New “Pond”

Last Monday, I installed a new 300 gallon Rubbermaid watering tank to serve as my new pond.

The tank is enormous, so I borrowed a friend’s van (not a mini-van, which could not have held it) to make the trek out to the nearest farm supply store, some 20 miles outside the city. The trip started badly, as I am not accustomed to driving huge vehicles, and a protruding piece of cement managed to break a window of the van as I navigated it out of the parking deck. When I heard the scrunch of breaking glass, I was sure I had thousands of dollars of damage to the van, but somehow, the concrete beam managed to break the window without touching the body! The price of my pond did increase by $147, though.

The farm supply store was so close to the Jersey shore that I could see sand dunes and (ecch!) herons. We had to force the tank into the back of the van, but at that point I was not about to give in. Back in Philly, with some effort we managed to get the wedged tank out of the van and into my back yard.

It took five hours to fill the tank using my hose mounted dechlorinator. I loaded the filter with innoculated media, started it, and let it run overnight to fully aerate the water. The next day, I added some bacteria and two fish to start the cycling. I used Pumpkin, who just graduated from the hospital tank and Dom. One medium and one small fish in 300 gallons should be just right to get the filter up and running. I will add the other two small shubbies one at a time over the next couple of weeks.

With no (living) plants and no algae coat, the new tank looks pretty barren at present:

I plan to insulate it and build a masonry enclosure before next winter. Plant shelves (plastic stools) and plants are the next order of business as soon as the aquatic nurseries start putting them out. Floating plants won’t be available for several weeks, as we have to be beyond the last frost, normally the third week of April.

I have put one of my overwintering lilies from the old pond in the new tank, as the algae on its pot acts as a food source for the two shubs, who have been munching and pooping according to plan :

They seem to love the new digs. With far more room to swim, and a much swifter water current from the powerful pump, the bigger habitat will doubtless produce bigger, healthier fish. I will probably keep the watonai and some smaller fish in back pond, while concentrating on bigger, more athletic fish for the new one. (No house or a tree branch in my pond, just reflections.)

The countdown has begun to the shipment of fish from Hawaii in late April!!!

Spring Cleaning, or From Muck to Murk

After months of having to do very little except add bacteria to the established back pond, the time has come to get my hands wet again!

Today’s cleaning regimen included:

1. Rinsing out the filter box. I don’t know how the pump continued to run with all that garbage around it. The coarse and fine mechanical foam layers were thick with algae, and the inlet screen required a thorough scrub down. There were even some unidentified plants sprouting in there! A quick swish of the biological material and a little innoculent completed the spring tuneup.

2. Cleaning the bottom. Absolutely disgusting. I scraped the bottom with a net and brought up four months’ worth of fish crap, algae, and dead leaves. Amazingly, the fish knew that the net was not for them and did not panic. I left the algae growth on the sides so the fish would have something to munch. Today was the first day that the water temperature topped 60F, so I won’t restart feeding them prepared food for a little while yet.

3. Changing the water. Biological activity is on the rise, and the water is approaching the temperature where ammonia and nitrite can be a problem as the filter re-establishes itself, so I did a 25% change-out. With the new water and the green water, the energy of the fish surged.

I stirred everything up , so the water turned pea green. It should clear up in a couple of days. Next weekend, I will clean the bottom again, as well as the filter, which should have caught all the garbage that escaped my net. I will also tend my overwintered plants at that point.

Here’s what it looks like. One can barely see the fish though the murk.

Spring Forward

Aquatic Connections in Trevose PA, just outside Philadelphia, held their Spring Pond Startup seminar today. As usual, George gave an informative talk on the whys and whens of vernal pondkeeping. I have provided a link to the handout that we all received.

A followup seminar on plants takes place in April. I have never had much luck with plants – none of my lilies or hyacinths bloomed last year – so I will be sure to attend.

Aquatic Connections Spring Start-Up

Ich!

I noticed some white flecks on Pumpkin and confirmed that she had the dreaded ich, short for Ichthyophthirius Multifilis, a protozoan parasite that attacks stressed fish.

Fortunately, at this time of year, the pond is just waking up and still moves in slow motion, so I was able to isolate and treat the Orange One before the infection became serious. She manifested no symptoms except the tiny white spots-no lethargy, loss of balance, flashing, cloudy eyes, etc. I have isolated her in a hospital tank with .3% salt solution and formalin. At first she seemed irked at my moving her from the comfortable surroundings of the pond to the spartan plastic quarantine tank. After a day of moping about, she now swims vigorously

Spring is in the air if not on the calendar

The water temperature has surged into the 50s – what a difference a week makes – and the fish are beginning to swim. The protective netting is still on, as the raccoons and herons are still hungry, I won’t withdraw the heater until I am sure the warm weather is here to stay, and the lily pads and anacharis are plastic for now, but a more active pond is definitely on the way.

Ginger takes a look about.

Sparky and Bumpkin swim above the filter intake.

Pumpkin and Dom under the netting.

Sparky showing off impressive Watonai caudals.

Even the normally somnulent Flash gets into the act!

Couldn’t resist another pic of this prime Watonai munching a little algae. I think all that time she spends sitting on the bottom serves as beauty rest!

It’s just about time to start putting in the new pond for the spring!