CW's Back Yard Water Garden Begins!

[GBBUDD]

Higher resolution kH test and H2O2 test arrived yesterday. Going to use kH test to measure accurate pond volume w/ baking soda.

God How This Absolutely HURTS Saying This ...... CLEVER, which test did you get that is that accurate? so for every cup you add you'll measure the step in your kh. i Get it .

Put on my running tights. Man how things have changed in a couple generations . But seriously not sure if i would jump to hydrogen peroxide. while it is not suppose to harm anything but the hair algae i do know that the tick that bur roughed into my side years back , did not like when i put a shot glass of peroxide over him.

did you ever try adding some items from a local pond like a lily some rocks gravel or even muck? think of it as seeding the pond with microbes and bacteria?

I'm currently sitting at 130ppm KH. If I assume a volume of 9,000 gal and add 27 lbs. of baking soda, then I will expect to see a rise of 213ppm to 343.

Don't know if you want to go that high though i have read some breeders do go to 300

 

[GBBUDD]

I've searched about them eating poop and says nope unless they do it accidentally while foraging for decaying matter etc.
This place says: https://fullserviceaquatics.com/catfish-in-your-backyard-pond-friend-or-foe/

This place never did a study on my albino catfish I could see him devour waste both goldfish snossages in the little sausage rolls or as the wast was dumped by a koi and falling it ate everything

 

[Lisak1]

I have never been a big believer in the "sun increases algae growth" theory. I've seen algae growing in ponds that are in full on shade all day long, so the pond dye idea never made sense to me. I think what it does do is make it nice and green so you can see it better.

I really do think you're fighting a battle that will eventually be won on its own, but I get it. It's simply astonishing how fast string algae can grow and how much of it there is. I hope you're dumping all of it in your gardens - it's great stuff!

 

[addy1]

All of my ponds are full blasting south sun, all day sunrise until a bit before sunset.

No sting algae to very little string. even overfeeding the fish does not fire it up. Do get a little bit now and then, but it just goes away. I feed more than ever want fry to replace snake eaten fish.

Really believe it is due to the plants, huge bog, and three plant only 250 to 300 gallon ponds. They don't allow it to live.

 

[combatwombat]

Was too tired last night. Mixed 27 lbs baking soda in a 5 gal bucket of pond water and poured directly into reservoir pump vault. Will check KH around mid-day, this evening, and again tomorrow morning. Ammonia still at 0.25 ppm this morning.

Updated tests:

Date	Time	PH	KH	Ammonia	Nitrite	Nitrate
7/13	7:00 PM	8.4	130	0.25	0	0
7/14	7:00 AM	8.2	131.27	0.25	0	0

God How This Absolutely HURTS Saying This ...... CLEVER, which test did you get that is that accurate?

Shouldn't hurt that much. Might want to consult your doctor.

I am using the sera KH kit, which measures dKH in 5mL of water. 1 drop of reagent = 1 dKH = 17.9 ppm. I am running the tests at 2x resolution, so testing 10mL of water and 1 drop = 0.5 dKH = 8.95 ppm. Doing each test 3 times and averaging the results. So far, they have all been within 1 dKH of each other at 1x and 2x resolution. Considered doing it at 4x, but didn't want to run out of reagent.

Have seen the Lamotte test recommended as best in class, but couldn't find it for sale anywhere that would arrive on an acceptable timeline. Hopefully this will be accurate enough.

Man how things have changed in a couple generations .

PM your address and I'll send you a pair. They're amazing.

did you ever try adding some items from a local pond like a lily some rocks gravel or even muck? think of it as seeding the pond with microbes and bacteria?

No, but I think I better prioritize that. No known ponds nearby, but I do have a giant wetland down the street from me. Might start taking a weekly "sample" from there to add to the ecosystem. Hopefully won't come with any unwelcome passengers.

Don't know if you want to go that high though i have read some breeders do go to 300

The deed is done! I did more reading last night, and seems that there's no known limit for KH. Most just said too much is a waste. Lots of accounts on aquarium forums about going super high. Sometimes on purpose, but mostly on accident! No negative effects.

I have never been a big believer in the "sun increases algae growth" theory.

Sun increases all plant growth (in plants that want lots of it), does it not?

I've seen algae growing in ponds that are in full on shade all day long

Likewise, I've read many accounts of koi hobbyists reporting a confusing array of string algae conditions in ponds with the same water in the same place with the same etc. etc. etc. Seems the only thing we know for sure is that we don't know that much about it like we do other plants... and hydrogen peroxide kills it!

I really do think you're fighting a battle that will eventually be won on its own

Agree. But I want the family to be able to swim more this summer, and the algae needs to go so that the snails carrying the parasite can go with it. Afraid I don't know of any way to test for that parasite except to get in and wait a day for itchy bites.

 

[GBBUDD]

Most parasites if there is no host they will die off in days

 

[combatwombat]

Most parasites if there is no host they will die off in days

I don't totally understand how duck mites work (I like that name better than swimmer's itch), but apparently the form of parasite that comes from the snail can keep going for a long time because the ducks haven't been here in at least a month.

And I know the mites are still here because, despite covering head to toe to get in the pond for algae removal yesterday, I have "bites" all over!

Edit: I supposed it could be carried by another bird—we have many that visit the pond—but everything I read refers directly to "waterfowl" as the avian host. Which I think only ducks, geese, swans, etc. would qualify? Not your typical backyard birds.

 

[combatwombat]

Oh, and look! I have duckweed now, too! Found it this morning.

 

[Jhn]

CW, think Lisa is referring to the sun is the sole cause for excess algae growth theory, when the sun is only one piece of that puzzle. If full sun is solely to blame for excess algae growth , I would have it, my pond gets sun all day long has a toooon of fish, frogs, turtles etc in it,(so enough nutrients) yet no algae growth, obviously all the plants in my pond and bogs keep that from happening. We do know higher forms of plant life will outcompete algae for availabile nutrients and starve it out.

My theory is to control what you can control, not what you can’t. I can’t do anything about the sun over my pond all day long, but I can control how much nutrients are available to feed algae, by either limiting fish population and/or planting a ton of plants in there, the amount of circulation in my pond, to not let crap settle and build up in the pond itself. Keep in mind the type of plants you put in there matter, if they grow slow they aren’t going to help much with controlling nuisance algae growt.

Also, that stinks having some type of parasite in your pond what a pita. Dont Know much about parasites carried by waterfowl, but there are fish parasites that can last awhile ie months without a host, like ic, which is why people will leave their aquariums fallow for 6-8 weeks to make sure that parasite sis completely gone. That is tough though if snails are a host for them, idk getting loaches or something that preys primarily on snails and can’t escape from the pond.

 

[GBBUDD]

Oh, and look! I have duckweed now, too! Found it this morning.

View attachment 164464

Duck weed goes to show someone brought it in and if you are getting tons of ducks. Duck weed probably stands to reson they have brought you gifts as well

 

[combatwombat]

Duck weed goes to show someone brought it in and if you are getting tons of ducks. Duck weed probably stands to reson they have brought you gifts as well

Do I want duckweed? Or should I try to remove it?

 

[j.w]

Do I want duckweed? Or should I try to remove it?

I find that the duckweed in my big pond w/fish in it seems to work out fine as they devour it faster than I can put it in there. If left in a pond w/o fish the stuff can take over as I have it in a bathtub pond and another tiny frog pond. It has covered the whole surface. I don't mind that in those ponds tho as that is where I get the stuff to add for the fish to eat. They love the stuff! I suppose if you had way too much in your fish pond the fish could not keep up w/eating it, maybe? So far not a problem!

 

[GBBUDD]

Do I want duckweed? Or should I try to remove it?

Nothing better than duckweed to shade your pond in 3 weeks you'll be covered it grows very fast put a pvc on the surface floating to keep the duckweed from going in you cistern. Duck weed will also suck up nutrients .

 

[combatwombat]

Found a lady on FB Marketplace who's dividing a ton of marginals. Hoping to pick up a giant load of them in the next few days and start stuffing every available inch of the shoreline.

Trying to decide if I should wait for those plants before doing an H2O2 treatment so they're available to take up the nutrients left behind by any dead algae that doesn't make it out via filter. Don't want to wait, though, as I'm on the tail of a major manual purge and want to get it while there's as little algae in the pond as possible (and don't want to get eaten alive doing another purge).

Think I'm going to go for it. Wanted pond volume to figure out how much to use. On that note...

Updated tests:

Date	Time	PH	KH	Ammonia	Nitrite	Nitrate
7/13	7:00 PM	8.4	130	0.25	0	0
7/14	7:00 AM	8.2	131.27	0.25	0	0
7/14	1:00 PM		286.4
7/15	8:00 AM	8.2	265.52	0.25	0	0

Pond Volume

Well, don't know how much I trust these results, but probably close enough for a crude measurement for dosing H202.

I estimated 9,000 gallons, expecting to see a final kH reading after 24 hours of 343 ppm. Instead, I got a reading of 286 after hours and then 266 after 24 hours.

Those convert to 12,357 and 14,279 gallons for an average of 13,318 gallons.

That doesn't seem quite right to me. I've done lots of estimates over the last few years that have ranged anywhere from 7,000 to 11,000, with my most detailed estimate coming out to around 9,000.

I'm also confused by the fact that kH read the highest at 6 hrs post baking soda, and then 20ppm lower at 24 hrs. I was expecting the opposite. The difference is only 21 ppm, but 21 ppm adds up to a 2,000 gallon swing in volume. And 21ppm is close to 1 dKH, which means the test kit, for what it is, is still quite consistent.

And I performed the test at 2x resolution using 10 mL of pond water instead of 5, but I don't know if that equates to a 2x increase in accuracy as I don't know the margin of error on the test.

I guess I could have thought all that through beforehand and realized that my results could be inaccurate to the tune of 2,000 + gallons. But I didn't! Oh well.

I'm going to pretend like I have a 10,000 gallon pond and start dosing with H2O2. Will take another round of kH measurements tomorrow and see how those come out.

But what really matters is that I can change my signature to say 15,000 gallon pond since my highest test read 14,300, and obviously you have round up.

 

[combatwombat]

CW, think Lisa is referring to the sun is the sole cause for excess algae growth theory, when the sun is only one piece of that puzzle.

That makes sense.

I can control how much nutrients are available to feed algae, by either limiting fish population

I have limited my fish population to 0! Do the frogs poop that much!? lol

More plants asap is now on the menu.