Last Updated: 6/30/25

1. On 6/1/25, I did pond work late. At 3:08 pm, the air temperature was 68 degrees F. The 1800 gallon pond was at 64 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 61 degrees F. I squirted all the filter materials, put in additives, and topped off with water.

2. Around 6/4 or 6/5/25, I had a water hyacinth bloom! I could only admire it from afar because I don't normally get the pond during the week.

3. I did pond work at 2:45 pm on 6/8/25. The air temperature was a nice 68 degrees F but it was raining off and on. I didn't get soaked but I had to wear a hat to keep water off my eyeglasses. The 1800 gallon pond was at 72 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 68 degrees F.

The spawning goldfish had moved the floating plant protector with water hyacinth to the other side of the pond, into the shallows. I couldn't really move it before this day so, of course, presumably the raccoons found it the night before, and ate about 10 percent of it. I moved the protector and water hyacinth back to over the main pump (deep end).

I squirted all the filter materials and the bioballs and lava rock bags in the biofilter, put in additives, and topped off the ponds. Due to the rain, I didn't fertilize the two pots of waterlilies that were due a few weeks ago. When they get wet, the fertilizer pills turn to mush.

4. At 12:55 pm on 6/15/25, the air temperature was 64 degrees F, and it was drizzling. Both ponds were at 70 degrees F. I squirted off all the filter materials, put in additives, and topped off the ponds. It was too wet to do much else.

5. A dangerous heat wave arrived. I did pond work at 9:14 am on 6/22/25 to avoid the hotter part of the day. The air temperature was already 80 degrees F (and would be 85 degrees F when I finished at 10:24 and 95 degrees F by the end of the day). The 1800 gallon pond was at 76 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 72 degrees F. I changed the PondMaster filters. I squirted off the Matala in the Biosteps filter. I squirted off all the filter materials. I put a new, larger piece of filter floss on top of the main basket with the main pump. The intake keeps clogging from the goldfish spawning. The debris was getting past the filter floss too easily so hopefully this helps.

I finally put fertilizer in the two pots of waterlilies. The fertilizer tube's lid was missing in the one pot so I stole it from the pot where the lilies had died. In that pot, there were few rocks left as the fish must have rooted them out. In the other lily pot, I couldn't really jam the pills in past the rocks and roots. I have not had any lily flowers this year. There is not enough sun but at least the shade keeps the pond cooler when we have a stretch of near 100 degree F days.

I changed the ant traps in all the outlets. The raccoons keep opening the outlets and chewing up the ant motels! They are nuts.

6. The pond work started on 6/29/25 at 1:13 pm. The air temperature was 88 degrees F. The 1800 gallon was at 80 degrees F, and the 153 gallon was at 76 degrees F. I squirted off all the filter materials and added additives and water.

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