Bacteria House better with watersofter....

[B.Scott]

I used to do 15% a week. Now-a-days I do 30% (and sometimes more) and I see the difference instantly My kohakus that formally ALL had shimmis got better. Gone completely with one very small exception. Water changes... more IS better!

B.Scott

[Doug Ward]

Quote: Originally Posted by B.Scott I used to do 15% a week. Now-a-days I do 30% (and sometimes more) and I see the difference instantly My kohakus that formally ALL had shimmis got better. Gone completely with one very small exception. Water changes... more IS better! B.Scott

So.
We have a new method for removing shimmi ?
How interesting !

I also heard that ALL of the fish farmers on the planet are switching to Bs... I mean BH... media.

We gots us a revolution !

I hope Oakley produces some glasses with F.I.R. protection too.
DING DING.. CLICK HERE !!! Ooooooppps , Wrong forum

[koiczar]

B. Scott

If I am not mistaken, I have been under the impression that shimis are usually caused by a high GH or "hard water". The melanin level that a certain fish has within it's genetic makeup, possibly from magoi blood, would seemingly be more susceptible to showing shimis in harder water. They don't show up as much in Japan due to their softer water.

Having said that, if you're using BH media/showers, and changing 30%/week of your water, what do you attribute the disappearance of the shimis to? Obviously, you're doing something to your mains water before it goes into your system, otherwise you couldn't lower your GH. By the way, what is your current GH? Is it different from pre - BH/BS. How about your Ph? Has that been lowered? Inquiring minds want to know!!

Thanks

Mike

[B.Scott]

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

[kingkong]

BScott, have you added any cover over your pond recently by any chance?

The pigment melanin is found in all living animal kindoms. The one animal form with complete absence is the albino, with total lack of pigmentation.
Melanin plays the role of camouflage, sexual display, sun screen and energy transducers for cold-blooded animals.
Melanocyte cells increase the production of melanin in response to sun exposure. These freckles can occur in the epidermis of any living creature, some more frequently than others. I see them as a beauty mark myself BScott, leave a few around for conversation.

[B.Scott]

KK, I only ever cover the pond in the winter and then with transparent polycarbonate pannels. The summer they lost the shimmies was strangely enough one of the sunniest on record!

[koiczar]

B. Scott

I have also been considering an RO unit. One of my customers installed one that produces 90gpd. seems a little small to me, but she mixes with mains water when performing water changes. If I have approx 8000 gal.system, and perform 20% water changes per week, what size RO unit would you recommend?

[B.Scott]

Mike part of the problem is that you need more water in the beginning to get the PH down to the target levels. after that it is possible to throttle back and just add at a constant level. How much you produce with an RO unit depends greatly on several factors...

• The temperature of the water being fed into the unit
• The water pressure of the feed
• The mineral content of the water used

90 gpd is IMO a bit light for a pond that large. I plan to use about the same amount and my pond is a third of that size. The good news is that it is very simple to piggy-back an extra unit on top to increase the flow. With 8000 (US?) gallons I would aim more for 200 - 300 gpd. If this should later prove to be too much you can always put the feed on a timer to restrict it slightly

Mixing with regular water is important as is a constant monitoring of the TDS. It is very important that it not go too low or a pH crash is a distinct possibility. I plan to trickle RO water 24/7 at about 100 gpd and then add mains water with my daily vortex dump. A second possibility is to reroute a small bit of the waste water back into the RO output. Several people I know let their RO flow into a buffer tank first and then use this water for flushing the filters
I am also considering a small bicarbonate auto feed that would boost the KH slightly without raising the pH too high. My target is about pH 7.2 and a KH of about 3.

B.Scott

[koiczar]

Thanks for the info B.

Mike

[B.Scott]

No trouble Mike,
Before you set it up do get back to me though. There are a couple of tiny details you need to watch out for or you can mess you membrane up big time.
B.Scott