"RVentura" wrote in message
...
Just found this news group today and have read through all posts. Seems
like a lot of great ideas and help abound in this space. Hope I am not
butting into private conversations. Let me know if "butt out" is
appropriate.
I'm Ray and with my wife Kath and children built a pond last year. My
guess is that it is about 2500 gals. It has a large rock border that rests
on a shelf about 2 inches under water and a plant shelf about 12 inches
under water. We wanted the bottom to be a haven for insect life and fish
eggs and whatever else could bring ecolological balance to the pond so
I've lined the bottom with river rock taken out of the ground when digging
the hole. I have a two foot high waterfall that splashes down two levels
(my attempt at aeration) and contains a biological filter that I have been
carfeul to "feed" (with MicrobeLift products) and not disturb. I have
started some lilies but have a fairly good growth of water hyacinth and I
think something called parrot fern.
I don't have a personal album online but could post a pic or two if
someone would like to suggest the easiest place to access.
I feel like I'm in an AA meeting when I confess that I couldn't wait to
get fish into the pond and had purchased several very small (1") goldfish
and some small (3") goldfish the second or third week after we'd filled
it. They survived the winter easily (we're located in Rancho
Cordova,California) and are still doing fine though now they're more like
5"- 7". Didn't know much (still don't really) about the care and feeding
of ponds and fish so fed them all winter. Sometime in spring a friend of
my son moved and gave us 6 10"-12" koi to care for, so I likely have too
many fish for the pond size I have water striders, dragonflies and damsel
flies in both final and larvae forms. The birds seem to like the free
bathing as I have put in some small beach access spots. Apart from bouts
with string algae and green water, the pond seems to be doing ok.
My biggest bother is that with our 100+ temperatures, the water goes
"green" and the bottom disappears. I see the fish at feeding time and an
occasional orange shadow beneath the surface at other times but I'd like
to see more of them. I have taken to treating the water with
MicrobeLift/SA but it's rather expensive and while it seems to block
enough light to inhibit string algae, it doesn't seem to have any effect
on the green water syndrone. I can tell from my skimmer filters that I am
getting a lot of the floating algae filtered out but obviously not enough
to clear the water. All submerged rocks are covered with this algae.A
local pond store suggests a UV light system. Has anyone experience with
these kinds of systems? They're a little dear but if they work against the
green water I would consider it.
I was also wondering if anyone knew the range of temperaturees that I
should try to keep the pond within. The water feels warm to my hand and I
just feel that can't be beneficial to the fish. We've been shading the
water with umbrellas because we're a new housing development and trees are
not big enough to do so yet. Would it be OK to cool the water down
somehow?
Thanks in advance for any replies and advice.
Welcome to the addictive world of ponding.
You state that you have a biological filter installed, but you haven't
described it. I suspect it is too small. Most of the commercial filters
say that they are rated to take care of X amount of pond, when in reality,
they would be hard pressed to take care of 1/2 X. The addition of the koi
probably overloaded the filter. Green water algae will consume ammonia
directly, so if the filter is not capable of maintaining a zero reading of
ammonia, the green water is your friend, and the friend of your fish, by
keeping the water livable. I suspect the addition of the koi overloaded the
system. Increasing the size of the filter is probably all that is needed.
You have not said anything about whether you test your pond or not. Tests
need to be run, about weekly once established, and more frequently on
startup, for ammonia, nitrite, pH (morning and evening), temperature, KH
carbonate hardness. GH general hardness and nitrates are nice to have, but
not as critical. Ammonia and nitrite should always read zero.
You didn't state whether you do any water changes or not. Water changes are
like the flushing of the toilet and need to be done about 10% per week.
That is removal of 10%, not just topping off. This will remove some of the
buildup of nitrates, some of the pheromones that limit growth, and dissolved
solids buildup.
The filter will build its own bacteria colony and does not need to be
constantly fed with bottled bugs. The bottled bugs work best on the solid
cellulose type detritus in a pond, but most of the bottled bugs are
anaerobic, which means they work best in thick layers of stuff that you
don't want in the pond in the first place. Save a $ or two.
UV lights work wonders. Be sure to buy one that has the capability to
handle the flow of your pump. They need exposure time to do the job. If
the water travels too fast, they don't work. I have seen 8W units clean
5000 gallon ponds, and 40W units not clean 3000 gallon ponds do to lack of
exposure time.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
Zone 7A/B Virginia