Koi pond Portland Japanese Gardens

Posted on July 2, 2013 by esearing

I finally made the pilgrimage from Atlanta to Portland OR to see the koi pond in the Japanese Gardens. The setting was absolutely perfect for a koi pond with streams of water, bridges, and the perfect Japanese Maples and other evergreens around the edges. The water was crystal clear and the koi were better looking than I had imagined. The koi are still relatively small since the gardens had to replace their stock in recent years. I will post pictures in a few days so bookmark this page and check back later if seeing this before I have the chance.

In addition to the koi pond the rest of the garden was one of the best I have ever visited. I took several pictures of railings and bridges so I can one day adorn my pond with similar features.

Down the hill from the Japanese gardens was the Rose Gardens. Our trip was in mid June which was perfect for viewing the huge and colorful roses.
There were climbing roses, hedges, and even a couple of rose towers for inspiration.

Finding the gardens is an adventure in itself since there are no signs pointing the way. There are signs to Washington park which gets you to the correct roads where there is signage. It is off Burnside at the top of the hill. Voodoo donuts is at the bottom of the hill on 3rd.

Portland is beautiful place to visit. There are many day trips to mountains and oceans that can entertain everyone. The city itself is full of life during the week and on the weekends. Food is generally fabulous, hotels moderately priced, and is much more scenic than its fellow cities to the north.
If considering a trip to the Pacific North West, plan about 7-10 days for seeing all the sights between Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver BC(or Victoria). A car is a must since many destinations are outside of the cities.

Highlights from our tour
Portland Japanese Garden and Rose Garden
Daytrip to MT Hood and Gorge drive
Daytrip to Seaside and Cannon Beach
Voodoo Donuts, Beaches restaurant, Pastini restaurant

Seattle
Space Needle, EMP Museum, Chihuly gardens, Olympic sculpture park, Argosy harbor cruise, Seattle Zoo, Pike Place
Glass blowing company, shopping, monorail ride, and adventures in parking.
Day trip MT Ranier
Old Spaghetti factory, Dinner at whole foods.

Day trip Vancouver BC (Glanville Island and downtown)

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JUNE 2013 POND CONDITIONS

06/09/2013
water temp 71*, Air Temp 60-85*, pH 7.5, ammonia/nitrate/nitrite 0
two weeks without filter cleaning so was a bit gnarly. Otherwise conditions are good. We have had much rain this month so water has been replenished. Purchased new food.

06/23/2013
water temp 71*, Air Temp 60-85*, pH 7.5, ammonia/nitrite 0 nitrate 80(high)
went on vacation so did not change filters for 2 weeks. There was a bunch of sludge in skimmer bottom, so stirred it up and pumped it out to waste. While gone, my most attractive showa got into the skimmer but managed to stay alive in the water. He would get food that the others didn’t eat. The water is fairly clear but has some debris. Need to build a foam fractionator.

06/29/2013
water temp 74*, Air Temp 65-90*, pH 7.0, ammonia/nitrite 0 nitrate 40
Lost a fish to the skimmer this week. one of my Showas got into the skimmer and apparently bucked the lid off trying to get out. He eventually found his way outside the pond. RIP fishy. I need to remedy the skimmer opening so that the larger fish can not get in there. Also need to order new Jandy valve handle and a new leaf basket (again). Weekly filter clean out was about normal.

Expenses
Food – $44
pH test kit – $9
Water bill – $12 < 900 gallons Fish sitters while on vacation - $80

Posted on June 9, 2013 by esearing | Comments Off on June 2013 Pond Conditions

May 2013 Pond Condition

May 4
water temp 58*- 60*, air temp 50-70*
filter dump and minor water changes during the week.

May 11
water temp 62*, air temp 50-75*
25% water change and PP treatment. Weather has been cool for spring. Lots of rain and pollen.
removed structure for winter cover and cleaned filters.

May 18
Water Temp 66*, Air temp 60-80*, pH 6.6, Ammonia .25, Nitrite .25, Nitrate 5
getting some readings on my test kit now that the water is warmer and the fish are eating. pH is lower than I would like but usually drops in the spring when the fish produce ammonia. 1 filter dump this week, will clean filters tomorrow. Need some new coral for buffering. The carp pox on the Kujaku are finally diminishing. The Kujaku and asagi both look fat with eggs.

May 25
Water Temp 68*, Air temp 55-82*, pH 6.6, Ammonia .25, Nitrite .25, Nitrate 5
Not much change from last week in conditions despite heavy rain.
Fish are looking healthier and gaining appetite as the water warms.
Normal filter cleaning, Minimal debris, but dark color under matting.

Water Bill $12.00 790 Gallons
Pump leaf basket replacement – $39

Posted on May 11, 2013 by esearing | Comments Off on May 2013 Pond Conditions Calendar

Spring time parasites and treatments

Posted on April 26, 2013 by esearing

As the water starts to warm up during the spring months so do the parasites and algae.

Algae can be controlled by adding Algaefix as a chemical additive or by turning on the UV Sterilizer. String algae will grow well in cool water that gets a lot of sunlight so you may need to attack it with a scrub brush or net. Your fish will tend to begin eating the string algae too, which may dislodge more of it than is eaten. Keep an eye on that pump leaf basket daily, or dump your settlement chamber more frequently to keep the algae from migrating to the rest of you filtration.

Parasites have different life cycles at different water temperature. There is not a lot of data about each parasite’s ideal temperatures and some treatments may not work at low temperatures. Potassium Permanganate is an effective treatment to use in cold water and higher temperatures and it kills a broad spectrum of parasites. Use additional aeration if water temperature is above 65*f/18c. Other treatments may require multiple applications to prevent a new outbreak from eggs. Identifying which parasites you have is also key to finding the best treatment for this time of year. Learn to scrape and scope or hire a local professional. ICK and flukes may not be affected by PP.

Water changes can be an excellent alternative this time of year. It will remove stagnant water from the winter, reduce free floating algae, reduce discoloration from debris, and reduce some of the parasite population. Be sure to de-chlorinate any new water for maximum fish health. Monitor your pH as well since large water changes will cause a fluctuation. I prefer to do large water changes over 3-4 days rather than 50%+ in one day. It is less effective but also less stress for the fish.

Do keep in mind that your fish’s immune system is not yet fully functional and nor is his digestive system. Don’t be tempted to over feed which can lead to other diseases and problems. Too much food in water also encourages algae growth.

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April 2013 Pond Conditions

4/6/2013
Water Temp 58*, Air Temp 45-70*, Ammonia/Nitrite 0
Normal weekly filter cleaning with 150 Gallon dump (<10%). Started feeding fish a few pellets per day.
Weather is still a mix of cold days and warm days but we should see temps in the 70s all week. Getting more green water than usual so may need to replace UV bulb soon. pH meter batteries are dead.

4/13/2013
Water temp 60*, air temp 45-80*, pH 7.5
Weekly water change ~150 gallons. Got some heavy rain one day this week. Tree debris clogging leaf basket, must empty daily.

4/21/2013
Water temp 58*, air temp 40-70*, pH 7.5 Ammonia 0
Two filter dumps this week + some rain but the water is greenish from the tree debris. Started feeding daily. I think there may be some parasites so will need to inspect fish in next week or so. Air is cool outside so do not want to treat until we get a few warmer days and the pond temp rises over 60*.

Expenses
Water Bill $12.00 500Gallons

Posted on April 6, 2013 by esearing | Comments Off on April 2013 Pond Conditions

March 2013 Pond Conditions

3/4/2013
water temp 48*, Air Temp 30-45*
Cold air moving in for a couple of days but warming this weekend. Very windy, and hard to keep the pond covered.
Getting lots of rain just before cold fronts. Lots of Air temp fluctuation but water temp is rising/falling slowly.
Unusual amount of string algae forming in the veggie filter. No filter clean this weekend due to cold.

3/10/2013
water temp 50*, Air temp 30-65*, pH 7.0
Minor water change and filter clean. Very windy but warm. Removed a good bit of string algae from the veggie filter.

3/16/2013
water temp 60*, Air temp 40-70*
Another week of freeky weather but only one cold day this week. Hot today. I took the plastic cover off and cleaned the filters well. Water change about 300 gallons (< 20%). Fish look healthy and have grown over the winter. I fed them a few pellets but they were not interested yet. Skimmer weir came off but was simple to repair. Bradford pear tree and other trees are blooming this week and of course dropping all that crap into the pond. 3/30/2013 water temp 44-56*, Air temp 28-70* What a wild spring week. 2 days very cold then warming to high in 70's. did large water filter change due to falling debris from the bradford pear trees. May need to order new pump leaf basket, mine is beginning to break. Expenses water bill $12.00 800 Gallons.

Posted on March 7, 2013 by esearing | Comments Off on March 2013 Pond Conditions

February 2013 Pond Conditions Calendar

2/9/2013
Water Temp 54*, Air Temp 38-60*, pH 6.7, Nitrate 0
Double filter dump and clean. It has been a few weeks since the pads were really cleaned. The water underneath them was a yucky brown but above them was clear. Fish look fairly healthy and are swimming today. Plenty of algae in the pond if they get hungry. Added a small amount of baking soda to raise PH.

2/24/2013
Water Temp 54*, Air Temp 35-60*
Filter relatively clean. Not much debris in leaf basket since pond has been covered. Changed 150 gallons of water. Weather is still fluctuating from cold to warm days. Several days of rain. Hyacinth and Crocus have popped out of the ground. Fish colors are still strong. They are hovering near the bottom. There is a good layer of string algae growing in the veggie filter and sides of the pond. Plenty for the fish to eat.

Expenses
Water bill $12 – 800 Gallons.

Posted on February 9, 2013 by esearing | Comments Off on February 2013 Pond Conditions

JANUARY 2013 POND CONDITIONS

1/5/2013
watertemp 48*, air temp 30-55*
minor filter clean and double dump of filter for water change.

1/12/2013
Water temp 58*, air temp 50-70*
Unusually warm few days in Jan. Performed 2x water dump and filter clean. Since water temps are staying warmer treated with potassium permanganate to keep down parasites. Cleared with HydrogenPeroxide next day. Water is still tanned from leaves. Removed as much plant material as possible. Removed dying hyacinth. Cover pulled back while weather is warm to help heat the water and ground below.

1/31/2013
Water temp 52*, air temp 30-70*
Wide temperature swings and rain are keeping the pond fairly stable. Some string algae growth in the veggie filter which gets the most sun.

Expenses
Waterbill: $12 930Gallons

Posted on January 14, 2013 by esearing | Comments Off on January 2013 Pond Conditions Calendar

December 2012 Pond Conditions Calendar

12/1/2012
water temp 52*, Air temp 35-60*, pH 7.8, Nitrates 0 (finally)
Nitrates are finally zero after not feeding for 1 month. Weekly filter cleaning and changed about 100 gallons. Water Loss about 90 Gallons for the week. Few leaves in the pond/basket thanks to netting. Fish are settled at bottom except on warm afternoons. Weather is unusually warm with no major cold snaps in sight. Water is still tea colored from leaf tannins.

12/8/2012
water temp 56*, Air temp 35-60*, pH 7.6, Ammonia 0, Nitrates 0-.5
weekly filter clean (2 dumps) + 2 midweek dumps of the filter. Trying to reduce brown color of water. Cleaned leaves/debris out of veggie filter.

12/23/2012
water temp 46*, Air temp 32-57*, pH 6.7, Nitrates 0.
Missed full filter clean last weekend but did double dump and full cleaning this week. Still lots of leaves blowing into pond so has tea color. pH meter is losing its screen so can not be sure of accuracy. Fish seem healthy and are still swimming near top on sunny days.

Expenses:
Water bill: $12 < 900 gallons. 4mil Plastic sheeting for cover: $20. 12/30/2012 water temp 44*, air temp 24-48* Added plastic cover this week since night time temperatures are dropping below freezing. Seems to be helping. No filter clean this week but dumped the water twice. reduced water flow to limit air cooling. Fish seem ok and are hanging out at bottom. Will get some temps in upper 50's this week.

Posted on December 1, 2012 by esearing | Comments Off on December 2012 Pond Conditions

Nov 2012 Pond Conditions Calendar

11/03/2012
Water Temp 58*, air temp 40-70*, pH 7.5, Nitrate 5
Unusually warm weather though we had some nights in the 30’s. One mid week water change and 1.5 x filter dump today. Not much to clean. Stopped feeding on Nov 29th since water temps dropped quickly to 55*.

11/10/2012
Water Temp 54*, air temp 40-70*, pH 7.6, Nitrate 10
Warm days in upper 60s, cool nights. No mid week water change and 1 x filter dump today. Not much to clean. Still some nitrates registering. Turned on UV since we are having a small party tomorrow. Should clear up what little algae there is.

11/16/2012
Cleaned filters before vacation

11/25/2012
Water Temp 49*, Air temp 35-65, pH 7.9, Nitrate 5
Filter clean & large water dump. Water is turning brown due to volume of leaves but the last few leaves should fall this week so I can do larger water changes. pH up due to leaves or possibly lack of calibration. Will test again next week. Lost about 80-90 gallons over the 8 days on vacation. Removed a bunch of hyacinth and leaves from the veggie filter and drained/refilled it. Left some hyacinth for next spring.

While on vacation I saw the koi at Lightner Museum again. Water was so murky and fishes eyes were bulging. How those koi have lived for so long in that pond amazes me.

Expenses
Water bill $12.30 990 gallons

Posted on November 3, 2012 by esearing | Comments Off on Nov 2012 Pond Conditions Calendar