I think it's going to be a disaster of unprecedented occurence when your
wife hears about this plan............ :)
Other than that, I'm envious.
-- end ____^___ ><,DARWIN,> Joshua L. Wiegert AIM UID: JoshuaWiegert ICQ UIN: 276060292 Feel free to contact me by any of the above means for any reason. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -=- "Nature" is made possible by the Corporation for Public BroadcastingDoubt is not a pleasant state of mind, but certainty is absurd. -- Voltaire (1767)
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. -- Plato
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -=-
----- Original Message ----- From: "Mysteryman" <bestfish_at_alaweb.com> To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net> Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2004 5:25 PM Subject: NANFA-- Crazy idea for ultimate pond
> I have an idea for what may well be some sort of ultimate pond. I would > like to run it by you guys before actually getting started, because I > know that you'll have no trouble exposing it's flaws. > > First of all, I should point out that the sizes aren't definite, and are > subject to change. > All total, this pond system will be almost 20000 gallons, with over 8000 > of them being only the filter. > > Okay, here's the idea: I noticed that in my many kiddie pools full of > fish, even goldfish, the water stays crystal clear and algae free if I > allow the heavy growth of elodea. I also get the side benefit of > hundreds of their little white flowers. HOWEVER, this doesn't work very > well for the fish, which are so crowded by the plants that they can > hardly swim. Ah, if I could only concentrate the plants in a separate > chamber... > > To that end, I've come up with this: > First, there is the main pool. It's big. Like say, 24 by 32 feet. It > doesn't have sheer sides, but stairstepped sides allowing for varying > depth to 6 feet. All across the back of this pool is a separate pool > only two feet deep and 8 feet wide. Water is pumped from a prefilter in > the pool into this side pool. The water enters over a high weir, via > tubing, into the center of the side pool. > The water in these two pools is kept separated by a high weir. This > forces the flow to go toward the ends of the side pool, and prevents it > from re-entering the main pool. > This first side pool is the one choked with Elodea. > On the ends of this big side pool, very near the top, are some drain > holes. These holes allow the water to flow into the NEXT side pools on > the ends of the main pool. There are two side pools per side, each > coming halfway down the width of the pool. The first ones, the "corner" > pools, are stuffed with floating flants like Hyacinth. These side pools > allow the culture of these pesky, yet attractive plants, and let them > filter the water even further, while keeping them and their roots out of > the main tank. > Again with the drain holes near the top, and now we come to the third > set of side pools, which terminate at the front edge of the main pool, > out of the way of anyone trying to stand in front of the main pool. > In this final stage, there is a substrate and a few bits of structure > like rockpiles and logs and whatnot. The main attraction of this pool, > though, are aquatic vascular plants of the submerged type. It is PACKED > with plants aplenty, growing in two foot deep water and basking in full > sunlight. > Drain holes near the top finally allow the water to leave this chamber > and re-enter the main pool. > > To picture this whole thing, try to imagine a big rectangle surrounded, > on only three sides, by five much smaller rectangles. > > Finally, the main pool is planted along it's edges in the shallower > areas, at least along the back and sides, leaving the front > unonstructed. > > Here's my theory: > > If everything goes the way I think it should, the plants in the side > chambers will do a whizbang job of filtering the water and keeping the > microalgae from ever having a chance, and do it without crowding the > fish. The side chambers also act as refugia and incubators for > microfauna, which means that they'd be good for raising copious numbers > of fish frywith practiaclly no effort. They'd also produce some fishfood > in the form of various small critters which wind up going through the > holes into the main pool. The big plant pools can also be used to > cultivate showy specimens for later use in aquaria or sale to petshops. > > Oh, one last thing... the whole shebang would be enclosed in a big > greenhouse to prevent winter dieoff of the plants. > > I also think that this would make for one heckuva saltwater setup with > only minor modification. > > Well, what do you guys think? > Will this work, or will it be a failure of unprecedented scale?
-- > /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily > / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes > / Association" > / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association > / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word > / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to > / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to > / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. > / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org /----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes / Association" / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org