Spring Start up

[koiguy1969]

well i took a couple pics of my pond coming out of winter...i didnt clean it up last fall so i think it faired real well as far as muck and gunk and sloppy mush.. but there is a red oxide film over everything and some filamentous algea starting on the southern exposed vertical surfaces..oh and yes the babies that were left in made it, theres a few minnow babies in there as well i didnt realized they spawned as well..dont recall if i ever saw any fry last year..but theyre here...
side note..the water is 28" deep

 

[koiguy1969]

anyone have any thoughts on what the reddish brown layer is ...from iron content in some of the stones maybe? anybody else encountered this as of yet?

 

[DrDave]

I think you hit it on the head. Stones carry many minerals and ferric oxide, I think, would turn up red.

 

[mheiderscheit]

I have been doing a lot of reading on pond maintenance. I have an aquascapes kit pond. They sell a product called air stones. It is used to add oxygen to the water, which they say is much needed especially during the heat of the summer. The problem I see is that the main unit cannot be exposed to water.

Does any one here have this type of product? If so, where do you put the pump so that it is not exposed to the elements.

Do you recommend this type of product?

Thanks for your help.

 

[koiguy1969]

yep i run aerators in my ponds and filters too... laguna and several others make weather rated pumps... but i run indoor pumps in tupperware containers with air holes. way cheaper than outdoor rated pond ones.. work just a well for less than 1/2 the price. i use discs in the ponds and stones in filters.

 

[j.w]

yep i run aerators in my ponds and filters too... laguna and several others make weather rated pumps... but i run indoor pumps in tupperware containers with air holes. way cheaper than outdoor rated pond ones.. work just a well for less than 1/2 the price. i use discs in the ponds and stones in filters.

What are discs?

 

[koiguy1969]

instead of a little ball they are discs..google volcano air discs.

 

[koiguy1969]

heres the disc ones.....
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752196

 

[koikeepr]

i've used these. they clog really quickly. you have to scrub 'em every week or two. They are cheap tho, at only 5.99 or so. I prefer the ceramic or rubber ones. Stay unclogged a long time.

 

[koiguy1969]

i only clean mine in the spring taking them outside and in the fall going in. i use a light wire brush..it takes all of 15 seconds to do both.

 

[j.w]

Cool, I didn't know they existed. I had only seen the bar ones and round ones, thanks for the info :fish:

 

[DoDad]

I clean my air stones in my small pond once a year and in my QT I never clean them.
I Have aerated bottom drains and never have cleaned them yet.

 

[koiguy1969]

i do it because ive already got them out to move between ponds and filters so the few seconds it takes is merely for preventative measure.

 

[mheiderscheit]

Is there any recommendation on how many you should put in a pond?

 

[koikeepr]

I clean my air stones in my small pond once a year and in my QT I never clean them.
I Have aerated bottom drains and never have cleaned them yet.

I mean the very specific blue disk ones that koiguy has shown--you can find 'em in Petsmart--those particular ones just clog easily. I have others that I clean twice a year and are perfectly fine.