Arapaima Pond Build
- Thread starter Luc
- Start date
From the body structure, I would say a Raphael Catfish, but they don't have spotted heads AFAIK.
Looked it up, but images show a double white stripe and small mouth for the Raphael Cat, which he absolutely doesnt have.
His wide grin looks like an RTC, his tail is not bright red though, more faded but definitely reddish. And then there's the spots on his head.
First Bog looks great with all the new plants in it.
85% full I guess, so that's the limit for this one.
Ordered more gravel and sand for Saturday working on the second bog/grow-out pond.
Will do everything I can to max that one out. 6x2.5m should be possible.
Tent order maybe Friday.
Thinking of getting a 3rd pump to support the next bog and improve on the water-flow in the pond. Basically making two under-gravel water pipes similar to the one in the first bog.
With the 2 drains coming into that settling tank, I think it should be able to keep up. 50 Cubic Meters in total, 3 pumps doing 10,000 liter p/hour each, that should be enough. Water is still murky, hope to see that improving with the bog full and water being forced through gravel.
The second settling tank still leaking at the side, but seems to get less so might just stop before Saturday.
Not really a concern anyhow.
85% full I guess, so that's the limit for this one.
Ordered more gravel and sand for Saturday working on the second bog/grow-out pond.
Will do everything I can to max that one out. 6x2.5m should be possible.
Tent order maybe Friday.
Thinking of getting a 3rd pump to support the next bog and improve on the water-flow in the pond. Basically making two under-gravel water pipes similar to the one in the first bog.
With the 2 drains coming into that settling tank, I think it should be able to keep up. 50 Cubic Meters in total, 3 pumps doing 10,000 liter p/hour each, that should be enough. Water is still murky, hope to see that improving with the bog full and water being forced through gravel.
The second settling tank still leaking at the side, but seems to get less so might just stop before Saturday.
Not really a concern anyhow.
Some pictures of the bog. Now finished and full. Thalia, Umbrella in the background, some other lower flowering plants in front.
Looks like the water is better this morning. Lets see if that continues.
For the second bog, 5 ton gravel and 5 CBM sand ordered. Only part of it to be used for the bog, rest is for surrounding area.
Will fill up all areas in front of the factory with the gravel with 5 - 7 very large clay-pots with plants on it. It's all dirt now, so it's going to be a nice make-over.
Looks like the water is better this morning. Lets see if that continues.
For the second bog, 5 ton gravel and 5 CBM sand ordered. Only part of it to be used for the bog, rest is for surrounding area.
Will fill up all areas in front of the factory with the gravel with 5 - 7 very large clay-pots with plants on it. It's all dirt now, so it's going to be a nice make-over.
Too early to say if the will keep improving, but what I did was putting up a 'dam' of stones just above the waterlevel of the bog, just before it drops off into the main pond.
The idea behind it is that rubbish that might get to the surface in the bog (and dead leaves and flowers) will stay in the bog, trapped by the dam. Water is forced through the stones and gets polished.
At the same time, there's still some large fast growing plants just behind that dam (before it gets to the pond) to act as 'gate-keepers' for any fish-waste still in the water. Since we put the plants and that dam in yesterday morning, the water has improved substantially. Start to see the blue air-diffusers again, which was impossible over the last week.
So let's wait and see what will happen. Might be just the extra stones and once filling up, it might degrade the clearness of the water again. If so, then it's waiting for the plants to get their roots around it. Will take longer of course.
Stones and sand delivered, ready for Saturday's work. Liner to buy tomorrow, decided on a 10x7 meter liner, color same as the first bog.
Shape rectangle, but with a divider in the middle and the bog 50cm deep, grow-out pond 1~1.2 meter deep. From the bog, it will overflow into the grow-out and then overflow in the main pond. Bog will be raised from ground level with sand that came in today. Steel frames will hold the sand in place at first before the liner, water and stones start supporting it on the inside.
Will prepare for 2 pumps to the bog, 2 pipes under the gravel, but connect both pipes to the current one only at first.
For sure need to check the second settling tank on leaks, will be done in the coming Saturdays.
Overall, with evaporation (windy location, made worse because it's between 2 high buildings causing strong wind) currently at about 1 cm p/day, it's not too bad. Just wondering how much that settling tank takes out of that.
Enough rambling for now..
Cheers,
Luc
The idea behind it is that rubbish that might get to the surface in the bog (and dead leaves and flowers) will stay in the bog, trapped by the dam. Water is forced through the stones and gets polished.
At the same time, there's still some large fast growing plants just behind that dam (before it gets to the pond) to act as 'gate-keepers' for any fish-waste still in the water. Since we put the plants and that dam in yesterday morning, the water has improved substantially. Start to see the blue air-diffusers again, which was impossible over the last week.
So let's wait and see what will happen. Might be just the extra stones and once filling up, it might degrade the clearness of the water again. If so, then it's waiting for the plants to get their roots around it. Will take longer of course.
Stones and sand delivered, ready for Saturday's work. Liner to buy tomorrow, decided on a 10x7 meter liner, color same as the first bog.
Shape rectangle, but with a divider in the middle and the bog 50cm deep, grow-out pond 1~1.2 meter deep. From the bog, it will overflow into the grow-out and then overflow in the main pond. Bog will be raised from ground level with sand that came in today. Steel frames will hold the sand in place at first before the liner, water and stones start supporting it on the inside.
Will prepare for 2 pumps to the bog, 2 pipes under the gravel, but connect both pipes to the current one only at first.
For sure need to check the second settling tank on leaks, will be done in the coming Saturdays.
Overall, with evaporation (windy location, made worse because it's between 2 high buildings causing strong wind) currently at about 1 cm p/day, it's not too bad. Just wondering how much that settling tank takes out of that.
Enough rambling for now..
Cheers,
Luc
I showed this thread to my wife... and then showed her how big the fish would get.
She looked at me and said " No you can't have one!". Spoilsport. I promised I wouldn't let it eat her or our little dog.
Hmm.... I may have an excuse to travel to Thailand this Fall. I probably should pick up the phone and talk to our regional manager. Mr. T just might have a visitor. I've got to get a few VP's convinced first.... this might take me a year or two to really get the argument going.
She looked at me and said " No you can't have one!". Spoilsport. I promised I wouldn't let it eat her or our little dog.
Hmm.... I may have an excuse to travel to Thailand this Fall. I probably should pick up the phone and talk to our regional manager. Mr. T just might have a visitor. I've got to get a few VP's convinced first.... this might take me a year or two to really get the argument going.
Well, any time you're in Thailand, let me know, more than welcome to have a look. We're 45 minutes north of Bangkok center. Just follow the road to the old airport Don Mueang. Always good to chat with like-wise fish-minded people.
cheers,
Luc
Thinking of it, my wife is still angry with me that we couldn't have him home...lol....talk about being a lucky bast...d..
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Too early to call it a win, but came in this morning to see that the water improved tremendously compared to 2 days ago, and even yesterday afternoon. It's so clear again that I can see most of the bottom shaping up. There's still a brown tint to the water, but it's absolutely stellar compared to last Saturday. Finally able to see Mr.T. in all his glory again and that's what it's all about...
Plants in the bog seem to catch on fast and well. See new leaves and stems shooting up. Also amazed with how well they hold up with the wind going over and through it. I guess in part it's the granite that doesn't move as easy due to its shape compared to rounded riverstones/pea-gravel.
Most importantly, I don't see any slowdown in water-flow since the bog is filled up completely. Given the clearing of the water, there must be a substantial amount of waste in there, so hopefully that's staying as it is as well.
Shut down the second settling tank, gonna re-apply silicone the get the leaking stopped. Want to make sure that one is ok before we get more trouble accessing it with the second bog going up. Given the size of the pond, I'd say with full sun-shine, only 1 centimeter drop p/day is reasonable, but I hate it when I can't tell if it is evaporation or the leaking or how much of both. So we're going to do some ugly silicone-scraping...then reapply it...
Pictures tomorrow, today's busy with work.
Cheers,
Luc
Plants in the bog seem to catch on fast and well. See new leaves and stems shooting up. Also amazed with how well they hold up with the wind going over and through it. I guess in part it's the granite that doesn't move as easy due to its shape compared to rounded riverstones/pea-gravel.
Most importantly, I don't see any slowdown in water-flow since the bog is filled up completely. Given the clearing of the water, there must be a substantial amount of waste in there, so hopefully that's staying as it is as well.
Shut down the second settling tank, gonna re-apply silicone the get the leaking stopped. Want to make sure that one is ok before we get more trouble accessing it with the second bog going up. Given the size of the pond, I'd say with full sun-shine, only 1 centimeter drop p/day is reasonable, but I hate it when I can't tell if it is evaporation or the leaking or how much of both. So we're going to do some ugly silicone-scraping...then reapply it...
Pictures tomorrow, today's busy with work.
Cheers,
Luc
