|
|
Filtering a big pond
The bulldozer and front end loader got finished and now what once was a 40
ft small tree lined wet garbage dump (sort of a pond) is now a 40 foot in diameter mud puddle with an average depth of about 3 feet. I don't think the water is *too* polluted because as the thing got cleared out the landscape people found a bunch of frogs, turtles, and at least two cottonmouth snakes, one being about 5 feet long. That was a little exciting for me, but the guy on the bulldozer didn't seem too impressed, and he made rather short work of the snake with his bulldozer blade. I guess those folks are quite used to running into snakes. Anyway, I looked at pumps and filters for large ponds and found that about the largest I could find was for about a 5000 gal pond, and it seems mine is a bit larger than that. I don't have any illusions about having crystal clear water flowing in the pond, but it seems to me that constantly moving the water through some sort of filter would eventually change it from being just a mud puddle into something a little more eye appealing. Would circulating the water through a series of "settling tanks" (coarse gravel, fine gravel, then something like sand) be of any use? Are there plants that I can ring my mud puddle with that would help? I live in northern Florida, so brutal winters are not exactly a problem but I also don't want to go down in history as the guy who planted something like kudzu around his pond, only to have it escape and become a serious pest. Also, do those "barley ball" and other "pond treatments" I see advertised do any good? Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future |
Filtering a big pond
Your ****ing in the wind if your going to even think about filtering a
natural mud bottom pond especially when you consider whaty a mud bottom pond is......the mud in y our pond is the key to your ponds naturally occuriing biological filter system all proovided by naature nothing else other than aeration needs to be done. .Aerate it like many other have posted, keep excessive nutrient loads from runoff to a minimum or non existent, and let it go at that. There is no plants your gonna be able to plant aorund or in the pond that will not take over and become invasive in a natural pond......If you need something for algae, then you have excessive nutrients.......probably from runoff water.......or lack or or insufficient aeration.......or both......ALgae blooms in this sectin of the o****ry is the norm, so every bit yu can do to knock down nutrients and provide aeration will be iportant....YOur wasteing money with the barley crap, get some Baraclear and be done with it... Just what did you do with all this info you were provided previously on numerous accounts ......eat it or? You make the same posts asking the same questions over and over........evidently the answers you were given does not fit your budget or desires or you would have implemented them by now. sheeeeeeesssssssssssh On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 12:40:09 -0500, Galen Hekhuis wrote: The bulldozer and front end loader got finished and now what once was a 40 ft small tree lined wet garbage dump (sort of a pond) is now a 40 foot in diameter mud puddle with an average depth of about 3 feet. I don't think the water is *too* polluted because as the thing got cleared out the landscape people found a bunch of frogs, turtles, and at least two cottonmouth snakes, one being about 5 feet long. That was a little exciting for me, but the guy on the bulldozer didn't seem too impressed, and he made rather short work of the snake with his bulldozer blade. I guess those folks are quite used to running into snakes. Anyway, I looked at pumps and filters for large ponds and found that about the largest I could find was for about a 5000 gal pond, and it seems mine is a bit larger than that. I don't have any illusions about having crystal clear water flowing in the pond, but it seems to me that constantly moving the water through some sort of filter would eventually change it from being just a mud puddle into something a little more eye appealing. Would circulating the water through a series of "settling tanks" (coarse gravel, fine gravel, then something like sand) be of any use? Are there plants that I can ring my mud puddle with that would help? I live in northern Florida, so brutal winters are not exactly a problem but I also don't want to go down in history as the guy who planted something like kudzu around his pond, only to have it escape and become a serious pest. Also, do those "barley ball" and other "pond treatments" I see advertised do any good? Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future -- \\\|/// ( @ @ ) -----------oOOo(_)oOOo--------------- oooO ---------( )----Oooo---------------- \ ( ( ) \_) ) / (_/ The original frugal ponder! Koi-ahoi mates.... |
Filtering a big pond
"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message ... I don't have any illusions about having crystal clear water flowing in the pond, but it seems to me that constantly moving the water through some sort of filter would eventually change it from being just a mud puddle into something a little more eye appealing. ================================ If it looks like a "mud puddle" and isn't very attractive I'd plant water lilies. They'll spread and bloom giving you color. They'll also shade the water, starving the algae. Have you thought of Lotus? They can really get carried away but are beautiful. Some type of floating waterpump (so it doesn't clog quickly) with a few foamers would help keep it from getting stagnant and turning into a mosquito breeding pit. -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: NEW PAGE: Aquariums: http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastada...ium-Page4.html http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
Filtering a big pond
On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 12:32:05 -0600, "Koi-lo"
wrote: "Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message .. . I don't have any illusions about having crystal clear water flowing in the pond, but it seems to me that constantly moving the water through some sort of filter would eventually change it from being just a mud puddle into something a little more eye appealing. ================================ If it looks like a "mud puddle" and isn't very attractive I'd plant water lilies. They'll spread and bloom giving you color. They'll also shade the water, starving the algae. Have you thought of Lotus? They can really get carried away but are beautiful. Thanks. There are a bunch of water lilies growing out in the front pond, I can grab some and transplant them. Is there anything special I need to watch out for? I had thought Lotus might be far too demanding for my somewhat neglectful type of care. Some type of floating waterpump (so it doesn't clog quickly) with a few foamers would help keep it from getting stagnant and turning into a mosquito breeding pit. Either mosquitoes don't bother me much or we don't seem to have as many here as I expected when I moved here. In any event, I've got a 3000 gal/hr pump sucking up water (through a screen-type wastebasket) at one end and the discharge hose almost at the other end, my intent to be to get as much movement as I can, considering. The screen on the wastebasket on the pump will admit stuff that is about 1/4 inch or less, even though the pump is supposed to handle solids up to 3/8 inch. On the discharge side I have the water running down one of the "banks" of the "pond." What type of "floating" water pump would you recommend? Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future |
Filtering a big pond
"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message ... On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 12:32:05 -0600, "Koi-lo" wrote: "Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message . .. I don't have any illusions about having crystal clear water flowing in the pond, but it seems to me that constantly moving the water through some sort of filter would eventually change it from being just a mud puddle into something a little more eye appealing. ================================ If it looks like a "mud puddle" and isn't very attractive I'd plant water lilies. They'll spread and bloom giving you color. They'll also shade the water, starving the algae. Have you thought of Lotus? They can really get carried away but are beautiful. Thanks. There are a bunch of water lilies growing out in the front pond, I can grab some and transplant them. Is there anything special I need to watch out for? I had thought Lotus might be far too demanding for my somewhat neglectful type of care. Lotus need no care in a pond with a soil bottom. They're not demanding unless you grow them in pots or tubs. They'll grow around the edges mainly where the water is shallower. Their booms are breathtaking! You can plant the water lilies where the water is deeper, in the middle. Some type of floating waterpump (so it doesn't clog quickly) with a few foamers would help keep it from getting stagnant and turning into a mosquito breeding pit. Either mosquitoes don't bother me much or we don't seem to have as many here as I expected when I moved here. In any event, I've got a 3000 gal/hr pump sucking up water (through a screen-type wastebasket) at one end and the discharge hose almost at the other end, my intent to be to get as much movement as I can, considering. If the pump doesn't clog with silt and leaves that should help. Keep if off the bottom if possible. If mosquitoes do become a problem you can add some cheap feeder goldfish or even cheaper rosy reds. The screen on the wastebasket on the pump will admit stuff that is about 1/4 inch or less, even though the pump is supposed to handle solids up to 3/8 inch. On the discharge side I have the water running down one of the "banks" of the "pond." What type of "floating" water pump would you recommend? If it's running down the bank it'll probably keep your pond muddy, unless the bank is rock. Since I don't use these type of floating pumps I can't recommend any particular brand. I see them floating and spraying in small ponds here in TN. It appears they're on some kind of floating platform anchored in the place they're to stay. I have no idea what kind of filter is attached to them to keep "junk" from being sucked in. You can call your Agricultural Extension Agent for someone in your county who would know. Sorry I can't be of any more help..... -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: NEW PAGE: Aquariums: http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastada...ium-Page4.html http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
Filtering a big pond
Like I stated before there is NOTHING that yu can actually plant in a mud bottom pond especially in your local and not expect it to become envasive, be it lotus, lillies and certainly cat tails.......Its virtually impossible to keep any plant constrained within the limits of a pot or container when its in a natural pond... Maybe you did not say anything about algae blooms, but its inevitable yur gonna get them its the nature of the beast so aeration and baraclear and keeping run off minimixed is the solution to future problems, once spring/ summer kicks in. A lot of the stuff thats floating will settle and sink, and become biological filter material, so don;t get concerned with it. Make the floating fountain and set back and watch.......There is not much yu can do to stop natural occuring things from happening nor is there much yu can do to solve your questions without spending a heap of money for equipment and also exhorant operating expenses...which I gather from your prevous posts your barely able to run or afford some items which were suggested.......Just take a look at a pond in that area where lilys are growing wild and its just solid surface cover, no water at all and within a year ro two it will be one masive heavily infested pond....with whatever you planted... Koi-lo has about as much experieince with a natural poknd and what to plant in it as I do performing brain surgery as a profession...... Perhaps a few lilys ina large wash tub near the edge that you can tend to properly and keep an eye on and aeration in the form of a floating fountain.........is about it....The rest thats gonna happen is gonna happen with or without your intervention as to algae, critters, debri, runoff etc etc... Baraclear P80 is a aluminum sulfate mix in a sodium bentonite pellet, that locks up phosphates which are key to algae growth.......There is no reason not to expect good water visibility if aeration and nutrients are taken care of......I can readily see 4 to 6 feet deep in relatively clean clear water in my natural ponds here without a problem any time of the year, and my zone is what your zone is in regards to temperatures and environmental issues........I would even dose the pond with a strong dose of potassium permangante to oxidize or basically sterilize any crap that may still be in there and eliminate anay nutrients you already have....It certainly does not take much runoff to gain a heap of nutrients, and I am sure you have some runoff around that pond coming from sonewhere expeicially with the gulley washers this area receives, and the crap hurricanes and winds all carry in as well, as winds are just about as bad as lots of water runoff when it comes to adding nutrients to a pond.....YOur against the odds without filtration, so you have to make do with whats been proven. YOur water is not all that deep so its gonna get warmed up quicker, yet another reason for aeration....... On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 13:47:18 -0500, Galen Hekhuis wrote: On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 17:51:45 GMT, (Roy) wrote: Your ****ing in the wind if your going to even think about filtering a natural mud bottom pond especially when you consider whaty a mud bottom pond is......the mud in y our pond is the key to your ponds naturally occuriing biological filter system all proovided by naature nothing else other than aeration needs to be done. .Aerate it like many other have posted, keep excessive nutrient loads from runoff to a minimum or non existent, and let it go at that. Maybe "filtering" isn't the exact word. There is stuff that I can see floating in the pond -- no amount of aeration or something like that is going to get rid of it -- ever. This isn't just your typical hole-dug-in-the-ground type of pond, there was junk in it before, and now some of it is floating. I know that several many cities take in their water from a river or lake, use it, treat it (often involving settling tanks), and then return it to the body of water they drew it from. In many cases the "treated" water is actually much cleaner than it was when it was withdrawn. I was wondering if I might do something similar, although on a much smaller scale. I have no expectation of getting rid of the mud at the bottom, and this is a far cry from anything like a natural pond. There is no plants your gonna be able to plant aorund or in the pond that will not take over and become invasive in a natural pond On one web page I visited they recommended something like cattails, although they suggested growing them in pots to keep them from spreading. I have three ponds on the property here, the front one has a fair number of cattails growing naturally, I could easily get them from there. They have not spread to the back pond, nor do they appear likely to spread to the "pond" I'm working on, I just wondered if looking into plants was at all worthwhile. Again, I think you may have overlooked that I have said this is NOT a "natural" (whatever that is) pond. ......If you need something for algae, then you have excessive nutrients.......probably from runoff water I have very little runoff water, as far as water that drains directly into the "pond." However, I do have a fair amount of water that gets into the "pond" from underground. The hole is below the local water table, if I don't constantly pump it out, it fills up from just the ground water. I'd say it gets about 90% full in about a week, and then within two weeks it tracks the level of the local water table fairly closely. If I have a puddle 20 feet from the pond after a rain, I can pretty much guarantee that most of the water will wind up in the "pond," although it doesn't drain into it above ground. I've been a cave explorer for some 40 years now, and know a little bit about underground hydrology. (The whole Suwannee River valley and its tributaries are among the finest areas for underwater speleology in the entire world.) .......or lack or or insufficient aeration.......or both..... How much aeration do you consider sufficient for this size pond? .ALgae blooms in this sectin of the o****ry is the norm, so every bit yu can do to knock down nutrients and provide aeration will be iportant.... I don't think I have ever said anything about algae blooms. YOur wasteing money with the barley crap, get some Baraclear and be done with it... "Baraclear" sounds like a trade name. Is there a generic name or are there some special ingredients? Just what did you do with all this info you were provided previously on numerous accounts ......eat it or? I've only made a few posts to this group since this summer, a few people have responded and I have appreciated it. I've been posting as work progresses and when I have been unable to find any answers to my questions through my own research. I'm sorry you find these so irritating. You make the same posts asking the same questions over and over........evidently the answers you were given does not fit your budget or desires or you would have implemented them by now. sheeeeeeesssssssssssh A technique I have found helpful in my years on Usenet is to sit on my hands when I see a posting in a group that I find silly or offensive. If I feel I need to say something personal to a person I generally use their email address, which I always provide. Assuming that is my intent, of course. Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future -- \\\|/// ( @ @ ) -----------oOOo(_)oOOo--------------- oooO ---------( )----Oooo---------------- \ ( ( ) \_) ) / (_/ The original frugal ponder! Koi-ahoi mates.... |
Filtering a big pond
On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 21:24:38 GMT, (Roy) wrote:
Like I stated before there is NOTHING that yu can actually plant in a mud bottom pond especially in your local and not expect it to become envasive, be it lotus, lillies and certainly cat tails.......Its virtually impossible to keep any plant constrained within the limits of a pot or container when its in a natural pond... Maybe you did not say anything about algae blooms, but its inevitable yur gonna get them its the nature of the beast so aeration and baraclear and keeping run off minimixed is the solution to future problems, once spring/ summer kicks in. A lot of the stuff thats floating will settle and sink, and become biological filter material, so don;t get concerned with it. Make the floating fountain and set back and watch.......There is not much yu can do to stop natural occuring things from happening nor is there much yu can do to solve your questions without spending a heap of money for equipment and also exhorant operating expenses...which I gather from your prevous posts your barely able to run or afford some items which were suggested....... I didn't mean to give that impression. I spent over a grand getting the "pond" cleaned up and a little over 300 for the pump and hose I got. I realize a heap of money may vary from place to place, but I'm willing to sink at least that much into things now, which seems to be about what one of those deluxe waterfall/pump/uv/filter/faux lava rock kits runs. I sure don't need all that. Just take a look at a pond in that area where lilys are growing wild and its just solid surface cover, no water at all and within a year ro two it will be one masive heavily infested pond....with whatever you planted... I'd have to disagree with that, at least in my (short) experience here. Along my drive into town I pass a pond that looks like it has been there for years. It has a pretty good crop of water lilies in it. I've driven by it for over a year now. It hasn't become overrun with lilies yet. There is a rowboat there, so maybe they row out and get rid of some of the lilies, though I've never seen the people who live there do that. Anyway, I have a kayak, and I'm not afraid to use it. Koi-lo has about as much experieince with a natural poknd and what to plant in it as I do performing brain surgery as a profession...... Perhaps a few lilys ina large wash tub near the edge that you can tend to properly and keep an eye on and aeration in the form of a floating fountain.........is about it....The rest thats gonna happen is gonna happen with or without your intervention as to algae, critters, debri, runoff etc etc... Baraclear P80 is a aluminum sulfate mix in a sodium bentonite pellet, that locks up phosphates which are key to algae growth.......There is no reason not to expect good water visibility if aeration and nutrients are taken care of......I can readily see 4 to 6 feet deep in relatively clean clear water in my natural ponds here without a problem any time of the year, and my zone is what your zone is in regards to temperatures and environmental issues........I would even dose the pond with a strong dose of potassium permangante to oxidize or basically sterilize any crap that may still be in there and eliminate anay nutrients you already have.... Is that stuff you can throw in all at once or do you need to kind of dispense it in, perhaps in the waterfall water? It certainly does not take much runoff to gain a heap of nutrients, and I am sure you have some runoff around that pond coming from sonewhere expeicially with the gulley washers this area receives, and the crap hurricanes and winds all carry in as well, as winds are just about as bad as lots of water runoff when it comes to adding nutrients to a pond.....YOur against the odds without filtration, so you have to make do with whats been proven. YOur water is not all that deep so its gonna get warmed up quicker, yet another reason for aeration....... As far as hurricanes go I was surprised to find that I actually lived in a *less* hurricane prone area in Dunnellon (SW of Ocala, where I lived before coming here) than up in North Carolina, where my brother lives. Right here seems to be one of the least likely to be hit by a hurricane along the whole Gulf or Florida coasts. I have noticed some pretty hefty rains, though. So do you recommend the type of water jet type fountain, kind of like a lawn sprinkler, or is it preferable to have a waterfall type? Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future |
Filtering a big pond
"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message ... .. Koi-lo If the pump doesn't clog with silt and leaves that should help. Keep if off the bottom if possible. If mosquitoes do become a problem you can add some cheap feeder goldfish or even cheaper rosy reds. I've got a bunch of those mosquito eating minnows in my back pond, I guess I'll be moving a bunch up to this pond. I'm not much of a fish person, the real name of the fish I think starts with a "g." My brother was down here and pointed them out. They must work pretty well; I sure don't notice many mosquitoes back there. Perhaps you have gambusia. Whatever works. :-)) I would think that after water runs down a bank for several months it would have washed away all the mud it could, but maybe not. It will keep washing away the soil until it hits pure clay or rock. As far as calling someone goes, I'm afraid that is not an option for me. I have something called primary lateral sclerosis (it is sometimes called a "gentler and kinder" form of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease) and I have pretty much lost my ability to talk (at least so people can understand me), let alone walk. I still drive a mean kayak, however, my upper body strength seems unaffected. I'm sorry to hear that. :-( Perhaps you can have a friend or relative make the call for you?!?!?! There may be a website they maintain (the Ag dept.) where you can ask questions. Meanwhile keep active with that kayak! :-) Hey, you've been a big help. I don't expect everyone to have all the answers every time, there is no need to be sorry about it. I ask some pretty basic and stupid (and repetitious, so I've been told) questions that could probably be cleared up with a simple phone call. But here I get to ask a bunch of people all at once, and anyway, I think my questions are a bit more on topic than some of the folks discussing evolution, or religion, or whatever... Yes, your questions are on-topic. Keep asking as there will always be someone willing to answer you. -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: NEW PAGE: Aquariums: http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastada...ium-Page4.html http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
Filtering a big pond
On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 18:27:47 -0500, Galen Hekhuis
wrote: On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 21:24:38 GMT, (Roy) wrote: Like I stated before there is NOTHING that yu can actually plant in a mud bottom pond especially in your local and not expect it to become envasive, be it lotus, lillies and certainly cat tails.......Its virtually impossible to keep any plant constrained within the limits of a pot or container when its in a natural pond... Maybe you did not say anything about algae blooms, but its inevitable yur gonna get them its the nature of the beast so aeration and baraclear and keeping run off minimixed is the solution to future problems, once spring/ summer kicks in. A lot of the stuff thats floating will settle and sink, and become biological filter material, so don;t get concerned with it. Make the floating fountain and set back and watch.......There is not much yu can do to stop natural occuring things from happening nor is there much yu can do to solve your questions without spending a heap of money for equipment and also exhorant operating expenses...which I gather from your prevous posts your barely able to run or afford some items which were suggested....... I didn't mean to give that impression. I spent over a grand getting the "pond" cleaned up and a little over 300 for the pump and hose I got. I realize a heap of money may vary from place to place, but I'm willing to sink at least that much into things now, which seems to be about what one of those deluxe waterfall/pump/uv/filter/faux lava rock kits runs. I sure don't need all that. Just take a look at a pond in that area where lilys are growing wild and its just solid surface cover, no water at all and within a year ro two it will be one masive heavily infested pond....with whatever you planted... I'd have to disagree with that, at least in my (short) experience here. Along my drive into town I pass a pond that looks like it has been there for years. It has a pretty good crop of water lilies in it. I've driven by it for over a year now. It hasn't become overrun with lilies yet. There is a rowboat there, so maybe they row out and get rid of some of the lilies, though I've never seen the people who live there do that. Anyway, I have a kayak, and I'm not afraid to use it. You stated your pond is somewhere around 3 or so feet deep.....prime water depth for lilys. I have em all over the shallopw areas of my pond, but once the water depth gets over 6 feet or so, thats when they stop...... Koi-lo has about as much experieince with a natural poknd and what to plant in it as I do performing brain surgery as a profession...... Perhaps a few lilys ina large wash tub near the edge that you can tend to properly and keep an eye on and aeration in the form of a floating fountain.........is about it....The rest thats gonna happen is gonna happen with or without your intervention as to algae, critters, debri, runoff etc etc... Baraclear P80 is a aluminum sulfate mix in a sodium bentonite pellet, that locks up phosphates which are key to algae growth.......There is no reason not to expect good water visibility if aeration and nutrients are taken care of......I can readily see 4 to 6 feet deep in relatively clean clear water in my natural ponds here without a problem any time of the year, and my zone is what your zone is in regards to temperatures and environmental issues........I would even dose the pond with a strong dose of potassium permangante to oxidize or basically sterilize any crap that may still be in there and eliminate anay nutrients you already have.... Is that stuff you can throw in all at once or do you need to kind of dispense it in, perhaps in the waterfall water? Just roughly figure out your surface area, and throw the pellets out in the water. After a 2 or 3 week period of time hit it again......then you can go to a maintenance dose which is a much smaller amount. Its good stuff and will not harm any plants or fish or other wildlife. Its used by the tons in the lagoons and golf courses in florida and other southern areas to keep water cleaned up and algae free. take much runoff to gain a heap of nutrients, and I am sure you have some runoff around that pond coming from sonewhere expeicially with the gulley washers this area receives, and the crap hurricanes and winds all carry in as well, as winds are just about as bad as lots of water runoff when it comes to adding nutrients to a pond.....YOur against the odds without filtration, so you have to make do with whats been proven. YOur water is not all that deep so its gonna get warmed up quicker, yet another reason for aeration....... As far as hurricanes go I was surprised to find that I actually lived in a *less* hurricane prone area in Dunnellon (SW of Ocala, where I lived before coming here) than up in North Carolina, where my brother lives. Right here seems to be one of the least likely to be hit by a hurricane along the whole Gulf or Florida coasts. I have noticed some pretty hefty rains, though. YOu still get winds that carry junk and deposit it, and it drops out of the atmosphere.......YOu may be basicially hurricane sheltered but the atmosphere around you has the nasty stuff in it and it drops, usually in areas with lesser winds...I had all kinds of nasty stuff from Huricane Opal back in the late 90's and again from Ivan. Opan was not a real danger to this areas like Ivan was but my pond turned red like the red tide within 2 days after the hurricane passed long by.......and our winds were barely over 30 mph and we got no rain....Same thing with Ivan plus other damages due to winds....but no place is free of whats dropped from the atmosphere that winds carry aloft and drop with changing weather conditions. So do you recommend the type of water jet type fountain, kind of like a lawn sprinkler, or is it preferable to have a waterfall type? You can make or buy a floating type pump / fountain. They use a submersible pump with good head capacity and pressure output. They have various nozzles you can make or buy, and they can be anchored inplace by weights and a rope......draws about 4.5 amps of power and is sufficient for 1/2 acre to 1 acre ponds........It keeps the surface aerated and the spray helps keep water cooler as well....Look up Kasco Fountains for a basic floating fountain setup. If your handy you can make a comparable fountain to what they sell for 7 to 900 bucks for a bit under $150 and thats using the pump they use. A standard submersible pump typically used in koi ponds or the typical sump pump even if its submersible will not cut it. The koi pond submersibles do not have sufficicient water pressure for these fountains and the sump type pumps are not made for continuous use. Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future -- \\\|/// ( @ @ ) -----------oOOo(_)oOOo--------------- oooO ---------( )----Oooo---------------- \ ( ( ) \_) ) / (_/ The original frugal ponder! Koi-ahoi mates.... |
Filtering a big pond
"I have very little runoff water, as far as water that drains directly into
the "pond." However, I do have a fair amount of water that gets into the "pond" from underground. The hole is below the local water table, if I don't constantly pump it out, it fills up from just the ground water. I'd say it gets about 90% full in about a week, and then within two weeks it tracks the level of the local water table fairly closely. " Hi Galen, This sounds like the key to your success right here. My brother-in-law has a pond that is about two acres on his farm. It has no pumps or artificial filters of any kind. I don't think he has ever had to add any type of chemical either. What he did is simply this: He installed and overflow pipe in the end oposite where the spring head is. It's set about an inch or so below the natural level of the water table of his pond. This brings in enough fresh water to purge any excessive nutrients, and also acts as a skimmer to keep the top clean of dead insects, pollen, dust, leaves and other small debris. He started with a small 4" pipe, but had to replace it once because it clogged. Since the installation of a 6" pipe, he has had no problems. This is no kiddie pond either. It's big enough to take a row boat out on. Some of the fish he catches from it are good for citations or dinner, whatever you choose. And no need for intense treatment, equipment, energy waste or labor once it's done. The pond will act as the settling tank with the slow exchange of water. Nature will find her balance, if you give her a chance. That big pump you have is just stirring up the muck. The biofilter will naturally occur on it's own. But the bottom has to settle, and you have to give that natural water a place to go. Prefferably a close by natural stream. Hope this helps. I wish I had your setup. It would save me thousands in trying to recreate it artificially. Respectfully, -- Kevin |
Filtering a big pond
"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message ... On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 21:24:38 GMT, (Roy) wrote: I would even dose the pond with a strong dose of potassium permangante to oxidize or basically sterilize any crap that may still be in there and eliminate anay nutrients you already have.... Is that stuff you can throw in all at once or do you need to kind of dispense it in, perhaps in the waterfall water? ======================== Before you use Potassium Permanganate please look it up on the net. You can simply Google it or check out www.koivet.com. This can be a dangerous product to handle and use. Do NOT breathe the powder! Keep it off your skin and you must also know the gallonage of your pond to dose it safely. BE CAREFUL! -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: NEW PAGE: Aquariums: http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastada...ium-Page4.html http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
Filtering a big pond
Mid posted.
Galen Hekhuis wrote: On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 14:13:18 -0600, "Koi-lo" wrote: "Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message ... On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 12:32:05 -0600, "Koi-lo" wrote: "Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message ... I don't have any illusions about having crystal clear water flowing in the pond, but it seems to me that constantly moving the water through some sort of filter would eventually change it from being just a mud puddle into something a little more eye appealing. ================================ If it looks like a "mud puddle" and isn't very attractive I'd plant water lilies. They'll spread and bloom giving you color. They'll also shade the water, starving the algae. Have you thought of Lotus? They can really get carried away but are beautiful. Thanks. There are a bunch of water lilies growing out in the front pond, I can grab some and transplant them. Is there anything special I need to watch out for? I had thought Lotus might be far too demanding for my somewhat neglectful type of care. Lotus need no care in a pond with a soil bottom. They're not demanding unless you grow them in pots or tubs. They'll grow around the edges mainly where the water is shallower. Their booms are breathtaking! You can plant the water lilies where the water is deeper, in the middle. Far out. I'll try some of them. Some type of floating waterpump (so it doesn't clog quickly) with a few foamers would help keep it from getting stagnant and turning into a mosquito breeding pit. Either mosquitoes don't bother me much or we don't seem to have as many here as I expected when I moved here. In any event, I've got a 3000 gal/hr pump sucking up water (through a screen-type wastebasket) at one end and the discharge hose almost at the other end, my intent to be to get as much movement as I can, considering. If the pump doesn't clog with silt and leaves that should help. Keep if off the bottom if possible. If mosquitoes do become a problem you can add some cheap feeder goldfish or even cheaper rosy reds. I've got a bunch of those mosquito eating minnows in my back pond, I guess I'll be moving a bunch up to this pond. I'm not much of a fish person, the real name of the fish I think starts with a "g." I think the "g" is the start of gambusia. I believe they are technically called mosquito fish as a common name. Wonderful tough little fish and they really eat mosquito larvae. I bred some indoors once when I was young, my first success with fish a long time ago. Mosquito fish are perfect for ponds in my area as the temperature here is almost always mild. I've even seen mosquito fish in the artificial (I think) stream outside the death valley, california, usa visitor center and I never saw any mosquitos in that area. Strangely enough I have seen allot of mosquitos at another death valley location which had no open water that I know of. I prefer fancy guppies indoors though, much more colorful but outdoors the mosquito fish's temperature range is superior. Good luck and later! My brother was down here and pointed them out. They must work pretty well; I sure don't notice many mosquitoes back there. The screen on the wastebasket on the pump will admit stuff that is about 1/4 inch or less, even though the pump is supposed to handle solids up to 3/8 inch. On the discharge side I have the water running down one of the "banks" of the "pond." What type of "floating" water pump would you recommend? If it's running down the bank it'll probably keep your pond muddy, unless the bank is rock. Since I don't use these type of floating pumps I can't recommend any particular brand. I see them floating and spraying in small ponds here in TN. It appears they're on some kind of floating platform anchored in the place they're to stay. I have no idea what kind of filter is attached to them to keep "junk" from being sucked in. You can call your Agricultural Extension Agent for someone in your county who would know. Sorry I can't be of any more help..... There are no rocks on this property at all. There isn't even a pebble that I've found. It seems like there is only clay and sand, but mostly clay, or mud when it is wet. I know if you go down deep enough here there is limestone, there are limestone outcroppings and stuff all along the Suwannee River, which is only about three miles from here. This is kind of a plateau, at 145 feet above sea level it is some of the highest ground around, but it is flat and doesn't drain well. I would think that after water runs down a bank for several months it would have washed away all the mud it could, but maybe not. As far as calling someone goes, I'm afraid that is not an option for me. I have something called primary lateral sclerosis (it is sometimes called a "gentler and kinder" form of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease) and I have pretty much lost my ability to talk (at least so people can understand me), let alone walk. I still drive a mean kayak, however, my upper body strength seems unaffected. Hey, you've been a big help. I don't expect everyone to have all the answers every time, there is no need to be sorry about it. I ask some pretty basic and stupid (and repetitious, so I've been told) questions that could probably be cleared up with a simple phone call. But here I get to ask a bunch of people all at once, and anyway, I think my questions are a bit more on topic than some of the folks discussing evolution, or religion, or whatever... Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future |
Filtering a big pond
I've got a bunch of those mosquito eating minnows in my back pond, I guess
I'll be moving a bunch up to this pond. I'm not much of a fish person, the real name of the fish I think starts with a "g." Probably gambusia. As far as calling someone goes, I'm afraid that is not an option for me. I have something called primary lateral sclerosis (it is sometimes called a "gentler and kinder" form of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease) and I have pretty much lost my ability to talk (at least so people can understand me) We have a ponder in our club with similar. Only he still can talk slowly. Runs around in a motorized wheel chair. His upper body strength is devoted to feeding his koi, and he has some BIG ones. :-) Hey, you've been a big help. I don't expect everyone to have all the answers every time, there is no need to be sorry about it. I ask some pretty basic and stupid (and repetitious, so I've been told) questions that could probably be cleared up with a simple phone call. The nice thing about text, you can always refer back to it. I have a lot of stuff on here from different posters over the years that I've put a lock on (Agent Forte' users know what I mean) so they don't get deleted. Believe me, it is a welcome sight to see a new *ponding* person post in here. :o) ~ jan -------------- See my ponds and filter design: www.jjspond.us ~Keep 'em Wet!~ Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a To e-mail see website |
Filtering a big pond
http://www.kascomarine.com/
Dig those 4 color lighted fountains, now that would be way cool. ~ jan ~ jan/WA Zone 7a |
Filtering a big pond
On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 17:16:58 -0800, ~ jan jjspond
wrote: http://www.kascomarine.com/ Dig those 4 color lighted fountains, now that would be way cool. ~ jan Since I've been plugging in the word "waterfall" and the like I've gotten to some web pages with some really big pumps -- one place has a pump that will do something like 8.5 million gallons per hour -- and they say to contact them if you need something bigger. Before I was getting mostly sites that served sort of ornamental ponds with a max size of about 5,000 gal. This place looks pretty neat too. As for the colored lights, I've never been a big fan of those. I have been fussing with these solar powered LED lights in the front yard, and have been fairly impressed. A bunch of people handle these things, they are basically several LEDs in a spotlight housing that has a solar panel on top with like 4 AA rechargeable batteries. No fuss, no bother. You just stick 'em in the ground and they automatically go on at night and off at dawn. Or so they claim. Actually, if it has been overcast during the day they aren't going to do a whole lot that night. But this is the "Sunshine State," so they work pretty well here. As for the pump, I don't really know if the pump I have is rated for continuous duty, but I'm going to pretend it is. It's sitting in the pond right now, pumping water into a hose that goes to the other end of the pond and then just dumps it back in. I don't know if it is making the water muddy or not, it couldn't get much muddier than it is right now. It kind of makes a nice sound, and since nothing is growing around the pond or living in it I guess it can't do any harm, except burn out the pump. I intend to get an external pump, run the intake near the center of the bottom of the pond, and run the discharge over the side of the pond. The discharge will be able to range from a simple inclined plane into the pond, to an actual spillway several feet high. The precise angle will be determined by how much of a "splash" I want to make. I plan on using something like a 6-7,000 gal/hr pump. I completely redid the plumbing in a house I used to live in (including moving the kitchen from one room to another), so I feel I can probably handle the plumbing involved, but are there any major flaws folks can see with this type of set-up? Are there special intake screens for this? Anyway, thanks for all of y'alls responses to this, I've learned a lot. I think I can get my brother-in-law to give me a hand setting up a place where if anyone is interested they can see some pictures of this (hopefully rapidly) transforming mud puddle. Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future |
Filtering a big pond
Galen,
I don't know if you are aware of why so many of us actually use pumps in our ponds? It's because the ponds are artificial, and there is no source for naturally occuring water movement and exchange. The pumps help us to keep the water oxygenated also. If you have a source for natural water transfer, by all means utilize it! Your acting like the guy who struck silver in his mine, and all he has to do to harvest it, is get rid of all those darn diamonds. Think about what your proposing with all this pump activity. If you just want to play with big pumps . .. . GREAT, go for it. You will eventually have quite a nice mud bog for doing tractor pulls or whatever. If you want a nice clear pond, let the darn thing settle, and possibly use the floating pump like the one man suggested. It will move the surface around, allowing oxygenation, without churning up the floor of the pond where all the soil is. Last post for me regarding this situation. I now see what the other man was talking about. You don't seem to want to learn, just rehash what you already have set in your mind. If that pleases you, go right ahead. I think you should go for the ten million GPH pump. Then you can strip mine half the county while your at it! LOL Kevin |
Filtering a big pond
As long as the pond is essentially unstocked, all he has to do is a
demand test, and hit the pond with that dose......no need to be extra cautious of gallons, if there is not any critters in it. and PP is no more dangerous than opening a container of salt if a little common sense is used......If I had a pond as such that was just constructed, and it had unknown junk and god only knows what else in it, I certaoinly would be doseing it with PP to sterilize it and knock out any nasites that may be in it........Better to do it when its unstocked than when its full of critters......Its always better to start off with a clean slate than to have to jump in mid stream and straighten things up later on...... As to your using an external pump........big mistake in a mucd bottom pond......BIG BIG Mistake......YOu may have a pond in a local where other folks have a pond but theirs may have a liner, and the environment is similar, but your gonna have so much more critters in that natural mud bottom pond that is gonna take up residence in your submerged plumbing lines and its not going to take too long before they are all inundated with all kinds of growths from aquatic critters, which will eventually work their way into the filter or basket strainer and make for some nice blockages.......Its inevitable. Your sump type pump you have ben usuing is destined to be trashed if yur gonna run it continuously...its not designed for it, no sump type pump typically is, its intermeittent duty. Forget about your total gallon capacity or how large an area you have and just get a pump that will provide sufficient head pressure to enable it to spray water upwards and outwards to make the surface agitated, and you have your problem solved........Recirculating or turning over your entire pond is just not feasible. In time it will turn over and do so much better with surface aeration, not overall turnover unles syou like mud and current induced holes and washout...... NO more froom me on your project, I said it more than once, so either take it or leave it. Its getting old stating over and over the same stuff, and if you were to contact perhaps the best authority on your or any other pond, you would get the same identical info that was given here. That authority is University of Florida........its free info from me and the U of F dude, so take it or leave it , it is not costing you anything to use it......However odds are your gonna pay down the orad when you follow info presented by idiiots like Koi lo who does not have the first clue or experieince with any natural pondsm cept maybe a mud puddle in her driveway, and all those pack a sack storage boxes she steals to use as fish ponds.......... Good luck to you in what ever you decide to do.............bye! On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 00:35:17 -0600, "Koi-lo" wrote: "Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message m... On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 21:24:38 GMT, (Roy) wrote: I would even dose the pond with a strong dose of potassium permangante to oxidize or basically sterilize any crap that may still be in there and eliminate anay nutrients you already have.... Is that stuff you can throw in all at once or do you need to kind of dispense it in, perhaps in the waterfall water? ======================== Before you use Potassium Permanganate please look it up on the net. You can simply Google it or check out www.koivet.com. This can be a dangerous product to handle and use. Do NOT breathe the powder! Keep it off your skin and you must also know the gallonage of your pond to dose it safely. BE CAREFUL! -- \\\|/// ( @ @ ) -----------oOOo(_)oOOo--------------- oooO ---------( )----Oooo---------------- \ ( ( ) \_) ) / (_/ The original frugal ponder! Koi-ahoi mates.... |
Filtering a big pond
On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 14:42:01 GMT, (Roy) wrote:
As long as the pond is essentially unstocked, all he has to do is a demand test, and hit the pond with that dose......no need to be extra cautious of gallons, if there is not any critters in it. and PP is no more dangerous than opening a container of salt if a little common sense is used......If I had a pond as such that was just constructed, and it had unknown junk and god only knows what else in it, I certaoinly would be doseing it with PP to sterilize it and knock out any nasites that may be in it........Better to do it when its unstocked than when its full of critters......Its always better to start off with a clean slate than to have to jump in mid stream and straighten things up later on...... I may do that, and then again, I may not. Being a cave explorer, and being extremely sensitive to underwater speleology especially here, I am very reluctant to be putting out any kind of chemical anywhere on the ground (or in a pond). I'm even a little skittish about septic sewage treatment systems, though I'm far less concerned about human waste than what other goodies people throw in toilets. As to your using an external pump........big mistake in a mucd bottom pond......BIG BIG Mistake......YOu may have a pond in a local where other folks have a pond but theirs may have a liner, and the environment is similar, but your gonna have so much more critters in that natural mud bottom pond that is gonna take up residence in your submerged plumbing lines and its not going to take too long before they are all inundated with all kinds of growths from aquatic critters, which will eventually work their way into the filter or basket strainer and make for some nice blockages.......Its inevitable. As for the line which runs down the bank to the intake, we are talking some 20-30 feet of pipeline at the most, not exactly a budget buster if it has to be replaced, but I would imagine drying it out and cleaning it would probably suffice. The intake strainer itself can likewise be dried and cleaned. I would imagine the underground line can likewise be dried and/or cleaned. Everything else should be pretty exposed and easy to get to. Mud and silt may be a problem, though, I guess I'll find out. Your sump type pump you have ben usuing is destined to be trashed if yur gonna run it continuously...its not designed for it, no sump type pump typically is, its intermeittent duty. Other pumps that I have seen advertised with the magic words "continuous duty" look much like mine, and the internal design is almost identical. There are many, many pumps that work fairly continuously that may not have the words "continuous duty" in their ads. Perhaps the term "sump pump" is not entirely correct, although that is exactly how some of these "continuous duty" pumps are advertised. Forget about your total gallon capacity or how large an area you have and just get a pump that will provide sufficient head pressure to enable it to spray water upwards and outwards to make the surface agitated, and you have your problem solved........Recirculating or turning over your entire pond is just not feasible. In time it will turn over and do so much better with surface aeration, not overall turnover unles syou like mud and current induced holes and washout...... Now there is a contradiction in your own statement. You tell me that recirculating the water is not feasible, then in the next sentence you tell me it will do so over time. NO more froom me on your project, I said it more than once, so either take it or leave it. Its getting old stating over and over the same stuff, and if you were to contact perhaps the best authority on your or any other pond, you would get the same identical info that was given here. That authority is University of Florida........its free info from me and the U of F dude, so take it or leave it , it is not costing you anything to use it......However odds are your gonna pay down the orad when you follow info presented by idiiots like Koi lo who does not have the first clue or experieince with any natural pondsm cept maybe a mud puddle in her driveway, and all those pack a sack storage boxes she steals to use as fish ponds.......... Good luck to you in what ever you decide to do.............bye! I guess I'll just have to stumble on then. In a while from now you may be hearing me tell people exactly why they shouldn't use a set up like this from personal experience. Then again, you may be a bit surprised to see pictures about how such a rig can work very well. Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future |
Filtering a big pond
On 14 Jan 2006 23:11:32 -0800, "Kevin" wrote:
Galen, I don't know if you are aware of why so many of us actually use pumps in our ponds? It's because the ponds are artificial, and there is no source for naturally occuring water movement and exchange. The pumps help us to keep the water oxygenated also. If you have a source for natural water transfer, by all means utilize it! I don't have such, nor do I think I have implied that I do. If I did, it was a mistake. Let me clarify that now, I have no source for natural water transfer at this pond. (By the way, I think most people have pumps in their ponds because they are maintaining "large aquariums," and thus need some type of aeration and possibly filtration.) Your acting like the guy who struck silver in his mine, and all he has to do to harvest it, is get rid of all those darn diamonds. Think about what your proposing with all this pump activity. If you just want to play with big pumps . . . GREAT, go for it. You will eventually have quite a nice mud bog for doing tractor pulls or whatever. If you want a nice clear pond, let the darn thing settle, and possibly use the floating pump like the one man suggested. It will move the surface around, allowing oxygenation, without churning up the floor of the pond where all the soil is. I have one pond on the property that must have a spring in it somewhere, but I haven't found it. It never seems to change water level, and has a constant outflow from it. The pond feeds a small stream with about as much flow as I saw from the output from the pump I used to dewater the pond I'm working with. The feed spring is probably up in the swampy part of the woods where I can't take my kayak, I've been looking over the areas where I can get and haven't found a thing yet. It is a natural, mud bottom yet the pond itself doesn't seem muddy or anything, despite there being water movement (albeit slow) all year long. Last post for me regarding this situation. I now see what the other man was talking about. You don't seem to want to learn, just rehash what you already have set in your mind. If that pleases you, go right ahead. I think you should go for the ten million GPH pump. Then you can strip mine half the county while your at it! LOL From what I have read about them, floating type aeration pumps agitate not only the surface of the water but the commonly the water underneath to a depth of 3-5 feet, depending on the exact pump and placement conditions. It doesn't seem to me that a low velocity intake for a pump would cause that much more disturbance. What may seem to you to be an unwillingness to learn is probably my lack of understanding as to why one type of water disturbance is supposed to be more harmful than another type of disturbance. Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future |
Filtering a big pond
"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message ... I guess I'll just have to stumble on then. In a while from now you may be hearing me tell people exactly why they shouldn't use a set up like this from personal experience. Then again, you may be a bit surprised to see pictures about how such a rig can work very well. ============================ Please post the URLs to any pics you take of this pond. I'd love to see it. I'm picturing it surrounded by Lotus, water lilies in the middle and inexpensive rosy reds and a some goldfish swimming in the shallows, maybe even a few koi...... you'll soon have frogs, herons, turtles and other visitors. -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: NEW PAGE: Aquariums: http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastada...ium-Page4.html http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
Filtering a big pond
Hard as a lot have tried to tellyou what is the right way and the worng way your an idiot of the highest quality.......YOu do not have a workingknowledge of how and what pumps do or how aeration is achied and why....you conuter any fact with your ideology that is assinine and won;t hold water.....On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 11:05:18 -0500, Galen Hekhuis wrote: On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 14:42:01 GMT, (Roy) wrote: As long as the pond is essentially unstocked, all he has to do is a demand test, and hit the pond with that dose......no need to be extra cautious of gallons, if there is not any critters in it. and PP is no more dangerous than opening a container of salt if a little common sense is used......If I had a pond as such that was just constructed, and it had unknown junk and god only knows what else in it, I certaoinly would be doseing it with PP to sterilize it and knock out any nasites that may be in it........Better to do it when its unstocked than when its full of critters......Its always better to start off with a clean slate than to have to jump in mid stream and straighten things up later on...... I may do that, and then again, I may not. Being a cave explorer, and being extremely sensitive to underwater speleology especially here, I am very reluctant to be putting out any kind of chemical anywhere on the ground (or in a pond). I'm even a little skittish about septic sewage treatment systems, though I'm far less concerned about human waste than what other goodies people throw in toilets PP is not a chemical that is going to do anything harm unless its organic inorganic crud.........and its soon dissipated and turned inert and you can drink the water after a PP treatment as its free of any disease or bacterial causing organisims.......its whats in those survival straws that are sold that you can literally stick in a cesspool and drink germ free water or close to to it... As to your using an external pump........big mistake in a mucd bottom pond......BIG BIG Mistake......YOu may have a pond in a local where other folks have a pond but theirs may have a liner, and the environment is similar, but your gonna have so much more critters in that natural mud bottom pond that is gonna take up residence in your submerged plumbing lines and its not going to take too long before they are all inundated with all kinds of growths from aquatic critters, which will eventually work their way into the filter or basket strainer and make for some nice blockages.......Its inevitable. As for the line which runs down the bank to the intake, we are talking some 20-30 feet of pipeline at the most, not exactly a budget buster if it has to be replaced, but I would imagine drying it out and cleaning it would probably suffice. The intake strainer itself can likewise be dried and cleaned. I would imagine the underground line can likewise be dried and/or cleaned. Everything else should be pretty exposed and easy to get to. Mud and silt may be a problem, though, I guess I'll find out. Your sump type pump you have ben usuing is destined to be trashed if yur gonna run it continuously...its not designed for it, no sump type pump typically is, its intermeittent duty. Other pumps that I have seen advertised with the magic words "continuous duty" look much like mine, and the internal design is almost identical. There are many, many pumps that work fairly continuously that may not have the words "continuous duty" in their ads. Perhaps the term "sump pump" is not entirely correct, although that is exactly how some of these "continuous duty" pumps are advertised.] Looks is not everything.......just look at current draw and ware gauge as well as a host of other things, all internal that yy are not able to take apart to see as they are hermetically sealed......But I guess you posess super powers that enable you to see inside and you actually know better than the manufacturer of those pumps as to how they can or should be operated..one more thing to prove your stupidity in comprehension and abilitliy to grasp whats stated... Forget about your total gallon capacity or how large an area you have and just get a pump that will provide sufficient head pressure to enable it to spray water upwards and outwards to make the surface agitated, and you have your problem solved........Recirculating or turning over your entire pond is just not feasible. In time it will turn over and do so much better with surface aeration, not overall turnover unles syou like mud and current induced holes and washout...... Its all in the way the pumps are hooked up and operated and what type of aeration is being provided......... Now there is a contradiction in your own statement. You tell me that recirculating the water is not feasible, then in the next sentence you tell me it will do so over time. Its possible to get surface agitation witout disturbing the sediement..if the pumnp is the cxorrect type and its mounted correctly, but why go through all that **** when your only going to argue against it as being contrary towhat you want to do.......You pulling water from the water column and destratifying it is what has to be done......not sucking up mud as you imply. NO more froom me on your project, I said it more than once, so either take it or leave it. Its getting old stating over and over the same stuff, and if you were to contact perhaps the best authority on your or any other pond, you would get the same identical info that was given here. That authority is University of Florida........its free info from me and the U of F dude, so take it or leave it , it is not costing you anything to use it......However odds are your gonna pay down the orad when you follow info presented by idiiots like Koi lo who does not have the first clue or experieince with any natural pondsm cept maybe a mud puddle in her driveway, and all those pack a sack storage boxes she steals to use as fish ponds.......... Good luck to you in what ever you decide to do.............bye! I guess I'll just have to stumble on then. In a while from now you may be hearing me tell people exactly why they shouldn't use a set up like this from personal experience. Then again, you may be a bit surprised to see pictures about how such a rig can work very well. You say you have NO run off or other means of nutrients, yet you have s stream or spring you have yet to find that somehow manages to get into yur pond and keep it topped off........yea right dream on joker, dream on, I have beach front property in Florida for sale for $50 bucks an acre to... So just keep on stumbling on, its your back not mine, its your cash not mine, its your pond not mine so what the hellyou do with it is your ball game.......YOU asked for help and suggesitions was pointed in the direction to find it, and you still have to freaking argue about it, so go take your mud hole and and do what you gotta do...Only think I lied about in what I have posted was I was not going to reposnd to any more of your babbling, but this time I am done.....enjoy your mudhole and may it be infested with whatever blows, runs, falls your way and that your waters may reach temperatures sufficiient to scal the skin off your backside if you fall out of that Kayack, and when it turns into a stinking mosquito infested, lotus and lilly and cat tail entangled mess, you can say, yep thats just what I was looking for..............I really think you are a predescessor of cromoagnon.......as you do not have any common sense except to argue a valid point which has substanially more merit and credibility, to do what yu are looking to do..so do what you must, and congratulations, in all my years your the first to ****** their way into a kill file not due to crap posts but for my not wanting to deal with a babbling freaking idiot. Even Koi lo has not managed to get into my kill files as hard as they try, but your a first. Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future -- \\\|/// ( @ @ ) -----------oOOo(_)oOOo--------------- oooO ---------( )----Oooo---------------- \ ( ( ) \_) ) / (_/ The original frugal ponder! Koi-ahoi mates.... |
Filtering a big pond
So, your mudhole holds a whopping 28xxx.x gal of water according to
your specs....still a mud hole........and still quite the idiot that does not digest info.....If it could have been done on the cheaper ewnd of it like your looking to do with improper equipment and setup, I think the three ponds I take care of that are spectacular in water quality / clarity and loaded with fish and other critters that are free of the majority of crud foks back yard ponds or ponds done on the cheap by uneducated types usually contain, then perhaps I may see what your trying to do, but unfortunately your in left field......and in a ball game only your palying in with koi lo as the manager, and destined to fail........or at the least have a 40 foot diameter cesspool On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 12:40:09 -0500, Galen Hekhuis wrote: The bulldozer and front end loader got finished and now what once was a 40 ft small tree lined wet garbage dump (sort of a pond) is now a 40 foot in diameter mud puddle with an average depth of about 3 feet. I don't think the water is *too* polluted because as the thing got cleared out the landscape people found a bunch of frogs, turtles, and at least two cottonmouth snakes, one being about 5 feet long. That was a little exciting for me, but the guy on the bulldozer didn't seem too impressed, and he made rather short work of the snake with his bulldozer blade. I guess those folks are quite used to running into snakes. Anyway, I looked at pumps and filters for large ponds and found that about the largest I could find was for about a 5000 gal pond, and it seems mine is a bit larger than that. I don't have any illusions about having crystal clear water flowing in the pond, but it seems to me that constantly moving the water through some sort of filter would eventually change it from being just a mud puddle into something a little more eye appealing. Would circulating the water through a series of "settling tanks" (coarse gravel, fine gravel, then something like sand) be of any use? Are there plants that I can ring my mud puddle with that would help? I live in northern Florida, so brutal winters are not exactly a problem but I also don't want to go down in history as the guy who planted something like kudzu around his pond, only to have it escape and become a serious pest. Also, do those "barley ball" and other "pond treatments" I see advertised do any good? Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future -- \\\|/// ( @ @ ) -----------oOOo(_)oOOo--------------- oooO ---------( )----Oooo---------------- \ ( ( ) \_) ) / (_/ The original frugal ponder! Koi-ahoi mates.... |
Pond under construction (was: Filtering a big pond)
On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 11:35:07 -0600, "Koi-lo"
wrote: Please post the URLs to any pics you take of this pond. I'd love to see it. I'm picturing it surrounded by Lotus, water lilies in the middle and inexpensive rosy reds and a some goldfish swimming in the shallows, maybe even a few koi...... you'll soon have frogs, herons, turtles and other visitors. Snicker. That's sort of what I'm picturing too, although it may just turn out to remain a big mud puddle. As far as the frogs go, I've already seen one. It jumped into the pond as I was walking around it. It wouldn't surprise me very much if there were others already. When the bulldozer folks were here they found a bunch of frogs, the wife of the guy driving the bulldozer took three or four of the largest bullfrogs home with her. She says they make good pets, and that when tame they follow her kids around as they swim in their pond at home. I can see turtles (lots of them) fussing around in my other two ponds, I don't imagine it will be long at all before they come to this one. I had about a five foot alligator living in the back pond for awhile, I hope I don't get any visitors like that up close to the house. I get a lot of waterfowl stopping by, especially now. I'm not too far from the Suwannee River, and during duck season a lot of the critters fly over here away from the hunters. I'm not philosophically opposed to hunting, I just never got thrilled by it and there are other things I'd rather be doing. I have duckweed growing in my other two ponds, but none in this one. How serious is this? I tried looking up the stuff, but can't seem to find an answer about how this stuff is spread. I already clean my kayak hull in between putting it in different bodies of water, but are fish and stuff likely to spread it? Or is this much ado about nothing? One site said that duckweed wasn't a problem at all, that it is easily controlled with this Sonic additive, but like I say, I am rather reluctant to throw stuff in the water. Other sites say it could be an important source of protein. I don't really care, I just think it doesn't look very pretty and would rather not hassle with it if I can avoid it. Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA We are the CroMagnon of the future |
Filtering a big pond
Hard as a lot have tried to tellyou what is the right way and the
worng way your an idiot of the highest quality.......YOu do not have a workingknowledge of how and what pumps do or how aeration is achied and why....you conuter any fact with your ideology that is assinine and won;t hold water..... I think many of us, in our learning days could have had this said to or about us, especially me. Until you get down and dirty, and see the affects of what works in one's situation, it is hard to visualize what other people, who know, are trying to teach. IOWs, and IMHO, give the guy a break. I know I started out with a Little Giant 1/2 hp at the bottom of the pond hooked to a garden hose. I didn't know the reason I wasn't getting much flow was due to the diameter & friction of the garden hose. Figured I just needed a bigger pump. Then there was the constant clogging of the unprotected pump and the hose, what a PITA! ;) I can't say if the internet would have helped me, or if I too would have been stubborn (clueless) about things... especially when those changes involved money. Quite honestly I don't think anyone in my koi club mentioned the pump/hose problem, but common sense makes me wonder if I had selective hearing at the time? I do know that I'd been going to meetings, reading Koi USA & Water Gardening, and yet it took DH only one article to design, and DS to build, a proper filtration system for my pond set up. Why? Because they had the experience to make sense of it, that I couldn't.... I think I even skipped over articles like that back then. I do agree, in the long run, that a fountain or fountains with the pump suspended directly underneath the float would be the way to go in a mud pond. But who's to say that what the OP has in mind won't work to HIS satisfaction. I say go for it, and I can't wait to see the pictures!!! :o) Btw, pictures help the most when teaching, imo. Anyone got that website where it showed a diagram of the pump suspended directly beneath the float? ~ jan -------------- See my ponds and filter design: www.jjspond.us ~Keep 'em Wet!~ Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a To e-mail see website |
Pond under construction (was: Filtering a big pond)
"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message ... Snicker. That's sort of what I'm picturing too, although it may just turn out to remain a big mud puddle. As far as the frogs go, I've already seen one. It jumped into the pond as I was walking around it. It wouldn't surprise me very much if there were others already. When the bulldozer folks were here they found a bunch of frogs, the wife of the guy driving the bulldozer took three or four of the largest bullfrogs home with her. She says they make good pets, and that when tame they follow her kids around as they swim in their pond at home. I can see turtles (lots of them) fussing around in my other two ponds, I don't imagine it will be long at all before they come to this one. I had about a five foot alligator living in the back pond for awhile, I hope I don't get any visitors like that up close to the house. I'm too far north to see gators, but if I did I would have my property fenced - PRONTO! A 5 footer can do a lot of damage to someone. :-( I get a lot of waterfowl stopping by, especially now. I'm not too far from the Suwannee River, and during duck season a lot of the critters fly over here away from the hunters. I'm not philosophically opposed to hunting, I just never got thrilled by it and there are other things I'd rather be doing. I'm with you on that one. There used to be a lot of illegal hunting here before it became built-up. That's stopped now. The local yahoos would come in, hide their pickup trucks off the road and hunt deer and water birds, mainly. I have duckweed growing in my other two ponds, but none in this one. How serious is this? I tried looking up the stuff, but can't seem to find an answer about how this stuff is spread. I read somewhere that it can invade a pond by being carried on the feathers and feet of water birds. I already clean my kayak hull in between putting it in different bodies of water, but are fish and stuff likely to spread it? Or is this much ado about nothing? Any pond with koi or goldfish will not be really infested with the type they eat. However there's a type fish don't eat. I don't know the names of these different duckweed. I grow the plain edged type in flat tubs for my GF and koi. I can't see how fish would spread it from pond to pond but birds could, and possibly water turtles. One site said that duckweed wasn't a problem at all, that it is easily controlled with this Sonic additive, but like I say, I am rather reluctant to throw stuff in the water. Other sites say it could be an important source of protein. It also sucks up nutrients and shades the water, starving out green scum algae. I don't really care, I just think it doesn't look very pretty and would rather not hassle with it if I can avoid it. Find out what type it is. If it's the smooth edged duckweed add some cheap feeder goldfish. They consider it the finest salad on earth. :-) If it's the one with ruffly edges they probably wont touch it. -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: NEW PAGE: Aquariums: http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastada...ium-Page4.html http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 05:29 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
FishKeepingBanter.com