DUMB MISTAKES = LEARNING CURVE (?)

[Dave 54]

We have a rule in the koi world that states prepare both the pond and filters prior to winter in late autumn , carry on throughout the winter doing water changes draining 30% through the bottom drain to flush the vortex then slowly trickling the water back in so as not to loose temperature ( it does work but takes a few hours to top back up again).
In the spring prior to summer we do our filters once again carrying on with maintenance again with 30% waterchanges.
With this method you avoid any Areomonas that are lurking in your filters waiting to attack your fish/Koi in the spring , it works very well indeed with no losses


rgrds

Dave

 

[Mmathis]

UPDATE: I just went out to look at the pond and THE WATER IS THE ABSOLUTE CLEAREST IT HAS EVER BEEN!!

The only differences I have introduced were spelled out in my OP: I added the Oase floating skimmer with air flow, AND, was in the process of converting the turtle-bogs to having PVC under-gravel flow. There are a few plants in these little bogs. The turtle-bogs are only a very minimal contribution in terms of the overall pond coverage, maybe less than 20 sq. feet, if that much

My goodness, could that small of a bog area have done that much good? Granted, it would have taken a week, but still.....

 

[Waterbug]

Pouring a few gallons of gasoline into a pond to kill mosquitoes is a bad idea. I did this because I'd heard once that oil was put onto water to control mosquitoes...gasoline is made from oil, so that should work...right? As I was pouring the last of the gas into the pond I got that sinking feeling that maybe I should engage the cognitive part of my brain. A bit less "logic" and a bit more learning might help. Started reading about ponds, experimenting and learning.

 

[CountryEscape]

I must say that my newest pond, the goldfish pond that is about 17'x7'x3.5' and has a bog the length of the pond by 3' is the clearest water ever. I know the koi make more waste, but seriously considering adding a very large bog to the koi pond this summer, somehow having it elevated some and water falling back into the koi pond. As a comparison, the goldfish pond has about 1/3 or more of the surface area is bog, the koi pond has more like 1/6 of the surface area being bog. I should have done it the opposite, for the waste production of the fish. Live and learn! Just now have to decide if I want the bog to take up seating area (which would just have to be moved out farther, and 2 young trees moved as well), or totally scrapping the larger bog idea. Pretty sure the filtration I'm seeing from the goldfish pond bog (which is the ONLY filtration for that pond, BTW) would greatly help the koi pond. The Skippy needs to be reworked this spring, too. Need filtering materials that don't break down like some that I have in there, which is not helping that filtration device work as well as it should. Learning as we go ....

 

[Big Lou]

I must say that my newest pond, the goldfish pond that is about 17'x7'x3.5' and has a bog the length of the pond by 3' is the clearest water ever. I know the koi make more waste, but seriously considering adding a very large bog to the koi pond this summer, somehow having it elevated some and water falling back into the koi pond. As a comparison, the goldfish pond has about 1/3 or more of the surface area is bog, the koi pond has more like 1/6 of the surface area being bog. I should have done it the opposite, for the waste production of the fish. Live and learn! Just now have to decide if I want the bog to take up seating area (which would just have to be moved out farther, and 2 young trees moved as well), or totally scrapping the larger bog idea. Pretty sure the filtration I'm seeing from the goldfish pond bog (which is the ONLY filtration for that pond, BTW) would greatly help the koi pond. The Skippy needs to be reworked this spring, too. Need filtering materials that don't break down like some that I have in there, which is not helping that filtration device work as well as it should. Learning as we go ....

I would be concerned that over time your gravel becomes inundated with muck. Hope I'm wrong CE.

 

[Mmathis]

I would be concerned that over time your gravel becomes inundated with muck. Hope I'm wrong CE.

Sorta what got this thread started in the first place [and probably what saved my fish] was that I'd just been reading some articles that were anti-bog for the reason of the (?) hydrogen sulfide gas that can build up. So when I realized what I was stirring up, and smelling, I immediately stopped and checked on the fish -- they didn't look too good at that point! So, a lesson learned.

But am not convinced that bogs are death traps. I think, like everything else, you have to have a balance somewhere along the way. For one thing, I don't ever plan to overstock with fish. Plus, I'll install a "clean-out" in mine with the hope of [at least checking on] eliminating the toxins if they form. Am researching plants so I can maximize their effectiveness. For example, just read a research article about root structure in [bog-type] plants, and their conclusion was that "fibrous" roots were more effective than "rhizome" roots at utilizing pond nutrients. My goal at this point is to have plants of varying root types & depths so that all strata [stratum?] of the gravel can be utilized.

 

[CountryEscape]

With the PVC pipes as Addy has in her bog, and I copied, the water comes out of small holes on the bottom of the pipes, which run horizontal under the gravel. I have a clean out (and I know that Addy does as well) at the end of that pipe, that I can flush out. I've only flushed it once the first year, and very little dirty water came out. The pump that is feeding my bog is not on the bottom of the pond, it's about 12" off the bottom, so is only filtering water through there, not any muck from the bottom. And, the bottom "muck" has always come out in a "matt" form, dragging most everything with it when I do cleaning in the springtime. That matt material may be partly because of the Pond Perfect product I use to help boost good bacteria in the spring when the water warms up enough to support it.
I'm pretty sure Addy has never had any muck yet in her bog, which is at least 2 years older than mine. Another thing I can do with my bog is let it drain off into the grass, instead of into the pond, if/when I have any muck issues. I could stir it up and run water from the hose through the pipe and flush it out on to the grass as overflow, rather than out the flush out pipe.
Since last spring was my first spring after the koi pond was built, I did notice the smell of stuff from the Skippy filter when I started it back up, but any muck I cleaned out from the bottom came out like a carpet, so not much got stirred up. Will try to avoid all stirring up of "stuff" this spring. :razz:

 

[Big Lou]

Sorta what got this thread started in the first place [and probably what saved my fish] was that I'd just been reading some articles that were anti-bog for the reason of the (?) hydrogen sulfide gas that can build up. So when I realized what I was stirring up, and smelling, I immediately stopped and checked on the fish -- they didn't look too good at that point! So, a lesson learned.

But am not convinced that bogs are death traps. I think, like everything else, you have to have a balance somewhere along the way. For one thing, I don't ever plan to overstock with fish. Plus, I'll install a "clean-out" in mine with the hope of [at least checking on] eliminating the toxins if they form. Am researching plants so I can maximize their effectiveness. For example, just read a research article about root structure in [bog-type] plants, and their conclusion was that "fibrous" roots were more effective than "rhizome" roots at utilizing pond nutrients. My goal at this point is to have plants of varying root types & depths so that all strata [stratum?] of the gravel can be utilized.

Sorry Mmathis. Thanks for helping me to better understand how a true bog can be managed. I was truly ignorant of the facts.

 

[Big Lou]

With the PVC pipes as Addy has in her bog, and I copied, the water comes out of small holes on the bottom of the pipes, which run horizontal under the gravel. I have a clean out (and I know that Addy does as well) at the end of that pipe, that I can flush out. I've only flushed it once the first year, and very little dirty water came out. The pump that is feeding my bog is not on the bottom of the pond, it's about 12" off the bottom, so is only filtering water through there, not any muck from the bottom. And, the bottom "muck" has always come out in a "matt" form, dragging most everything with it when I do cleaning in the springtime. That matt material may be partly because of the Pond Perfect product I use to help boost good bacteria in the spring when the water warms up enough to support it.
I'm pretty sure Addy has never had any muck yet in her bog, which is at least 2 years older than mine. Another thing I can do with my bog is let it drain off into the grass, instead of into the pond, if/when I have any muck issues. I could stir it up and run water from the hose through the pipe and flush it out on to the grass as overflow, rather than out the flush out pipe.
Since last spring was my first spring after the koi pond was built, I did notice the smell of stuff from the Skippy filter when I started it back up, but any muck I cleaned out from the bottom came out like a carpet, so not much got stirred up. Will try to avoid all stirring up of "stuff" this spring. :razz:

More good information. My mostly inactive bog is completely separate from the main pond.

 

[Dave 54]

Pouring a few gallons of gasoline into a pond to kill mosquitoes is a bad idea. I did this because I'd heard once that oil was put onto water to control mosquitoes...gasoline is made from oil, so that should work...right? As I was pouring the last of the gas into the pond I got that sinking feeling that maybe I should engage the cognitive part of my brain. A bit less "logic" and a bit more learning might help. Started reading about ponds, experimenting and learning.

Waterbug we are all open to making mistakes like that my friend it proves we are all human besides you were not to know at that time .
Learning is the way to go ahead in this hobby of ours

rgrds

Dave