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Thread: Pond maintenance, fish, fountains etc

  1. #16
    Member of forum watlebird mowing's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pond maintenance, fish, fountains etc

    I would still advise some sort of aeration other than just the plants, most plants will oxygenate the water as a bi-product of photosynthesis, however this is only when its light, in the dark many plants will actually suck O2 back out of the water and those water lilys O2 from being absorbed from the air just by taking up water surface area.
    gold fish eggs are tiny and sticky, the parents will spawn onto plants and the eggs should not get sucked up by a filter unless the plants get really stirred up, the babys however are tiny to start with and can easily get sucked up, Elodia like Joanne has is one of the best spawning/ nursery plants.
    Cheers
    Ben


    Wattlebird Lawn Mowing & Garden Service.
    Let us take the hard work out of your garden!




  2. #17
    Member of forum watlebird mowing's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pond maintenance, fish, fountains etc

    Duckweed and Azola are great plants for bio-filtrating water without moving it through a filter, they are small floating fern looking plants that have the ability to absorb Ammonia straight out of the water without the need for the normal nitrification cycle, they are generally very hardy and like the water lilies they help shade the water helping to prevent algae growth and are a great sorse of fish food and can also be removed (therefor removing the ammonia) and fed to chooks or any other livestock.
    Cheers
    Ben


    Wattlebird Lawn Mowing & Garden Service.
    Let us take the hard work out of your garden!




  3. #18
    Member of forum watlebird mowing's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pond maintenance, fish, fountains etc

    heres some links to some filters I built in the past if your thinking of filters
    http://auscichlids.com/forum/index.php?topic=2086.0
    http://auscichlids.com/forum/index.php?topic=2047.0
    sorry for the links but I cant really be stuffed uploading the pics again, lol.
    hope all that helps
    Cheers
    Ben


    Wattlebird Lawn Mowing & Garden Service.
    Let us take the hard work out of your garden!




  4. #19
    Senior Member PaulG's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pond maintenance, fish, fountains etc

    You certainly know your stuff Ben.

  5. #20
    Senior Member Mrs HMS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pond maintenance, fish, fountains etc

    Duckweed may be great for the water but that stuff will take over the surface of the water and is virtually impossible to eradicate. It's why I don't buy aquatic plants from bunnings or the like...it only takes one tiny one stuck in a pot of something else and before you know it the pond is covered! Hate the stuff. That's why we went with elodia, sure it grows like crazy but under the water and it is so easy to thin out...we just reach in and pull gently.
    ~ Joanne ~

  6. #21
    Member of forum watlebird mowing's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pond maintenance, fish, fountains etc

    If the duckweed is going nuts its an indication that the ammonia/ nitrites / nitrates are high as thats what it feeds on, I found in healthy systems with fish in them that the fish ate it almost as quick as I could grow it, the problem is lot of people (and im not having a go at anyone just stating a fact) want to put 20 big goldfish in a tiny amount of water and although the fish will still live its like us having to breathe the worst kind of smog imaginable, you can search the net and find a million different ratio's of fish to pond or tank size, but I have always thought that less is more.
    in todays age of water restrictions / water saving it is better to remove excess duckweed than to do big water changes all the time, duckweed is a great fodder for chooks, sheep, cows and even hippies, lol! but it also makes a great green manure and can be used to mulch gardens or veggie patches.
    on a side note Paul, i've got a mate in Toowoomba that runs the Qld ANGFA (Aust. New Guinea fishes association ) http://www.angfa.org.au/ who could hook you up with some sweet natives for that pond, let me know if your interested and i'll give you his details mate.
    Cheers
    Ben


    Wattlebird Lawn Mowing & Garden Service.
    Let us take the hard work out of your garden!




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