Aerator and bottom heater?

[callingcolleen1]

Yes bathing cause's there protective natural "fish slime" to fall off and then they get weak, changing the water too can do this. That's why lots of fish water conditioners put Aloe Vera in the water conditoners!

 

[sissy]

really put that in the stuff . :question: something new to me but never bought it

 

[waynefrcan]

What the .... , you guys are filling up my email space

Been busy with our apt rental units and my part-time hobby collecting, buying and selling militaria.

Taking a break from the fishy forum. Nothing new really, ammonia is 1.5 ppm. Ask charles for me if that is still ok? Too cold to run a hose and do a water change, maybe later. The aerator is working and keeping a hole open with help from the heaters.

I don't know the fate of the sick fungi fish or others.

Happy holidays and best wishes to all for 2013.

Wayne

 

[callingcolleen1]

We will miss you and hope you can come back soon and wish you and your fish a very happy healthy new year!

 

[j.w]

Hope you find your fish healthy and happy in the New Year Wayne

 

[crsublette]

Oh, I don't know man. Already mentioned what I thought ... and some more.

December 5th, post 293, ya said it was 1ppm. Now, 25 days later, you gained .5ppm, and I am guessing you probably still have 3 more months of Winter ahead of ya to endure. If your readings are correct, then I wouldn't be suprised if the ammonia reaches 4~5ppm if the weather does not warm up around April.

Although, I am a bit more paranoid than how I come across; so, since ya haven't done any water changes, I would probably get serious about doing a trickle flow through and get some ammonia binder, such as Seachem AmGuard, in case it goes higher. The binder chemical might be the cheapest approach until things warm up so you can install a proper flow through system that can work even during your Winters. Under normal warmer conditions, small water changes would not be very effective to dilute ammonia due to the occurance of a pollutant equilibrium; however, under colder conditions, small water changes might be effective. The binder chemical is definitely the most effective, but it could become expensive depending on the size of your pond and length of your Winter.

I can't remember the exact specifics, but particular test kits will falsely register the binder chemical as toxic ammonia so make sure ya have the correct test kit. There is bacteria that will eventually break down the binder chemical releasing toxic ammonia it bound so you will have to maintain a dosing schedule to keep the ammonia safe until the proper bacteria colonies regain their foothold.

As tanks are cycling, I have read many testimonials of their koi surviving high ammonia levels, but you might never know the affects if they actually do survive it. "Surviving" can be a very relative term.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Charles, I Like what you said, (all out of like's) about the benifical bacteria breaking down the ammonia, I have read about benifical bacteria doing this years ago, and way back then I stocked the pond with all kinds of different bacteria, and never clean pond cause I don't want to lose the bacteria that I spent big bucks on that have colonized my pond. I just clean then the filters and and gently net any remaining sludge buildup from bottom pond (seem's to all end up down there) and been doing that for many years now, and pond remains very good, fish all look very good, and just add new water weekly as the pond heater can cause lots of evaporation during long cold spells.

I think Wayne is just taking a break, they get lots more deep cold days up in Edmonton that I do and it can be very frustrating.

It is a new Year and and new spring is coming, and hopefully we will see Wayne again and his beautiful rocked pond. Maybe he will store his fish in garage or something, sometimes it is easier for people to do it that way than fight with the long cold winter.

 

[waynefrcan]

Thanks Charles, Colleen, I might run a hose soon. Any cheap online ammonia killers for ponds? Locally not much. I mean I have 6500 US gal, I need something cheap.

 

[crsublette]

Charles, I Like what you said, (all out of like's) about the benifical bacteria breaking down the ammonia

Not exactly what i'm talking about, but yeah ... under warmer conditions, like a Florida "winter", the proper bacteria would be around preventing the climbing ammonia except those type of primary bacteria are dead or hibernating during cold water temperatures.

Now, there are aquatic plants that still grow in near freezing conditions so, in preparation for next Winter, Wayne, ya could look into these to help control the ammonia during winter; i'm not for sure what plants there are, but I got one in mine that is still green, growing under a thin layer of ice.

Any cheap online ammonia killers for ponds? Locally not much. I mean I have 6500 US gal, I need something cheap.

Oh, not for sure. I would rather go by the reputation of the company rather than cost since there are so many scammers in the pond product industry. SeaChem is one of the top shelf companies.

 

[callingcolleen1]

My large clumps of hornwort are still looking green and flow with the current, aquatic mint roots are growing new tips, yellow flag roots are vibrant and white, new shoots start poking out very very early in spring, under the ice and the algae grows well for me in the winter, dies off when other plants start to grow.

Wayne I am sorry but I don't know much about ammonia binders as I have never had to use it.

 

[MitchM]

Just thought I would post an observation I made.
This is a picture of the heater in -20C/-4F after I relocated it to the middle of the pond. The open hole is much larger than it ever was when I had the heater placed closer to shore, just off a 1' deep plant shelf over 5' water depth.
When I had the heater just beyond the plant shelf, it would frequently ice over.
It seems that placing the heater well over deep water makes a difference.

 

[j.w]

Must be cuz the deeper water takes longer to freeze. You got it going good now Mitch!

 

[sissy]

gosh can't even tell there is a pond there ,looks like just snow with a hole

 

[MitchM]

j.w., yes, I think so thanks.
sissy, yes, a hole in the snow.. :sad: . I'm having safety concerns about it now. Pretty hard to put a fence up around it with the frozen ground now.
Maybe it will look more interesting next winter with the addition of a waterfall and landscaping.

 

[crsublette]

Thanks for sharing Mitch. That makes sense to me.

Heh, yeah, that is crazy how it is hard to tell if there is even a pond there. Ya could put some christmas lights tracing the parameter of the pond. Then put the top half of old saint nick looking as if he fell in and a sign " do not enter the circle " or something witty.