Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Hurricane Rita (The surprises)


Well, it had to happen sooner or later. I thought I suffered no damage from Hurricane Rita. Turns out that's not necessarily the case. The constant pulsing of electrical power apparently harmed a couple of appliances, and my pump/filter system for my Koi pond. They don't seem to want to work anymore. The most expensive is the ecosystem for my pond. The pump would not run today and the biological filter tank which is under pressure started to leak really bad. I concluded that variations in pump pressure brought on by fluxuations in power did both of them in. I worked on the pump and got it running but the filter looks hopeless. So I bought another one, this time gravity fed as opposed to pressure fed. The idea is that future power malfunctions will not harm the filter, a critical factor in the filtering of the pond because it is very sensitive to enzyme action. I just replaced the pump a few weeks ago because it had pretty much run its course after five years. $90.00. Pumps don't come cheap. And this new filter will require some major changes in the hoses, another expense I haven't calculated yet. I will also need more stones to cover the filter that will now be above the level of the pond, not below ground like the previous one.

The fish hate going through all of this because it greatly upsets the pond's PH and clarity factors. I hope we don't lose any fish.

Water gardens can get complicated, especially after a hurricane.

Leroy

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