My new and first pond is 1300 gallons 40 inches deep. I followed all
of the directions of the gurus here. I have a skimmer that feeds a
bio-filter/waterfall an 8 foot stream with another waterfall and back
into the pond. First I introduced water hyacinth, water sprite,
hornwort and a plant whose name escapes me. We also tossed in a dozen
snails. After a couple of weeks two small fish (a koi and a comet).
Then two more small comets a couple of weeks later.

I have done no cleaning except for an occasional rinse of the filter
mats just because I think I should be doing something. For the past
week the water is crystal clear all the way to the bottom. I am
amazed.

Thanks for all your help.

John

"John Bachman" wrote in message
...
My new and first pond is 1300 gallons 40 inches deep. I followed all
of the directions of the gurus here. I have a skimmer that feeds a
bio-filter/waterfall an 8 foot stream with another waterfall and back
into the pond. First I introduced water hyacinth, water sprite,
hornwort and a plant whose name escapes me. We also tossed in a dozen
snails. After a couple of weeks two small fish (a koi and a comet).
Then two more small comets a couple of weeks later.

I have done no cleaning except for an occasional rinse of the filter
mats just because I think I should be doing something. For the past
week the water is crystal clear all the way to the bottom. I am
amazed.

As another newbie with opaque orange water I must say, and I mean this
sincerely, I hate yer guts. *laugh* Seriously, grats on the success. Sounds
like you have a nice balance going.

BV.

Keep your stocking rate low and I think
you'll continue to *see* your pond. ;-)


k30a

Interesting to hear that you have an 8 foot streat. I am trying to build one
into my setup but am finding it difficult get information about pumps etc.
Do you mind if I ask ... what size pump are you using and how deep/wide is
the stream.
Thanks
Tony

Be very careful!

My newly enlarged pond did the same thing several weeks ago....crystal clear to
the bottom, (35" deep) Then the fish started dieing. I lost 7 over about 10
days. 2.5" to 15" Koi. I have learned more about pond water chemistry in the
last 2 weeks than I've know in my ponding experience of the last 4 years.

It turns out my problem was a pH crash due to acid rain and not enough KH
hardness to buffer the rain.

I would strongly recomend checking your pH and KH. If pH is below 6, you need
to start adding baking soda today. You can read more about pH crashes and
remedies at www.koivet.com

http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/...icle_id=206&na
me=Newest%20Articles

If you do need to bring it up, your KH will be low also. Check it and bring it
up slowly at least to 110 or so.

A good formula for baking soda is (a * b)/5000 = bs
Where
a = pond in gallons
b = amount of kh increase for dosage
bs = ozs of baking soda
Ex. (1400*10)/5000 = 2.8 oz A 1400 gallon pond and 10 ppm KH rise.

Experts recommend 10 to 20 ppm KH rise daily or more quickly if your fish are
dieing.

Didn't mean to rain on your parade, but if this information saves you from
having to go through what I did, then it is worth it.

Bill

On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 15:18:29 GMT, "Tony Brennan"
wrote:

Interesting to hear that you have an 8 foot streat. I am trying to build one
into my setup but am finding it difficult get information about pumps etc.
Do you mind if I ask ... what size pump are you using and how deep/wide is
the stream.

The stream is fed by the filter/waterfall. My pump is 1800 gph and
the head is 3.5 feet. The stream is approximately 18 inches wide and
depth varies as I have two pools in it, one about 6 inches deep and
the other is 11 inches deep. The running stream part is pretty steep
so is not very deep. Gets lots of nice babble though :-).

In response to another poster who had the same experience and then
lost his fish: I have not checked my ph recently and will do so this
evening. We have not had much rain lately so I have replenished with
my well water which is very acid. The last time I checked the pond it
was very close to neutral.

John

Thanks
Tony

John Bachman wrote:

....
I have done no cleaning except for an occasional rinse of the filter
mats just because I think I should be doing something. For the past
week the water is crystal clear all the way to the bottom ...

What are you doing wrong? You haven't posted pictures or a web site so
we can diagnosis your problem correctly. VBG Sounds terrific, but be
aware that this can change at any moment: heat wave, overzealous feeding
of pond inhabitants, visit by heron or raccoons, etc. Keep up the good work.
--
Kathy B

In response to another poster who had the same experience and then
lost his fish: I have not checked my ph recently and will do so this
evening. We have not had much rain lately so I have replenished with
my well water which is very acid. The last time I checked the pond it
was very close to neutral.
John

Do check your Kh, pH maybe fine in the PM and fluctuate wildly downward by
AM if you Kh is low. ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
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