Simply Koi and More Koi

hi all so what is the difference between a shower,and a trickle tower.what is the best media for both.lets no include bhm. Sam, There is a clear distinction between trickle towers and showers and it's all to do with the bugs that colonise them. It gets a bit technical so I'll skate quickly over som...

Pah phooey, that ain't an impossible question, Simon, It's a simple matter of molecular weights. As Geoff says, it's almost impossible to overdose with sodium bicarbonate but since it will raise the KH and possibly the pH there are sensible limits to the amount that should be added to a pond at any ...

Ps, just had a re-read. If "I'm not going to pump water from one to another as the garage is in QT mode!" means that you don't want to transfer any water from the outside pond as a sort of biosecurity measure, could you open the garage doors to let some algae spores in or leave a bucket of...

Tom, There are two things that would slow down the rate at which an indoor pond would go green, lack of light and the fact that the algae spores that are drifting about in the atmosphere are shut outside. A bit more light would be better but you seem to have just about enough light at the moment, so...

Duncan, A small number of people on Them There Wankas decided to publicly demonstrate their indifferent attitude to stealing other people's property. To their shame, they succeeded. A few more decided to demonstrate their childishness. To their shame, they succeeded. Finally, someone who was once re...

Duncan, I'll be drawing my version of the streamflow system for a series of articles in Koi Carp, but that will be later in the series so it won't be for a while yet. When I do, if you want it, I'll send it to you or post it on here, but in the meantime, go to Google images and search for streamflow...

Peter, My initial thoughts were to microwave it but I rejected that idea because that might heat it up too quickly and unevenly. So I opted for an oven because, since it has an open cell structure inside so that the bugs that colonise it can get inside in the first place and then have access to the ...

Chemicals like PP might not get into the porous structure and kill every trace of bacteria, just in case there is something nasty lurking in there but cooking it in the oven for an hour would sterilise it.

No problem Duncan,

I can only please one person per day, today you were fortunate, but don't push your luck tomorrow.

Duncan, I think you are a computery sort of person. If so do you have the power supply from the computer that gave you trouble? A typical 400 watt puter power supply would give you a very stable 12v at around 10 amps, complete with overload protection and, usually, a built-in mains switch. If you ne...

Duncan,

The effects of abrupt changes in pH and/or KH on a fish's blood and respiration is something that interests me. I think I've got the basics, but if you have time to elaborate on how oxygen and carbon dioxide are tranported, I'd appreciate it.

Fortunately I've never had to euthenase a fish but I have thought about it. I've read about different ways to do it but they don't seem right. Putting fish into a freezer so that they quietly go to sleep, ignores what they must feel while they are being slowly frozen. I thought that leaving them in ...

I think you must have predicted where I was going next. I don't have any particular medication in mind, but if a protein skimmer can strip a medication out of water by thrashing the water around, then my next question would have been, "what about Bakki showers. Don't they thrash water around an...

Good thread Gazza, and an interesting point, Lee, about turning off a protein skimmer when medicating a pond so as not to strip out the medication. From a water chemistry viewpoint, it makes sense. There are all sorts of different molecules. Some love water and enjoy being dissolved (hydrophilic), s...