Pond Log July 2011

July 1, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  It has been three days since the last rinse off. Did a 10 - 20% water change today as well.  Added 12 oz of Microbe Lift PL, 2 oz of liquid barley + peat, and 25 ml of KoiZyme.

July 2, 2011 - Added some Koi Clay today, have been noticing some algae growth in the pond and skimmer.

July 4, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer media filter media.  Added some OneFix to the skimmer area.



Pond Log June 2011

June 1, 2011 - Added three Muck Defense Tabs.

June 2, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter pad media.  Added several scoops of Koi Clay to the pond after mixing it in a bucket.

June 3, 2011 - Did a 15 - 20% water change.  Added about 12oz of MicrobeLift PL, 25ml of KoiZyme, and 2 oz of liquid barley plus peat.  Rinsed off the skimmer filter pad media.

June 4, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media pad.

June 5, 2011 - Took the barley bail out of the pond, the Koi were picking at it and there is now barley pieces throughout the entire pond area.

June 6, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media pad.  Have been going 2 days between pad rinses.  The pump has not started to be choked off, so I might be able to get 3 days, but the skimmer is filled with debris.  The Koi are eating and picking at the Lilly's.

June 8, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media pad.  Added 1oz of OneFix.

June 10, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media pad.

June 11, 2011 - Added 12oz of MicrobeLift PL, 2oz of liquid barley + peat, and 25ml of KoiZyme.

June 12, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter pad media.

June 14, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter pad media.

June 15, 2011 - Pumped off about 4" of water from the rains we received the past two days.  1.5" on Tuesday, and 2.25" on Wednesday.  Showed Aaron how to rinse off the skimmer filter pad media today.

June 16 - June 30 - Did my weekly maintenance of adding 12oz of MicrobeLift PL, 2oz of liquid barley + peat, and 25ml of KoiZyme, and cleaning of the pond skimmer filter media which now can go three days before it starts to choked off the pump.  For some reason the Koi have been uprooting some of the lily plants, even lifting large pond rock from the top of the kitty litter I use as planting media.  Very strange, I have not witnessed this behavior, just came to this assumption.  Had to re-pot several of my plants that I found in my skimmer.

Pond Log May 2011

Clohe, the Yellow Koi

May 1, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  Still a lot of GREEN GUNK!  Off on the band trip for the night.

May 2, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 3, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 4, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  (You see what I mean about being tied to the pond. I have to do this everyday during the spring months.)

May 5, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 6, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 7, 2011 - Did about a 10 - 15% water change today.  Pumped the water directly out of the skimmer utilizing the pond's pump and the water came from the bottom of my two 55 gallons filter barrels.  Added 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, 2oz  of Liquid Barley + Peat, 50ml of KoiZyme, and 8oz of Ultimate. The maple helicopters started their invasion of the pond today, so keeping the water clear and clean was difficult at best.  Rinsed off the skimmer filter media around 8:00.

May 8, 2011 - Happy Mother's Day.  Rinsed off the skimmer filter media around 8:00, LOT'S of GREEN GUNK!!!

May 9, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 10, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  Added 2oz of OneFix.

May 11, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 12, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 13, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 14, 2011 -Rinsed off the skimmer filter media. Added 16oz of MicrobeLift PL, 50ml of KoiZyme, and 2oz of Liquid Barley + Peat.  Used a scrub brus to get the string algae off the main waterfall rock.

May 15, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  It was so windy today that it blew my cat-tails off the shelf and to the bottom of the pond.  I used my "rig" so that they would stay put, I hope.  Rained all day today.  Pumped out about an inch of water out of the pond.

May 16, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 17, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media, and added 1oz of OneFix.  Put up the solar shades today, it is amazing to me how easy this process has become.  Each year it gets easier and easier!

May 18, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  The water temperature is 62º.  The two gallons of Microbe Lift PL arrived today.  This should last me through the summer.  Also got some new type of blue pond dye, and some feeding treats.  (All Microbe Lift Products)

May 19, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  Added 10 scoops of Koi Clay into the pond.

May 20, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 21, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  Added 16oz of MicrobeLift PL, 50ml of KoiZyme, and 2oz of Liquid Barley + Peat.


May 22, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 24, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  Added 1oz of OneFix.


May 25, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.


May 26, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media. 
 

May 28, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

May 29, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media. Added 16oz of MicrobeLift PL, 50ml of KoiZyme, and 2oz of Liquid Barley + Peat.

May 31, 2011 - Did a 20% water change today using the garage pump.  Added 1oz of OneFix.

Pond Log April 2011

Above photo taken with my Driod 2 cellphone.

Koi Pond Log for March 2011

 
April 3, 2011 - Cleaned off the skimmer filter media.  Starting to get really gunked up again, I believe it is due to the higher temperatures.  Water still has a green tint, and is loaded with string algae.  The water temperature is now 54º, and the cover is still on the pond as seen in the image above with the Leopard Frog that I found a few weeks ago that was in my skimmer basket.  I took him out of the basket, and placed it on the cover of the pond in the northwest corner.  I hope it makes it!!  Added 16oz of Microbe Lift PL, 60ml of KoiZyme, and 8oz of Liquid Barley with Peat into the water fall stream.  I have also noticed that the falls are starting to get covered with a green slime.  This stuff is EVERYWHERE!

April 4, 2011 - Again, cleaned off the skimmer filter media, for it was really starting to choke off the water from getting to the pump.  It is amazing that in just 24 hours, the green gunk is clogging my skimmer filter.

April 6, 2011 - Time again to clean out the skimmer filter media, which of course I should mention is a coarse white 2" material.  It seems to do well to catch most all of the green GUNK.  Also, I have noticed that my falls are starting to green-up and it looks as though my water falls are spilling string algae instead of water.  I need to get the cover off the pond and scrub the water fall rocks.  Added my second dose of KoiZyme today.  Took the cover off the pond today, and was very surprised to see how clear the water was.  I added 3oz of blue pond tint.  Cleaned up all the leaves and debris from around the pond.  Placed out the heron decoys and other such ornamental items.  Also pulled up all the plants from the bottom of the pond and placed them on their respective shelves.  Some of the lilies have already started growing, along with the cat-tail reeds.  Gave the fish a small handful of Cold Weather Food, and they really enjoyed their first feast of the season.  I will keep the feeding to a minimum to help keep the algae problem at bay. 

April 7, 2011 - The photo below was taken today during my lunch time.  You can see the names of all the Koi I have, along with Opey a Red-Capped Oranda.  Today I cleaned off the skimmer filter media pad, and added 1oz of OneFix.  I also installed the big air diffuser along with the big air pump under the bridge today.

April 8, 2011 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media today.  Seems to go about 24 hours before I need to rinse off all the GREEN GUNK!  The water is crystal clear.

April 9, 2011 - Added 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, 60ml of KoiZyme #3, 2oz of Liquid Barley plus Peat to the pond this morning.  Also added a barley bale after I put it into an old media bag.  Also added about 20lbs of salt by diffusion to the pond.  Tested the salt level and it was 1.3%.  I will do a water change in the middle of next week to bring that level down to around 1%.  Last year's bale broke apart and I had barley bits all over the bottom of my pond.  Added some more blue dye to the pond, to help with the algae growing. Cleaned off the skimmer media again, around 7:00 pm.

April 10, 2011 - Spent most of the day preventing HUGE leaves from going into the pond due to the windy conditions.  Cleaned off the skimmer filter media around 5:00.  We had about ¼" of rain in about 15 minutes tonight.

April 11, 2011 - Drained about an inch of water out of the pond this AM from the #1 filter drain.

April 12-15, 2011 - Cleaned the 2" skimmer filter media every-other day.  Seems to not be getting clogged so often as of late.  We shall see!!!  Finished staining the deck, took almost 4 gallons.

April 16, 2011 - Did a 10 - 20% water change today.  Water temperature is 54º.  Added 120ml of KoiZyme, 12oz of Microbe Lift PL, and 2oz of Liquid Barley + Peat.  Checked the salt level after the water change, and it is right at 1.2%.

April 18, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.

April 19, 2011 - Drained about 3" of water from the pond due to all the rain we had during the night. 

April 22, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  Clohe, the new YELLOW Koi arrived today, and she was introduced to the Koi Klub.  She did really well adapting to her bigger brothers ans sisters?!

April 23, 2011 - Added my weekly dose of 20ml of KoiZyme, 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, and 2oz of Barley extract + Peat.

April 24, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media.  Still notice a lot of string algae.  Happy Easter!

April 25 - April 30 - Rinsed off the skimmer filter media once a day.  The GREEN GUNK is think and it starts to restrict flow in about 24 hours.  I wish I could figure out a way to not be tied to the pond.  It seems that I have to be there at least once a day to do something or other.  On April 30th I added three Muck Defense Tabs, 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, 2 oz of Barely + Peat, and 50ml of KoiZyme.  I have also added some water to top off the pond from any evaporation that has taken place.  Added 1oz of OneFix during this time.

Pond Log March 2011

Koi Pond Log for March 2011

March 2, 2011 - Put three scoops of "Cold Weather" beneficial bacteria in the pond near the bubblier.

March 4, 2011 - Pumped out water from all of the rain we have been getting.  The pump ran for about 25 minutes.  Also put in one oz. of OneFix near the bubblier.

March 8, 2011 - Added 1 oz of OneFix to the water near the bubblier.

March 12, 2011 - Installed the new pump, and started water flow through the filter and over the falls.  No filter media yet, except for some black and green Metalla Mat in the skimmer basket to catch and big items.  Everything looks good, no leaks, KNOCK ON WOOD.  There will have to be some work on the skimmer basket one of these days.  The bolts are all rusted.  Trimmed the black lace behind the water falls.

March 13, 2011 - Rinsed off the metalla mat pre-filter in the skimmer basket.  I noticed a lot of sting algae.

March 15, 2011 - Added 3oz of blue pond tint, and the remainder of the Barely with Peat, about 3oz.  Added some more water to the pond to bring it up to my level preference.

March 18, 2011 - Added three table spoons of beneficial bacteria to the falls areas of the pond.  Water temperature was 52º

March 19, 2011 - Rinsed off the skimmer mat this morning, it was full of GREEN ALGAE!  I am talking, LOADED with it!  I am at my wit's end trying to figure out what to do with this stuff.

March 24, 2011 - Can you believe I went almost an entire week without having to clean off the skimmer filter media?  I believe it was due to the cold snap we are currently having.  I cleaned off the media today, and it really wasn't that bad.  Added 2oz of OneFix.

March 27, 2011 - Cleaned off the skimmer filter media.  Still a lot of green tint to the water, but it is starting to clear up.  Still lots of algae.

March 30, 2011 - Again, cleaned off the skimmer filter media, starting to load up again with GREEN GUNK and string algae.  Added the rest of my powdered bacteria to the skimmer area.

Pond Log December 2010

December 31, 2010 - Had to pump out about a foot of water out of the pond today due to all the rain and melting snow from previous 24 hours.  Saw several of the koi in the open spot in the pond today.  All looked healthy.  The above photo was taken on Christmas Day 2010.

Pond Log October 2010



October 2, 2010 - Did a partial water change today.  Added 8 oz of Microbe Lift PL, 25 ml of KoiZyme, 2 oz of Barley Extract with Peat, and cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  At midnight, I noticed that the pump had stopped pumping, so after some switching back and forth, (LONG STORY) I was able to get my spare pump working.

October 3, 2010 - I noticed today that my water level was about 4" lower this afternoon than it was in the AM.  After some investigation, I noticed that barrel #1 was overflowing, even though the sealed top was in place.  I had to close a ball valve about a ¼ turn to prevent the overflow.  My media was clean, and there was no blockage.  I guess the back-up pump had a bit more power.  The pump that went bad worked almost two full seasons.

October 5, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media this AM, and added 1 oz of OneFix.  So far the water level is holding steady!

October 7, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  Water level holding steady.

October 10, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  Added the last of my Microbe Lift PL near the skimmer, about 8 oz.  Also added 25 ml of KoiZyme by the falls, and 2 oz of Barley Extract plus Peat near the falls.

October 11, 2010 - No school today, off for Columbus Day.  Clipped off the cat tails today and sunk them to the bottom of the pond.  Most of it was dried and dead, but there were some new sprouts looking like they were going to take off.  Might have to transplant next year, it looks like the roots are pot-bound.  Brought in one of the Great Heroin decoys.

October 15, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

October 18, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  Added 25ml of KoiZyme, 2oz of Barley Extract with Peat, and 3 tea spoons of cold weather bacteria.  Added some water due to evaporation.  Water looks very clear.

October 19, 2010 - Took out the tropical plant today, along with the block I set them on during the summer.

October 20, 2010 - Took out the pond lights today.  I cleaned and stored them for the winter.  I also removed the two wood duck decoys and put them away as well.

October 22, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  Added 25ml of KoiZyme, 2oz of Barley Extract with Peat, and 3 tea spoons of cold weather bacteria.  Also added 3oz of blue pond tint.  I noticed a lot of string algae again near the skimmer, and coming off the falls. 

October 25, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  Added 2 oz of OneFix.

October 26, 2010 - Added the black leaf net due to high winds forcasted.

October 28,  2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media. Added 2 oz of OneFix.

October 30, 2010 - Closed down the pond for the season.  Started at noon and finished at 5:00.

• Removed the black leaf net put on earlier in the week.
• Pumped about a foot of water out of the pond.
• Pumped out the skimmer pit.
• Removed the pump and stored in 5 gallon bucket in fresh water.
• Pressure washed the skimmer pit media, and the Matala Mat media.
• Put an air pump hose into both the pond and the skimmer pit.
• Put on the white, thin mesh, winter cover over the pond. (See Photo Below)
• Removed all bacteria media from the two 55 gallon barrels. (See Photo Below)
• Rinsed out the two 55 gallon barrels.
• Rinsed off the bacteria media with fresh water. (See Photo Below)
• Put all the tools away after closing the pond.
• Stored all the bacteria media in the large garbage receptacle near the garage door.

October 31, 2010 - Closed up the two 55 gallon barrels for the season.

POND CLOSED FOR THE 2010 SEASON

Photos Taken 10-31-2010

Photos of Bio Media drying out.

November 1, 2010 - Used a new air device to try and pump any water out of my PVP pipes.  I received no resistance, so I am guessing that there is no water in the pipes.  I HOPE!!

November 6, 2010 - All the leaves fell off the Ginkgo tree this morning.

Pond Log September 2010

September 1, 2010 - Threw into the pond three Muck Defense tabs, also drained out about 3" of water from last night's rain fall.

September 2, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

September 4, 2010 - Did the weekly adding of fish supplies.  Added 25ml of KoiZyme, 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, and 1 1/2 oz of Barley Extract + Peat.  Cleaned off the pond light lenses, and cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

September 7, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media and added 1oz of OneFix.

September 9, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

September 12, 2010 - Did a 20 - 25% water change, and did the weekly adding of fish supplies. Added 25ml of KoiZyme, 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, 16 oz of Ultimate, and 1 1/2 oz of Barley Extract + Peat. Cleaned off the pond light lenses, and cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  Also added 2oz of blue pond tint.

Videos taken 9-14-2010

September 15, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media, and added 1oz of OneFix.

September 17, 2010 - Took down the solar shades for the season.  Last year I took them down on September 27th, 10 days earlier this year.  Unplugged the pond lights.

September 18, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media, added 25ml of KoiZyme, 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, 1 1/2 oz of Barley Extract + Peat.

September 22, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media, added 1 oz of OneFix.

September 26, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media, added 25ml of KoiZyme, 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, 1 1/2 oz of Barley Extract + Peat.  Started mixing in the cold weather food.

September 29, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media, added 1 oz of OneFix.

Pond Log August 2010

August 1, 2010 - Put in three Muck Defense Tabs this morning.  Going to be another HOT and HUMID day.

August 2, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

August 3, 2010  - Added 1 oz of OneFix

August 4, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

August 6, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media, added 8 oz of Microbe Lift PL, added 1 1/2 oz of Barley Extraxt + Peat, added 25 ml of KoiZyme.

August 7, 2010 - Cleaned off the pond lights.

August 9, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media, added 8 oz of Microbe Lift PL, added 1 1/2 oz of Barley Extraxt + Peat, added 25 ml of KoiZyme.

August 10, 2010 - Added 1oz of OneFix

August 11, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

August 13, 2010 - Did a major water change of 25% or more.  Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media, added 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, added 1 1/2oz of Barley Extract + Peat, added 25ml of KoiZyme, and added 12oz of Ultimate. (Rode the Harley to Dad's 84th Birthday Party in Hebron.  Rain the last two hours. Got home on the 14th.)

August 16, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

August 19, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media, and added 1oz of OneFix.

August 20, 2010 - Drained off some of the extra water in the pond from the rain.  Added 5 scoops of Koi Clay.

August 21, 2010 - Did my weekly adding of chemicals.  Added 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, 1 1/2oz of Barley Extract + Peat, 25ml of KoiZyme, and 1 oz of blue pond tint.  Also cleaned off the pond lights, and cleaned the 2" skimmer filter media.

August 24, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media, and added 1oz of OneFix.

August 26, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

August 28, 2010 - Did a 20 - 25% water change.  Also did my weekly adding of chemicals. Added 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, 12oz of Ultimate, 1 1/2oz of Barley Extract + Peat, 25ml of KoiZyme, and 2½ oz of blue pond tint. Also cleaned off the pond lights, and cleaned the 2" skimmer filter media.

August 31, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media this morning, and added 1oz of OneFix.

Pond Log July 2010

July 1, 2010 - Threw in three Muck Defense Tabs this morning.  Cleanned out the 2 inch skimmer media at 8:34 PM.

July 2, 2010 - Added my weekly regiment of 25 ml of KoiZyme, 12 oz of Microbe Lift PL, and 2 oz of Barley Extract + Peat.  Added some water to bring the pond back up to normal level, also added some ultimate.

July 5, 2010 - Cleaned out the 2 inch skimmer media.  It went 4 days without choking off the pump.

July 6, 2010 - The wind was so high that it tipped over the cat-tails.  They were on the bottom with their leaves coming out of the water.  I was able to grab the leaves and put the cat-tails back where they belong.  Pumped out about 2" of new rain water, and then another 5" and then added some fresh water.  The water temp was getting a bit too warm, and I wanted to cool it off a bit.  Added 1 oz of OneFix and three scoops of powdered beneficial bacteria.  Pulled out the dead lily pad leaves.

July 7, 2010 - Cleaned off the pond light lenses.  Added 3 oz of blue pond tint.

July 9, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  It had started to choke off the pump, just made it 4 days, but the media is still getting clogged up with GREEN GUNK.  Added 25 ml of KoiZyme, added 12 oz of Microbe Lift PL, and added 2 oz of barley extract with peat.

July 11, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

July 14, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer media, and added 2 oz of OneFix.   (Got my Harley today!)

July 16, 2010 - Did a major 20 - 25% water change today.  Cleaned off the pond lights.  Cleaned off the 2" skimmer media, added 8 oz of Microbe Lift PL, 50 ml of KoiZyme, 20 oz of Ultimate, 3 oz of blue pond tint, and 3 oz of barley extract + peat.

July 19, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.

July 20, 2010 - Had to pump out about 4" of water due to the heavy rains during the past 24 hours.

July 21, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media and added 1 oz of OneFix.

July 23, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media and did my regular weekly routine.  Added 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, added 2 ml of KoiZyme, added 2oz of Barely Extract + Peat.  Also added some water to bring it up to level.

July 26, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  Have one lily bloom in the pond, it came up yesterday.

July 27, 2010 - Added 1oz  of OneFix.

July 28, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  Put a rock in the end Lily Planter, pulled off some dead leaves, and the lily bloom.  Rain in the early evening, pumped out about 3" of water to get the water level back to "normal".

July 30, 2010 - Cleaned off the 2" skimmer filter media.  Cleaned off the pond light lenses, they were very dirty for it has been awhile since I cleaned them off. Did a partial water change of about 10 - 15%. Added 25ml of KoiZyme, added 8oz of Microbe Lift PL, added 1 1/2 oz of Barley Extract + Peat, and added 2oz of blue pond tint.