|
was also wondering if it is necessary
to have pump going now that it is cool?
> please let me know at your convenience!
> Thanks, JJ.
Any water from a household
tap has been treated by the municipality that supplies it
with chlorine and chloramines to kill harmful bacteria. These
compounds are directly harmful to gills and will kill your
fish outright if they get too much in the pond at once. Water
"conditioners" (usually containing sodium thiosulfate)are
used as a pretreatment to remove these compounds. Commonly
seen trade names include Amquel, Novaqua, Stresskote and ClorAmX.
Water changes are done to remove some of
the unwanted organics and other waste compounds from a pond.
A percentage of the water is pumped out, then replaced with
fresh pretreated water (see above). During the summer, when
the bioreactor is removing ammonia waste and chewing up the
carbonates in the water, it also replaces the alkalinity (buffer)
in the pond. During the winter, it removes ammonia and organics.
Running the waterfall when the temperature
gets down towards freezing is a bad idea. Water will stratify
as its temp drops towards 38 degrees, and warmer water will
move to the bottom, with less dense ice forming at the top.
Constantly moving water will not freeze and can become "supercooled",
stressing your fish and causing die-offs in the spring. Moving
water in freezing weather also tends to be unpredictable.
It'll freeze in odd patterns that can divert your waterfall
out of the pond, leaving you with a dry hole with some stranded
fishsicles at the bottom. As the water temps get down below
45 degrees, shut down the falls, get your pump off the bottom
and into storage, and blow air into any submerged piping.
Bob Passovoy
President
MPKS
| 