Ponds, water lilies and nitrates

I've had my pond running for a month and it is a joy. It's lightly planted with a water lily, some parrots feather and some other margin plants. And 5 goldfish.

The nitrogen cycle in the pond converts fish and other waste to nitrates. This powers the pond plants.

So, with the coming (finally) rains, I'll have excess water. I have some memory (can't find a reference now though) of using pond water in the garden. Any suggestions on using this nitrated water?

Also, I never thought water lilies could be so beautiful. Any way to help them to last more than a few days?

Jeff

Reply to
j
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In a large scale aquaponic system there maybe some concerns on waste that need to be addressed but as described there is really no problem with using your enriched pond water on your land garden, It is just a weak fertilizer with that few fish. Use normal caution in applying nitrogen late in the season to some plants. I would recommend getting a good EC or PPM meter to periodically check levels to ensure that are in balance.

Reply to
Gunner

how many gallons of water? i love the sound of a small fountain or water fall.

5 goldfish are probably not really producing much waste as you'd think. are they large fish? overfeeding is a potential trouble spot for nutrient build up in the water.

pretty much the major trouble is if the fish have some of the diseases that fish can have and if that water splashes onto food plants which then can transmit the disease to a human.

never siphon fish water using suction via your lungs on the hose. there are small siphon starters that are useful for this kind of thing or just fill the hose up and keep each end capped until it's in place and then it will flow if the hose is intact and the one end is below the other.

maybe cooler weather, but i cannot say for sure. i believe that is the life cycle of the flower. some flowers don't last more than a few hours or days others will go longer...

songbird

Reply to
songbird

About 500 gallons.

i love the

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is a small pump running about 600 gpm and kill-a-watt says 48 W. The fountain is about 5 1/2 feet tall by ~ 4'. Sounds just like rain. About 11 AM the sun is at about the right angle for rainbows behind the fountain.

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>>> So, with the coming (finally) rains, I'll have excess water. I have

Small fish. But goldfish are prolific waste producers, they have no stomach...

Thanks, Jeff

Reply to
j

600 gpm is no small pump... send a couple to NOLA. And what you have is a pool, not a pond.
Reply to
Brooklyn1

My mistake: 600 gph, which would make it 10 gpm. ~$60.

I think it is about optimal for the application. Note that most submersible pumps don't have a lot of head, they are designed to move water efficiently over a low head. Hook it up to a short length of water hose and you lose a *lot* of volume.

As far as goldfish pond size. 500 gallons is on the small side. They say about 100 gallons/fish if unfiltered. 50 if filtered. For a tank and a fancy goldfish (mine are common) about 10 gallons/fish. Koi need a lot more room. For me, it is the right size as it fits the space.

Jeff

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Reply to
j

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