27.06.2025 Testing-testing.

 ~o~

  Friday 27th 59F/15C. Heavy overcast and breezy. Should slowly brighten up.

 Up at 5.45 after a very busy night at the fire bucket. 

 The greenhouse pond remains crystal clear at 67F/19.4C. Though with a mass of bubbles still adhering to the inside walls of the container. Dissolved gasses? There is no chlorine added to Danish consumer water. Though it is filtered. It comes from deep wells and is considered clean enough not to need disinfection. 

 Though there is a constant increase in reports of traces of agricultural pesticides. There are rules about farmers spraying in areas of drinking water extraction. This hasn't stopped the need to end the use of some boreholes. Where contaminants exceed the allowed levels.  A recent report stated that half of Danish tapwater is contaminated with pesticides. Sometimes above agreed levels. 

 7.15 It is brightening. Time for a walk. 

 8.00 And back again. Glimpses of the sun were too brief. The wind localized and only slightly tiresome. Birds singing cheerfully. Traffic modest. One in five were Teslas. 

 A short trip in the car to do some shopping. Some sunshine.

 12.00 Going out again. 

 14.35 Back from the city. With water test kits and floating plants for shade and cover and hopefully some ammonia absorption. The surface texture on the leaves suggest this is Salvinia. I rinsed the plants in a J-cloth and dropped them on the surface of the pond. Despite the 100F/38C temperature in the closed greenhouse the water has reached only 73F/23C. I have now opened the greenhouse skylights and end doors. The air temperature dropped by 10F in only a minute or two. 

 The Tetra "6in1" water test strip result was interesting. The test strip is waved gently in the pond water and the resulting colours read against the coloured scales printed on the metal, strip container. 

 Zero Chlorine was expected. pH was alkaline at 8+. Again expected from deep wells filtered through rock. Similarly hardness: KH was just under 8. GH15. Water permeating through rock will produce hard water. Which is clearly visible around plumbing fixtures and kettles. 

 Nitrates and Nitrites were both 0. A wild guess is that these haven't arisen yet. Because there is no Ammonia conversion by beneficial bacteria. The Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate cycle has yet to start. Because there is no bio load in the water from the breakdown of plant material, waste food or fish droppings. My dosing the pond with "dirty" filter material was probably diluted beyond measurement. In the approx. 1400 liters of fresh tapwater.

 The separate Tetra Ammonia NH3/NH4 test is much more complicated. It requires counting drops from three separate reagent bottles. Into a plastic test tube containing 5cc/ml of pond water. I'll try that test after dinner. The reagents all sound quite nasty! I'll have to dig out my hazmat suit and positive pressure respirator.

 Dinner was bangers and mash. With an egg.  I washed up while it cooked.

  ~o~