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  • A biofilter is absolutely essential if you want to keep fish in a pond. In my opinion it is cruel not to install a biofilter since without a biofilter the fish will live in a potentially highly toxic environment. A biofilter will automatically start itself up once fish are introduced into a pond. Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter are naturally occurring and will rapidly find their own way into the filter. They then need oxygen from circulating water as well as excreted ammonia from the fish (this occurs naturally) to thrive and multiply. It will take some considerable time for the biofilter to reach maturity. pond filters

  • To determine an approximate average depth of your gold fish or koi pond whose depth is not constant take a stick and mark it in intervals of say 3 inches with an indelible ink pen. At 10 different places in the pond insert the stick and record the depths (10 numbers). Add the numbers together and divide by 10. Use this answer as the average depth of the pond. If your pond is of equal depth and the same cross section then you can very accurately measure the pond volume. solar pumps for ponds

  • Winter and garden ponds. Floating plants like Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) and Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) must be taken indoors and kept in light frost-free shade. Water Hyacinth can be potted up into a light, merely moist compost. Water Soldier (Stratiotes aloides) will sink to the bottom before the first frosts whereas Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae ) and Water Chestnut (Trapa natans) form nuts or buds that sink to the bottom to rise again the following year to form plantlets. Unfortunately the Frogbit will fall prey to predatory snails and the Water Chestnut is unlikely to form nuts in cold climates, so they need rescuing to a pan of muddy water in good time before the autumn party is over, so they can do their thing in the warm protective ambience of a greenhouse or light shed or attic. all about garden pond plants

  • Normal centrifugal pumps can operate against a closed valve with little effect upon the well-being of the pump. What you should not do however is restrict the suction side to control flow unless this is for a smallish fountain pump. You know when a pump suctions needs cleaning when the height of your fountain or flow down the waterfall reduces significantly. These days the best pumps do not have sponges inside the suction body. Such sponges are a source of major hassles especially in summer when they block up every couple of days and have to be removed. submersible pumps

  • Measuring pond volume using science .. this is worth pointing out for its simple but brilliant bit of chemistry. Once more I am grateful to a reader for pointing this out to me. This method depends upon a pondkeeper using salt in the pond water. By measuring the salt concentration in the pond water before and after adding a known amount (lbs) of salt to the pond it is possible to calculate the pond volume very accurately and easily assuming the salt hydrometer is also accurate. If you want to know more e mail me and I will send you a calculator pond pump head or pressure

  • Biofilters and bacteria starters ... Some manufacturers claim that their bio starters contain Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. Now it is extremely diffiult to freeze dry and keep alive such sensitive bacteria so any claim should be backed up by definitive proof of the fact that such powders do contain those bacteria and they are in a form that will work. If there was a viable population when packed then the question to be asked is are the bacteria still viable ater "x" weeks on a shelf in non-controlled conditions. If the concoction does not contain Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter then what value is it anyway? biological pond filters

  • Measuring pond volume using science .. this is worth pointing out for its simple but brilliant bit of chemistry. Once more I am grateful to a reader for pointing this out to me. This method depends upon a pondkeeper using salt in the pond water. By measuring the salt concentration in the pond water before and after adding a known amount (lbs) of salt to the pond it is possible to calculate the pond volume very accurately and easily assuming the salt hydrometer is also accurate. If you want to know more e mail me and I will send you a calculator pond pump head or pressure

  • Winter and garden ponds. Pioneering marginals like Bog Bean (Menyanthes trifoliata), the Spearworts (Ranunculus flammula and R. lingua Grandiflora) and Parrots Feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum syn. proserpinacoides) that seem intent on investigating the outer reaches of their universe should be cut back to home base: show them what youre made of. The same goes for Reed Maces ( Typha angustifolia and Typha latifolia). Feel around the baskets to see which plants have linked up in a firm vegetative bond. A bit of basket busting may be in order to sort them out. marginal pond plants

  • Fish health ... One of the most important things in keeping your pond and your fish healthy is understanding pathogenic bacteria. There are a wide variety of pathogenic bacteria that can infect your pond. By far the most common are Aeromonas and Pseudomonas. These two bacteria kill more koi each year than all the other pathogens combined. Understanding how these pathogens live, eat and attack your koi is vital to controlling them. Aeromonas and Pseudomonas cause ulcers (also known as hole in the side disease), fin rot, mouth rot and tail rot. If left untreated the damage they inflict will eventually kill the fish. pond pump selection

  • Ponds & algae concerns ... At night, both algae and fish consume oxygen from and exhale carbon dioxide into the system. Algae compete with the fish for available oxygen in the water. A potentially serious impact of an algae bloom is the risk of an "algae crash" triggered by temperature or barometric pressure. When an algae bloom collapses, dead algae cells settle to the bottom of the pond, adding to the decomposing sediments oxygen demand. As the dead algae cells rupture, they release organic nitrogen and phosphorous back into the water, adding to the systems nutrient load. pond algae

 

Never switch off your pond pump for more than about 60 minutes

Make sure the delivery pipe from the pond pump is not kinked

Must the UV be placed before the biofilter?

A waterfall adds oxygen to a pond by creating a large surface area

Submersible pond pumps can operate against a closed valve

It is a good idea to pump out about 10% of your pond water

Lighting in and around ponds creates a brand new dimension

Sick and tired of looking at debris on the bottom of your pond?

Do not feed more food than what you fish can eat

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