Misc ramblings...

[capewind]

LOL, but you are the one posting pictures (or I think haha) ... Sooooo many lilies ... cant even imagine ...

 

[MitchM]

...., they were shipped to that petstore all the way from Israel! The guy gets all his fish from Israel! Can't imagine how they can survive the long flight, but they looked good and are doing well now!


I was in a pet store in Calgary today and they also said that they get their koi from the middle east.
I was surprised at that. You would think that it would be more convenient to get them from the States.

 

[HTH]

...., they were shipped to that petstore all the way from Israel! The guy gets all his fish from Israel! Can't imagine how they can survive the long flight, but they looked good and are doing well now!


I was in a pet store in Calgary today and they also said that they get their koi from the middle east.
I was surprised at that. You would think that it would be more convenient to get them from the States.

As I recall the Israeli koi are supposed to be special. Not sure if that is true but 'exotic' imports sell for a better price then domestic.

 

[HTH]

LOL, but you are the one posting pictures (or I think haha) ... Sooooo many lilies ... cant even imagine ...

It is called taking an interest in my 'work'. In theory we are going to divide today. My goal is to cut the mass back to 1/4 of what we have now. Lots of compost.

 

[capewind]

If you are sending 75% of your lilies off to compost, you will have some great planting material in a bit. Sad really to hear of such beautiful flowers being wasted ... Although trying to give that many away would probably take YEARS. You should see if you can sell some potted up to area nurseries ...

 

[HTH]

Right now we are in a race to get them to where they will not die. They are stuffed 2 and 3 deep in stock tanks, lifts, and last pond I dug. My wife is fighting several medical problems and does not have a lot of 'good time'. I know and understand this but it is hard. Cleaning the mud out of the bottom of the pond has come to a stand still. The trash pump we have is too wimpy. Thinking back I am not sure if we ever had one that would handle the mud. Plan B is to let the sun dry it out.

I just pulled the tarp off that new pond to use as a liner in a stock tank. The tarp must have acted like a green house. The pads on the lilies are lush and green. I figured the tarp would not hold water and it did not. Going to have to run out and get plastic.

 

[capewind]

Im really sorry to hear about your wife. It makes things hard. Both on you, and for her. I dont know what her health issues are, but I have a lot of 'down time' myself. I have a strong independant personality. Those who see, but dont know me would take me for the more "girlie" type, which is the complete opposite of who I am. It is frustrating to say the least to tell myself when I have to take it easy. The good news for me is my issues are fixable. So for now, I either operate in over drive to get a lot done when I can, or poke away at things. I know you have a lot on your plate, but remember to take care of you too ... You can only do so much.

 

[HTH]

Thanks capewind and best wishes on getting yours fixed.

I am not sure if it is my state of mind but the technical discussions on the forum seem to turned into pissing contests. People are taking simple observations and pushing them way past what is logical or reasonable. It takes the fun out of it.

 

[sissy]

to ,e a pond is a pond and if you over think it or spend over your budget then your not happy either .All the extra's cost money and are they really worth it if you can't afford it .I see some of the things mentioned on here and scratch my head in confusion .I am not raising fish to sell I am raising fish to enjoy .I am not a pro at anything I do .Dad told me if you fail at one thing try it another way and if it works then stay with it .Be a leader not a follower

 

[capewind]

Thanks capewind and best wishes on getting yours fixed.

Thank you

I am not sure if it is my state of mind but the technical discussions on the forum seem to turned into pissing contests.

It's probably a bit of both. I know during my 'down times' I can be grouchy, and my own writing style can come across as much harsher then meant. I tend to be direct, and sometimes it is taken the wrong way.

People are taking simple observations and pushing them way past what is logical or reasonable. It takes the fun out of it.

When you find posts like that, just skip over them. I *TRY* to look at both sides of the coin. There's one member who I regularly "clash" with. Some of his opinions, I strongly disagree with, and others, I agree with, and will even ask him a question here and there, as I do respect his knowledge in some areas. When it comes to chat boards, just take it all in stride.

 

[capewind]

to ,e a pond is a pond and if you over think it or spend over your budget then your not happy either .All the extra's cost money and are they really worth it if you can't afford it .I see some of the things mentioned on here and scratch my head in confusion .I am not raising fish to sell I am raising fish to enjoy .I am not a pro at anything I do .Dad told me if you fail at one thing try it another way and if it works then stay with it .Be a leader not a follower

I agree with you. I *LIKE* tried and true, but am always open to ideas. My view is gather all the info you can (on any subject you are interested in), and weigh it all, and come up with a solution that makes the most sense for the situation, with what you have to work with.

 

[HTH]

Thanks sissy and capewind.

Just came back in from testing the ammonia on the setup the fish are in. My intent was to change water this AM but the tanks are at 1PPM and the water out of the filter is .5PPM. This is the same as I was reading last night so I think I will let it be. Test it again this PM and change if the tanks get near 2PPM. I am not sure if the filter is maxed out or still gaining ground on the ammonia.

 

[sissy]

I know it is hard getting my filter started this because years before I kept my pond plants in the basement and could put them in early .But neglect and no time for them ,they died .I look at all suggestions since there are so many temperature ranges of all the people here being from other states .I found what works for me but may not work for others .It is hard to figure out what works and what doesn't .I bought the laguna pump max flo and like it but decided to test watts used and was amazed it uses 145 instead of the 115 stated and my harbor freight one uses 150 watts and says it pumps 2150 but when I checked the rate with a flow meter it pumps out 2400 gph and still uses 150 watts .The laguna actually pumps out 3200 gph at 145 watts ,so guessing nothing is ever set in stone .I do use a bigger hose since it is a sump pump hose .5 years for the first sump hose I used and it is still in great shape .But temps here are milder than other states .It all comes down to money and what you can afford and you can always upgrade later and save your self the higher bills now .If I could not keep my pond in the 300 dollar range I could not afford to do it at all .I have slowly upgraded certain things since ,but only with in the range I can afford .Have you tried the zeolite HTH .I buy it at tractor supply and it works for ammonia .PDZ horse stall refresher

 

[capewind]

Just came back in from testing the ammonia on the setup the fish are in. My intent was to change water this AM but the tanks are at 1PPM and the water out of the filter is .5PPM. This is the same as I was reading last night so I think I will let it be. Test it again this PM and change if the tanks get near 2PPM. I am not sure if the filter is maxed out or still gaining ground on the ammonia.

If I am not mistaken, this was a new holding area for them, so unless you kept their old filter (did you have one with the lilies?), yours is expected. Ive been a bit paranoid with the 600 in the basement. Hubby had their filter off for a few days while he built a new one (didnt save the media either), and I am the paranoid type when it comes to knowing I am over populated and expecting an ammonia spike (I have 50-60 fish in here) ... He told me it would spike, but not as bad as a complete new cycle (bacteria being elsewhere in their pond) ... He told me NOT to test the water, as he knows I'd freak LOL. It has probably been 2-3 weeks since he put the new filter on, and I've been good and havent tested it. As of last night, it is DOWN to 1 ppm ... I dont know what it hit (he wont tell me LOL) ... SInce he put the new filter on, I know he has only swapped out 140 gallons (70 gallons twice), so doubt that made much of an impact.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Sissy did your pond plants come back this year yet? I leave mine in the pond and keep only hardy plant's that can freeze, no time to mess with too many tropicals. I have one tropical, the white Calla, and will put that one out front soon. I have been busy working in the front yard when I can. This morning is kinda cool, so I have not done too much yet, waiting for it to get warmer. My hands are sore from working hard at work last night, and then there is the usual arthritis in the one hand...
I use zeolite in my fish tanks so I am going to look for that cheaper at maybe Peavy Mart, that is a farmer type store and they may have bulk zeolite supplies cheaper.