Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Slave Dog

ewest – Thank you for keeping things in perspective!

Our water PH has always been around 7.5, good!

Bruce :

Am I correct in assuming and/or remembering that these RES are single-sexed?

Yes, in this pond they're all female. In my big pond I have all male. In the big pond there are 26 males swimming around in 12 acre-feet of water. If that doesn't produce good growth rates I don't know what will. I may never catch one to find out, but if I do it could be scary.

Dwight closely monitors his Morton stock investment: I cannot see any other options if I am really serious about stocking Shamu. I still regret Theo talking me out of using the monster-truck tires for structure. I gotta start a chum thread, too.

Bruce -- if your well water has some iron in it then it sounds like a hemoglobin bath. Throw in the horz. aeration and some food (pellets) and no wonder Dr. Frankenbruce has so much success his lab is a natural womb.

Ski -- I can't believe you did not use the monster tires but there is still time. Drill a few holes in them , pour quickcrete in the side opposite the holes , get a rope with grappling hook , put them all on the Liberty Ferry and motor out right above the big hole. Find the hole edge and one by one lower them to the bottom so they stand up on the hole edge until they circle the entire hole. Just be real sure not to get the rope wrapped around your ankle when you lower the first tire. We would not want Mrs. Boss-ski to get wet when she jumps in to get you un-anchored . That is if the thing does not displace all the water in the pond and ground the Liberty Ferry when you throw it in.

Dwight -- it is easy for me to make transcendent observations when the singularity space between my ears is empty. Hey -- but at least I am not swimming in a blood or water softener enhanced pond or tangled up in 200' power cord being wrapped up in two anchor ropes with algae, all being anchored by 3 cinder blocks and a satellite dish calling ET via China. You could use Ski's monster tractor tires with quickcrete as anchors.

Now if only I could keep the water temperature at 78 degrees year 'round.

Theo Gallus - The anode on my 1/2hp circulator is clamped on the motor shaft. Perhaps they use a different design on different sizes. Who Knows?

Dwight, I think Theo's joking. I believe it's a Frankenstein reference.

One enjoys seeing the look on their face the first time they're reeled in, but they become hook-shy so fast. Like The Guvnor.

[QOUTE]Dwight, I think Theo's joking. I believe it's a Frankenstein reference.[/QUOTE]

I am still not thinking inside the Frankenstein box, always out there on some tangent. :rolleyes:

wisconsin sharp cheddar please

its just scale related, thats why I was taken aback at what i thought was parts per trillion....salinity is considered a "major" constituent in any water (i.e. along with other chlorides, carbonates, bicarbonates, oxides, N-P-K, Fe, Mg, Ca...etc.) this as opposed to a "minor or trace" constituent (i.e. metals Ba, Se, Cr, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn etc.)

for soil, water, or rock, most "majors" are reported in either percentage, parts per thousand (grams per) or ppm (milligrams per). Most "minors" are reported in either ppb (micrograms per) or ppt (nanograms per)

i'm really intrigued with the salt idea....thinking i'll plumb my softener brine drain line to a place where I can capture the discharge occassionally....salinity meters arent that expensive, would have to be very careful towards end of summer evap sos not to concentrate saline to high.....good topic for another thread......sorry dwight, back to anodes....

The revised installation was activated this afternoon. If you look to the left you can see the 10 foot PVC space time continuum limiter doing its job.

The rear one is doing its job too, though not to be seen by mortal eyes.



Surface water temperature - 45 degrees!

I waited for the air temperature to drop to 30 degrees to witness an automatic startup.

I apologize for my lousy night photography. I need to read up on that subject.

In the first photo, that red glow is the running indicator light.

The second photo is the circulator running and splashing around there towards the back.

As you can see the pond water is clearing significantly as the water temp drops.

Man, Dwight. You're water quality looks spectacular. Can you please inform us once again what species are present and what your ultimate goal is?

Bruce Condello – It is good water, indeed! The fishery is diverse due to the pond being connected to the Rock River during the summer months for the 10 years it took to complete the pond.

Known Fish Species:

Large Mouth Bass
Bluegill
Bullhead
Northern Pike
Small Mouth Bass
Yellow Perch
Carp
Fathead Minnow
Topeka Shiner

The only fish that have been stocked are Fathead Minnows and a few Bluegills.

I continue to debate with myself whether stocking game fish is really necessary given the diverse fishery. At one point I considered taking out the whole fishery and starting over (I gave up on that for various reasons, including cost). I am currently thinking that the fishery may take care of itself with some supplemental stocking to keep things in balance. But then…………

The Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Bullhead, Yellow Perch and Fatheads are all reproducing as evidenced by seining that I do periodically. I have yet to see a current year Northern Pike, Small Mouth Bass, Carp, or Topeka Shiner. Either these fish are not reproducing, or their reproduction is being taken care of by predation. Perhaps seining isn’t effective on these species?

My ultimate goal is Pond Nirvana, where ever that may take me. A pond is a huge living organism and being its caretaker is a big responsibility. It is all great fun and an unending learning process!

Last night was cold enough that the deicer/circulator should have been churning away all night long, but the running light was off.

This afternoon I pulled everything up on shore and found that the power cable had been chomped off!

Irritated muskrat family?
Nocturnal pirates have returned earlier than usual?
Bremer Pond is in Damnation Alley?

Back to the shop......



Bruce Condello taught me about the importance of perspective in a photograph, so I placed a future building block for the Corona Reef in the photo.

Very strange, indeed.

A plastic prop can't really do that, right? That looks like a really clean cut!

Pirates trying to get your Corona?

Bruce Condello - It is a clean cut and the cord was tie-wrapped in several places on the guard. I don’t see how it could have gotten in the prop.

I may have to put the Corona on ice and contemplate opening it at some point.

Finally someone puts a man's drink in a photo. I was starting to worry.

It seems odd that the power cord connects to the motor within what seems to be the propellar cage.

Then again, perhaps you too have Navy Seal Team 6 co-habitating your pond. They single handedly put my friend and I in the drink when they toppled our canoe late one night many years back at my pond. My friend still has night mares of coming face-to-face with a frogman while grappling for his life underwater.

Sunil - I didn't know if it was legal to put a Corona in the photo, but, I have always been a risk taker.

I just hope there isn't some prehistoric creature in the pond that likes the thrill of biting a live electrical cable under water!

I have a plan….
:rolleyes:

Dwight, it's possible that the plastic blade cut the cord, I know I nicked one of our power cords pretty good with my trolling motor when I moved the aerator, it's a 32 lb thrust 12V motor and it was on low speed when I nicked it pretty good, it also has a plastic blade.

Shorty - I still believe that is what happened, though how, is still a question.

fire it up on the bench and knick a taut section of the cord. I'm hesitant on the belief that a cut that clean came from that fan. It would mean that it occurred in one quick, clean pass of one blade. Is the adjacent area of the cord scuffed or knicked?
You may want to start the knick test with something a little softer; say something like a lime...

Seems like even if the plastic prop could go through the insulation, it would have difficulty going through all that copper that cleanly. What do I know, anyway?

Brettski – My Safety Engineer background made it difficult for me to follow your suggestion to:

I do really enjoy bench tests, so.

I clamped the circulator to the bench and rigged up a temporary power connection to the motor. I tie-wrapped a section of the old underwater power cord in place so the prop would hit it at motor start-up. I figured the motor would stall and pop the internal breaker, before I had a chance to hit the disconnect.

Whack, it was a perfect cut in one or less revolution of the prop!

I couldn’t believe it, so I had a single iced Corona with a slice of lime to settle myself down.

Thanks for the tip on the lime. :p