellis and netting seems to work on the major ponds and some containers.  However, they occassionally pull the net off the containers and get a lily or 2. 


I'm tempted to pay my neighbors kids to shoot them with their paint balls...at least I would know which deer is eating all of my flowers!

thats a clever idea, what then??

lou

Fire up the BBQ and have a colorful venison party.

I keep mine out much of the time with an electric fence, though they still give me grief on occasion.

77

Pond Chat / Re: Overcrowded?

« on: May 29, 2007, 08:32:48 PM »

Yes it is dramatically undersized for even one tiny koi. When you cleaned it you probably disturbed the natural bacteria that helps to convert ammonia to nitrites to nitrates. 100 degree temperatures and 100 gallons? Doesn't sound like a good combination.

Fertilizing the plants is also a way of introducing a great deal of nutrients especially in that volume of water. Do you do frequent water changes? Why not clean 100% of bottom sediment?

Do your koi a favor and find them a new home.

IF you want koi learn about their specific needs:

http://www.koiphen.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=66

You have to join to see the pics.

Hardcore koi keepers:

http://www.koishack.com/forums/index.php

They can be a bit harsh...

78

Pond Chat / Re: Bye bye fish pond

« on: May 29, 2007, 08:20:29 PM »

Yes I have a mere 1200 gal and my goldfish seem content. It's in our front yard and is 28" deep. Put in some filtration and a BD and they should be fine. Vertical sides to keep the raccoons at bay. Shubunkins look similar to koi and they won't uproot your plants—no guarantees mind you.

79

Pond Chat / Re: So if your pump keeps tripping...

« on: May 29, 2007, 08:13:45 PM »

If it's less than a year old send it back, with copy of receipt. If not go buy a good brand of pump. I had a Torpedo 4000, dead in 5 months, replacement dead in three, this last one I don't run as I replaced it and it's out of warranty now.

80

Pond Chat / Re: Dragonflys

« on: May 26, 2007, 08:41:46 PM »

"Build it and they will come." A new pond with all the wildlife that shows up is so exciting... Soon there will babies of all that stuff dropping by or growing up in your pond.   

.....The more you look the more you'll see.

81

Pond Chat / Re: Rotting barley straw?

« on: May 26, 2007, 08:35:59 PM »

It is the decomposition of the barley that produces the hydrogen peroxide that restricts the growth of the string algae. You'll have to be the judge of when to toss it, remember that it takes awhile for a new one to kick in, so if you think you want to toss it soon you want to get the replacement in ASAP. Mine gets pretty gross but if it's stinkin bad I don't think it's probably a good thing.

82

Pond Chat / Re: Bottom drain ?s

« on: May 26, 2007, 08:31:08 PM »

If you could easily pull up the liner and do an under the liner one that would be best. Why? Gravity. If you use a retro BD it is lifting the gunk up to pull it away. Here is a DIY link for many different home made BD's.

http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51710

Scroll down to the BD section then click on the pics and it will take you to the thread for each. You need to join to see the pics...

The BD, it is best to do gravity fed. The BD pipe is run preferably level to a filtration devise—a 55 gal drum, trash can, or a pre-made vortex or settling chamber—some kind of appropriate mechanical filter. The drain pipe is best to be 4" to attain ~3000 gph flow. If your gph rate is way less, then you may want to go with 3" pipe (1500 gph flow rate.) Flow rate is max flow for that size pipe with gravity feed. If your pulling to little water in to large a pipe, it is said the solids can settle out in the pipe. The pump is after the filter, which causes the water to draw into the filter. You shouldn't need an additional pump to do it—it's up to you, how you want to plumb it. If your using a submersible pump it will have to be in the settling chamber, or a gravity fed chamber after. The skimmer would then be plumbed into one of them so the pump can draw from both at the same time.

If you feed the BD by pumping from it to your filter you risk clogging the pump with chunks of crud or stuff—frogs or fish or anything that can get into the drain. You also puree the glop and make it very tiny, which makes it difficult for the filter to remove it from the water.

83

Pond Chat / Re: Can you say Green?

« on: May 25, 2007, 08:51:03 PM »

I really feel for ya... Yuk.

So your only filter is a skippy bio falls?

Um... how about a skimmer to start with. Do you have a bottom drain? If not, when did you clean out the sludge on the bottom last?
Mechanical filter of any kind?

Yes it could just be the plant stakes too, but why this long to give you that? I had similar looking stuff in my lotus pots last year. I just kept doing daily water changes (overflow) and in time it cleared up. I don't see a lot of water plants there in the picture, how about getting a dozen or so water hyacinth. The cheap plant route would be getting a couple of bunches of watercress at the grocery store.

84

Pond Chat / Re: Koi Clay

« on: May 25, 2007, 08:30:18 PM »

Do you have a bottom drain? I wouldn't put a bunch of clay in the pond if it didn't have a way to leave as well. Yes I've read koi clay is a panacea that cures ills of all kinds, and Gene is the man to get it from. I tried bentonite clay from a natural food store with no noticeable effect.

Do you have a bunch of plants? Have you recently fertilized them? I've had serious algae blooms after feedings. Fast growing plants out of pots will compete for nutrients. I've found watercress appear to be the best cure, in my pond. Time and warm weather to get the bio really going, seems the algae will never stop growing then suddenly it's not a problem.

Here is a link with an idea of manipulating nutrients to control algae.

http://www.swedesdock.com/pondnutr.sht

I found Ironite to be a bad choice, but straight chelated iron worked well to green up my yellowing plants.

85

Pond Chat / Re: Daily Maintenance

« on: May 24, 2007, 09:35:38 PM »

If your building a new pond? You can utilize many things to reduce maintenance. A bottom drain w/ mechanical filtration is a must. A vortex filter is supposed to be pretty low maintenance—opening closing valves. A microscreen in the vortex is rather popular too. Gravity fed to an external pump. A skimmer and TPR's to help the bottom drain—you could do an aerated BD those are the latest fad. The fish you want will also determine the filtration needed. A pond CAN be low maintenance if done right. Research do lots of research.

86

Pond Chat / Re: Pond clarity changes overnight

« on: May 24, 2007, 09:26:35 PM »

Sometimes fish can get out of the pond and party all night then sneak back in just before dawn—there's sometimes telltale water trails, and they never, never, wash their silly fins before getting back in the pond. Sometimes a fun slide with little spray bars works to keep the dirt out of the pond—be sure to run the drain from the slide to the garden—not the pond. Of course you do that and you make be kept up all night while they scream "Wheee!".... then splash.   

Every other day? Do you have auto sprinklers running every other day? When I run the sprinklers for a long time sometimes dirt washes in I presume as the water can lose clarity. Raccoon visits? Neighbors dogs?

Clean filter—biofilter with pond water only, add more filtration, up the turnover rate...

87

Pond Construction & Filtration / Re: my revised design

« on: May 14, 2007, 08:48:58 PM »

You haven't given size of skimmer or waterfall units but, yes goldfish will be fine in that space. Do yourself a favor and put in a BD even if you think it's only for cleaning it out once a year— the cost is cheap, relatively, and once the pond is built it's a tough one to redo. Once the plumbing is in place, it's there when you decide you DO want to use it. Many people say go bigger because once people build their pond they generally want it to be bigger. A 1200–1500 gallon pond is certainly a fair amount of water for GF to swim about in. Most say that the more water there is the easier it is to take care of—temperature fluctuation as well as volume of water for dilution of fish waste, etc. A one foot deep pond is going to freeze and boil quicker than a three foot pond. If you know the perimeter size and it fits well in your space you just need to decide on a depth that will work for your situation.

Once the pond is in place a few years one can have a different reality than first conceived, when it was just an idea. My wife thought she was loosing all that planting garden space to a water hole. Now she can appreciate that the garden was really expanded not contracted.

You have to take in everyones ideas then form one of your own. Most folks are trying to help you avoid the mistakes they made.

88

Pond Chat / Re: more questions

« on: May 14, 2007, 06:10:28 PM »

You have to decide what kind of pond your going to build; Watergarden, GF, or Koi. Once you have decided that, then you can begin to figure out volume and the filtration. Koi will require the most advanced filtration, and the deepest pond.

I have about 1200 gal pond. I have a skimmer filter and a falls biofilter. I have dramatically beefed up the standard filtration with much more than came with them. The problem I have is my BD is plumbed to the skimmer which is a bad idea, I also used to small of drain pipe for it. I would suggest you have an additional filtration unit (55 gal barrel w/ mats, brushes, microscreen or...) for the BD with a 4" BD and 4" BD pipe. That unit needs a BD too for clean-out, many folks use a shower drain for that.

A large stock tank could do for your upper filtration—there are many DIY tutorials on building them. You also want to figure out a place for a pump—an external should be below the water level of your pond. The pump vault also needs to have a drain to prevent flooding... You could put your BD filter down that slope a short bit and use the digging for multiple drain pipes and pond plumbing all together.

The sound of your falls will probably be enhanced a great deal by all those walls. This is also something to think about when planning them. The steeper they are the louder they will be. Tucked into the corner and under the deck above will make viewing them limited from inside the house. OK there's another 2 cents...

89

Pond Chat / Re: more questions

« on: May 14, 2007, 09:36:03 AM »

I see leaves on the ground now, and the trees are almost bare. If you have a magical way to keep them out of your pond you should tell everyone here how you do it... A skimmer is something you will want to have. With all the leaves that will not be caught up by your large volume skimmer, they will settle to the bottom of your pond. How are you going to get those out? You mentioned low maintenance. A rock bottom pond is not low maintenance, no mater what the Aquascapes people say they can sell you. Chemicals are their solution and a yearly drain and power wash. If that's low maintenance I'd hate to have a high maintenance pond—whatever that might be. So forgo the rocks, and give it a chance without them. After a year if you really think you want them then you can drain the pond and put them in—as if it was a yearly clean out, so you can get a taste of what that is like.

Oh and the two feet deep, yes Aquascapes insist ponds don't need to be deeper, but that's because they are heavily influenced by the raccoon lobby—they dump tons of money on pond legislators to keep pond depths at a minimum—so raccoons and other critters can feast upon the pond inhabitants... It's up to you, if you want ALL your fish to be feeder fish go for it.

A bottom drain w/4" drain line to a settlement or vortex filter is going to be a must have, and rocks will impede the drain working well—I know cause I had rocks. If you want the pond to be cheap then think about an external pump. They will last longer and cost a whole lot less money to run. But yes, they will cost more to buy in the first place. It's the heart of your system and money spent here is well worth it. I should know I bought a cheap pump, then replaced it in five months, and eight months and...

As for your stream when shut down. You need to calculate the total volume of your stream then provide an empty container or (pond) at the bottom to take up that flow when it shuts down. Run an overflow pipe capable of flowing at the rate of your stream from the pump container at the bottom to the storage container. That would require a sump pump or a separate piping system driven by your pump to retrieve the water.

It might involve a little more set-up money (two pumps) but you might want to consider two separate systems. One being your pond, falls, and filtration, and one being the stream and pump chamber.

I don't claim to have the answers, just throwing ideas out there...     

90

Pond Chat / Re: There is a reason why you can't identify this Lilly.

« on: May 13, 2007, 08:32:22 PM »

Yep, looks like a tropical...   Do tropicals grow in the desert?   

I must say "orchid—cactus" sounds like a contradiction to me.