Hi. I'm new on here and have a Q
- Thread starter 2bfishy
- Start date
Sorry for the long post. I am just throwing ideas at you. Pick of it what suits you.
Seeing on the pictures that you may have a window in there? Position the plants right where the window is so they get natural light as well as artificial. If you decide to get LED floodlights, get the ones that are rated 6000K. There are thinner/slicker versions available out there.
The more light, the better as these plants use atmospheric CO2, meaning their growth will only be limited to the nutrients they get from the tank., given sufficient light intensity, not just duration. A pond with big monsters should naturally produce enough nutrient, hence the benefit of plants.
In my small pond, which is not that heavily stocked, I run out out of nitrogen and if I take a closer picture of the back of the plants, they show nutrient deficiencies(older plant leaves yellowing) all the time. This is good, as you know the plants are doing their job mopping unwanted nitrogen from the water but at any one time there should be enough for the plants to grow well and be overall healthy. So dosing nitrate and potassium for example is not out of the question if you want really healthy looking plants. Micro-nutrients are normally sufficient from water changes only, and if your tap water is on the hard side, so is calcium and magnesium.
Having said that, I don't dose and judge by the overall health of the plants. I do have nutrients on hand to dose if I wanted to. The plants are nutrient deficient enough to know I have enough plant mass/do enough water changes to keep the water low on nitrogen, but also there's enough nutrients to keep the plants going. Macro nutrient deficiencies, as in nitrogen deficiency, generally manifest in older plant leaves yellowing/dying. Micro deficiencies manifest in young/new leaves not developing properly. That's how you know what the problem is.
Recently I put two more plants, for aesthetics, not for efficiency this time.
I also use a TDS meter(which in fact measures conductivity). If the TDS increases gradually over time, not enough water changes are done. The TDS in the tank should always be in line with the TDS of the source water. This way you know your maintenance level is sufficient.
This method of monitoring water quality has worked well for me for years. I have 6-7 years old fish in that pond that have never been sick. They lived in a similar set up previously, with emersed plants. I have not measured nitrates in about 4 years, only use a TDS meter , not just because its faster and cheaper but because nitrates in a tank with plenty of plant mass that use atmospheric CO2 ,and lots of light, are always very low/deficient(once the plants establish), but TDS detect all other buildup, not just nitrates. TDS will still keep increasing d Some people are of the idea nitrates are the only evil, which is not the case....
Plants can take up anything from 1 to 3 months to really establish with their roots in water, but once they do, they'll start growing rapidly. I have pictures somewhere of my peace lilies flowering beautifully in my previous tank. The parlour palm hasn't stopped flowering for months but its flowers are not as nice as the peace liliy. It has flowers on the picture but you can't see as they look like a green branch with tiny yellow flowers.
If you get a parlour palm(which I strongly recommend as they are beautiful and hardy), keep in mind it is a very slow grower. Mine is about 5 years old. It is now big and bigger in person to see but it took years. So you may want to plant more plants/in number at the start to get sufficient plant mass. The peace lilies grow way faster.
Also, another interesting fact you may not know is that many of these plants, including the ones I have, have the ability to kill/inhibit mould around. As humid the room is where the tank is placed, there's no mould at all...And I live in a very humid/cold country, mould has always been an issue in all places I lived. In fact, there's mould in my bedroom that developed over the winter, but not in the room with the tank
Good luck. I am really looking forward to see your pond develop. For me converting into round pond set up was the best I ever did. I've never seen my fish as happy, outgoing, relaxed and friendly.
Seeing on the pictures that you may have a window in there? Position the plants right where the window is so they get natural light as well as artificial. If you decide to get LED floodlights, get the ones that are rated 6000K. There are thinner/slicker versions available out there.
The more light, the better as these plants use atmospheric CO2, meaning their growth will only be limited to the nutrients they get from the tank., given sufficient light intensity, not just duration. A pond with big monsters should naturally produce enough nutrient, hence the benefit of plants.
In my small pond, which is not that heavily stocked, I run out out of nitrogen and if I take a closer picture of the back of the plants, they show nutrient deficiencies(older plant leaves yellowing) all the time. This is good, as you know the plants are doing their job mopping unwanted nitrogen from the water but at any one time there should be enough for the plants to grow well and be overall healthy. So dosing nitrate and potassium for example is not out of the question if you want really healthy looking plants. Micro-nutrients are normally sufficient from water changes only, and if your tap water is on the hard side, so is calcium and magnesium.
Having said that, I don't dose and judge by the overall health of the plants. I do have nutrients on hand to dose if I wanted to. The plants are nutrient deficient enough to know I have enough plant mass/do enough water changes to keep the water low on nitrogen, but also there's enough nutrients to keep the plants going. Macro nutrient deficiencies, as in nitrogen deficiency, generally manifest in older plant leaves yellowing/dying. Micro deficiencies manifest in young/new leaves not developing properly. That's how you know what the problem is.
Recently I put two more plants, for aesthetics, not for efficiency this time.
I also use a TDS meter(which in fact measures conductivity). If the TDS increases gradually over time, not enough water changes are done. The TDS in the tank should always be in line with the TDS of the source water. This way you know your maintenance level is sufficient.
This method of monitoring water quality has worked well for me for years. I have 6-7 years old fish in that pond that have never been sick. They lived in a similar set up previously, with emersed plants. I have not measured nitrates in about 4 years, only use a TDS meter , not just because its faster and cheaper but because nitrates in a tank with plenty of plant mass that use atmospheric CO2 ,and lots of light, are always very low/deficient(once the plants establish), but TDS detect all other buildup, not just nitrates. TDS will still keep increasing d Some people are of the idea nitrates are the only evil, which is not the case....
Plants can take up anything from 1 to 3 months to really establish with their roots in water, but once they do, they'll start growing rapidly. I have pictures somewhere of my peace lilies flowering beautifully in my previous tank. The parlour palm hasn't stopped flowering for months but its flowers are not as nice as the peace liliy. It has flowers on the picture but you can't see as they look like a green branch with tiny yellow flowers.
If you get a parlour palm(which I strongly recommend as they are beautiful and hardy), keep in mind it is a very slow grower. Mine is about 5 years old. It is now big and bigger in person to see but it took years. So you may want to plant more plants/in number at the start to get sufficient plant mass. The peace lilies grow way faster.
Also, another interesting fact you may not know is that many of these plants, including the ones I have, have the ability to kill/inhibit mould around. As humid the room is where the tank is placed, there's no mould at all...And I live in a very humid/cold country, mould has always been an issue in all places I lived. In fact, there's mould in my bedroom that developed over the winter, but not in the room with the tank
Good luck. I am really looking forward to see your pond develop. For me converting into round pond set up was the best I ever did. I've never seen my fish as happy, outgoing, relaxed and friendly.
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HI Cory,
Sorry its taken me so long to post a reply. Unfortunately I have run into a snag with my filtration set up using an Intex pool sand filter pump. I still have only had sand and water in the pond and was running the sand filter pump daily to judge its effectiveness in filtering. This past week I noticed leaking from the pump. And partial leaking from the fittings/hoses. So I drained the pond and looked to fix the leaking and then filled the pond back up and checked for leaks, and it appeared to be working ok and then the fittings sprung leaks again!
Ugh!
On top of that Intex hoses and fittings are hard to retrofit. I know it can be done, I just don't know how to do it. I know nothing about doing my own plumbing, etc.
So I am regrouping trying to figure something that will work. I'm thinking of trying a sump with a 150 gallon Rubbermaid container. That way I can use that to do the bog filter that was suggested earlier. The problem is I have no idea how to plumb the Rubbermaid container to do this. I have tried researching how to do this but I haven't been able to figure out what plumbing parts that I need. I really need an exact parts list on plumbing parts and fittings that I will need.
Can anybody out there please help me with this?
Thanks
Sorry its taken me so long to post a reply. Unfortunately I have run into a snag with my filtration set up using an Intex pool sand filter pump. I still have only had sand and water in the pond and was running the sand filter pump daily to judge its effectiveness in filtering. This past week I noticed leaking from the pump. And partial leaking from the fittings/hoses. So I drained the pond and looked to fix the leaking and then filled the pond back up and checked for leaks, and it appeared to be working ok and then the fittings sprung leaks again!
Ugh!
On top of that Intex hoses and fittings are hard to retrofit. I know it can be done, I just don't know how to do it. I know nothing about doing my own plumbing, etc.
So I am regrouping trying to figure something that will work. I'm thinking of trying a sump with a 150 gallon Rubbermaid container. That way I can use that to do the bog filter that was suggested earlier. The problem is I have no idea how to plumb the Rubbermaid container to do this. I have tried researching how to do this but I haven't been able to figure out what plumbing parts that I need. I really need an exact parts list on plumbing parts and fittings that I will need.
Can anybody out there please help me with this?
Thanks
That is unfortunate but look at it on the bright side. You've got the opportunity to fix everything now. I'd post a separate thread on the issue. There are very knowledgeable people over here that surely know how this could be fixed.
Cory,
Yeah the bright side is that at least I found out I had faulty filtration before starting a fishless cycle! Wow that would have been a major waste of ammonia.
I can return the sand filter pump and get a full refund too. So I will be boxing up that POS this weekend.
So I've been reading up on set up and filtration ideas for freshwater ray ponds here on MFK and read some members have been happy with a pond filter set up using a Tetra Pond Bio-Active Pressure Filter BP1500 with Tetra Pond Debris-Handling pump DHO3600 (3690 gph). I am thinking of trying this as primary filtration and maybe foregoing the Rubbermaid stock tank sump since I just measured my room in the basement and I really don't have room for a 150 gallon stock tank sump anyways. I wonder could I go with a smaller size stock tank sump?
I am feeling frustrated and chagrined right now. If only that Intex sand filter pump had worked out well without leaking then at least I would have had my primary filtration taken care of and could always add secondary filtration as needed.
So now my pond is sitting empty with just sand and no water now
Yeah the bright side is that at least I found out I had faulty filtration before starting a fishless cycle! Wow that would have been a major waste of ammonia.
I can return the sand filter pump and get a full refund too. So I will be boxing up that POS this weekend.
So I've been reading up on set up and filtration ideas for freshwater ray ponds here on MFK and read some members have been happy with a pond filter set up using a Tetra Pond Bio-Active Pressure Filter BP1500 with Tetra Pond Debris-Handling pump DHO3600 (3690 gph). I am thinking of trying this as primary filtration and maybe foregoing the Rubbermaid stock tank sump since I just measured my room in the basement and I really don't have room for a 150 gallon stock tank sump anyways. I wonder could I go with a smaller size stock tank sump?
I am feeling frustrated and chagrined right now. If only that Intex sand filter pump had worked out well without leaking then at least I would have had my primary filtration taken care of and could always add secondary filtration as needed.
So now my pond is sitting empty with just sand and no water now
So now I am reading about how to make a Skippy Filter on the website skippysstuff.com. Apparently this filter is highly recommended and is cheap to build too! They provide step by step photos of how to build the filter too including the exact parts list needed for the build.
I am thinking since my pond is under 2000 gallons, that the 70 or100 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank skippy filter build should be adequate.
This weekend I will be purchasing the parts needed to make this filter.
Wish me luck with the build! Lol.
I am thinking since my pond is under 2000 gallons, that the 70 or100 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank skippy filter build should be adequate.
This weekend I will be purchasing the parts needed to make this filter.
Wish me luck with the build! Lol.
I am still trying to figure out filtration for my pond. I returned the Intex sand filter pump and hoses and fittings because I have decided that I won't use anything by Intex again for this pond, because they don't use universal fittings, so trying to retrofit regular hoses, fittings, unions, etc is a &@#$%...Grrrrrr
So I have to figure what pool inlet fittings I can use with the holes in my pond for the intake and return since I no longer will be using the Intex inlet fittings. I have ordered a Hayward pool inlet fitting and it will hopefully arrive this weekend. I hope that this fitting will fit the holes I made and give a tight seal.
If the Hayward inlet fits, then I will be able to use universal 1.5" flex hoses to hook up to a skippy filter. Fingers crossed! Lol
So I have to figure what pool inlet fittings I can use with the holes in my pond for the intake and return since I no longer will be using the Intex inlet fittings. I have ordered a Hayward pool inlet fitting and it will hopefully arrive this weekend. I hope that this fitting will fit the holes I made and give a tight seal.
If the Hayward inlet fits, then I will be able to use universal 1.5" flex hoses to hook up to a skippy filter. Fingers crossed! Lol
