25.06.2025

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  Wednesday 25th 57F/4C [7.30] Bright, with a sunny day promised after early rain. Windy from the west, gusting to 12m/s. 

 Up at 6.15 after a busy night. Apple juice and coffee with/after dinner.

 I have borrowed a well used filter from the indoor aquarium. To start the chemistry cycle of the greenhouse pond. The used filter had been left uncleaned for months to ensure a heavy bio load and hopefully, lots of beneficial bacteria. I dropped it into the pond right beside the Oase filter pump and plugged it in. 

 This way both pumps contribute to even distribution of bacteria throughout the pond. My new plumbing parts should be delivered to the village, parcel pickup point today. These should help to increase the pump water flow and movement throughout the pond. The fountain/waterfall tap must causes considerable water flow reduction due to its circuitous internal arrangements and restrictions.

 In the absence of ceramic plant weights. I am using stainless steel washers to hold down my new plants. It seems the former lead strips are unavailable in Denmark. Not even made from the substitute metals used for roof flashing. The water plants from Plantorama have ceramic weights in the bottoms of their pots. Albeit  in a very noticeable brick-red. 

 8.00 I should have gone for my walk by now. 

 8.30 Back from my walk. Rather windy. Two red kites and a black kite were soaring low over the fields. Though not together. Two hares were playing on the neighbours' embankment. They started running towards me but swerved away and dashed to the top of the hill. Lots of traffic today.

 I have dismantled and cleaned the smaller aquarium filter in the pond water. To accelerate the mixing of the beneficial bacteria with the water. Most of the green-brown gunk will probably end up in the big pond filter material. Where it will work continuously on the water passing through it. 

 The rest will settle on the gravel, walls of the container and plants. Within a minute the pond water was slightly cloudy. A good sign of even mixing of the water. The cleaned filter was returned to the indoor aquarium.    

 10.30 I have now cleaned and rinsed the filter sponges in the second aquarium filter. Using the pond water. The pond is now very murky. [Image right] It will be interesting to see how long it takes to clear with the only the pond filter working. The Oase Filtral 3000 is rated at about 1200l/hr maximum. So will achieve one complete water change per hour in the pond. The container is listed at 1500 liters but the water is only 72cm deep. Rather than the full 80cm to the brim. It is unfortunate that the greenhouse roof is reflected at the pond surface.   

 

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24.06.2025 Wet and windy.

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  Tuesday 24th 54F/12C. Another wet one.

 Up at 5am after a fairly typical night. A deer bug has caused an itchy swelling on my leg. It had already buried itself. So I had to dig it out with my nail.

 Visiting my English friend later. He has guests after lunch.

 No walk this morning. It is already raining hard. In fact the rain lashed down as I drove there. With fierce gusts of wind. It reduced to showers and then finally stopped. To allow a stroll outside. In the gardens of his pleasant, rural home. I shopped on the way back.

 Not much to report about the afternoon. My usual nap. To catch up on my foolishly early start to the day. Back to researching various subjects online and on YT.

 The pond water has risen to 66F/19C. Too little sunshine and lower temperatures have not allowed much warming effect yet. I had an email to say my new plumbing parts are on the way. 

 Dinner was a fry-up of chicken, mushrooms, tweggs and baked beans. A wholegrain, bread roll soaked up the remaining egg yolk and sauce from the beans.

  

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23.06.2025 Stormy weather.

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 Monday 23rd 60F/15.6C. Overcast with more rain on the way. Heavy with thunder possible. Better after lunch.

 Up at 5.45. I am fighting another nosebleed as my nose runs and stings. 5 minutes of uninterrupted squeezing seems to have stopped the blood. I keep sneezing like I have hay fever. 

 The greenhouse pond is still there. The water has risen to 60F/15.6C overnight. The dome shaped fountain is entertaining but much noisier than I would have liked. Lifting and lowering the spray head makes no difference to the noise level. It just stretches or flattens the dome. Some people find tinkling water relaxing. I find it irritating.

I forgot about an electricity supply to the filter pump. It has a nice long lead. Which easily reaches the front hall. Unfortunately this is my recharging station for my various batteries. With only one socket.

I have run out of another tablet. I foresee a visit to the pharmacy in the village. 

7.00 7.10 My walk had better be now. Before the rain arrives. 

 7.30 It was grey and rather threatening but failed to produce a single drop of rain. It seemed as if every tree and bush held a talkative warbler this morning. A Robin lay dead on the road. The traffic was busy and noisy. Even though most were electric. They haven't solved the tire roar problem yet. Did you see that the Chinese use green number plates for electric vehicles? Simple and clever. In the West it would just make the retarded paint scratchers lives even easier. And we wouldn't want that, would we? 

 7.45 It is becoming incredibly dark indoors. 

 8.40 It is raining and blowing. I have been experimenting with all the components of the Oase fountain set. The most satisfying and probably most efficient result can be obtained with no fitting at all. Maximum outlet diameter achieves maximum water flow. With minimum surface disturbance, lowest resistance and zero noise. 

 Does this necessarily mean maximum filtration of the body of water in which the pump is immersed? I need to find an object which can remain submerged with neutral buoyancy. So I can watch water movement at depth throughout the entire volume of the tub. I'll use a bit of plant uprooted by the fish. This moves effortlessly as the current sends it.  

 No lateral water movement. The plant drifted very slowly to the far wall and stayed there. I added a slight bend to push the water sideways. Instant movement throughout the whole tub. Though at the cost of a smaller orifice and much higher jet velocity. Which disturbed the whole water surface. When I wanted it to remains steady. I need an elbow with the correct thread for the Oase pump without loss of diameter.   

 9.00 Pouring with rain! The greenhouse leaks like a sieve! My tomato plants have come up. They were planted by my guest.

 Well, that was easy. Oase provide a splitter and regulator for a fountain and waterfall. This screws onto the pump and the horizontal flow instantly provided movent throughout the body of water. The bit of plant moves constantly at about 1cm second. As did a floating bit of wood. No surface disturbance or noise. I have placed the pump in a corner of the tub to make it invisible from most viewpoints.

 All of this may seem utterly trivial and even pointless to many. While I see it as exercising my brain to make physical changes to maximize results. That it costs nothing to try. Makes it all the more worthwhile and amusing. 

 I dropped the new plants into the pond. To try and get them going before the fish arrive. I have ordered more PVC fittings to experiment further with water movement and reduced friction. 

 16.15 Back from the village shops clutching three carrier bags and a refill of tablets. It lashed down on the way home. With strong gusts of wind. Stopped again by the time I had to carry the shopping in. 

The pond has cleared dramatically since before lunch. Currently 65F/18.3C. 

 Dinner will be toast. Cheese on toast with halved tomatoes. I forgot to photograph it.

    

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