Algae vs Zero Algae

[barryian]

I would be more interested in the Nitrate level after the biofilter has cycled.....in about 4 weeks.

Well, I currently have a zero nitrate number. I'll follow it and we'll see. Does the high kH which I maintain between 150 - 200 have an affect on the nitrates? Just finished the bio startup, water change so all is up & running. We'll see what happens over time. Have have no idea why it remains at zero under the present conditions. Test solutions are new. Both old and new test the same. With a 50F winter water temp, the bio might reseed more rapidly. Would you think?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Well, I currently have a zero nitrate number. I'll follow it and we'll see. Does the high kH which I maintain between 150 - 200 have an affect on the nitrates? Just finished the bio startup, water change so all is up & running. We'll see what happens over time. Have have no idea why it remains at zero under the present conditions. Test solutions are new. Both old and new test the same. With a 50F winter water temp, the bio might reseed more rapidly. Would you think?

This is why I added the request to see what the level was after 4 or so weeks. Over the Winter with the biofilter shut down and any remaining bacterial action retarded by the lower temperatures it is not surprising to see a low Nitrate level....none (or very little) has been produced. With the temperature rising, the biofilter coming back on-line and regular normal feeding about to resume, this should quickly change as more Nitrate is produced. If it doesn't then we have a mystery to solve.
What is your Ammonia level at present?

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

Lol ... surprised the lettering didn't where off or get covered over time .... Sounds similar, most definitely. I've also used my pool brush sparingly, but I use it mostly by the main drain area as it cleans that up well. I think if the phosphates from winter build up, the algae is exacerbated, unless I do a pp treatment and remove phosphates. As I said, last year when I did that, I was good for the season. With 10 koi up to 24" in size, they keep the carpet algae at bay, but the floating algae in the water will keep producing even though it is well filtered out. So being koi dedicated, I pretty much eradicate algae these days.

My pond is brand new.....first put water in it November 26, 2016...so I have a serious learning curve going on....we got our first two Koi really by accident....but they are large....Donald is probably 9 lbs and Hillary is at least 7 lbs..... They are going to be the tools that I use to get my biological going....I only feed them when the temperature is above 60 degrees and going to stay that way at least three days.... So I am not going to add anymore till April....we have a local High School that has has four huge green house that grows fresh vegetables for use in the school system....three of them are used to grow vegetables....the fourth one is used to grow Koi....and breed them...so you can guess where Koi waste water goes....but they have a sale in April and from what I hear they have taken the time to breed beautiful Koi....and people come from miles around to buy their Koi.....so that is where I am getting my next fish....

I have the same problem as you....I have two large Koi and they keeping alot of it trimmed down but not all....so what I do is take my pool brush and give the pond a good scrubbing....most of the suspended algae gets caught in my filter and I backwash it the next morning....but it grows right back.....since I have no rocks or gravel on the bottom of my pond other than the base of the waterfall.....the algae actually looks better than the white lettering on my liner....and before anyone says anything....yes I should have flipped the liner over....too late now....lol Jimmy

 

[barryian]

This is why I added the request to see what the level was after 4 or so weeks. Over the Winter with the biofilter shut down and any remaining bacterial action retarded by the lower temperatures it is not surprising to see a low Nitrate level....none (or very little) has been produced. With the temperature rising, the biofilter coming back on-line and regular normal feeding about to resume, this should quickly change as more Nitrate is produced. If it doesn't then we have a mystery to solve.
What is your Ammonia level at present?

I've fed the fish 3 times over the last 2 weeks with water temps at 50F. First time I've ever attempted that. They enjoyed it. Currently the
ammonia & nitrites are zero & pH always maintains at 8.3 using baking soda as the buffer and keeping the kH high as I said. Last year the nitrates maintained a zero reading if not close, all season long so I think we will have a mystery. We'll see in 4 weeks time
.

 

[barryian]

My pond is brand new.....first put water in it November 26, 2016...so I have a serious learning curve going on....we got our first two Koi really by accident....but they are large....Donald is probably 9 lbs and Hillary is at least 7 lbs..... They are going to be the tools that I use to get my biological going....I only feed them when the temperature is above 60 degrees and going to stay that way at least three days.... So I am not going to add anymore till April....we have a local High School that has has four huge green house that grows fresh vegetables for use in the school system....three of them are used to grow vegetables....the fourth one is used to grow Koi....and breed them...so you can guess where Koi waste water goes....but they have a sale in April and from what I hear they have taken the time to breed beautiful Koi....and people come from miles around to buy their Koi.....so that is where I am getting my next fish....

You don't have to wait for water temps to reach 60F to feed them. Nice size koi, btw. When did you put them in the water? If water temp is above 50F, you can start a minimum light feeding of a wheat germ pellet, the large ones 7-8mm ..... Very light feeding to get some ammonia which will get the bio-filter working bacteria in gear. From Nov until now, did you have some fish in the new pond to get the process started as your temps are milder than up here I would think? Actually I just noticed you're only zone 7a. Hmm, so it's cool down there.

 

[DeepWater]

That high school greenhouse/koi farm sounds cool, I had to google it.

http://www.tnhomeandfarm.com/agriculture/farm-tray-students-grow-fresh-produce/

 

[barryian]

That high school greenhouse/koi farm sounds cool, I had to google it.

http://www.tnhomeandfarm.com/agriculture/farm-tray-students-grow-fresh-produce/

Very cool link !!! Amazing amount of koi they've raised also ....

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

You don't have to wait for water temps to reach 60F to feed them. Nice size koi, btw. When did you put them in the water? If water temp is above 50F, you can start a minimum light feeding of a wheat germ pellet, the large ones 7-8mm ..... Very light feeding to get some ammonia which will get the bio-filter working bacteria in gear. From Nov until now, did you have some fish in the new pond to get the process started as your temps are milder than up here I would think? Actually I just noticed you're only zone 7a. Hmm, so it's cool down there.

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

That high school greenhouse/koi farm sounds cool, I had to google it.

http://www.tnhomeandfarm.com/agriculture/farm-tray-students-grow-fresh-produce/

It's Liberty High school....Jackson TN

 

[Haffdalehaffkoi]

Did I say filter, I meant skimmer! It's the large Savio with an 8" weir and a 2800gph pump. Then there's an GcTek Alpha One 2.5 bio-filter good
up to 5000 gallons. I'm running quite a bit of overkill... I always felt in a koi pond, overkill is always better than just meeting the minimum requirements, especially when your 6-8" koi become 24-30" koi. As said, pond is 2000 gal...

Can I see it

 

[Haffdalehaffkoi]

View attachment 97411

Can I see your pond please?

 

[Angel]

4 year old thread

 

[barryian]

Can I see your pond please?

Hi - I'm a bit confused! Did you want to see my pond?

 

[Angel]

4 year old thread

disregard... what i get for having 3 diffrent pages up on the 4 screens... replied on wrong forum.... need more coffee