Seems that this didn't go through when I first finished it hours ago.
Here goes again, apologies if this is a repeat....


I've decided that I'm probably going to go ahead and get a pump in the
near future. A fish is pretty active and eating, but I wanted to make
both of them a little more livlier and healthier. I could use some
recommendations since I'm clueless even with web and newsgroup
searches. The fish don't look to be near the surface gasping for
oxygen--I don't often see them, in fact.

Again, I'm the fellow who has set up a container water garden in a
half whiskey barrel. Seems to be doing ok. My local pond supplier
seems to go out of anacharis quickly which is disheartening--I was a
day late today when I called which is similar to last time.

I would like to keep the water lily that's in there, though, and was
wondering to what extent they can tolerate circulation from a pump.

1) I've read that they don't like violent water. Should I just stay
with a trickler, or can I actually go ahead and get a standard pump?
Would the overturned pot in the middle with a plant on it give a
buffer to keep the water movement where the lily is in check?

2) Can I place the pump directly on the bottom or must I level it? How
would I situate the hose so that it acts sort of like a fountain? If
there's any other stuff that I should make sure my pump comes with,
please let me know whether they're required or not.

Here's a water quality timeline--I've been trying to keep decomposable
mess from infiltrating the water:

4/18/04
Afternoon test: 8.0 PH, .25 ammonia

4/19/04
Green algae

4/20/04
Night test: 9.0 PH, .25 ammonia, .25 nitrites

4/23/04
Afternoon test: 9.0 PH, .25 ammonia, 0 nitrates

No luck trying to get mosquito fish--the local government agencies
responsible for them tend to close far too early. I thought I saw
mosquito eggs in there on the 20th, but they seem to have vanished
after the rain this week. Maybe they were just gases similar to what
I saw in a swamp last weekend. No larvae that I see, although a
puddle down the street that has been there as long as my water garden
has black larvae. Along with a bunch of other interesting bugs.
Other than beetles, stray ants on the side, the occaisional spider,
and drowning insects, my water garden seems bugless.

Daniel Phillips

[+]bandito[-]spam = [-]toppler.[+]zworg.com
Be warned, may mistakingly bounce back as spam.

Daniel,

I can't help you on most of this, but for the mosquitos, have you considered
a mosquito dunk? I've used them in my koi pond with no apparent ill effects
on the fish or plants, and others on this board have posted messages that
they are safe.

Remydog

"Daniel Phillips" wrote in message
...
Seems that this didn't go through when I first finished it hours ago.
Here goes again, apologies if this is a repeat....


I've decided that I'm probably going to go ahead and get a pump in the
near future. A fish is pretty active and eating, but I wanted to make
both of them a little more livlier and healthier. I could use some
recommendations since I'm clueless even with web and newsgroup
searches. The fish don't look to be near the surface gasping for
oxygen--I don't often see them, in fact.

Again, I'm the fellow who has set up a container water garden in a
half whiskey barrel. Seems to be doing ok. My local pond supplier
seems to go out of anacharis quickly which is disheartening--I was a
day late today when I called which is similar to last time.

I would like to keep the water lily that's in there, though, and was
wondering to what extent they can tolerate circulation from a pump.

1) I've read that they don't like violent water. Should I just stay
with a trickler, or can I actually go ahead and get a standard pump?
Would the overturned pot in the middle with a plant on it give a
buffer to keep the water movement where the lily is in check?

2) Can I place the pump directly on the bottom or must I level it? How
would I situate the hose so that it acts sort of like a fountain? If
there's any other stuff that I should make sure my pump comes with,
please let me know whether they're required or not.

Here's a water quality timeline--I've been trying to keep decomposable
mess from infiltrating the water:

4/18/04
Afternoon test: 8.0 PH, .25 ammonia

4/19/04
Green algae

4/20/04
Night test: 9.0 PH, .25 ammonia, .25 nitrites

4/23/04
Afternoon test: 9.0 PH, .25 ammonia, 0 nitrates

No luck trying to get mosquito fish--the local government agencies
responsible for them tend to close far too early. I thought I saw
mosquito eggs in there on the 20th, but they seem to have vanished
after the rain this week. Maybe they were just gases similar to what
I saw in a swamp last weekend. No larvae that I see, although a
puddle down the street that has been there as long as my water garden
has black larvae. Along with a bunch of other interesting bugs.
Other than beetles, stray ants on the side, the occaisional spider,
and drowning insects, my water garden seems bugless.

Daniel Phillips

[+]bandito[-]spam = [-]toppler.[+]zworg.com
Be warned, may mistakingly bounce back as spam.

On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 09:43:55 GMT, "Remydog"
wrote:

Daniel,

I can't help you on most of this, but for the mosquitos, have you considered
a mosquito dunk? I've used them in my koi pond with no apparent ill effects
on the fish or plants, and others on this board have posted messages that
they are safe.

Remydog

Yup, I had a mosquito dunk in there. I don't know where it is now.
It rained recently, so maybe it dissolved or is on the bottom
somewhere. I think I saw a fish eat some specks of it--he's still
alive today.

Daniel Phillips

[+]bandito[-]spam = [-]toppler.[+]zworg.com
Be warned, may mistakingly bounce back as spam.

They dissolve over time. You need to replace them every few weeks.

"Daniel Phillips" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 09:43:55 GMT, "Remydog"
wrote:

Daniel,

I can't help you on most of this, but for the mosquitos, have you
considered
a mosquito dunk? I've used them in my koi pond with no apparent ill
effects
on the fish or plants, and others on this board have posted messages that
they are safe.

Remydog

Yup, I had a mosquito dunk in there. I don't know where it is now.
It rained recently, so maybe it dissolved or is on the bottom
somewhere. I think I saw a fish eat some specks of it--he's still
alive today.

Daniel Phillips

[+]bandito[-]spam = [-]toppler.[+]zworg.com
Be warned, may mistakingly bounce back as spam.

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 00:28:43 GMT, "Remydog"
wrote:

They dissolve over time. You need to replace them every few weeks.

"Daniel Phillips" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 09:43:55 GMT, "Remydog"
wrote:

Daniel,

I can't help you on most of this, but for the mosquitos, have you
considered
a mosquito dunk? I've used them in my koi pond with no apparent ill
effects
on the fish or plants, and others on this board have posted messages that
they are safe.

Remydog

Yup, I had a mosquito dunk in there. I don't know where it is now.
It rained recently, so maybe it dissolved or is on the bottom
somewhere. I think I saw a fish eat some specks of it--he's still
alive today.

Daniel Phillips

[+]bandito[-]spam = [-]toppler.[+]zworg.com
Be warned, may mistakingly bounce back as spam.

It was on the bottom. I replaced it anyway, though.

Daniel Phillips

[+]bandito[-]spam = [-]toppler.[+]zworg.com
Be warned, may mistakingly bounce back as spam.