Tag Archives: cleaning

Keeping Koi Ponds Healthy With Chemical Filters

Sometimes your biological or mechanical filter does not effectively clean wastes from your pond. This is when you have to resort to using what are called chemical filters. These are also sometimes called biological converters.  These are solutions or powders that are added to your pond to correct common problems such as an excess of nitrates, an excess of ammonia,

Every koi pond owner should invest in a ten dollar nitrate test.  This test should be done at least once a month but ideally once a week. A simple test at the right time may prevent a small problem from becoming a catastrophe.

 

You can buy all kinds of tests to monitor the water quality in your pond including:

 

  • PH balance
  • Ammonia
  • Nitrate
  • Alkalinity
  • Salinity
  • Chlorine

 

 

Do not confuse the terms water quality and water clarity. Crystal clear water can contain compounds that are deadly to your fish. Green water, caused by excessive phyto plankton growth can actually be beneficial to the fish although not very beneficial to the pond keeper who can’t see them. Water clarity can give some indications as to mechanical filtration effectiveness but it does not necessarily tell you what is happening with the chemical make up of the water.

 

A pond with a biologic converter and filled with Koi is a rather complex, and delicate eco-system. Each component of this system requires the other components to perform its job. Fish waste and bacteria and fungi to ammonia compounds convert other organic waste. These compounds can be toxic to the fish, which then can die a very visible, hard-to-watch death.

 

However, if your koi pond has a healthy biologic converter it should be populated with mitrosomonas bacteria. This is the type of bacteria that greedily consumes ammonia and converts them to nitrites. Unfortunately, the nitrates are just as toxic to the fish as the ammonia. Again, the biologic converter comes into play with a population of mitrobacter bacteria that convert the nitrites to nitrates. The nitrates are basically inert to the fish but usable by plants and algae within the pond. As the plants and algae grow and the Koi eat them, the cycle of self-cleaning starts all over again.

 

Nitrosomonas and nitrobacter bacteria are aerobic bacteria that require oxygen to convert their “food” to energy just like the fish. This is why an ammonia or nitrite filled pond can smother both and leave you with a lifeless swamp.

 

How to Get Your Sink Really Shiny!

Is there anything worse than a stainless steel sink that is starting to turn rusty and grey? How do you get it back to its original gleaming state?  Don’t think you have to go out and spend a bunch of money on a stain removing cleaner and polisher.  All you really need is a few common household-cleaning items.

 

One of the most effective cleaners is pure Baking Soda. Arm & Hammer is the perfect brand to do.  Simply make a paste of baking soda water and sprinkle it over the steel.  Then give the sink a gentle once over with a very fine steel wool and it will get rid of any hairline scratches.  Then all you need to do is rinse the residue away.

 

If your sink has water spots then dip your sponge in white vinegar and rub them right off. If rust is the problem then try soaking a sponge in rubbing alcohol and that should take care of any crusted rust spots or stains.

 

If the rust or stubborn stains are particularly hard to remove then try using a mixture of three parts cream of tarter to one part hydrogen peroxide and rub the stain with a cloth. Let the mixture sit and allow it to dry before wiping it away with a sponge or wet cloth.

 

Another inexpensive cleanser is all-purpose floor. Simply sprinkle it in the sink and buff the steel. The small grains in the flour act as a steel polishing.

 

Yet another secret to getting a super-shiny sink is to put the plug in the drain and add a bottle of club soda. With paper towels spread the club soda all over the sink and rub until the sink gleams.

 

Another tip is to use Murphy’s oil soap. Murphy’s oil is typically used to clean wood floors but it can make metal look really shiny. That is because it does have a bit of oil in it and oil not only tempers the surface of the steel it is also naturally shiny.

 

Finally one of the biggest secrets is to apply a few drops of baby oil to a paper towel and rub the sink everywhere.  After you have scratched off the stains this trick helps to smooth out the steel surface so it is more reflective of light.

 

For an overall rehab of your sink try an overall buff with stain removal and then apply Murphy’s oil or baby oil and people with think you had everything replaced.