Aeration is always a good thing to add to a pond but it's even more critical as temperatures rise. From www.pondalgaecontrol.com
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
How to Manage Swimming Pool Chemicals
The most important element of swimming pool maintenance is monitoring and maintaining the proper water chemistry. While this leaves many people baffled; it's really not that complicated. The first step of the process is to regularly test the water. During the summer months, this should be done either daily or every other day. In the winter you can probably get by with once a week.
If you maintain a regular schedule of testing the water and adjusting the chemical balance accordingly; it should require a minimal amount of time. However if you neglect the job, you run the risk of algae growth and possible damage to your pool and equipment. Learning the following basics will help you avoid difficult cleaning jobs and expensive repairs.
Chlorine - This is the one everyone knows. Chlorine is the chemical that sanitizes the water, kills bacteria, and prevents algae growth. Pool chemistry is measured in parts per: million gallons of water, which you'll see abbreviated as (PPM). The desired chlorine range is 0.5 to 3.0 PPM. If levels drop below this range you run the risk of discolored, murky water and algae growth. If above the acceptable range; the water may irritate the eyes and skin. Adding chlorine to the water is generally done with tablets or granular chlorine through an automatic inline chlorinator. There are also floating chlorinators, but the inline models are preferable because of the ability to regulate the amounts that are dispersed. Occasionally, it will be necessary to super chlorinate or shock the water. The is done as a preventative measure against algae and bacteria. How often you need to do this will depend on the amount of use and the weather conditions. When shocking the pool; allow the chlorine level to return to normal before allowing swimmers. During summer months and warm temperatures chlorine is burned quickly by the heat and sunlight. It's crucial to stay on a regular schedule because the water color will turn quickly when the levels drop and, once it turns, it will take a lot of work to get it back. PH - This is the acidity level of the water. When testing the PH level the acceptable range is 7.2 to 7.6 PPM. PH may be the most important element of pool water chemistry because of it's effect on the other elements and the potential damage it can cause. Low PH can cause high acidity of the water resulting in corrosion of metal components, etching of plaster, and staining. Having low PH is also the most common cause of burning to the eyes and will speed up the burning of chlorine. High PH limits the effectiveness of the chlorine and may cause the water to become cloudy. To lower the pH level add muriatic acid to the water by pouring around the perimeter of the pool. Be careful to stay away from ladders or other metal components due to the highly corrosive nature. It's a good idea to then brush the pool to keep the acid from settling on the plaster. The PH can be raised by adding soda ash (sodium bicarbonate). Chemicals should always be added according to the manufacturers instructions and the MSDS. Total Alkalinity - In technical terms is a measure of the waters ability to neutralize or dissolve the hydrogen ions in acid. Basically, having the desired alkaline level helps control fluctuations in PH when chemicals are added. The desired Total Alkalinity level is between 80 and 120 PPM. Low levels will cause drastic fluctuations in PH, which can be damaging to pool equipment. Higher levels make it difficult to adjust PH and render chlorine less effective. Total alkalinity can be raised by adding sodium bicarbonate or soda ash and can be lowered by adding muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate. Consult the manufactures instruction for the proper amounts of chemical to be added. Calcium Hardness - This is the measure of dissolved calcium in the water. The desired levels are between 250 and 500 PPM. Maintaining the desired levels is important for the protection and life of the plaster. Lower levels will cause calcium to leach from the plaster causing pitting and shortening the lifespan of the surface. High levels may cause scaling and cloudy water. To raise calcium hardness, add calcium chloride. To lower the level, add small amounts of trisodium phosphate of backwash water from the pool and replace with fresh. Stabilizer (Cyanuric Acid) - Chlorine molecules are unstable and exposure to sunlight and heat will cause the to dissolve rapidly lowering the amount of free chlorine. Adding cyanuric acid stabilizes the molecules, slowing the dissipation of the chlorine. In other words, adding stabilizer reduces the amount and frequency of adding chlorine to the pool. Some chlorine tablets are stabilized, so you may already have some level of cyanuric acid. The desired level is between 30 and 50 PPM. Cyanuric acid should be added in small amounts to avoid exceeding 50 PPM. Extremely high levels can cause a chlorine lock, which prevents the chlorine from doing it's job, causing the water to cloud or become discolored.
Learning to monitor and control these basics will give you a good start on keeping a clean attractive pool year round. For a complete guide to taking care of your pool and eliminating the need for a maintenance service, take a look at . Written by well-known pool expert Terry Duff, this is an excellent resource for keeping a beautiful pool and saving time and money.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
How to Build a Pond From Scratch
Do you often wish you could watch your reflection in a pond on a sunny day? Do you love watch fish swimming around under water? If so, you might want to know how to build a pond. Even if you do not build a large one, you can still enjoy all the beauty of this body of water right in your back yard. Interestingly enough, building a pond is much easier than you think. At the same time, when you build your own pond, it will be much cheaper and easier to innovate.
IF you want to know how to build a pond, you will need to think about whether you are going to have fish living in it or not. Depending on your geographic region, you amy also need to make sure that the pond will not freeze thoroughly in the winter. As may be expected, you will need to do a good bit of research in order to determine what will enable you to house live fish in your backyard pond. While it may take a little bit of extra effort to build a pond that is safe for fish, you will love getting to know your new pets. Typically, if you love having tropical fish, you will also love having an outdoor pond filled with finned friends.
There is no question that knowing how to build a pond can give you a great deal of joy. Among other things, you will be able to think about the kinds of trees and plants to put around it. In addition, you will also have a wonderful opportunity to landscape your property, and create all the natural beauty that you want to have around you. You may even decide this is the perfect time to start growing water lilies, as well as have ornamental grasses growing around the pond.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The Best and Easiest Koi Pond Plants and How to Plant Them
What is the best Koi pond plant? In my opinion, the number one plant for fast growth and powerful water filtration is the water hyacinth. It is a very beautiful plant that will enhance any water garden as well.
The jumbo's are probably the best ones to get. Many cities in the United States use them to prefilter the waste water in their water treatment plants.
Floating pond plants are the "backbone" of what Koi pond plants are intended for. They filter contaminants out of the water and produce oxygen.
Be careful with them when you first bring them home If you put them in direct sun the first day the leaves have no fluids and the sun will burn the leaves. Once they are acclimated you can place them anywhere you choose.
All of the floating plants are especially good as Koi pond plants but none have quite as high powered cleansing properties as the water hyacinth.
However, Koi love to nibble on hyacinth root tips. Always keep some in the top of your waterfall box to replace the ones the koi tear up!
Also, occasionally the hyacinth will get their root masses entangled and it is suggested that you pull the root masses apart to encourage new growth.
Floating plants such as water lettuce, water hyacinths, frog bit, azolla and duckweed do not actually need to be planted. Simply place them in your pond to float.
As with water hyacinth, when you first remove your water lettuce from the bag it is wise to float it in a container of pond water in the shade to rehydrate its leaves before putting out in the hot sun. It has used the moisture stored in its leaves on it's trip home. If it is simple tossed into the pond in the hot sun, the sun will fry the leaves, turning them brown and crispy.
Floating plants are the easiest to plant. Just lay them in the pond! Then shade them for a few days before exposing them to full sun.
If you want to contain them so they don't float into your skimmer you will need to make a floating fence for them. Just take a few sticks and form them into the shape you want and tie the ends together with fishing line. Lay the stick fence into the pond and lay the floaters inside of it. If you anchor the fence it will keep them safely in one place.
You can anchor the fence with a big fish sinker. An old Hula Hoop spray painted flat black, with a large fishing weight anchoring it in place, works very well too.
You can see that the floating water plants are very efficient at creating a healthier pond environment and are extremely easy to plant and care for! That's why I find them to be the best and easiest Koi pond plants.
Prices Water Iron Filter Kidde Carbon Monoxide Alarms This Instant Save Kitchenaid Mixer Classic Plus
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Grantsville Solar Ponds
This is my trip out to the solar pond, out in Grantsville, Utah! .. kind of boring but I tried to make it as fun as I remember it when I was little
Navy Seal Quotes Immediately Bonsai Juniper Sale Off Logitech Security System Buy Online
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |