Water Gardens Gazette number 303

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This edition includes ....................
1. Free pond calculator as promised (all calculators are
in Microsoft Excel .xls format)
2. Choose between 1 or 2 pumps and save money
3. Oxygen and pond water
4. This edition's quick tips
5. New articles:
6. This is also address where all editions can be found and where you
can ask questions we will try to answer

Subscribe and unsubscribe information

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1. FREE POND CALCULATOR ...............

As promised when you subscribed you will be able to get a
free calculator by going to the following web address.

Free pond calculator one of a series of 12 pond calculators to collect

This edition's free calculator will allow you to save money and in many
cases by running 2 pumps instead of 1.
INSTRUCTIONS TO DOWNLOAD:
All you need to do is go to the web page above and click the link. The calculator will open up in Excel automatically. Save the file to your selected folder.

You can learn about what each calculator does by visiting:

Learn about all the water garden ponds calculators here

Of course you can get all 12 calculators free in one go by
buying my book "Your Pond: Crystal Clear Water Guaranteed."
Read more about it here:
Receive all 12 FREE water garden ponds calculators when you buy my book


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2. Two pond pumps are almost always better than a single
pump. This might sound strange but it is true as I will explain.

Before I do I would like to discuss oxygen in terms of good and
effective pond keeping.

One of the very best koi keepers in the world once said to me
something I will never forget. Of course he was exaggerating
a bit. Nigel said: "There should only be three things in a pond:
water, fish and air ( ie oxygen)."

You may know that trout and salmon can only breed in running
water such as streams or rivers. You will also know that these
particular fish make hazardous journeys up to the very top parts
of river systems where generally the water is shallow and full of
gravel and the where water flows fast and riffley over the gravel.
The water is also cooler.

The essential reason for these long perilous journeys is that such
headwaters are:

cool
clear
fast running
shallow
gravelly

These conditions are absolutely essential to maintain the very
high oxygen levels the fish and their eggs need to survive and
produce offspring.

Air is absorbed by natural water-courses at the interface
(ie where air and water meet - ie the surface). This air is
then mixed by convection throughout the lake water mass.
The oxygen in the air (about 21%) transferred into the water
is used by fish, plants and bacteria.

On a calm summer's day in a lake the amount of oxygen in the
lake would be lowered. The reasons are twofold:

The interface between the air and the water is at a minimum
The higher the temperature of water the less oxygen (or air)
it can absorb and hold.

On the other hand during a gale in winter the oxygen levels in a
lake would be at their highest. The reason for this is the direct
opposite to those above namely ........

The interface for air transfer into the water is at a maximum
- waves rise, crash, break along the bank and continuously present
a new air/water interface across which air can be absorbed by
the water.
And because the water is colder it can hold more oxygen.

So what has this got to do with pond keeping?

Notice I said oxygen in water is used by plants fish AND bacteria.

Biofilters are absolutely essential in almost all ornamental garden
garden ponds to purify the waste products excreted from the fish.
In this way the fish are prevented from poisoning themselves to death.
A biofilter can only work if it gets oxygen to feed its own bacteria
24 hours per day 7 days per week.
Just like you and me biofilter bacteria die if they do not have
air (oxygen) to breathe. This oxygen is contained in the water
being pumped through the biofilter.
Stop the pump, then you stop the water flow and after about
5 or 6 hours all the bacteria in the biofilter are DEAD.
The bacteria survive a while because there is normally a bit of water
left in the filter. Bacteria use this as their emergency oxygen supply.
This is why we say after about 5/6 hours the bacteria die and
not immediately the pump is stopped.
Once the bacteria die and you continue feeding the fish toxic chemical
build up in the pond water occurs.
Do this when you have a highly stocked pond, the water is warm,
possibly full of algae and you have a recipe for potential
fish mortalities.

The conclusion:
Water must be pumped through a biofilter 24 hours per day, every
day without fail except for very short maintenance periods.
You cannot go to bed, shut off the pump until the next morning and
expect your fish to like it.

Let's take my own personal situation ....

My pond is outside my bedroom window and I have a very nice waterfall.
At night the waterfall "noise" would keep us awake and we need our
sleep.
I switch this waterfall off every night and the fish do not suffer.
They do not suffer because I have a much smaller pump feeding the
biofilter continuously. This second pump is not big enough to feed the
waterfall.

Coming back to two pumps are better than one story.

The above description of my own personal situation essentially explains
this.
The major ongoing cost in a pond is electricity to run the pump(s).
To buy two pumps, if selected correctly, is often no more expensive
than buying a single larger pump. However being able to switch off the
waterfall pump (normally the bigger of the two pumps) can save an
enormous amount of money over the lifetime of the pond.
The fish do not mind the waterfall being switched off most of the time
and if you are at work you cannot enjoy the sights and sounds of
the waterfall - so why waste electricity.
Furthermore if one pump does break down you can keep your biofilter
alive by using the second (spare) pump.

This edition's free calculator will allow you to calculate how much
you will be able to save by using two pumps in your pond. In the
example use in the FREE calculator $309 is saved over 3 years.

Free pond calculator go to this page to download the pond calculator
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QUICK TIPS QUICK TIPS QUICK TIPS QUICK TIPS
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1. A waterfall adds oxygen to a pond by creating a large surface area
across which air can be absorbed into the circulating water.

2. A simple fountain also adds large amounts of oxygen to pond water. A
fountain is cheaper than a waterfall.

3. Before buying any pump check what the running cost will be.
Look on pump box and if you can find watts consumed multiply this
by 8.76 and you will get units (kWhrs) of electricity consumed every year
by your pump.
Go to your electricity bill find cost per unit and you can work out
running cost of the pump.

If you can only see amps on box you can work out watts as follows:

amps x voltage of mains supply = watts

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New articles published on our web site ...............
 

A Peter J May article covering sludge in ponds and filters has been published
since the last edition

In case you are not aware of the articles we publish by leading
experts in the water gardening field take a look at one of our main sites which
covers all kinds of topics related to water gardening where you will see the list.

Peter May, one of the leading UK water gardens landscapers, is just starting his
own website and maybe you would like to see what he has to say
there. This is his web address where you will find the details:
of the Perfect Pond Detective He would appreciate your
visit.

Peter is a real expert in the practice of water gardening. He
even dug all his own holes for many years. He offers consulting
services and does talks at very modest rates throughout the UK.

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VERY SPECIAL LIMITED OFFER KEITH SIDDLE GIFT CARD SETS

After last edition's offer we still have a few left so here is offer again.
Strictly first come, first served this time. I will be contacting lucky winners
within next few days.

I am offering to post sets of Keith Siddle gift cards to Gazette
subscribers ONLY. They are truly magnificent. If you would like to look at
samples go to this web site:

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Web address where all editions can be found and where you
can ask questions we will try to answer ..............

We will try to answer personally but if this proves to be not
possible because of large volumes of e mail we receive we will
certainly answer in future Gazettes.

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Copyright: The Water Gardens Gazette and its contents are
Copyright: Tony Roocroft, 2003.

Reproduction in part or in whole will be allowed but only after
seeking written approval from Tony Roocroft at
mailto:info@pondsandpumps.co.za?subject=Request to publish Water Gardens Gazette