Welcome to Koi Forum. Is this your first visit? Register
Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Sunlight

  1. #1

    Sunlight

    Hi guys,

    I've got a weird one for you.

    Our pond is in full sun all day and we have to run a million watts of UV to try keep the green stuff at bay, and we never get things totally clear through summer.

    So as the Mrs is dead against pergolas, I sold her on the idea of a sale shade, which we put up yesterday.

    Now my issue is that we can move the sale to angle/cover more of one section of pond than another, but if we cover more of one bit we expose another.

    So in the morning the sun comes up to the left (technical terms, stay with me) of the pond and low, which means it would get under the sale, and then the same early eve at the opposite side. But this means the mid day and afternoon sun, from mid morning really, is fully blocked by the sun, which I assume I want.

    So, my question is, is the sun worse for my pond at any particular time, is the morning sun worse than the evening sun, or vice versa? I ask as I can shift the sale to cut out more of one than the other.

    Hope this made sense.

    Cheers guys,

    Jay



  2. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Mike Bass's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Long Eaton
    Posts
    712
    Thanks / Likes
    1372
    The morning sun is not so intense & hasn’t had so much time to warm up as an evening sun, either still aren’t too bad. The midday & afternoon soon is the most intense sunlight & heat that you would like to shade.
    1kGal BD/Skim RDF/UV/k1 2.3kGal 2windows 2airBD/skim Sieve/Eazypod RDFcombi+bakki 3xVP/UV,ASHP

  3. Thanks freddyboy, anne, dbs Thanked / Liked this Post
  4. #3
    Hi Mike,

    Thanks for the reply. So if I had to have the pond exposed to anything, you'd say expose it to morning sun and shade it from everything else?

    Jay

  5. #4
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Mike Bass's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Long Eaton
    Posts
    712
    Thanks / Likes
    1372
    Quote Originally Posted by Jason Megson View Post
    Hi Mike,

    Thanks for the reply. So if I had to have the pond exposed to anything, you'd say expose it to morning sun and shade it from everything else?

    Jay
    Yes Jason that would be best imho
    Other options could (other half dependant) try upright trellis giving some mottled shade if that is possible or louvred slats or laser cut panels In a contemporary style, or even trees in pots suitably positioned, anything that will fit in with your garden style.
    1kGal BD/Skim RDF/UV/k1 2.3kGal 2windows 2airBD/skim Sieve/Eazypod RDFcombi+bakki 3xVP/UV,ASHP

  6. Thanks freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  7. #5
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion anne's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    1,507
    Thanks / Likes
    3638
    well Jay, as '' mad dogs and English men go out in the midday sun '' then that is when the sun is at its
    hottest and you would want to shade, isn't you're pond huge ? Fancy rehoming 3 sturgeon for Craig
    on here ...........................................Don't ask don't get

  8. Thanks freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  9. #6
    Hi Mike, thanks for the reply, that's good to know. Funny you should mention the Mrs, she is dead against pretty much any structure around the pond, hence the sail, but thanks for the suggestion.

    Hi Anne, thanks for the reply, I'll be honest and say I wasn't sure if algae growth had anything to do with the intensity of the sun or just the light itself, if that makes sense.

    As for Stergeon, I used to have some back up north in my first pond, I loved them and they both grew to about a meter, but they were a pig to keep with the koi and I lost them both 6 months apart and have no idea why. As for rehoming them, sorry but they were such a pain I wouldn't want them again, and for some reason the Mrs hates them.

    You wouldn't class our pond as huge, 40k litres, but it's deep at 8'.

    Jay

  10. Thanks freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  11. #7
    IMG_20200807_191327.jpg

    This is the sale if anyone is interested. Its made a huge difference in just a week.

    Its from Wayfair, 6m x 5m. Think it was £49.

    Jay

  12. Thanks Mikeh83, dbs, anne, blondie Thanked / Liked this Post
  13. #8

  14. #9
    The Mrs wouldn't let me.

  15. #10
    IMG_20200810_200459.jpgj

    I know it's far from clear, but a week ago when I fitted the sail you couldn't see into the water at all, now you can see fish at the bottom. I think another 24h and I'll be able to see the bottom drains.

    Annoyingly I put some Mediclay in the water months ago and it's still there giving the water a white powdery look. Its fading, but still very annoying.

    Anyway, the sail works beautifully. We've had a week of non stop bright sunshine during the days, so it's impressive how quickly it's clearing.

    Jay

  16. Thanks dbs, anne, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  17. #11
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion dbs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    East Norfolk
    Posts
    2,142
    Thanks / Likes
    3485
    That's a good improvement Jason and not a bad price to cure the problem either !!

  18. Thanks anne, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  19. #12
    Yeh definitely.

    I still can't see clearly to the bottom, (it is 8ft deep) but strangely the upper levels of water seem incredibly clear, totally void of any fines, I don't think I've seen it that clear since I first filled it.

    I'm incredibly impressed with this very cheap solution and would recommend it to anyone having similar issues. Its not as intrusive as a pergola, and at the height we've got it we don't really notice it.

    We have sloped it a little, so it's higher at the house end, so we can still see the full pond surface from out of our upstairs windows, which means we are still able to watch the fish.

    Anyway, I hope this helps someone.

    Jason

  20. Thanks anne, dbs, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
 

 

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:20 PM. Online Koi Mag Forum
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3
Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

vBulletin Improved By vBFoster® (Lite Version), © UltimateScheme, Ltd.