Pump Questions (and water lily)

Arg...never had this much difficulty w/ Usenet...I'm very sorry. My
newsreader stuck this in a thread from January two times, so I assume
it has been filed there in the system. Hopefully, anyway. Don't
shoot!


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.

Hi Daniel,

I have three posts from you on the same subject so you are having
problems. For the whiskey barrel - I'm concerned that you have
any readings for ammonia and nitrites.
I would go ahead and buy a smallish pump, say a 170 - 210 gph.
They are relatively cheap. I have four Becketts running and like
them alot. Also, build a smallish filter to put in the container. I
use two open weave baskets clamshelled together and lined
with the blue furnace filter material. Put your pump inside and plug it in.
Get a water bell (?) don't know the real name... to put on the output of
your pump. The lily will be able to keep up with that small turbulence.

Let us know what happens.

Oh, your pH is fine.

Nedra in Missouri

My Pond:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
Lotus Pond:
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"Daniel Phillips" wrote in message
...
Arg...never had this much difficulty w/ Usenet...I'm very sorry. My
newsreader stuck this in a thread from January two times, so I assume
it has been filed there in the system. Hopefully, anyway. Don't
shoot!


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.

Hi Daniel,

I have three posts from you on the same subject so you are having
problems. For the whiskey barrel - I'm concerned that you have
any readings for ammonia and nitrites.
I would go ahead and buy a smallish pump, say a 170 - 210 gph.
They are relatively cheap. I have four Becketts running and like
them alot. Also, build a smallish filter to put in the container. I
use two open weave baskets clamshelled together and lined
with the blue furnace filter material. Put your pump inside and plug it in.
Get a water bell (?) don't know the real name... to put on the output of
your pump. The lily will be able to keep up with that small turbulence.

Let us know what happens.

Oh, your pH is fine.

Nedra in Missouri

My Pond:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
Lotus Pond:
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"Daniel Phillips" wrote in message
...
Arg...never had this much difficulty w/ Usenet...I'm very sorry. My
newsreader stuck this in a thread from January two times, so I assume
it has been filed there in the system. Hopefully, anyway. Don't
shoot!


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.