We’re now well in to September and the good water chemistry continues to be maintained in Darlow; phosphates, nitrates, nitrites and ammonia are all currently undetectable, which is excellent news. Oxygen levels are also good (8.1 mg/L, 82.7 % sat.). pH is 8.3, which is fairly normal for Darlow. The Read more…
Water temperature has been extremely high over the last month, with a maximum recorded temperature of 24.9 °C on 09-Aug-2022. So, it has been a tough Summer for any stock remaining in the lake with water levels also very low (at least 20 cm below zero on the water gauge). Read more…
After that very hot spell last week our water temperatures have risen sharply and are still very high. The water temperature was 23.5 °C today (Thursday, 21-Jul-2022) at 0900, which is clearly going to be very stressful to our trout, which can be seen at the surface and in large Read more…
The latest water chemistry tests have been carried out at Darlow and ammonia levels are still low, with perhaps a trace amount detectable (0.03 mg/L, pH 8.4) – this could become more of a problem if the temperature rises, but at present levels are safe. Phosphate, nitrate and nitrite are Read more…
The temperature is rising rapidly, but the water chemistry is still looking fairly good. Phosphate, nitrate and nitrite are undetectable; we have a very small amount of ammonia (0.03 mg/L, pH 8.5), but this may just be a temporary fluctuation, and it is not so high that it is a Read more…
Today’s water testing brings us some good news in that the levels of total ammonia have reduce to undetectable levels, which means that ammonia is no longer a toxic risk to the fish. Last time we saw this was during the summer of last year. Turbidity of the water has Read more…
Latest water tests have shown that ammonia levels have decreased again (0.14 mg/L, pH 8.2), which is great news, but it is important that this continues to fall to zero. All other tests look good, with oxygen levels high (10.1 mg/L, 89 % sat., 9.7 °C).
Today, we stocked 200 very good-looking rainbow trout in Darlow. The lake now contains between 300-400 trout ready for the new season, starting on 01-Mar-2022. We have more fish to follow! The good news is that Darlow has, so far, avoided any unwelcome influxes of flood water, and we hope Read more…
Latest water quality results are showing that conditions are improving. We have a further reduction in levels of total ammonia (0.27 mg/L, pH 8.3, 7.3 °C), and water clarity remains stable. It is also encouraging to see the oxygen levels increasing to similar levels to the river (10.7 mg/L, 90.5 Read more…
The latest water quality tests are showing that total ammonia levels are continuing to fall (0.37 mg/L, pH 8.1, 4.3 °C). This is a very good sign and may be due to the dilution of the water and action of the microorganisms converting it to less toxic nitrite and nitrate Read more…