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#1
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bucket filter really worked
after the polyester batting took a big chunk out of the algae I put regular
filter material in, reticulated foam, screening, etc. and I can now see the pea gravel on the bottom of the pond. it is amazing how well that bucket filter works. the ammonia is also back to zero. and I unplugged the heater and removed plastic off 1/2 the pond and the temp went from 68 down to 52... yikes. maybe they quit spawning when the temps dropped? the heaters are back on, the pond is covered for another little while. guess I will have to wait a bit longer for summer. Ingrid |
#2
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bucket filter really worked
On Mar 30, 9:21 am, "drsolo" wrote:
after the polyester batting took a big chunk out of the algae I put regular filter material in, reticulated foam, screening, etc. and I can now see the pea gravel on the bottom of the pond. it is amazing how well that bucket filter works. the ammonia is also back to zero. and I unplugged the heater and removed plastic off 1/2 the pond and the temp went from 68 down to 52... yikes. maybe they quit spawning when the temps dropped? the heaters are back on, the pond is covered for another little while. guess I will have to wait a bit longer for summer. Ingrid How do you explain that Ingrid? I have always been told/repeated that no filter will filter algae because they are much too small. Dead algae (clumping) can be filtered. Or perhaps that is what you are implying in your typical concise way: dead algae removed=much greater visibility. Bill |
#3
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bucket filter really worked
polyester batting will most definitely take out algae. maybe the last few
days has been too cloudy, to cold now for algae. I dont think that is it tho. definitely the algae got thicker after the temp of the water heated up and I gave em food. maybe they have quit spawning?? dont know for sure. |
#4
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bucket filter really worked
On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:19:51 CST, "drsolo" wrote:
polyester batting will most definitely take out algae. I agree, so will open cell foam. The reason a filter appears not to remove it, is that on a nice sunny day, the algae can reproduce faster than most filters can remove it. My example is when I used garden soil in two pots that my son had added steer manure to just the week before. Such bright green water you had to wear shades, but come nightfall the filter would clear it up. Sun up, bright green again. The pots came out, some big water changes, and no more algae creation. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State |
#5
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bucket filter really worked
On Mar 30, 8:11 pm, ~ jan wrote:
On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:19:51 CST, "drsolo" wrote: polyester batting will most definitely take out algae. I agree, so will open cell foam. The reason a filter appears not to remove it, is that on a nice sunny day, the algae can reproduce faster than most filters can remove it. My example is when I used garden soil in two pots that my son had added steer manure to just the week before. Such bright green water you had to wear shades, but come nightfall the filter would clear it up. Sun up, bright green again. The pots came out, some big water changes, and no more algae creation. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State I will not dispute that batting or even open cell foam removes algae. But I am interested in the process. As best I can tell most pond algae is between 15 and 45 microns. So it seems unlikely that per see either one of these materials is filtering out live algae. Perhaps it is stopping dead algae which has a tendency to clump. Perhaps removing the dead algae leaves less nutrients in the water for the live algae. It also seems beneficial bacterial may have some role in killing off algae. So I am not saying these materials don't help/work. I am just curious why they do, since it seems a diatom filter is actually the only media small enough to prevent the diameter of the algae from going through the media. Just curious Bill |
#6
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bucket filter really worked
"humBill" wrote in message ups.com... On Mar 30, 8:11 pm, ~ jan wrote: On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:19:51 CST, "drsolo" wrote: polyester batting will most definitely take out algae. I agree, so will open cell foam. The reason a filter appears not to remove it, is that on a nice sunny day, the algae can reproduce faster than most filters can remove it. My example is when I used garden soil in two pots that my son had added steer manure to just the week before. Such bright green water you had to wear shades, but come nightfall the filter would clear it up. Sun up, bright green again. The pots came out, some big water changes, and no more algae creation. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State I will not dispute that batting or even open cell foam removes algae. But I am interested in the process. As best I can tell most pond algae is between 15 and 45 microns. So it seems unlikely that per see either one of these materials is filtering out live algae. Perhaps it is stopping dead algae which has a tendency to clump. Perhaps removing the dead algae leaves less nutrients in the water for the live algae. It also seems beneficial bacterial may have some role in killing off algae. So I am not saying these materials don't help/work. I am just curious why they do, since it seems a diatom filter is actually the only media small enough to prevent the diameter of the algae from going through the media. A biological filter works because the bacteria that colonizes in it "eats" and thrives on the same stuff that "algae bloom" does as the water passes through it, starving the algae bloom. It doesn't strain the pond water the way a mechanical filter does. When you add a bacteria supplement, you are temporarily spiking the level of bacteria in your pond and filter. If your filter material is dense enough to prevent algae from going through it, it won't work biologically, only mechanically, and then only till it plugs up. Your pond water will still be loaded with nutrients to grow the free floating, suspended algae, and still be cloudy or a swamp Gale :~) |
#7
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bucket filter really worked
I think of polyester batting more like when you stand up in a dirty bath and
the grime adheres to wet skin. INgrid |
#8
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bucket filter really worked
humBill wrote:
I have always been told/repeated that no filter will filter algae because they are much too small. No filter will remove _all_ the algae, but if you have a lot of it, I`m sure you can thin it out. -- derek - Unless otherwise noted, I speak for myself, not rec.ponds.moderated moderators. |
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