Pond Salt, Waterfall Bog Filtration & Pond Placement - Ask T.P.D. Show 27
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- We offer advice on using pond salts in your water feature, placement of your pond and answer a question about building a waterfall bog filter instead of using a manufactured bio filter. Learn from our experiences in the field for the last two decades. Not all salt is created equal and you could be doing great damage to your koi if you are not using the correct salt to treat your pond. We discuss the pros and cons of installing your pond in the shade or the sun and we tell you our opinion on the use of bog filtration in place of a waterfall filter in todays episode of Ask The Pond Digger. You keep asking Questions, and I'll answer them, maybe even on the show.
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Each Friday we release a new How to episode of the "Ask The Pond Digger" where we answer koi pond and water garden related questions. We discuss different philosophies on how to build a pond, tips and tricks on pond maintenance, water turtles, aquatic plants, goldfish and much more.
If you want a chance for us to answer your question on the show, use the hashtag #asktheponddigger, type your question and post it as a comment on one of our UA-cam tutorial videos, or Twitter, or Facebook, or Instagram and we'll do our best to capture your questions and use them on the show!
I absoultly love these videos. I have been learning so much. my pond has turned out great and I owe it all to you and your wife. thanks again for all the help
I agree with your thoughts on using water softener salt for ponds. The best way to insure koi pond keepers are using the correct salt is to call it by its pure form, sodium chloride. Ideally, this salt will have no (YPS) which is sodium ferrocyanide, known as Yellow Prussiate of Soda.
Paradise Ponds and Waterfalls Copy!
Can't wait for the Bog Filter into a waterfall series. Keep them coming!
As for salt, I have not used salt in my koi pond. If I did, I would use high quality salt as you suggest.
Timely as always - plumbing my bog today. I have always used salt in my pond at a very low level (don't want it to hurt the plants) and use a high quality pond salt. Price hurts me but the salt doesn't hurt my pond.
In my pond I have neeeeeeeeverrrr everrrrrr used any salt what so ever. Why? Is or should I say do koi naturally live in fresh water or salty water? My pond water is so clean n clear & well balanced because of my water bog water fall & filter. My Koi are happy so no need for salt. Thanks Sr Eric. Keep up the great work on the vidz
+Rolo Ojeda Fantastic!
The whole debate about salt here is outstanding, because everybody can learn a lot about the chemistry of their ponds by really diving into trying to understand what’s happening when you add salt. But I would push the debate to include TDS (total dissolved solids) because this is part of the reason a lot of people are trying to use water softeners, or the cheaper salt made for them, for their koi ponds (which I highly discourage).
A good TDS meter in this debate is invaluable. These readings includes GH, KH, dissolved fish waste and organics, and all gases, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide. In a lot of areas, pond owners have to contend with very hard water. And in these places where the hardness is extreme, koi will barely grow and frequently suffer from Shimmies and a loss of color. In Japan, where the water is extremely soft, it is generally believed that if your water hardness is higher than 50 ppm, you should look at ways to soften it. The problem is… if you have very hard water… the only real good way to fix this is with reverse osmosis, which I won’t go into here… but that can be expensive and wasteful of water.
Given these challenges, some people believe that a water softener system can help them. They wrongly believe that his method of conventional ion exchange will improve their environment for the koi, but in reality it really doesn’t solve the issues facing them with high TDS readings. With a conventional softener, they’re simply swapping calcium and magnesium ions for sodium ions. So you get water with zero GH, but it’s still laced with KH, and now with sodium ions to boot. Be careful there.
And be aware too that your GH test kits look for Calcium and Magnesium ions, and a KH test will only look for Carbonate/Bicarbonate ions. So the assumption these test kits make is that the reading delivered is true “if it were present as Calcium Carbonate”, but it doesn’t mean that it is Calcium carbonate. Likewise, if you had a sample of water containing a high level of magnesium oxide, it would result in a high GH and zero KH result. But the high GH result would once again be measured “if present as CaCO3”. If your water contained only calcium carbonate, then you would get corresponding test results in both the GH and KH tests.
To really understand what can be done in those areas of the country where the water hardness is above say… 200ppm, is to understand the difference between the TDS levels leaving your tap and those in your pond. Understanding this “TDS differential” (TDS-Diff) can be the first beneficial step in creating an improved environment for your lovelies. I’ve known many pond owners who believe the quality of their water is excellent: ammonia and nitrites are under control, nitrates are low, and the water is clear straight to the bottom. But after purchasing a TDS meter they realize their TDS-Diff is huge! This means they haven’t changed their cleaning regiment to keep pace with the fish load, are overfeeding, are under maintaining (i.e.: lack of water changes) or all of the above. In these cases, a lot can be done to improve your pond by understanding these measurements and changing your maintenance accordingly to lower your TDS-Diff. But if your TDS-Diff is below 50ppm (that is your goal) but your hardness (GH) levels are above say 250 ppm and KH level are high at 250 ppm… then you might take the advice of our Japanese friends and look for ways of softening your water. Just don’t try and do it with a conventional water softener. That’s a waste of time and money, but worst of all… it’ll give you a false sense of security.
Eric,
Here in New Zealand I am using rain-water for my eco ponds.We have a thriving school of White Cloud Mountain minnows in there, along with tadpoles.
This discussion about salt has gotten me wondering.Do we need to add salt??!!??
On the subject of shade versus sun; I have come to the conclusion that around 70% shade works well.Any less shade and the algae gets out of control.Without more than the occasional 1/3 change the water stays crystal clear.Plants and grasses are good for providing partial shade without adding leaves to the pond.
Duckweed and/or azolla provides both sun-protection and a food source for fish and tadpoles.
I would recommend adding a small amount of a high quality pond salt for the pond using rainwater. Small amounts of salt in rivers, lakes and streams is normal. I like your thought process on shade.
@@ThePondDigger
Cheers Eric.
I will try it out.Love your channel! We built a bog filter after watching (in my case, several times! ) your helpful video.
Apart from some minor plumbing issues we are thrilled with how well it works.
A note on the plant/water ratio for other readers.
Our ponds are designed for frogs so i want some algae in there as well as cover for the frogs.Although we have no predators to speak of in our garden the frogs seem to prefer the security of being near plants they can duck under whether that be in the water or nearby.
So Eric, great info on all the ponds. Here's a question for you, now that you're talking about salt. I'd like to build a decent sized garden pond and have watched a bunch of your helpful videos. I don't want to keep koi, or even really many plants. One of the big attractions is to be able to soak in it during the summer and maybe even winter if we can find a decent heater. Where I live, my skin has some issues since I used to live in Hawaii and got a lot of therapeutic salt water bathing. Can I do a salt-water garden pond, and if so, what are the issues I need to mitigate? Thanks and keep uploading the video clips!
Hey, first of all, I have learned alot from you.. I love your demeanor and no nonsense delivery. I have a plumbing background and am building my pond but I need to seam the liner. what kit do you recommend for seaming a liner during construction and where can I purchase it!? Thanks
Can I ask you a plumbing question please?!!?
We used a brass check valve on our( excellent ) bog filter but have had a lot of trouble with it ( the bog box ) draining back into the pond when it is shut down overnight.
After many investigations we managed to isolate the problem to the valve itself.It appears nice and clean inside but it still drips when it should be closed.We tried to get it as level as possible but lose around 20 litres per night.
Any ideas?
Any opinions on the biohaven floating bog island? I'm going to try the 2.5ft by 2.0ft biohaven bog as my biofilter. I'm hoping that pumping the water through it will keep a 7 x 2 ft pond happy. (It will have 2 goldfish)
Hey Pond Digger! Love you videos. Love your company. Love what you do to the industry. You are the number one resource for weekend warrior pond-holic to get to learn their stuff.
However, you might want to take a second look into water softener salt. You have a great point with Morten has a patent on their salt. But for the natural salt, their patent is on how the salt is processed. But not on the actual chemical structure of it. Just ask your son that knows about stoichiometry. There are chemical changes and physical changes that can happen to any type of matter but chemical changes actually change the compound. So if the salt "NaCl" was chemically changed. It could be called "NaCl" it would have another element in the compound. The patent is on the physical changes they do to the salt. Such as removing impurities, the granual saize, and other changes that are physical. Nothing chemical. And I'm talking about the water softener salt that is in the blue Morton bag that is all natural. Anyway I could be wrong. This is just from my own understanding of chemistry.
Again love what you do, keep it up!
#asktheponddigger
I have a real rock waterfall that was built in my backyard that I don’t believe has any kind of filtration system. I’m having a hard time keeping up with that because it is in direct sunlight and I’m constantly having to scrub up the rock and adding algae cleaner. I’ve been thinking about adding salt but I’m afraid of potentially harming the birds. I’ve watched a few of your videos and they’re awesome but they don’t really give advice on waterfalls. Can I ask you for advice about adding salt to my waterfall?
I'm using Morton's 99.4% pure salt. I purchase it from a big box store. I also use it with my african cichilds. Thus far I have had no ill effects. I started using it after consulting with several large scale koi breeders/dealers.
Good topics, I've never used salt my pond either, I do run several saltwater aquariums, just found my answer on one of your other comments it's okay to use marine grade salt. I'm assuming it's a different hydrometer to measure the lower quantities recommended for the freshwater pond as opposed to the saltwater aquarium. Do you have any rough idea of how much salt for approximately 2000 gallon pond it would takeTo get to routine levels?
I would love to know your thoughts on any of these all in one package solar water pump systems. I’d love to add one of those stock tank ponds to my garden but can’t get power out there so I’d have to use solar power.
I guess I'm still new in this aquarium koi thing. I have never added salt in my tank but would consider it if I should be doing it. For koi in a 75 gallon aquarium with a 20 gallon sump filter, how much salt should I be adding and how often? And yes I am currently digging/building my pond outside and I hope to have water in it by next spring. Maybe I need to add a bog filter river to it now.......
Matthew Triplat In freshwater aquariums I typically try and maintain 2 tablespoons of a quality salt per ten gallons. Do a ten gallon water change, then add two tablespoons.
I have a 30,000 gallon pond we just completed the water bog filter we are raising our smaller koi in before releasing into the larger area. What can we use to remove algae? We have 2 - 55 gallon drums with a 3600 GPH pump we are putting in the blue coloring the pond is in half shade .is there something that can be added to sink the floating bloom to the bottom for vacuuming?
Mine quarantine is 1700 litres what good salt would you recommend and dosage?
Much appreciated
I have heard comments from some of the people on the garden pond sight that have to turn there pumps off during the winter about the smell and dirty water they will get when they first turn there pumps back on but say it clears in a couple of days and have wondered about the smell they say and they say they have lost no fish ,but is that normal (the smell ).Also what about barley and peat mixed in liquid form .I tried the softner salt a couple of times after it came up on the pond forum but then saw a video on you tube about what it does to soften water and then I went back to pond salt again .The other salt is cheaper but not worth the risk to my fish
Currently, I make sea salt from the coast nearby and use very small amounts of that in my tanks (roughly .01%). When I finish my pond, I may switch to pond salts, but I'm not sure.#asktheponddigger Would it be better to use pond salts for my freshwater fish, or trace amounts of natural sea salt?
+Leslie Kite Natural Sea salts in the aquariums
You should talk about equipment sourcing. Its very difficult in California to get a decent deal on filtration, especially on high end European products such as Cetus Sieves.
EDIT: I use Marine grade salt, specifically the Instant Ocean brand. My theory in using it was that it has the same chemical composition as natural ocean water, so it must replicate the same brackish water conditions as in the Deltas. It may be counterproductive, what do you think?
Hi Eric, I love the "Ask the T.P.D." series. Assuming I have the space, how difficult is it to add a bog filter to an established pond? I'm sure it depends on the layout of my pond but I would love to hear of your experience, if any, of adding a bog after the fact. If you're ever in Burbank come on by. :)
Jason Huber Jason adding a bog filter after the fact is very easy to do! In fact we will likely be filming How to Install a Lotus bog on an existing pond this Summer with a very special guest!!! I will be heading to Moorpark in a few weeks! maybe I'll stop by!
ThePondDigger I look forward to that video and please, stop on by!
I'm going to use Windsor pool salt, additive free, all natural, what's your thoughts, softener salt has all sorts of additives like resin cleaning agents. Pool salt has no additives
my question has two parts to it, one how do you check for nitrogen and ammonia levels in the water. and two, how can you tell when to stop adding pond salt to my pond when medicating the fish.
you can buy synthetic sea salt online also.good stuff .
YES!
Can I use 99.9% PDV salt with anti-caking agent in it? many retailers sell it but lots of people say the anti caking agent is dangerous to fish.
+Dan Last I absolutely would NOT use any salt with anti-caking agent on the label....
saltwater aquarium salt. in very small amounts. i really just add it for the trace elements and minerals because I use ro/di water for my patio pond and aquariums.
mark suson Saltwater aquarium salts are amazing for ponds!
Is it really necessary to use salt? I have used it but it really messes with my plants :( The salt that I was told to use was the Morton's in the blue bag ... not the water softner bag (yellow). But when I did I didn't like what it did to the plants.
What would you use salt in a pond ? The same reason you use it in aquairums ? Well I use aquirum salt in my tanks can I use the same thing ? I
#asktheponddigger, how do you measure the gallons of your pond ? I know how to in my tanks I don't know what to do about the shelves especially .
I don't if I am using high quality salt or not but the salt i use is obtain from evaporating sea water as my country is surrounded by the sea. (Mauritius)
sarir bolah Sounds cool!
Water softener salt does not remove calcium and such hard substances from the water directly. The salt is used to positively ionize the reactors in the water soften. The reactors actually remove the calcium from water, but, with that being said, some water softener salts can contain other cleaner materials that is not good for fish. Pure water softener salt should be fine to use.
Just started using TopFin pond salt and Koi are looking more happy now. I did a DIY moving waterfall filter too. Water is really clear now. Thanks for the videos! Koi are my 2nd favorite hobby now. RC helicopters is my first hobby. Take a look at my UA-cam channel if you get bored.
+Chad Ellsworth Sounds to me like you should get into flying drones with cameras over ponds!!! Thanks so much for watching and thank you for using the Helix Moving Bed Waterfall Filter! Much Appreciated!
+ThePondDigger Have a buddy that's into flying Quads and doing videos here in AZ. It would be cool to do but quads are just not my thing right now lol.
I really enjoy your videos and I've learnt a lot. But when it comes to softening water and using salt, that's not how it works. Watch a few video's on ion exchange water softeners. The salt is used in the regeneration processes for the resin bed. Adding salt to water does not soften it. The calcium and magnesium are unaffected, all that happens is the salinity goes up.
My pond has 2 hours of shad and 8 hours of light
Im thinking of putting my pond in my backyard, is it okay that it will be under a large tree?
Greg Giavasis TV Yes but make sure you have good circulation and quality skimmers
ThePondDigger okay
ThePondDigger --- Can I have input on salt, you said 100% pure salt. do you mean rock salt?
Salt is created equally, it is sodium Chloride (NaCl). Of course if some folks are selling something that isn't Sodium Chloride, then it isn't salt.
OMG I have a rain soft system so what do I do? Very soft water...
Bypass ur unit
i have a lots of salt in my pond bottom.how can i fix it
Only way salt can be taken out of the water cheaply; is to drain the water and add fresh to it.
do i put salt in my pond or not
Salt crystals are 99.7% pure. Putting it in does not strip the resin does. I service softner for a living. Some things u stated are not yrue
Sea salt from the health food store.
Solar Salt has no additives and is solar dried and bagged.. still $5 40lb bag..
For some reason I can't reply to Cooper Tracy? Could you give her this link for figuring her pond water volume? Thanks www.pondvolumecalculator.com/