Tea Colored / Brown Cloudy Water / general questions on if I'm doing things right

[koiguy1969]

yes you can use trash cans , but its cheaper to use a 55 gal plastic barrel...strong and carwashes will sell them for about 10 bucks..some will give them away

 

[laurabeth]

hmmm. you can just go to a random car wash and ask for one? haha Ok I'll give that a try.

 

[koiguy1969]

hmmm. you can just go to a random car wash and ask for one? haha Ok I'll give that a try.

call around theyre in the phone book.

 

[koikeepr]

yes, carwashes are desperate to get rid of these containers. It's what the soap comes delivered in. They have to pay a garbage company to get rid of them, so they will usually give them away to anyone who asks.

 

[laurabeth]

Great thanks. I've sent an email to a carwash near me. Hopefully they can help me out and I can start building my filter!

 

[laurabeth]

well they called me back and I can pick it up later today! yeah! I guess I'm going to be making a filter like it or not! gees. hopefully i'm handy enough...

 

[laurabeth]

ANOTHER question. What do I do in the winter. Right now I just leave everything and do nothing but won't the bacteria all die in the winter? Or am I supposed to run this all winter long? We get cold cold winters with a lot of snow .... and the water pretty much freezes completely

 

[PS3]

the bacteria will die over the winter but the fish slow down, in the winter make sure u take the pump and filter out of the pond. and get a deicer that leaves a hole
in the ice so the gas's get out and get a small air pump with a air stone
so the fish can get air and cover the pond with a huge piece of window
screen so the leafs and crud dont get in the pond

 

[laurabeth]

Great thanks. So I can just completely break everything down and just set it up each spring.

What sort of deicer is recommended?
The man at the store made it seem like I should be running the pump all year long, he was wrong?

Thanks so much!

 

[laurabeth]

OK sorry one more question ... Do I need to create a lid for my filter? What is to keep debri and rain water out? Sorry again for all the dumb questions !!!

Oh and Also, do I need any sort of that activated charcoal anywhere in this mix?

 

[koiguy1969]

yeah you can take apart your filtration for the winter if you like.. no need for a deicer (heater) an aquarium pump and some air line will keep a hole in the ice for gas exchange. you can do like me and build a winter pond in your basement...
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/fish-video-else-t4899.html....this keeps me with an active filter (bacterial colony) so i avoid some of those springtime headaches. i move medias beween filters, and water between ponds.

 

[laurabeth]

yeah you can take apart your filtration for the winter if you like.. no need for a deicer (heater) an aquarium pump and some air line will keep a hole in the ice for gas exchange. you can do like me and build a winter pond in your basement...
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/fish-video-else-t4899.html....this keeps me with an active filter (bacterial colony) so i avoid some of those springtime headaches. i move medias beween filters, and water between ponds.

Your link didn't seem to work.
Wow that is a great idea.
How long does the bacteria take to re grow if I didn't do this?
I think I might consider this though. (If I can get the initial one built that is)

It's funny how I went to just asking this question like yesterday - to finding a barrel and getting ready to build the filter today! I'm so desperate for clear water

I think I've decided to go with this one
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1355&d=1252337134

 

[koiguy1969]

hers the pond that that filters on in my basement
[ame]

here ya go!

 

[laurabeth]

nice!

 

[koiguy1969]

hows that for water clarity?....heres some underwater footage....
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/underwater-footage-basement-pond-t4570.html