Last Updated: 6/8/26

1. On 5/3/26, I did pond work at 12:59 pm. The air temperature was 56 degrees F. The 1800 gallon pond was at 55 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 56 degrees F. I squirted all the filter floss and the Biosteps Matala which was a lot dirtier and heavier than it should have been.

2. When I walked by the pond on the way to get the fish food on 5/5/26, I could see what looked like a goldfish tail and just a tail. I grabbed the food and went over and fed the fish. In a rock next to where I feed them, there was indeed a goldfish tail. I put my hand in the crevice and felt the rest of the fish. With some effort to turn the fish around, I got him/her out. Why did this happen and never before? With the water level up a few inches from where it was, now fish can get stuck in this crevice. So, a higher water level is not 100% good!

I also saw a male ruby-throated hummingbird feeding on the yellow flag iris which I had never seen before.

3. On 5/7/26, I put a new auxiliary pump in the big pond. The old one stopped working a few days ago. It is not reliable. When it was off, the main waterfall barely dripped with almost all of the water from the biofilter going down the stream or under the rocks. The new pump is a 1350 gph Laguna Max-Flo pump with cage around it. I put in in a holed pond plant basket in a mesh drawstring bag and some filter floss.

4. I did pond work on 5/10/26 starting at 11:14 am. The air temperature was already 75 degrees F, and it felt hot to me. A few hours later, it would be 80 degrees F. The 1800 gallon pond was at 62 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 60 degrees F. I squirted all the filter flosses. The one around the main pump was totally clogged up again and super heavy. I put in additives and topped off the ponds.

5. I did pond work on 5/17/26 at 1:37 pm. The air was a toasty 82 degrees F but there was a breeze. The 1800 gallon pond was at 68 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 66 degrees F. I squirted all the filter materials, put in additives, and topped off the ponds. I found an old airline tubing and air stone from the Luft pump and removed it. The new Webb's air pump has been working much better than the Luft.

6. I did pond chores on 5/27/26 at 12:35 pm. The air temperature and both pond temperatures were all at 58 degrees F so it was cool and misty. It had rained a lot for a few days which we needed but I wish it would rain when I'm at work and not when I have a rare three days off in a row! I changed the PondMaster filters. I squirted out the bioballs which were heavy with slop. I squirted all the filter floss and put in additives. The ponds were all full of water.

7. We opened the pool on 5/30/26. I netted a few dozen gray treefrog tadpoles off the cover and put them in the 20 gallon tub pond.

8. On 5/31/26, at 1:48 pm, the air temperature was 78 degrees F. It was too hot for me in the sun but, luckily, there is a lot of shade around. The 1800 gallon pond was at 66 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 65 degrees F. I squirted off all the Matala in the Biosteps filter. I changed the zeolite blend in a mesh bag in the main filter. I squirted all the filter materials. I finally put fertilizer in the two waterlily pots and the water hawthorne pot. I put in pond additives and topped off the ponds.

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