Unsightly Cords and Comets

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I've mentioned before that I recently put in two small ponds at by the front of the house. I have guppies in one and comets in the other. Guppy pond is 35 gall and may soon be going bye bye due to constant algae problems. The comet pond is 110 gall - no algae problems. Both ponds are have plants in them.

Both ponds currently have small pumps in them, the pump is covered in quilt batting in hopes of not getting them clogged with 'stuff'. No other filtration at all. The pump is only circulating the water and adding oxygen to it.

These small pumps are causing some issues as I'm using extension cords to run them. The cords look awful. I've tried to find ways to hide them, but nothing is working.

Do I even need these pumps? I think the goldfish will be okay with no pump, as long as I do weekly water changes right? Same with the guppies - the lady I got them from didn't have a pump, so I'm sure they will be fine.

Thoughts?
 
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There are five comets in the 110 gall pond. There are a few tropical fish as well.

I can relocate some of the comets to the big pond if that's better.
 
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I have Mollies (sp?), I know they will be okay because I got them from a totally stagnant pond with lots of dead decaying leaves, no pump. And some platy's. I think they will be okay too because a while ago I turned the pump off because I thought the heron ate all my fish, a platy lived in there for weeks with no care at all.

What do you mean by nutrient rich, turbid waters?
 

Meyer Jordan

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Waters that are high in Nitrate and organic matter, both dissolved and suspended. Goldfish thrive in 'Pea Soup' and easily tolerate water that is chronically low in Oxygen. In short they are a very sturdy fish. If they grew to a decent size, they would be the number one farmed fish in commercial aquaculture.
 
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Waters that are high in Nitrate and organic matter, both dissolved and suspended. Goldfish thrive in 'Pea Soup' and easily tolerate water that is chronically low in Oxygen. In short they are a very sturdy fish. If they grew to a decent size, they would be the number one farmed fish in commercial aquaculture.


Gotcha. Okay. Since this pond is near to my front door, I'm hoping it avoid the pea soup look. LOL!

Thanks for the info. I will pass it onto my friend that has several pea soup container ponds, filled with water lilies.
 
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While Meyer is correct that goldfish can live at low oxygen levels, why force them to? On top of that, the beneficial bacteria that process ammonia to nitrite to nitrate work best at high levels of dissolved oxygen. If you can get the bacteria working at a high rate, they will compete with the algae for the nutrients, and help to clear the water.
 

Meyer Jordan

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I was in no way implying that Priscilla's ponds were low in Oxygen, just that Goldfish can tolerate those conditions. Most people do not realize that Algae, be it attached or floating, consume a large amount of Ammonia, as do aquatic plants, while also producing Oxygen. While it is true that algae and plants will consume Oxygen during the hours of darkness, it is only a fraction of the total daily production. They do not cause an Oxygen deficit.
 
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Of course you were not Meyer. I completely understood what you were saying.

Now that I have the information I was looking for, I will make a decision.

At this point I have taken the pump out if the 35gall 'pond', as it really wasn't moving very much water anyways, and I know the guppies will be fine because the lady I got them from didn't have a pump in her pond. That small 'pond' has a big string algae problem, I think because of the tadpoles in it, they are consume a lot and make a lot of waste. I have recently put a mosquito fish in there, so I'm hoping he will start to control the tadpole population. The pond is well planted.

The goldfish pond still has the pump. I'm not sure what I will do with that yet. Its crystal clear with little to no algae, with it being by the front door, I'd like to keep it that way. It has no tadpoles at all, I think the goldfish and my mystery fish eat them. ~ Mystery fish: he just showed up. I didn't put him in there. No clue what kind of fish he is.
 

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Immediately remove the Mosquito fish from the Guppy pond. Gambusia (Mosquito Fish) are very fond of eating other fish. Your Guppys will quickly start to disappear.
 
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Immediately remove the Mosquito fish from the Guppy pond. Gambusia (Mosquito Fish) are very fond of eating other fish. Your Guppys will quickly start to disappear.


YIKES! Gonna prove to be a challenge. UGH! I will try to take him out tomorrow - he's small so he looks like a guppy.

Maybe he will help control the guppy population - at best. Hopefully he won't eat the adults ...?

I recently added some Mollies to a pond and I got them from a small pond with a mix of mollies and mosquito fish (that's where I got this one from).
 
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I'm aware that algae consumes ammonia directly. I also was under the impression that one of the goals was the avoid green water. Adding oxygen so the nitrobacter and nitrosomonas can thrive seems to be a better way to avoid green water.

Sorry I just realized I overlooked a post or two and one pond with pump is clear...
 

Meyer Jordan

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I'm aware that algae consumes ammonia directly. I also was under the impression that one of the goals was the avoid green water. Adding oxygen so the nitrobacter and nitrosomonas can thrive seems to be a better way to avoid green water.

Sorry I just realized I overlooked a post or two and one pond with pump is clear...

It is, but I am of the understanding, based on her posts, that Priscilla doesn't want or can't add filtration. Just pointing out that the Goldfish will be fine as they are.
 

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