Pond problems.. help!

[Meekaboo]

Hey Dawson9a,
Beautiful pond!!!! Love the ducks! Do they stay or are they just visiting til the ducklings are ready to take off?

 

[Dawson9a]

The ducks are already gone. She comes once or twice a season, has her ducklings, hangs out a few days and then they all disappear. Cute while it lasts though.. :wink: Last time she had her boyfriend with her and had 9 duclings.. this time she was by herself and had 6.

Dave

 

[DrCase]

dawson ..if you want to add a 55 gal drum filter,, put a tee in the pipe before your uv lite ...and supply the drum...you can gravity feed it back to the pond...or tie it back to the outlet of your sponge filter...your sand filter will not due the same thing as a 55 gal bio filter. nice pond

 

[Dawson9a]

Is that my only option? Is there anything I could do with my current set up other than adding the 55 gallon drum? What isn't shown is the waterfall... there are two Matala filter pads (green and then blue) and two bags of lava rocks sitting on that. Is there anywhere else in my set up that I can incorporate a bio filter other than adding the drum? Bio balls replacing the lava rock? Bio balls replacing the sand? What about the sponges?

Thanks..

Dave

 

[Dawson9a]

Btw... my water isn't getting any clearer. Still a murky, green. With my setup, is it possible the reasons for the green water are:
1) UV light needs replacing (used old bulb in this.. not sure how old it is)?
2) too much / too fast water going over the UV?
3) no real BIO filter in place?

What should I do next? The Microbe Lift Premium Blend I put in hasn't done anything yet.

Anything else I'm missing here?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[DrDave]

Either build or buy a good Bio filter. The biggest mistake anyone can make is to think a UV is the answer to algae and not see the advantages of a Bio filter that will take care of what kills their fish and the algae at the same time.

UV bulbs don't get old and not work, they either light up or not. They do nothing to save your fish from nitrites/nitrates.

 

[DrCase]

you can clean the tube the bulb fits in ....but your problem is the filter,,,you can convert your big box filter into a skippy style like Kirisp,s..turn the incoming water to the bottom ..make a holding chamber on the bottom, and let the water rise up through your filter media,,,it would work better...you need a dump valve on the bottom to get rid of the goop

 

[DrDave]

Hey DrCase
I had a brain fart today and came up with an idea that I think will work great for media to be used in Bio filter construction. You know how we used tubes and sponges for the bacteria to grow on? A lot of time and money to get the volume, right?

What if we used plastic banding material, the same stuff they use for banding pallets items in shipping? A roll of that is probably cheap and could be used for many filters.

It is tough, gives lots of surface area, won't rot, can't fall through a grate, is lightweight and has to work.

Now where to buy it and how much is a small roll???

 

[SumpNFishy]

In my 55 Gal drum filter I just built I used some sponge foam, cut up PVC pipe, and wadded up nylon bird netting I had laying around for my media.

I don't think I paid that much for the bird netting and when you wad it up it looks like giant pot scrubbers.

 

[DrCase]

that might work good,,,even some of the orange construction fence wadded up,,,lots of surface area, and air space,,,,it sounds cheep

 

[DrDave]

I think you would have to cut that in strips to make it manageable, but that is another good idea.

 

[DrCase]

i think home depo sells it ,,,,when i make my next filter i might try something like that DrDave

 

[w00005414]

Sounds like a nightmare! I probably wouldn't replace the lava rock if you don't have to. It probably has beneficial bacteria growing in it that helps break down the Ammonia and Nitrites in the pond.

One other thing... how does a sand filter work? I have never used one before but see them a lot in the pond mags.