Magicpenny's Porch Pond

[CleaHelena]

The pollen has turned my $0.16 goldfish into $0.30 goldfish in a matter of days! Here are photos of the day we got them 3/29/19 and last night 4/9/19. All they have eaten is pollen and whatever they've found in the tub...
View attachment 545646 View attachment 545647

Did I read this right? Pollen is magic pixie dust! Wait until the sun and heat hit. You’ll have the happiest comets this side of the Mississippi. Would love to see pics from late October!!!

 

[Cheesecake]

Did I read this right? Pollen is magic pixie dust! Wait until the sun and heat hit. You’ll have the happiest comets this side of the Mississippi. Would love to see pics from late October!!!

This was the first thing I read in this thread, so I was very confused.

 

[CleaHelena]

This was the first thing I read in this thread, so I was very confused.

Hey Canaculus, I am a big advocate of pollen for fish. Between the aquatic insects, natural algae, and the pollen, those fish will be living the dream. Natural food = best food.

 

[Cheesecake]

Hey Canaculus, I am a big advocate of pollen for fish. Between the aquatic insects, natural algae, and the pollen, those fish will be living the dream. Natural food = best food.

I don't know what pollen is . Do you mean the stuff that comes off flowers?
I agree, natural food is always better then man-made substitutes.

 

[CleaHelena]

I don't know what pollen is . Do you mean the stuff that comes off flowers?
I agree, natural food is always better then man-made substitutes.

Not sure where you live. But yeah, I am talking about the stuff that comes from flowers. But also talking about what comes from trees. My car is coated with a new layer of tree pollen every day. The color changes depending on the tree which is letting it go. Allergies are a mess for people here where I live...because of the pollen.

Cattail, straw, and grass pollen can be used to bake.

 

[CleaHelena]

My apologies for the off topic comment here..



I have had something very close to the cattail pollen cookies; they were good. I grew up in a place where the land was part of our diet.

Fish deserve the same.

Still off topic.

The rhizomes from cattails in the spring beat any potato you will ever have. I grill slices in avocado oil on the grill.

 

[MomeWrath]

I don't know what pollen is . Do you mean the stuff that comes off flowers?
I agree, natural food is always better then man-made substitutes.

All of the yellow stuff floating on the water in the second photo is pollen. The pine trees in NC dump so much pollen in spring here it can literally turn your car yellow. The goldfish are like cattle at a trough at the edges of the tank eating it as fast as they can. Pine pollen grains are big enough you can actually feel them like dust in the air. Even those of us like myself who (thankfully) aren't allergic, are still affected. I can't wear my contact lenses at all during April because the pollen gets in my eyes and irritates them, and if you catch it just right on a breath it makes you cough like dust would. It's awful. But to get back to the topic, yes, the goldfish are thriving on it. This is what the air over my city looked like last week. This is not pollution, it's pollen in the air from the trees.

 

[Cheesecake]

All of the yellow stuff floating on the water in the second photo is pollen. The pine trees in NC dump so much pollen in spring here it can literally turn your car yellow. The goldfish are like cattle at a trough at the edges of the tank eating it as fast as they can. Pine pollen grains are big enough you can actually feel them like dust in the air. Even those of us like myself who (thankfully) aren't allergic, are still affected. I can't wear my contact lenses at all during April because the pollen gets in my eyes and irritates them, and if you catch it just right on a breath it makes you cough like dust would. It's awful. But to get back to the topic, yes, the goldfish are thriving on it. This is what the air over my city looked like last week. This is not pollution, it's pollen in the air from the trees.

Holy cow! No wonder I didn't know what you meant! If something like that happened here we'd probably think it was the apocalypse!

 

[CleaHelena]

Happy Easter to Magicpenny75 ’s comet swimmers!

Holy cow! No wonder I didn't know what you meant! If something like that happened here we'd probably think it was the apocalypse!

lol. I live in Middle Tennessee. We aren’t necessarily one of the worst for pollen. But Louisville and Chattanooga are in the top 5 in the country. Yeah, we get it too. My Midwestern upbringing never prepared me. I sweep my car off every couple of days. Thank god my sinuses are more effected by mold than pollen.

Anywhoos... The pollen season just hit here. My tadpoles are loving it!

My bullfrog taddies. They’re outside now.

 

[Samanthaljay]

I forgot the name of this thread and was looking all day for it! I am excited to see you got fish and can't way to see how your pond progresses throughout summer I would love to have a patio pond some day

 

[CleaHelena]

I forgot the name of this thread and was looking all day for it! I am excited to see you got fish and can't way to see how your pond progresses throughout summer I would love to have a patio pond some day

You could be a loser like me and get a $9 tub! I would love to see anyone who is interetested to try what Magicpenny75 is doing even if it is on a smaller scale. I pulled back this year, stopped breeding Celestial Pearl Danios and Emerald Rasboros. Tore me 75 gallon tank down and it is now home to Copes Tree frogs.

I have enjoyed my patio ponds. Bullfrogs have made homes of them. Tree frogs have stayed close to stay hydrated. I have said this before, a lot of magic happens. I love seeing other people enjoying this too. It’s a long season.

Magic.

 

[MomeWrath]

I forgot the name of this thread and was looking all day for it! I am excited to see you got fish and can't way to see how your pond progresses throughout summer I would love to have a patio pond some day

lol I actually had the title changed by a mod because the original question about whether it would be too hot is not longer a question!
Everyone is doing great. I got a few water hyacinth last weekend, and yesterday I broke down and hooked up a powerhead with a sponge filter block (I use Poret foam) to try to get the water at least cleaned up a bit where I could see the fish again. Haven't seen any other life in the pond yet except the snails I put in there. The birds do like to stop by for a little sip when they are finished pigging out at my feeder though. I'll try to get pictures again soon. Still waiting for the garden center to get their lilies in, but depending on how the hyacinth does I might just skip it altogether. Mostly bc I am annoyed at that garden center...

 

[CleaHelena]

depending on how the hyacinth does I might just skip it altogether. Mostly bc I am annoyed at that garden center...

Those pesky evil garden centers ;-)

 

[MomeWrath]

I went to the garden center anyway. Had a talk with the lady I spoke to the first time, and she must have been having a bad day that day because I really enjoyed the conversation this time. For Mother's Day I got a water lily (Perry's Baby Red), a pitcher plant (how cool is that?), and some parrot's feather, which I didn't know I wanted until I saw it in person. Also, I got to snap a quick photo of my comets because they are nosy little buggers and wanted to know what I was doing in their pond.

 

[Fishcat]

Beautiful pitcher plant! I love the way your pond is looking. You are almost tempting me into starting one.

 

[MomeWrath]

Beautiful pitcher plant! I love the way your pond is looking. You are almost tempting me into starting one.

You totally should. It's been really rewarding and relatively inexpensive - especially compared to setting up an equivalent size aquariums.
I highly recommend Ted Coletti's book that I linked in an earlier post. It's been a huge help and an enormous peace of mind for me. It's a different world from in-home aquaria, but it's also easier and more forgiving. The hardest part is giving up the notion that it's going to be an aquarium outdoors, when it's really truly a small pond.

 

[CleaHelena]

The tub looks great! I really am happy for you. Those little ponds are a joy to say the least. Remember, there is a long season ahead.

If any of you who read this and are thinking you would like to do the same...then do it. I liked Penney’s choice of the Comets as they will eat both insect larvae and algae. Oh yeah, you can see their colors!

I have run 4 tubs on my patio for 5 years now. Mainly to grow and breed small fish. But that is not all I have done. One of the best plant treats which is almost as cool as the Pitcher plants was impatiens. Am only running one tub this year and learning more about herps.

Thank you Magicpenny75 for this thread. It is one of those fine jewels in life.

Beautiful pitcher plant! I love the way your pond is looking. You are almost tempting me into starting one.

You should. It costs very little to do this. Buy a tub for 10 dollars at the hardware store, fill it with water, buy some cheap cold hardy fish, and enjoy the show!

 

[Smalltownfishfriend]

Honestly, patio ponds are so much fun!!! I am finally getting plants put in mine, I love seeing all the little critters that make it a home! To be honest, I like my pond better than my aquariums... It just has so much more happening!!!! Magicpenny your pond looks great!!!

 

[MomeWrath]

Honestly, patio ponds are so much fun!!! I am finally getting plants put in mine, I love seeing all the little critters that make it a home! To be honest, I like my pond better than my aquariums... It just has so much more happening!!!! Magicpenny your pond looks great!!!View attachment 557232

Yours looks great as well! I am jealous of your fishes' size and your...is that a dwarf umbrella palm?, and that your water looks clear. I am hoping with the addition of more plants that my water will clear up. It seems to be, slowly, but I also might be telling myself that.
Did you get the square floaty planters somewhere without plants in them? I want to add another marginal plant. I am looking out for a black plastic milk crate to use as a shelf, but those would work too. The garden center had some already planted like the pitcher plant but holy poop the prices... I have creeping Jenny in the pond, and it's heading for the surface, but none of my plants have emerged yet. CleaHelena is right though, we have a long season ahead.

 

[Smalltownfishfriend]

Yours looks great as well! I am jealous of your fishes' size and your...is that a dwarf umbrella palm?, and that your water looks clear. I am hoping with the addition of more plants that my water will clear up. It seems to be, slowly, but I also might be telling myself that.
Did you get the square floaty planters somewhere without plants in them? I want to add another marginal plant. I am looking out for a black plastic milk crate to use as a shelf, but those would work too. The garden center had some already planted like the pitcher plant but holy poop the prices... I have creeping Jenny in the pond, and it's heading for the surface, but none of my plants have emerged yet. CleaHelena is right though, we have a long season ahead.

Thanks! I got the floating planters at a local greenhouse! They didn't have any thing in! My filter has a built in uv steralizer so I kinda think that helps a bit with keeping the water clear! I think it's a dwarf umbrella palm yes! The other two plants are prince Tut grasses! I had my goldies for 4 years or so so that's why they are a decent size!! I am sure your water will clear up too, just give it alittle time. I like your idea of a black milk crate, I just use what ever I can find and I it kinda looks Very homemade!!lol

 

[MomeWrath]

Thanks! I got the floating planters at a local greenhouse! They didn't have any thing in! My filter has a built in uv steralizer so I kinda think that helps a bit with keeping the water clear! I think it's a dwarf umbrella palm yes! The other two plants are prince Tut grasses! I had my goldies for 4 years or so so that's why they are a decent size!! I am sure your water will clear up too, just give it alittle time. I like your idea of a black milk crate, I just use what ever I can find and I it kinda looks Very homemade!!lol

I was just thinking with a roll of landscape fabric and a foam wreath base from the hobby store, it might not be too hard to make those. Heck just wrap the wreath around a regular plastic pot! My brain is going now....

 

[CleaHelena]

Having a bad day? This thread will solve all that ails you!

My two pence about water. I never ran a filter. I did use anacharis in my tubs and in any buckets I had. It’s small white flowers were a little treat. It does an amazing job oxygenating and cycling water. Anyway, I love green water and didn’t want my tubs to be crystal clear. I wanted to fill a glass and see emerald water in it. Green water to me is the goal. But, that is my preference. My goal was to raise fry.

I would like to suggest impatiens again. It isn’t an aquatic plant per se. However, people do float them on their ponds. I’ll plant one in a pot and place it in the center of the tub. Do an internet search on impatiens and ponds.

Impatiens in a pond......



Yeah, despite the fact my tub is up this summer for my free range bullfrog, I have impatiens too.

 

[MomeWrath]

Having a bad day? This thread will solve all that ails you!

My two pence about water. I never ran a filter. I did use anacharis in my tubs and in any buckets I had. It’s small white flowers were a little treat. It does an amazing job oxygenating and cycling water. Anyway, I love green water and didn’t want my tubs to be crystal clear. I wanted to fill a glass and see emerald water in it. Green water to me is the goal. But, that is my preference. My goal was to raise fry.

I would like to suggest impatiens again. It isn’t an aquatic plant per se. However, people do float them on their ponds. I’ll plant one in a pot and place it in the center of the tub. Do an internet search on impatiens and ponds.

Filter is a loose term for me in this case... I have a 110GPH Marineland Maxijet in the pond, with a 3x5x7 roughly piece of poret that is a scrap from other filter media projects on the intake. It's mostly to protect the pump from the pond debris. It filters a bit but is mostly for water movement in an effort to keep the pond from getting too warm. I'm on the fence about leaving it in there, honestly. I'd much prefer an electricity-free pond. I am not hating the green water, but I also like seeing the fish. Since I don't feed them, there's no reason for them to visit the surface when I am looking. It is super cute when I'm messing around in there and they come up and nibble my hand.

Do you think I should take it out?

 

[CleaHelena]

https://lochnesswatergardens.com/blogs/pondblog/don-t-be-a-stick-in-the-mud-about-pond-plants

Filter is a loose term for me in this case... I have a 110GPH Marineland Maxijet in the pond, with a 3x5x7 roughly piece of poret that is a scrap from other filter media projects on the intake. It's mostly to protect the pump from the pond debris. It filters a bit but is mostly for water movement in an effort to keep the pond from getting too warm. I'm on the fence about leaving it in there, honestly. I'd much prefer an electricity-free pond. I am not hating the green water, but I also like seeing the fish. Since I don't feed them, there's no reason for them to visit the surface when I am looking. It is super cute when I'm messing around in there and they come up and nibble my hand.

Do you think I should take it out?

No, nah, and I don’t think you should take it out. You are heading in a direction where everything will balance itself out. However, you may want to pause the filtration for a couple of tests.

I respect the desire for clear water. I think that can be achieved without filtration. It took a little effort for me to turn them green. I am sure there is a scientific study or one in the making here...With my fish I went an intuitive route and it always worked well.

My advice is to stop the filtration for maybe a week and the start it up again for a couple of days. Oxygen is more about surface area and water clarity is more about bacteria. You have 3/4 comets, right? Your water is aged too. I think you will be more than okay to test running the filtration.

I have an oddball suggestion. Something I did one year to clear water in a tub. I added local clams/mussels. It worked. Wished the little boogers bred.

Pic is a new toadlette from my tub.

 

[MomeWrath]

No, nah, and I don’t think you should take it out. You are heading in a direction where everything will balance itself out. However, you may want to pause the filtration for a couple of tests.

I respect the desire for clear water. I think that can be achieved without filtration. It took a little effort for me to turn them green. I am sure there is a scientific study or one in the making here...With my fish I went an intuitive route and it always worked well.

My advice is to stop the filtration for maybe a week and the start it up again for a couple of days. Oxygen is more about surface area and water clarity is more about bacteria. You have 3/4 comets, right? Your water is aged too. I think you will be more than okay to test running the filtration.

I have an oddball suggestion. Something I did one year to clear water in a tub. I added local clams/mussels. It worked. Wished the little boogers bred.

Pic is a new toadlette from my tub.

I have six comets...and I have only found anacharis at my LFS where it is $7-$8 for five or six stems...which I am not paying for something that is so invasive it is illegal in several states. That's like buying dandelions from a garden center if you ask me lol... Guess I need to start making some pond friends locally.

 

[CleaHelena]

I have six comets...and I have only found anacharis at my LFS where it is $7-$8 for five or six stems...which I am not paying for something that is so invasive it is illegal in several states. That's like buying dandelions from a garden center if you ask me lol... Guess I need to start making some pond friends locally.

I can try to ship you some. I need to test this anyway.

That price is way to high!

 

[angelcraze]

You can have an above ground pond if you can’t dig. If it’s only in sun 3 hours it shouldn’t be too bad. Maybe you can do a water change with colder water or keep some ice cubes it a bag floating in the pond?

Just another idea to keep it cooler on very hot days, float 2 liter pop bottles fill with ice. Meaning just fill the bottle with water and keep in freezer.

 

[BackyardFish]

Can I watch this thread? I am not doing a patio pond, but I'm doing two half of a 55 gallon plastic barrel, and a roughly 250 gallon plastic pond. I will be breeding tropical fish in all of these! I also have a 65 gallon goldfish pond.

 

[Smalltownfishfriend]

I am going to try a pond with no filteration like CleaHelena has... I have an old claw foot bathtub I am going to use... Going to add a bunch of plants and such!! I will have to start a build thread on it I guess!! Mpenny, my pond went thru the cloudy , algae stage too!! It all cleared up in a couple weeks though so I am sure yours will too!!!

 

[BackyardFish]

I am going to try a pond with no filteration like CleaHelena has... I have an old claw foot bathtub I am going to use... Going to add a bunch of plants and such!! I will have to start a build thread on it I guess!! Mpenny, my pond went thru the cloudy , algae stage too!! It all cleared up in a couple weeks though so I am sure yours will too!!!

I don't have a filter on any of my ponds either. Just a bunch of plants!

 

[MomeWrath]

I love how nosy goldfish are. I lifted my water hyacinth out yesterday to pull the dead leaves off the undersides, and all six of the fish appeared right under me. They seem drawn by splashing. If I just paddle one finger in the water I can usually draw 2 or 3 of them to the surface to see what I am up to. I am going out of town this weekend, and it's going to be super hot next week. I'm going to try to take the filter out once I am home and will be around to keep an eye on things. Dr. Coletti's book does not advocate the use of electricity at all, preferring vegetative filtration, which I should have plenty of by now. I only have it in there because of the fish I chose. But his book also states that in a still pond, there will be thermoclines where the fish can just hang out at the bottom when it's hot.

 

[CleaHelena]

I am going to try a pond with no filteration like CleaHelena has... I have an old claw foot bathtub I am going to use... Going to add a bunch of plants and such!! I will have to start a build thread on it I guess!! Mpenny, my pond went thru the cloudy , algae stage too!! It all cleared up in a couple weeks though so I am sure yours will too!!!

Many moons ago while I was a starving college student working the plumbing department in a Southern Illinois rural hardware store, a lady asked for help with designing something for her cast iron bathtub. The bathtub was to be outdoors. We rigged a shower rod to hang plants from....had a fully functional showerhead with water driven from a small sump pump. No fish, mind you, but it ended up being a backyard beauty.

 

[CleaHelena]

I love how nosy goldfish are. I lifted my water hyacinth out yesterday to pull the dead leaves off the undersides, and all six of the fish appeared right under me. They seem drawn by splashing. If I just paddle one finger in the water I can usually draw 2 or 3 of them to the surface to see what I am up to. I am going out of town this weekend, and it's going to be super hot next week. I'm going to try to take the filter out once I am home and will be around to keep an eye on things. Dr. Coletti's book does not advocate the use of electricity at all, preferring vegetative filtration, which I should have plenty of by now. I only have it in there because of the fish I chose. But his book also states that in a still pond, there will be thermoclines where the fish can just hang out at the bottom when it's hot.

Thanks for sharing with everyone.

 

[CleaHelena]

Can I watch this thread? I am not doing a patio pond, but I'm doing two half of a 55 gallon plastic barrel, and a roughly 250 gallon plastic pond. I will be breeding tropical fish in all of these! I also have a 65 gallon goldfish pond.

I vote yes! You can, should, and will watch this thread.

 

[BackyardFish]

I vote yes! You can, should, and will watch this thread.

Thanks! I was going to either way...

 

[CleaHelena]

I am going to try a pond with no filteration like CleaHelena has... I have an old claw foot bathtub I am going to use... Going to add a bunch of plants and such!! I will have to start a build thread on it I guess!! Mpenny, my pond went thru the cloudy , algae stage too!! It all cleared up in a couple weeks though so I am sure yours will too!!!

Just a heads up. I mentioned earlier that I like greenwater. A little different than algae growing on the sides. Anyway, Something may be happening to water quality. Phytoplankton (neither animal or plant) are good indicators of water health. When taken into a clear glass container it should be emerald green.

If I am raising fry, I guarantee the growth rate in green water will be at least 50% faster with emerald green plankton stew.

 

[MomeWrath]

My water hyacinth bloomed!! It's so pretty!!! The lily has several new leaves since I put it in the pond over Mother's Day weekend. The comets continue to thrive on neglect, and the water is (just as I was told it would) clearing up. It's not clear but you can see the plants and the rocks in the bottom now, so hopefully that trend will continue. Yay nature!
Quick Video

And photos I'm a proud comet momma.

 

[BackyardFish]

My water hyacinth bloomed!! It's so pretty!!! The lily has several new leaves since I put it in the pond over Mother's Day weekend. The comets continue to thrive on neglect, and the water is (just as I was told it would) clearing up. It's not clear but you can see the plants and the rocks in the bottom now, so hopefully that trend will continue. Yay nature!
Quick Video

And photos I'm a proud comet momma.
View attachment 559179 View attachment 559180 View attachment 559181 View attachment 559182

Congrats! just wait till the lilys bloom! They are gorgeous!

 

[MomeWrath]

So the pond decided to clear up...like 100%. I was speechless when I got up Saturday morning (when I took these photos) and it was even clearer by Monday. I got the big girl camera out to take pictures Monday, but alas, I have to drag out my dinosaur laptop and wait an hour for it to boot up before I can get those photos off the camera. You can see the rays of the goldfish fins at the bottom of the tank now. I changed nothing...just, as my mother says, "Tincture of Time". The lily is shooting leaves up almost every day...I keep waiting for one of those shoots to be a flower bud. Do I need to fertilize it if it's throwing leaves and not flowers?

My daughter has already pointed out that I probably should take the tag off the lily lol...

 

[BackyardFish]

So the pond decided to clear up...like 100%. I was speechless when I got up Saturday morning (when I took these photos) and it was even clearer by Monday. I got the big girl camera out to take pictures Monday, but alas, I have to drag out my dinosaur laptop and wait an hour for it to boot up before I can get those photos off the camera. You can see the rays of the goldfish fins at the bottom of the tank now. I changed nothing...just, as my mother says, "Tincture of Time". The lily is shooting leaves up almost every day...I keep waiting for one of those shoots to be a flower bud. Do I need to fertilize it if it's throwing leaves and not flowers?

My daughter has already pointed out that I probably should take the tag off the lily lol...
View attachment 560595 View attachment 560596

Looking good! Yes, you need to fertilize it. I just use the homemade ones on ebay. Works great!

 

[MomeWrath]

I am happy to report that everyone came through our recent NC Heat Wave in fine shape. I checked the temp on the hottest day (96 degrees F) and the tub got up to about 83. Usually it stays around 75-80. All the goldies are still doing great. If I put my hands in the pond to trim or rearrange things, they all come up to say hi, which I totally love. If I wiggle my finger in the water they all come running, which is adorable since I don't even feed them. They just like me.
And, as much as I wanted this to be low- to no-maintenance, and it is, I find that when I need to do work, it doesn't feel like work. It feels like gardening. My water changes consist of dipping pitchers full of water out of the pond and watering the flowers in my yard, and then running the hose for a minute and tossing it in. It's a happy time of day for me and doesn't feel at all like work.

 

[Jack B Nimble]

I have a pond and any time I spend "play working" on it is a good day.

 

[MomeWrath]

Oh why oh why did I ever wish for frogs to show up????
We had some pretty torrential rainfall locally on Saturday. To the tune of several major roads near my house getting washed out. Well, it's clear that in addition to the God-given water change being much appreciated by the goldfish, the local green tree frog and little brown toad population are grateful as well. I can no longer hear the nearby freeway noise because there are literally 900 frogs in my backyard now. I counted. Green treefrogs could shout down an airplane I think. So. Loud.

 

[angelcraze]

Cool tree frogs! We don't have them around here. So cute But lol at the noise. Personally I love it.

 

[Fanatic]

That's looking really cool, wish I could put something like that on our back porch!

 

[MomeWrath]

And now, there are 9,000,000 frog eggs in the pond. Bout to have some fat goldfish again....

 

[BackyardFish]

I've got frog eggs to! So annoying!

 

[MomeWrath]

Somehow, the frog eggs never turned into tadpoles! And my goldfish were all smiling lol.
I admit, I am not much of a water tester. I feel like that leads to either chasing numbers or slacking on maintenance. However, I felt guilty and slightly curious because of the other pondkeepers talking about weekly fifty percent changes on their porch ponds. I have never,So not once, done a water change except dipping out a few gallons to water plants with. I ordered some test strips. Checked all my tanks, with the expected results from each. Heavily stocked tanks had higher nitrates but all under 40, light ranks were practically perfect. I expected the nitrates in the pond to be sky high, honestly. One of the goldfish died yesterday, but the remaining four all seemed to be healthy and active. So I dipped my little strip...and I am shocked. Here is my result...
So I know my alk and gh are low. Do I need to do something about this? I've never paid attention to it before in fresh water. Maybe some epsom salts??

 

[angelcraze]

HI Penny, I hear you are not much of a water tester...... it makes me kind of giggle that you finally tested it and want to add Epsom Salts. You're statement about wanting to chase params is true haha! I can absolutely help if the hardness is low. But first I have to tell you that test strips are notoroiusly inaccurate, so if you can at all, grab yourself a liquid test kit like the one API makes or get your water tested at an LFS that uses a liquid test. Then adjust if needed. I just really don't trust the strip results and adjusting based on that is like adjusting blind IMO.

It's possible nitrates are nil or close to nil with all the plants, but I'd for sure make sure that's correct, especially hardness before you play with it.

 

[MomeWrath]

HI Penny, I hear you are not much of a water tester...... it makes me kind of giggle that you finally tested it and want to add Epsom Salts. You're statement about wanting to chase params is true haha! I can absolutely help if the hardness is low. But first I have to tell you that test strips are notoroiusly inaccurate, so if you can at all, grab yourself a liquid test kit like the one API makes or get your water tested at an LFS that uses a liquid test. Then adjust if needed. I just really don't trust the strip results and adjusting based on that is like adjusting blind IMO.

It's possible nitrates are nil or close to nil with all the plants, but I'd for sure make sure that's correct, especially hardness before you play with it.

Well I wouldn't say I want to add epsom salts. I also don't want to leave the water that soft if it's bad for the fishes, and I remember during my very short attempt at keeping African Cichlids that epsom salt was part of the Cichlid Salt recipe... Also I don't want to murder my plants. (You may have noticed that besides being a complete hypocrite I am also fickle, indecisive, and almost unable to follow through with anything.)
I spent so much time testing and chasing parameters in my old reef tanks it just turned me off to the whole thing. I just thought it was funny that I tested my indoor, filtered, controlled tanks and they all had nitrate readings - higher in the betta tanks (20) and my daughter's 10 (40) because it is overstocked, and I walk outside and get zero in the poop-machine pond. I understand that water hyacinth is an excellent vegetative filter, and can absorb many times the surrounding concentration of pollutants. Maybe that's why they are low??