Pond Contraptions: What are they, and do they really serve a useful purpose?

[crsublette]

Interesting thread.

 

[Faebinder]

I should make a separate thread about the UV use and the number of times their fish got disease. I'm debating getting a UV just for that.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Like you said in another thread Mitch, it would be nice to have an dissolved oxygen sensor you could drop in to your pond and take readings at different times and different levels. That would be interesting contraption to have.

They are available, but they are about $300 and pretty difficult to use in freezing temperatures.

What bugs me about the price of these oxygen sensors for water is that you can buy digital blood oxygen monitors for less than $20. >> http://www.amazon.com/Pulse-Oximeter-Blood-Oxygen-Monitor/dp/B00HXXO332
You'd think that a blood oxygen monitoring device would be more complex and expensive to manufacture than a water oxygen monitoring device.?????

 

[morewater]

What bugs me about the price of these oxygen sensors for water is that you can buy digital blood oxygen monitors for less than $20. >> http://www.amazon.com/Pulse-Oximeter-Blood-Oxygen-Monitor/dp/B00HXXO332
You'd think that a blood oxygen monitoring device would be more complex and expensive to manufacture than a water oxygen monitoring device.?????

True, a handheld DO meter, at its cheapest, will run you north of Can.$400. The cost of replacement probes isn't cheap, either. If you're truly interested in testing for dissolved oxygen, a titration kit from LaMotte is available. The cost per test is about a dollar. It's a fairly simple procedure, rather like all the other pond waters tests that are routinely performed by the pond enthusiast (too often, I might add).

pH pens, on the other hand are relatively inexpensive and fairly accurate, providing that you calibrate them prior to use. Unfortunately, the batteries tend to be short-lived, and a drop pH test is just as accurate (depending on how anal you are about the number of decimal points).

You can test all you want, get all the numbers into your head, pour a drink and feel good about your scientific prowess............then it'll rain sheep and horses and your numbers change. Benign neglect, that's my motto.