no GREEN on us..

[Louis]

still no algie yet? should i do something to start it?
do i need to 'seed' the bio portion of the pond,
or will it start itself?

[Jackie Ramo]

Be carefulwhat you wish for!!! It will start by itself. Are the fish in yet?

[Louis]

yea, 3 fish 3" long, i was going to buy some off Eugene when i picked up the liner (amazing pond) but he suggested some 'trial fish' to see how i do...
i don't know if three will produce enough waste for the
amount of pond or filter..

[Merlin]

still no algie yet? should i do something to start it?
do i need to 'seed' the bio portion of the pond,
or will it start itself?
Louis I have plenty give me your address and I will ship it out with pleasure :lol: :lol: . Give it time girl, soon you will be asking how to get rid of it .

[Jackie Ramo]

I'm closer Merlin, I can deliver it to him.

3 little fish are probably not enough to cycle the filter.

[Terri]

Don't tell me Eugene sold you some of his "hacks" LOL(said in good humour, Eugene and I are good friends)

3 itty bitty fish will do little to nothing in your volume of water - the bio activity will be very little.

Louis it can take 12 to 48 months for a nice green carpet of algae to form. Green water will hit you soon enough, at this point with a low fish load it might not be very pea soup-ish though... not a bad thing at all as this will give the algae you want to grow a better chance to establish and also won't cause too much flux with water parameters.

[Louis]

ok guys, who dropped of this green stuff when i wasn't home...it's not the right type, i ordered the carpet algae for the walls and floor!

connected up u.v. added more air, and 3 water lillies...
let's see how this works...

[Busy B]

You are the only one, I've ever heard of that was anxious for the green :lol:

[Merlin]

OOP's Sorry Loius I read it as Louise :uhoh: Must get a beter pair of specs :) .

So I take it you don't want my algea then !rofl .

[Jackie Ramo]

I got there first with a truck load!!!

[Louis]

well come and take it bACK ...
i'll be leaving the dogs outside from now on..

i bought a water lilliy fron Vans in whitby, they tried to split it
in two at the cash register! i brought it home and split it in three!

so i kinda added more food for mr.green who has a bunch of friends over.
turned on the uv, no luck, cut back the uv to half volume 400gph and the other 400 to the bio-filter, waiting to see what happens..

benefit, the fish are hand feeding on krill, the float stuff i just let them
track it down...

anything else i can do to help this cycle/clear?

[Jackie Ramo]

Patience is a virtue... if it was fun it would be a sin !rofl

What kind of lily did you get???

[Louis]

don't know...
i was looking for 1 that was not at the top of the pond..
so that i could plant it deep.
i picked 1 the guy says its a good choice and looks root bound,
i could get two out of it. the cashier asks where i got it and
tries to break it in two!

it has 3" tubers growing out if it, 3" across,
i cut it into 3 potted and put about 3" level... time will tell

sooo... i just need to wait for the green to go away....
do we have a time frame for this to happen?..

[Louis]

well it's clear, started 2 weeks ago, could see to the 5' level a long time, now can see the bottom and my terra-cotta city for the fish to play in..

used 2 pkges of barley pellets, started them 3 weeks apart, and still have the uv going...

[Jackie Ramo]

So where is the pictures???? Mine is green again after the spawning... just when I got it all clear and the string algae gone ... fish! they have no appreciation of how hard we work.

[Louis]

the green is half back, can see to the 3' level i'm ok with that..so are the fish..


lets see if this works...

[Louis]

this is currly and his escort moe... fight'n over a krill ice cube...

[Terri]

Floating frog is cute

Those planters look to have worked out well... impatients and hosta? How do you like that skimmer?

Fishies look happy :-)

[Jackie Ramo]

Hey looks good!! I'd be happy with 3 feet visability, right now I have about 8 inches.

Nice pups!!! Curly and Moe, aren't you telling your age??? :frisbee:

A suggestion for the planters, Sweet potato vine, love wet feet and the fish apparently like to eat them :lol: The bright green one would like dynamite against the dark water.

[Dave in Innisfil]

Ok, am I missing something in my ponducation ?

I heard ya'll complaining about algae, so I regularly scrub what I can reach with a long soft car brush. After we initially filled the main pond, I "seeded" it with some beneficial bacteria, and that was the start of the brown fuzz that covered everything. Most of that fuzz has now disappeared, and I can see the patterns on the rocks. I have noticed that the fish are eating away at the roots of my floating plants, despite my regular feeding.

Other than continually adding fresh water to replace loss thru evaporation and the leak between the ponds, in this summer heat are there things I should be doing that are common knowledge to you but news to us newbies ?

[Jackie Ramo]

Well although we do complain about algae it actually is beneficial to the pond and fish. There are many types of algae and some more desirable than others. The ones folks hate the most are green water (what I have now) and string algae as it grows so fast the fish get tangled up in it. The type we all want is green carpet algae that covers the rocks, feeds the fish and suppliments the bio filtration. Many times hte first algae is brown or tan soon to turn green. I'd not be too vigorous about scrubbing it off. The fish will eat it.

As for doing things around the pond this time of year its usually enjoy. Clean filters do water changes feed the fish watch the dragon flies kind of thing.

[Dave in Innisfil]

I still have enough Tetra Pond Aqua-Zyme "Full Season Water Clarifier" to give a half dose to our ponds. I have no string algae visiable anywhere, the water has about 3 feet or more visability, and I've got the skimmer/filter back in the pond and working. Water temp is 80 F, and my pH is its usual 8.5

The label reads "is designed to efficiently and effectively establish a beneficial bacteria population to remove sludge and organics ".

Add it or leave it on the shelf ?

We're in a bike rodeo this weekend, so we have housesitters coming to enjoy the ponds and take care of our two dogs. Our foster dog is doing a trial placement this weekend, and we hope he finds his "forever home" there. The ponds looked really dirty after I added the Aqua-Zyme initially (brown fuzz) and had an unpleasant odor too, so I'd rather wait until after the weekend.

[Jackie Ramo]

I'd wait, these things need oxygen and in this heat that is a premium in the ponds. Add it when the temps drop or September, what ever comes first. No sense having t on the shelf IMO

[Dave in Innisfil]

Is there a cycle for oxygenating my ponds ? More at some times and less at others ?

[Jackie Ramo]

Colder water holds more O2 than warm water does so yes at times there is more oxygen than other times. Normally it is not something to worry about but adding meds, a pea soup pond or heavy string algae can cause low o2 levels to occur at dangerous to fish levels. Plants give off o2 in the day but take it in at night.

[Terri]

Dave, stop scrubbing your pond walls... as Jackie points out "that" algae is what you want to be there. That Tetra Aqua-Zyme is just a sludge eater, with proper filteration you don't need it... and yes it does use up O2 as it breaks down the "sludge". Not a fan of those products - hype and crap,... but that's just my opinion...

Aeration is very important, most of us get that from water falls - those of us with bottom drains have air diffusers as well... the beneficial bacteria and your fish need optimum levels of oxygen 24/7. When water temps get upwards of 78F the O2 levels will be low, over 84F and even a waterfall running day and night might not be enough(depending on the falls volume turnover) so many ponds use air diffusers and air pumps to help keep the water circulating... dead zones in ponds at high temps are very low in O2, the warmer water at the surface is lower in oxygen than the mid-level and bottom of the pond - this is why on very hot days you notice larger fish hang out at the bottom or at water returns and might not be interested in food.

[Louis]

sorry for the late post..
the floating frog is ceramic (vans) wife loves frogs..
the 'boys' are ted and charlie.. charlie went in the pond already, i suspect trying to eat the floating krill ice cubes.
the second bag of barley straw is breaking down and clearing uo the pond amazingly, i'll post more when i see the bottom.

i found a place in Pickering that sells 24" floor scrubbing pads (5 for $80) if anyone is interested. perfect for barrel filters.

[Dave in Innisfil]

I've got the two waterfalls and an 1.25" overflow pipe making O2 in the pond, as well as a half power pond air pump with a pond stone making lots of bubbles. My second air line and depth proved too much for the air pump, and we will have to wait until I can get the parts to fix the diaphram. Roy and Bubbles have entirely different personalities, Roy hanging out near the bottom of the pond until dark, and Bubbles hanging with the shubs and goldies near the feeding ring. Everyone seems pretty active, and rather fat. I'm working on a connection to get repair parts for my air pump, and hope to use it with the 30' air line to reach the dead zones. I can't boast about proper filtration yet, but my DIY filter/skimmer sure sucks in a lot of fine particles, and the filter matts need cleaning more frequently lately. Visibililty is still very good, and the only small traces I see of string algae are around the parrot feather above the pond stone.

Ok, scrubbing the sides was one of those backbreaking jobs like untangling lily stalks I'll be more than happy to stop. And I'd just as soon not add anything to the pond chemically if I really really don't need it. I'm more than happy to do a bit of plant pruning and sit back to enjoy.

Is there a difference between peat and barley pellets ? I can remember ya'll trying to discourage me from using them this spring. It did turn the water a tea colour, not much different from what I'm looking at these days

[Wulff]

Louis.
Id be interested in where you found those pads. I have a TerrIan barrel system that works wonders on my overloaded puddle and am looking for more mats. Currently I have 4 of the 3x3 pads bought from a retailer that cost an arm and a leg.

Algae's a never ending struggle that I ignore for the most part. I powerwash it off the waterfall when it builds up too much, and at its worst during a bloom I add a "cheese cloth" at the top of my barrel that I empty daily to aid in removing any suspended stuff. Otherwise I just let it go.

Terri.
on Enzym. I thought one of the detractors to that type of product was the length of time it took to get up to speed. ie people tend to add it in the spring when temps are cooler and it could take 6 weeks to start working, by which time the problem would be under control.

[Dave in Innisfil]

I'm still interested in making a one barrel (if possible) filter, and would follow your lead on using the scrubbing pads. The fiberglass filters I'm using now seem to be doing a good job, but become distorted after a few cleanings.

[Terri]

Wulff, there are two kinds of bacterial additives(well three if you include Koizyme/Lymnozyme) - one boasts to be a kick start for your filter and one states it clears your pond and eliminates green water/organic matter - think there is even one that says it will do both. All in my humble opinion are not worth the $'s spent. And yes, those bacterial "kick starts" take the same amount of time that a naturally occuring cycle would take in a new pond... yet people still buy them :rolleyes: Now the sludge eaters I suppose are helpful to those hobbyists without bottom drains/good filter systems and/or who have rock bottom ponds, or just do not undertake the maintenance required for removing organic matter in their systems... and possibly because their pond installer sold it to them as "required" for pond maintenance or they saw an add and bought the hype.

Each to their own, one persons magic potion is another's poison ;) Each pond and ponder has different needs and wants... while I personally would not use the above mentioned products (because I don't need too) I have no issues with other's spending there $'s and using them as directed, for the most part it won't hurt much except the pocket book maybe LOL

I did mention Koizyme/Lymnozyme.. the opinion I shared above does not include these two products, their use is entirely different and tends to be quite beneficial.

[Cinnamon]

Wulf I used an air handler material from Granger for my big DIY 180 gallon stock tank filter. It works well. I found the material in my floating skimmer deteriorates fast. So after the cleaning yesterday I cut the air handler to size and put it in the filter part. This material does not break down like the regular filter mats. It is a little bit denser but it works wonderful in my DIY filter. Ozzyrockman is the one that told me about this product. The only thing, you have to buy a big roll which is $49. It is 26" wide and 25' long if I remember correctly. This is what I had left off 2 rolls. I have cleaned the big filter once because of black fly larvae. It was easy to clean out as well.

Pam

[Louis]

I got the 24" pads at a place in Pickering,
5 for $80. It's a Janitorial supply store Reliance supplies
the pads are special order.
I know theres a closer one to you, 400 Monarch, W C supplies
ask them for a price first. (good for cleaning supplies too)

The pics are the terra coda sp? playground, it's hard to make out
the pics, they are the liners for chimneys, got them by Terri's.
I put two on an angle and stacked two on top, need to be careful
when swimming...

[Louis]

i siliconed liner around the sharp ends
and placed them on an extra piece of liner
to protect the bottom, if you look close
you can see the bottom.. 6' !dude

stopped raining...go'n feeding...

[Jackie Ramo]

Louis, where near Terri did you get those? I'm looking for some to use as planters, they actually make nice planters and one can build a wall type thing with them ... I had a few but only have one now None of my fish are small enough to fit in them anymore or if they did fit inside, I'm not sure those fatties would get out again :lol:

[Terri]

Not sure if this is the place but there is a concrete brick yard in Newcastle, about 5 mins from our house... they have clay chimney tiles and anything else you might want.

[Jackie Ramo]

Thanks, another reason to get out that way :)

[Louis]

That's the place, Newcastle Brick..
you can see it from the road,
i think it's hwy#2 east of Newcastle...