green water
The Barley Straw worked great for me at getting rid of the algae WAY back when I used to get green water (15+ years ago)(have been keeping koi for 27+ years). Once I increased the size of my bio-filtration to where it really should be, I haven’t had to use any chemicals, Barley Straw, or UV to keep my ponds water clean. I know UV Filters work great at killing algae, but because they had been so costly, I always tried steering people to a less costly way of getting rid of the stuff. I know there are now some VERY inexpensive UV Filters on the market now (some for less than $50.00), but I’m not sure how effective UV lights in the cheaper ones are . With the very low cost of some of the new units, they would be worth giving a try for those who want/need a quick fix for the problem. If they don’t perform as they should, at least you’re not our the $175-$450.00 that they used to cost.
As for bio-filtration goes, one very important thing to remember when setting up the plumbing for a bio-filtration system is to include a means for by-passing the water around the biofilters. There are two reasons for being able to by-pass the biofilters: (1) Certain medications used in the ponds can kill your biofilters, so when applying those medications, the biofilters MUST be bypassed for at least the first few hours (3-6) after the medication has been applied. (2) To have any bio-filtration system to function at peak efficiency, you need to be able to adjust the DWELL TIME it takes the water to complete its travel through the filter media. If you force too much water through a biofilter too fast, the ammonia and nitrites can’t be fully consumed by the beneficial bacteria before the water exits to be returned to the pond. With a bypass setup installed in the bio-filtration system, up can adjust the flow of water through the filters. A longer dwell time is better than too short a dwell time.
Don ikeepkoi
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Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
