I think there's an ammonia remover you can buy. Not my area of expertise though!
Stubborn water chemistry
- Thread starter LuapYllier
- Start date
I think there's an ammonia remover you can buy. Not my area of expertise though!
Everything is submerged. I didn't learn about trickle filters till after I built this
Your build is very nicely done by the way i love how you have even corners in and out. and the black granite is a sweet choice. What are you doing to add 02 to the water? if you are using a simple aquarium air pump i'd lean toward using a venturi which is nothing more then say an aquarium power head with a hose attached at the output of the pump that makes very fine bubbles. That will give your underwater filter bacteria be able to thrive better.
I appreciate the compliments. Currently, my aeration is coming from the fountain bubbler dropping into the reservoir and the waterfall dropping into the pond. I was considering some sort of air stone but I read somewhere that too much aeration was bad at this stage of the ponds cycle. I don't remember where or why exactly. Then again I am not sure how much is too much.
Also I have several plants at the bottom just getting started which I had hoped would oxygenate the water well.
Side note...ammonia is back down to .25 today.
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I feel like the idea of underwater plants oxygenating a pond is overrated. Plants expel oxygen in the daytime, but they take up oxygen at night, right? So it's kind of zero sum game at some point. Or worse - too many plants can actually choke out a pond.
I've never heard of aeration being bad for a pond at any point. The good bacteria that you're trying to develop in your pond thrive on oxygen rich water. One advantage of an air stone is that it helps mix the bottom water with the surface water. It also brings the cooler water up from the bottom and can help cool the pond. We also find our aeration helps keep fine particles and small bits of debris in the water column longer, allowing them to float to be skimmed rather than sink to the bottom.
Could you be a little more specific on the pump type. I looked for venturi air pump and got a range of results
Ok...I did some more research on the venturi. I think I understand the concept now. I actually think this would work extremely well for my circumstances. What I currently have set up under the shelf that the waterfall drops onto is a 1200 gph pump restricted to a 1/2"i.d. tube which is then split. Half goes to the fountain bubbler, the other half goes through the UV clarifier and then directed out from under the shelf about 4" below water level creating good flow and circulation across the pond. Putting a venturi after the UV sounds perfect. Looking around now I am finding some irrigation stuff and gas stuff. As many people do this pond stuff there must be some use specific hardware around. Can someone point me in the right direction?
Maybe this?
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That will do it ... very simple....
Put a pvc T inline with a cap take a common airline tubing slip connection . measure the width of it drill a hole into the cap. slide the airline slip coupling through the hole . silicone if need be install air line tube and that should do it
While it is true too much air can be a bad thing. pockets of air trapped on filter material or trying to grow underwater plants as during the day they like co2 and co2 is lessened with aeration. i doubt you will be able to reach that point .
WOW!!
I can be a real bone-head sometimes. You see the shelf that the waterfall drops onto? Guess what is holding that up? 3 cinder blocks...yeah the concrete ones...and yes completely raw. That just completely slipped by me till about 3 minutes ago. That would be leeching into the pond water...I got to find something else to hold up that shelf.
I can be a real bone-head sometimes. You see the shelf that the waterfall drops onto? Guess what is holding that up? 3 cinder blocks...yeah the concrete ones...and yes completely raw. That just completely slipped by me till about 3 minutes ago. That would be leeching into the pond water...I got to find something else to hold up that shelf.