April 2012 Pond Conditions

April 2012 Pond Conditions

04/07/2012
Water Temp 68*, Air Temp 55-75*, pH 8.0, Ammonia/Nitrates/Nitrites 0, KH, GH low.
Nasty filter clean this week but still no ammonia or green water. Algae is growing nicely on the sides which is desired.
Purchased some new plants to go along fence and moved some from front yard into back. Put some of the water plants into a nice planter atop the waterfall.

4/14/2012
Water Temp 59-62*, air temp 38-70*, pH 8.2(evening), Ammonia/Nitrates/Nitrites 0, KH, GH low.
Weather turned cool for a couple of days but the pond temp only dipped a few degrees. Water plants are beginning to grow out, string algae is growing inside pond and is clogging up the bottom filter pad.
Turned off UV to see if I get algae bloom. Water in a container with plants has turned clear so want to see if I can achieve same result without the UV.

4/20/2012
Water Temp 68*, air temp 55-75*, pH 7.9(evening), Ammonia/Nitrates/Nitrites 0, KH 30, GH 40.
Without the UV the pond was becoming greenish and cloudy, not to mention the amount of green sludge in the bottom of the filter. I turned it back on. May need to find a timer and run it 12 hours a day instead of 24. Went to Atlanta Koi club auction, did not buy any fish. Selection and quality were not as good as previous year.

4/28/2012
Water temp 62-68*, air temp 40-80*, pH 7.9, Ammonia/Nitrates/Nitrites 0, KH 30, GH 40.
It has been a weird mixed weather cold and hot week. Pond is kind of murky this week, will need to check the bottom drain to make sure it is clear. Storms have blown a bunch of debris into the pond from the overhanging trees and neighbors tall pines. Seeing bits of poop from the fish now in the filters and skimmer. Added in some peas and bread this week but they don’t really seem interested. Ordered some color enhancing food for the summer. Fish are a bit pale compared to usual brilliance. I did a mid week water dump of the filter and a double dump today, plus storms replaced some water. I would guess around 300-350 gallons changed this week about 20%.

04/28/2012 Water temp upto 72* airtemp 85*.

Garden/Pond expenses
Plants $60
Planter $30
water bill $12 / 720 Gallons.
Hikari Saki Color $59

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