Today’s pond maintenance consisted of a complete cleaning of the Fluval FX5 and a thorough examination of all 17 fish.  Although, the filter was loaded with detritus, the water still tested at zero for ammonia, nitrite, and at a low 5 for nitrates. The addition of a timer for the lamp allows more daylight hours and the algae is doing its work on clearing the water of nitrate. In addition, the freshwater hydrometer showed no readings of salt in the water. So, the plants in the office will be happy as well. The 15 koi are thriving and eating 3-4 times each day. The two remaining feeder fish are now 2 inches long and growing. These may very well end up being the largest 12 cent feeders that Wal Mart has ever turned out.