Posts - Page 173 (page 173)
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This is the time of year when algae blooms and string algae appears on the rocks of your waterfall. We answer the same question over and over again. How do I get rid of algae? All algae is not the same. We do not get rid of the different kinds of algae the same way.
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The one question that is asked of me most often is How do I get rid of this green algae? Algae tends to show its ugly face in early spring when the water temperature starts rising. Left over leaves, mulm, fish poop, etc. from Winter triggers Mother Nature to start her nitrifying cycle of converting ammonia to nitrites and finally to nitrates.
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If it’s spring and the water has just warmed up the first thing that comes to my mind is that your fish have been doing the “wild thing” in your pond. They’ve been spawning. Fish usually prefer to rendezvous at daybreak or at dusk so if the foam sighting is just after these hours that’s a good sign that all is well. Another indicator is if the fish have been wallowing in the plants or if several fish seem to be chasing one. If this is the case the foam you see is actually fish sperm. Lovely mental picture — isn’t it?
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"How can I clear up my water?" We get that question every day in one form or another. The first question we ask then is "What color is your water?". Brown indicates dirt and green indicates algae. The method of clearing the water varies greatly with whether you are dealing with silt or an algae bloom.
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Bead filters clean pond water by pumping the water in through a plastic chamber filled with thousands of plastic beads packed together. The water is pressed under the pressure of a pump and dirt particles remain stuck in the beads. The bead filter traps organic materials, dirt, and other debris.
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A pond skimmer saves you the work of skimming debris from your pond. The technology of a pond skimmer automatically removes debris (leaves, pollen, twigs, dirt and more). Skimmers are a type of mechanical filter where a screen, a net, or a basket is built-in to capture debris from the water. The skimmer creates a sweeping motion that keeps debris from sinking to the bottom of the pond.
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Don’t be alarmed if you find little red worms in your filter material. They are nothing but harmless blood worms, the larvae of the midge fly. They are a very natural occurrence in the pond and, although they aren’t very attractive, are okay to feed your fish. After all, once freeze-dried, this blood worm becomes what marketers call "Tubifex Worms". They’re packaged and sold in pet supply stores as a fish delicacy.
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The thousands of beads in any brand of bead filter, no matter how well it’s constructed, will eventually cake up, especially in ponds that are overloaded with fish and plants. As odd as it seems, plants in a pond add more dirt and debris to the water than fish alone. An overabundance of string algae can literally glue the beads together after a season of use. If your bead filter is needing to be backwashed more than once a week it’s time for maintenance.
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Early spring is the perfect time to clean and perform maintenance on your biological filter. During winter the water is too cold for nitrifying bacteria to live and they go dormant. As water temperatures heat up nitrobacter and nitrosomonas, the two “good” bacteria begin to colonize. If you clean your filters with chlorinated water the chlorine can prohibit the growth of these two beneficial bacteria — especially nitrobacter which, of the two, is the slowest to grow.
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All bead filters tend to cake in ponds that are overloaded with fish and/or plants. An overabundance of algae can literally glue the beads together after a season of use. If your bead filter is needing to be backwashed more than once a week it’s time for maintenance. During winter many of us turn off the pump and the unit is left with standing water all winter long.
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Now that spring is just around the corner it’s time to begin the loving task of opening up the pond. The transition of winter to spring can be tricky for the fish. Parasites and anaerobic (bad) bacteria thrive in cool waters before the fish have had time to build up their immunity. Aerobic (good nitrifying) bacteria take their time to establish in the biological filter so we run the risk of deadly ammonia and nitrite build-up in the pond during this time of year.
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Definite noticeable changes occur in koi and goldfish, plants and the pond itself as the temperature of the water begins to drop. Leaves on water plants start to brown and die back. Koi and goldfish become less active and require less food. Leaves fall and cover the surface of the pond. The pond may suddenly clear up after not being clear all year. These are changes we see. The changes we do not see are just as important.