Doug,
Where did I mention that
I used BH media?. I was talking about water changes Not BH. Try reading what I wrote before you become sarcastic OK
Mike,
I do not use BH (though I would like to try it) but do run a large TT off the skimmer at 90% pond volume per hour. I am very skeptical of any claims that BH reduces the GH level of water going through the system. I don't believe it can make any difference.
I agree with you in regards to shimmies being caused by hard water. This isn't an exclusive cause though IMO. Hard water will cause them but also by any irritating factor within the water itself. Obviously these shimmies appeared due to some shortfall in my water quality. This in turn caused irritation and the appearance of shimmies. While my water at the moment is hard as nails (gh of 8DH, KH 4-6 and a pH of 8+) at the time I was also having terrible problems with blanket weed (or stringy algae if you will). This was trapping so much crap that my water quality was being compromised.
Initially I was going on vacation and as a buffer I started trickling up to 30% a day up through a solar heater on my roof and into the pond during daylight hours. I was worried that my filter would have trouble while I was gone and wanted a foolproof backup. When I returned the shimmies had reduced by more than half and by the end of the year were almost gone completely. By continuing the regime the next season the improvement continued.
I will be changing to reverse osmosis unit which I have just bought but have yet to install. I hope that this will further improve my water quality and the growth of the fish in my pond this coming summer.
Cheers
B.Scott