MMAX

Evaporation is a problem. The way our yard sits in relation to the neighbour's house creates a natural wind tunnel blowing through. I just top it up every few days with the hose and treat accordingly.

Thanks! I originally had a flat rock where it came out of the spillway but it sprayed water everywhere so I removed it. I didn't like the top falls at first but now I do. It doesn't follow the pattern of the other waterfalls but it adds some diversity.

So, after finally finding the battery charger, plugged the battery in only to discover it was dead for good. I then found out the batt was obsolete and no one stocked them anymore. Finally tracked down a replacement company in New Jersey and at last I have some updated pics. I still have some work to do at the bottom of the stream covering up the liner, but the damn thing actually works. I was suprised how much power the pump has pumping the distance up the hill plus the elevation. I picked up a smaller 1250gph pump to power the filter. The plan now is to not drag the tub up the hill but to place it next to the fence by the bog. I have enough spare liner left over to build a small 1 foot wide stream about 10 feet long and have it dump into the pond where the plastic waterfall is now. The dream of having trout in the pond is still alive but not this year. The koi and goldfish are easy to see where the trout wouldn't be and now after one season I have a good idea how things work. Maybe next year. I'll throw some video up here in a couple days.

It sure is. Fly Agaric.

Since my last post and after a week long holiday in Puerto Rico, I came home to find my pond finally clear. Looks like I only lost 3 goldfish earlier on and the remaining ones along with the 1 Koi have grown significantly. I dumped 3 more small Koi in the day after I got home and they seem to be doing well. I pretty much finished the stream and tonight I threw my hose from the filter bin up to the third fall and let it flow down and fall into the pond. Sorry, no pictures...we seem to have lost the battery charger for the camera after we unpacked from our holiday. As soon as I find it I'll have some pics up and a longer hose to reach to the top of the stream.

If your pond's only 75 gal, throw in a small heater. It just might be too cold for your plecos to do well. Just make sure the heater doesn't touch the sides of the pond.

I was going to suggest your white one might have jumped out of the pond but if you're missing another one, get yourself a cat trap for starters. Depending on how big your pond is, maybe try enclosing it with a net or chicken wire.

Hopefully your clam will survive. They usually need a fully established tank to do well.

A few updated pictures Still dealing with green water. Was just starting to clear up 2 weeks ago, then we got hit with about a week of rain. Muddied up the water and now with the heat the algae is starting to bloom again. Oxygenators are growing huge so hopefully they'll help clear up the water again. Gloriosa lily growing well, Tufted Loosestrife (bottom middle) should be blooming any day now. Bog Arum in bloom Blue Water Iris (Fleur-De-Lis), Floating Marsh Marigold and Mare's Tail Filter with Water Plaintain and Giand Bur-reed. When the weather warms up for the summer I'll pack it full of Water Hyacinth. Bog starting to fill out nicely but needs lots more plants. I'm close to being done the stream so I'll update again soon.

If you only want to make one purchase then stay away from the Coralife super skimmers. Pay a few more dollars and buy something that works properly and won't flood your floors. You don't even need to run a skimmer on a 29gal tank if you keep up on your water changes.

What about a pygmy angel (Cherubfish)? Not as aggressive as other dwarf angels and at about 3" max would be ok for your 29gal.

If you're running cannister filters I'd strongly consider gutting them and using live rock rubble. Keep the carbon but nothing filters better than cured live rock. If you use foam and different types of media they become "nitrate factories". A hawkfish could be trouble if your inverts are small. I don't know if I'd trust them around cleaner shrimp. The clown gobies generally like SPS corals to perch on. Ocelaris clowns would work but remember not to overdo it. IMO a 29gal tank would only hold 4 fish max.

I had to laugh yesterday. There was a couple of red-winged blackbirds circling my yard eyeing up the cattails. Maybe for a possible nesting site when they fill out more.

Stocked 6 comet goldfish in my top pond. Water was a frigid 35F when I put them in. Had a spare heater laying around so I threw it in. Everyone survived the first night and were happy today. First trip of the year to Bearberry and stocked up on a few plants. Picked up 10 bunches of oxygenators (pondweed, hornwort, bladderwort), 8 marginals and 1 water lily. Bog plants starting to grow well. Cattails really taking off. Couple of main pons shots and some of the marginals I picked up. Hopefully the oxygenators will help to clear the water up soon. Gloriosa (red flower) water lily. Think I need quite a few more plants, I'm going to hit up a few local ditches and dig some native pond grasses. Should help to cut down costs a bit. Now to finish off the waterfall and stream.

You mean it WAS summer weather. Pretty chilly for an outdoor pleco this weekend.

3 weeks running with all those fish? Be careful. That Naso will outgrow your tank in a hurry.

Go get yourself a RO/DI unit.

Just be careful what some LFSs tell you. Some of them just want to make a sale without thinking of the well being of the fish. Do some more research before buying a purple tang. Like I said, a yellow is one of the smaller ones, also a Kole tang would do good in your 90. If it's shaped like a starfish then that would be my guess. There are some bright red or orange ones out there.

Done

Skippy's Koi & Pond Page (Beautiful Ponds & Gardens). Check out their Mini-Me filter for smaller ponds. Should be fairly cheap to build, my 75 gallon model cost me under $300--try buying a pre-made filter that size for that much.

I'd only get one tang in your 90gal. If it's a standard size 90 then it's probably only 4 feet long. Tangs need room to swim, a 6 foot tank is better for them. One yellow tang would probably be ok in your setup, they are one of the smallest tangs. I'd stay away from the purple, they need to swim to be happy.

After a bit of an absence, finally got my Skippy filter built.. Decided to go with two 2" shower drains instead or the big 4" closet flange Cut six 8" pieces of PVC for supports. The egg crate is pretty flimsy and would break if you set plant pots on it The finished product I had to get this thing started filtering and since my stream isn't finished yet I set it up on the main pond. When the stream's done I'll drain it and haul it up the hill.

Between 78 and 83F. Have you decided where you're going with this tank? Reef or FOWLR?

Bump your SG up between 1.024 to 1.026. Just remember to take things extra slow. My tank ran for over a month before I added any livestock. You want both your ammonia and nitrites at zero. I thing you meant Mexican turbo snails instead of crabs. They are great for hair algae but don't add too many or they'll starve.

What can I say that hasn't been said already? Get a good test kit and test for phosphates, Phosban reactors aren't really that expensive. Do a water change with RO/DI water, cut back your photo period and keep the tank out of direct sunlight. Get some kind of sand sifters but DO NOT buy a sand sifting star. An orange spot sand sifting goby will do wonders for you.