Pond in the foothills

[j.w]

You'll have to write up a paper on all that you have figured out by the end of winter and post all your findings here. Then we shall all be experts on the subject should any problems arise thanks to your efforts.

Hey will this work for you?

How to Measure the Dissolved Oxygen Level of Water
Edited by Iamamiwhoami, Teresa, Catdog, Mambasnake and 1 other

To see if water can support life, you need to know as a scientist the dissolved oxygen level (D.O) of the body of water. Before you start, look at "Things you'll need". You may want to do this in a lab environment, but with common sense, it should be no problem at home.


Steps

1. 
   
   Retrieve a testing sample from your sampler. Be sure to rinse the bottle three times to ensure no contamination occurs with your sample.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Add 8 drops of Manganous Sulfate.
   
   
3. 
   
   Add 8 drops of Alkaline Potassium Iodide Azide.
4. 
   
   Cap your container and shake it for 30 seconds.
5. 
   
   After this, set it down on your work surface to allow precipitate to settle.
6. 
   
   Next, add 8 drops sulfuric acid.
7. 
   
   Cap and shake for 30 seconds.
8. 
   
   Allow reagent and precipitate to dissolve(This may take a little bit.)
9. 
   
   Now, transfer 20 milliliters of your testing sample into titration tube.
10. 
    
    This is where gets tricky. Have your partner hold the titration tube WITH THE SODIUM THISOLFUTE upside down while you fill the titration syringe with it.
11. 
    
    Add the S. T. (sodium thisulfate) one drop at a time (stirring well between each drop) to the titration tube filled with sample. Continue until the sample becomes a pale yellow.
12. 
    
    Add 8 drops of starch indicator
13. 
    
    Add S. T. (one drop at a time, stirring well each drop) to titration tube until blue color just disappears and solution is colorless.
14. 
    
    Read results in mg/L Dissolved Oxygen.

 

[MitchM]

lol, If I'm going to go through all that trouble, I think I would rather build a still and make me some alcohol! :0000000057:

I was thinking of getting an O2 testing probe, but I thought even if I brought up some water from the bottom of the pond, I wonder if the activity of getting it into a vessel to put the probe in would throw off the O2 level and make my results worthless.
Maybe next year when I have more time I'll figure that out.
Thanks though! :biggrin:

 

[j.w]

You are just gonna have to go down under and sit on the bottom of your pond to do this next test of the oxygen I'm afraid Mitch. You must have a video recording while you do this tho. Make sure you have a warm and toasty dry suit I think they call them for winter or you will freeze your buns among other items off

 

[MitchM]

Maybe you and Colleen could Youtube it?

 

[j.w]

Ha Ha I'll leave that part for Colleen as she is way closer to you than I am and she is becoming quite the video producer since she figured it all out so nicely. I hear she is going to put her singing voice into them now also

 

[waynefrcan]

Reason none of us have it is the price. $300.00 and up for a reliable one.

lol, If I'm going to go through all that trouble, I think I would rather build a still and make me some alcohol! :0000000057:

I was thinking of getting an O2 testing probe, but I thought even if I brought up some water from the bottom of the pond, I wonder if the activity of getting it into a vessel to put the probe in would throw off the O2 level and make my results worthless.
Maybe next year when I have more time I'll figure that out.
Thanks though! :biggrin:

 

[MitchM]

I'm a little puzzled why the layers of ice and snow have formed the way they have.

Snow on top.
Then slush/water.
Then ice.
Then pond water.

You would think I would be familiar with this, and with the temperatures around -40, I thought the slush would be frozen by now.
Maybe the radiation from sunlight is making it's way through the snow and reflecting off the ice...... :dunno:

Go figure.

 

[waynefrcan]

Yes I got the same thing, wanted to walk on it and it's all mush under the 1ft of snow. Not sure if the whole surface is like that, but it is weird and first winter like this.

 

[callingcolleen1]

The reason you have slush under the snow Mitch, its simply because you must have had warmer temps just before the snow fell, that was starting to melt the top of the ice. I see this down at the river all the time, on a nice day the frozen river will begin to melt when the sun shines on top of the ice, but the thick ice below will still be rock hard. Then you must have got a snow storm that covered the slush and insulated it from the cold.

But why did you shovel the snow off your pond? :fish2: :goldfish: :fish: Are you planning to skate on the pond for Christmas?
:coolgleema:

 

[addy1]

He is going out in his tutu to do spins and twirls on the ice! My ice is all gone.

 

[MitchM]

No Colleen, I've had this snow since the beginning. It used to be more than 2 feet of snow. We have 3 feet in some places.
I was clearing the snow trying to find the transmitter.

I don't think the fish would appreciate the sounds of skating on the ice, lol.

Thanks addy, I'm glad you think I'm so masculine...lol.

 

[addy1]

You would be so cute! and we want a video...............

 

[MitchM]

I'm sorry, but for legal reasons I cannot participate in that kind of video....
It would leave me wide open to blackmail....lol

 

[addy1]

I'm sorry, but for legal reasons I cannot participate in that kind of video....
It would leave me wide open to blackmail....lol

You think we would black mail you????????????? Us nice little GPF peeps?

 

[MitchM]

My wife and I think my mom enjoy following these threads.......
There would be no end......lol......