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Water Gardening Questions

 

 

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 Water Gardening FAQs

 

 

1. When in the spring should I start feeding my fish?

 

2. Do I need to feed my fish and how often?

 

3. How often should I test my water?

 

4. Is it important to know how many gallons are in my pond? How do I calculate the volume?

 

5. What should I do if my pond is high in pH?

 

6. What should I do if I have high nitrites?

 

7. What can I do about high ammonia?

 

8. How many fish can I have in my pond?

 

9. Why should I use pond salt (dehydrated sea salts) in my pond?

 

10. What is the difference between Ultra Violet Clarifiers and Ultra Violet Sterilizers?

 

11. How often should the bulb in my UV clarifier be replaced?

 

12. How do I calculate my liner size?

 

13. How do I calculate my pond volume?

 

14. How do I calculate the volume for a round pond?

 

15. How do I calculate how many fish I should have in my pond?

 

 16. What size pump should I have for my pond?

 

 17. Why is 45 EPDM liner better than 40 EPDM?

 

 

 

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 1.  When the water temperature reaches 50 degrees start feeding your fish a high carbohydrate, low protein food because of their inability to digest high proteins. Once the water temperature reaches 70 degrees feed a high protein food.

 

 

 

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 2.  If you do not feed your fish, they will find things in the pond to eat although if the fish load in your pond is heavy it may be necessary to feed them. There are benefits to feeding your fish, such as providing them with nutrients to help boost their immune system and you will probably see them more often.

 

 

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 3.  Test in the morning and ideally your sample should come from 18 inches below the surface. It is imperative that you test the pH, Nitrites and ammonia levels of your water weekly to be sure that your water quality is maintained especially if your fish load exceeds 2” per square foot area of the pond. We cannot stress that enough. 

 

 

 

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4.  It is necessary to know how many gallons you have in your pond for the purpose of adding bacteria, medications, equipment, other additives and so forth. To calculate the number of gallons in your pond multiply the average depth, length and width, and then multiply the product by 7.48.

 

 

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5.  Lower it but do it gradually. If you lower it to fast it will be deadly to your fish. Often times, fish that already exist in these conditions adapt to the higher pH but when introducing new fish they will die. Although the fish existing in those conditions will eventually begin to show signs of stress. Use pH Down to lower your pH and use it until it is at acceptable ranges, which is between 7.0 and 8.0.

 

 

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6.  Do at least a 25% water change then test again. Fish cannot tolerate nitrites above .25.

 

 

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7.  Use Ammo-Lock which will help remove and stabilize the ammonia in the water.

 

 

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8.  To calculate how many fish you can safely have in your pond, first determine surface area of pond (Length x Width) or Area of Circle for round pond (3.14 x radius squared). To then determine how many fish: 1” of fish per square ft. of surface area is safe; 2” per square ft would require testing water at least once a week for nitrites, ammonia and pH.

 

 

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 12. Pond Liner Length= (Depth x 2) + Length + 2 ft.

              Pond Liner Width= (Depth x 2) + Width + 2 ft.

              Example: An 8 x 10 x 2.5 would require a 15' x 17' Liner

 

 

 

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 13. Pond Volume Calculation= Length x Width x Depth x 7.48

        Example: A 12 x 10 x 2 foot depth would be 1795.2 Gallons

 

 

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14. Round Pond Volume Calculation= Top Diameter (across) x Bottom Diameter (across) x depth x .785 x 7.48

             Example: 10' round and 4' deep pond would be 469.74 gallons

 

 

 

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15. Fish Calculations:  First determine surface area of pond (Length x Width) or Area of circle for round pond (3.14 x radius squared). To then determine how many fish: 1" of fish per sq ft of surface area is safe; 2" per sq ft would require testing water weekly for nitrites, ammonia, and pH; 3" or more per sq ft requires testing and biofiltering.

 

 

 

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16. Pump Size:  Total gallons of pond divided by 3 = Minimum pump size for filtration only otherwise pump volume should be determined by the feature to be created.

 

 

 

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 17. 40 EPDM liner is 11% thinner than 45 EPDM which means the puncture resistence is less for the 40 EPDM liner. 45 EPDM is also the standard for rubber liner.

 

 

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