MMAX

It's been a while since an update....After a major life change, company selling off its Red Deer area assets and a job transfer to Rainbow Lake, we've had to leave our pond behind. I still own the property and manage it as a rental. The renters enjoyed having the pond but there have been a couple of issues that have been hard to rectify living a 12 hour drive away. Came back in the spring to give the renters a brief tutorial and do a minor clean up and water change. Everything was in order until the liner sprung a leak. We think it's narrowed down to the final stream section before it empties into the pond. This winter being as long and cold as it was, totally nuked the pond. 100% winterkill of all my fish. It was sad to hear, my big koi were almost like dogs when I worked around the pond, following me around and sticking their heads out of the water. These things survived for me 8 years through some nasty winters as well. I'm pretty sure it wasn't watched closely, the hose wasn't disconnected and the pump's outlets not directed upwards to keep a hole open. Depressing to say the least. I'll be back next week to take stock and see if the stream can be repaired. In the future, when it comes time to sell, I've been entertaining the idea of filling in the pond and doing a pondless waterfall.

Didn't lose a single one last winter. Even my babies survived.

After 5 years of running, decided to do a complete clean out. After catching the fish, I drained the water. Must have netted 50 pounds of crud out. Gave the liner a good cleaning with a pressure washer and refilled. Fish look good, didn't lose a single one over the winter. Had to repair the second last waterfall ledge due to a heave. This is a 2 piece slab, so chiseled it down to fit flat, re-leveled and re-siliconed. Everything up and running as of yesterday.

Thought I'd use my flood lights from my Halloween display. Get some more use from them than the one month I run them in October.

Totally normal. First year I ran mine, it was green until July. Right now, I net out the algae every couple of days. Put as many plants in as you can. They compete with the algae for nutrients and will eventually win. I usually stay away from chemicals myself although this year I started dosing Microblift. It contains beneficial bacteria that seeds the bio filter. Everything was late this year. My lilies only started growing about a week ago and the Marsh Marigold which usually blooms in early May still has flowers.

Yep, although it doesn't help much.

Hungry as always....

Threw in 3 large goldfish yesterday I got for free. Looking to maybe add 1 more koi this year and that's it. Stay tuned for some pics of the gang during feeding time.

Sorry, double shot on the first pic.... The crap I netted out of the pond

Ok, here's some pics... Pond just didn't want to clear up - found out why. One of my lily tubs slid down into the depths spilling dirt everywhere. Thought it was time, so I put on the waders and jumped in for a good clean up. This is what I found. Some waterfall pics. I hit all the stream rocks with hydrogen peroxide and a wire brush to clean all the old algae off. Decided to clean the filter this year also. The company I got the design from said you never have to clean it but it needed it. The bacteria die every winter anyway. Random shot of cow skull beside the bog.

Just completed a 500 gallon water change today, pulled,cleaned and set all my potted plants and netted a pile of crud and algae out. Filter bin still had an iceberg inside it. Filled it with water, set an old aquarium heater in and covered with a black tarp. Should be free in a couple of days. Won't be long before the whole thing runs again. This year I'll update with pics FOR SURE.

Saw my fish today and looks like they all wintered well.

When it comes to saltwater the initial start-up just might break the bank. My first SW tank was a 20 gallon and tipped the scales at $500.

Bearberry Creek Water Gardens

Exactly the reason I didn't put trout in my pond like I had planned, you just wouldn't see them. I keep thinking about it more and more now that I've seen the trout pond at the Bass Pro Shop at Crossiron Mills. Now that's spectacular.

Are you measuring your KH right now? Are you adding or dosing anything? Just wondering why you're worried about your KH being too high. If you're measuring it and you think its too high,then simple water changes without adding anything else will do the trick. For a simple fish only tank, you really don't have to bother too much, but when you step up into reefing, it's a whole different story. I said it myself when I first started, "no I don't want any SPS". Now I'm addicted. You'll need a reliable way of delivering Alk, Ca and Mg into the water (doser for example). That's only the beginning.Dedicated water changes, sampling, testing and the cost of buying quality salt, chemicals, test kits and the doser itself...are you ready for this?

It all depends on what kind of corals you want to keep. Same goes for your KH. If you only want to keep mushrooms and other softies, then PCs are fine. Start stepping up into LPS and SPS and clams then you'll need T5s, MH or high end LEDs. If your plans include keeping SPS and clams, then you'll need a reliable way of delivering alk (which determines your KH or hardness), calcium and magnesium into your water.

If they're already in your tank and your clowns are going in later, then you probably won't have a problem.

Stay away from Big Al's. They're more interested in making a sale than the welfare of the animal. Watch Pisces also,lots of dead and dying fish in their tanks. It's a shame what happened to Kevin @ Red Coral in C-Town, top notch store down the tubes. I buy my fish either at Oceans Creations or Blue World in Edmonton.

Yes, I tried one once. Wasn't in the tank more than a few minutes before the clowns beat the hell out of him. I wanted to try one because I heard somewhere that they were great algae grazers. Unfortunatly, that is an old wive's tale.

Wow, over 12,000 views. I probably should update this, give me a couple days and I'll snap some pics. Everything's rolling along nicely and I even have a baby fish this year. I have noticed the goldfish spawning but neve did see any fry. Was feeding yesterday and saw one 2 incher swimming around. Dull orange color with a couple of white patches on his head. I'll have to try netting him to get a positive ID but I'm hoping it's a koi.

The ice gets a few inches thick.I used to run a floating deicer but it was a killer on the power bill. My pump had dual outlets so I disconnect my hoses and point both of them up. It's enough to keep a hole opened up for gas exchange.

Just an update...lost a couple of goldfish over the winter, seems like the norm. Everything else wintered well. Pulled all the rainbow rock out of the streambed and washed it. Just waiting for the water to clear now, getting there slowly. Need to get a couple of larger koi this year.

I am a big fan of UV. Just make sure you get a big enough unit and that your pump is matched for the size of the uv as flow rate is very important. There is all kinds of good info on the web. I run a 55 watt on my 350 gal tank. I have about 300 lbs of texas holey rock and it had ugly looking algae on it within 2 weeks....what a pain to scrub it up every 2 weeks. The uv and purigen have done the trick it has been 8 months since I have scrubbed and the rock is still snow white, If you get a larger unit and have the right flow it can even kill ich. It changes the dna of cells but only harms by exposure which takes place inside the uv chamber so it is harmless to the inhabitants of your tank and will not alter your water. My led lights had a lot to do with my algae problem but you have the sun to contend with. I on the other hand am not a fan. Sure it will kill harmful organisms but it will also take out your beneficial bacteria. Save your money. Ponds and algae go hand in hand and once you have it packed full of plants, it's a waiting game for it to get clear. It just takes time. I'm into season 3 for my pond and I still get a bloom each year and combined with the recent heat wave it's worse that ever. I just scoop as much as I can out with my net daily and don't worry about anything else.

How big is that hermit-- or how small was the puffer?