Winter and Oxygenization

With the season quickly drawing to a close, many of us will be considering what to do with our pond for the winter. There are plenty of options in winterizing your water garden.

One is to run it all year long. Depending on your climate this is the most desirable, but not always the most practical. If it is too cold in your region to avoid ice issues, and IF you have the correct style of fall or stream, you can often get away with running it as long as you keep the skimmer opening open at all times. This is a bit of a risk for most and you can't leave town without a pond-sitter, but the ice sculptures that form are quite amazing in their own right.

Second is pulling the pump and winterizing your pond. Unless you have a very large feature you will need to keep oxygen available to the fish. This is done most commonly through a tank heater or bubbler. Each has their pros and cons, and many variations of each. The standard tank heater is easiest, but most are relatively costly to run due to their high Wattage needs. Their are lower wattage heaters, look around and see what options there are, we have had issues with longevity with some of the smaller wattage ones so be careful.

Bubblers are the other half of the second option. They are good to keep water moving and the ice open a large amount of the winter. It is not necessary in most cases to keep the ice open at all times, but as often as possible. In zone 4-5 we can use a small danner mag drive pump for 85 - 90% of the winter. Breathers are excellent, but hard to come by, if available they are good options.

The third option is to forget about keeping the ice open and just getting an air pump/stone that will get oxygen to your fish no matter what the surface is like. We've recently gotten one brand in stock to try. I haven't had a chance to test it so I'm not willing to give them any props yet, but hopefully this will be the best option yet. Often kept in an overturned bucket propped slightly off the ground, these air pumps can deliver a consistent air supply for your fish no matter how cold or icy they get.

Good luck with your winterization and feel free to stop by our site for more tips and products. I am currently working on rebuilding our site so not everything is up yet, but it will be shortly.

Thoughts of UVs

UV lights are often a frustrating topic. If the wattage and flow rate is set up correctly they can be the ponder's best friend, if not, they are right up there with the worst of them.

They are often times a much larger up front cost compared to standard treatments, but when you look at the long term repeated treatment versus a one time cost, plus replacement bulbs, they are often times as inexpensive or less than treatment. Basically, if you have the wattage and flow adjusted correctly, you will never have green water again. If you do, the bulb has burnt out or the calibration is off.

With how they function, killing all that circulates through them, they do not work on string algae. You still need a barley or other treatment to combat that. Also, is you use natural treatment for the string algae remember to unplug your uv for 24 hours or you are killing your treatment as well as the algae.

They often have roughly 14 month life spans (the bulbs), but if you only use them before your plants have gotten established, they can often work for 3 to 4 years. But remember, as with any other treatment, they are the band-aid, plants are the cure. If you have proper balance of plants and fish you should need minimal treatment of any kind once the plants are established.

I need the whole story!

I had a lady come in today and she was a little upset about how the bottle of treatment she bought last month had not worked. I was surprised by this because in multiple years of selling Aqua-One we have had no complaints. Zero.

After a few minutes of discussing other options she casually asks if she has to leave her pond running all the time. YES! In the matter of a few minutes the good bacteria and organisms start to struggle and die. If you turn off your pond, you are losing all of the benefit of your treatment, biological filtration, and natural petina/carpet algae. Couple that with the fact that Aqua-One is a natual treatment that isn't being cirrculated and dying off almost immediately, yeah, that would make a big difference.

If you are having problems with your pond, you have to tell your pond people the whole story! If you leave out 'little' things like that, you are probably being led down the wrong path. Turning off the pond at any time, okay for pondless, not for ponds. How many koi do you have? How often do you feed them? Are there leaves in the bottom of the pond? Are you or any neighbors treating the yard? Are there any recently added plants, fish, or features?

If you think there is any chance a new or minor element could have contributed to your maintenance issues, there is a good chance they have. It may seem trivial, but the little things do matter.

You may get a bored expression from your pond pro, but if they haven't seen the pond with their own eyes, there could be something that is obvious to them, that is not to you. Take the time to go over the exact set up of your pond, it can save you a lot of time and money.

Lightning & Skimmers

As you could probably guess these two do not mix well. I quite honestly did not believe the owner when he called and said his skimmer was liquid. There is a two story house and large trees surrounding this pond, how could lightning hit something that is pretty much underground?

Apparently, after talking to multiple firemen, it was concluded that it was lightning and it was probably headed for the house, but 'found' the current from the pump and followed it to the skimmer. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. And now you can too.















We attempted to find the remnants of the irrigation box that housed the check valve, shown below, but no evidence was found. It was completely incinerated. I don't know if anyone else has ever had this experience, but it was definitely a first for me.















I guess I get to find out how creative I am with rebuilding a pond that has been struck by lightning. Now I've heard of a pump getting burnt out by a power surge from a lightning strike, but never liquified by a direct strike!

The DIY good and bad.

I just got done having my butt handed to me on the IVillage forum over my rant on using quilt batting. I need to watch where I rant. Complaining about crazy DIYers on a forum that is almost exclusively DIY is never a good idea. Don't get me wrong, there are many great things that can be done with DIY ingenuity, but in the line of business I am in I only see the negative side of it.

Also I looked closer at the posts and it wasn't the same individual that had the leaves and other issues I'd already responded to. Oops.

I understand the use of an 'ultra fine' media when there is an algae bloom or sediment issues. My feeling is that whenever you have those issues it can be handled in a preventive way, not a fix my current issue way. You can strain your pond as many times as you desire, or you can figure out why you are having the issue and prevent it from happening. That is my humble opinion.

I realize I am basically writing to myself on this blog, but hey, in case I have millions of readers that just choose to not post any responses, I thought I'd explain myself a little.

Pounding my head against a wall!

I just got done posting on the i Village pond forum and I want to pull my hair out. There is some individual that has cloudy water and can't figure out what to do. Apparently quilt batting is a popular filter media with some ponders.

Really!?!

That just doesn't sound good to me. Why put that stuff in your pond? There have been millions spent on research and development by the industry and no one sells quilt batting for ponds. There is a reason for this.

Top that with the fact that this individual admitted they had large amounts of leaves in their pond and I really want to scream. If you post enough times and leave out important facts, someone will give you a lame idea that might blindly work.

Talk about treating a gaping wound with a band-aid when you need a tourniquet. If the answer is right in front of your face... well that is probably the answer.

Always check the most obvious culprit before you start digging. If your pump isn't working, check it is plugged in, than if the outlet works. Trust me, I've learned that one the hard way a few times.

Live by the KISS method, Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Rehabing Ponds

Many companies are not willing to rehab an existing pond, I on the other hand kind of enjoy it. To be able to take a broken down water feature and make it like new, and usually better, just feels right. I'm working on one that was starting to fall in on itself, a very common problem. As well as an over grown landscape surrounding the pond.


As you can see the edges were falling in as well as some badly laid flagstone. The water fall was virtually destroyed and there was no true filtration system. There was some archaic out of pond box, but it looked like it had not been cleaned for multiple years.

What I have done so far is to pull every piece of flagstone, recut the edges, and relay all the edge and path/patio flagstone. Along with retro-fitting a compact Savio skimmer and installing a new stream and fountain, things are beginning to look much better.


What was a sloping rough flagstone area is now a multi-level tight laid flagstone patio with plants and boulders positioned within the flag. It has gone over so well the job has almost doubled in size since we started. I will have updated photos as soon as I finish up.

There are so many different "don'ts" in this original pond that I'm not sure where to start. Overall it is just a good example of having a specialist put in your waterfeature. There are plenty of landscapers that can install a pond, but wouldn't you rather have an educated pro install it? Just like a lot of plumbers could do your electric, but wouldn't you rather have an electrician do the work in your house.

Algae Control... Oxymoron?

No, algae control is not an oxymoron like 'military intelligence' or 'deafening silence'. Can it be very elusive... yes! I wish there was a one size fits all answer, but maybe the answer is just that. Each pond has a specific eco system that does not translate across the country or across the lawn from your neighbor's landscape. Plant types, fish amount, natural water pH, and so many other factors make the best blanket answer, just that, there is no one size fits all answer.

Each pond has it's own signature that must be discovered. One treatment may answer your friend's pond, but it won't necessarily answer yours. Don't get frustrated too quickly, there are so many possibilities you can figure something out that works for you.

An Ultra Violet Light is probably the closest thing to a magic bullet when properly fitted, but it does nothing about string algae. Certain algae-cides are great, but they can harm fish especially on warm days, and often times they either feed the next generation of algae or need a second type of treatment to break down the dead algae.

My experience has been that a combination of Aqua-One and barley extract/pellets is the best answer for the most people. A1 is a natural treatment that kills algae and also breaks down the dead algae, and I have found that extract/pellets work better than bales of barley since they don't have to decompose first. Ultra Violet lights are great also, but they must be properly fitted according to flow and wattage, as well as doing nothing for string algae, which you need barley for anyway. Also - if you have a UV, turn it off for 24 hours after treatment with natural treatments or else you are killing your beneficial bacteria.

With all of this being said, plants and a healthy balance are the only true answer. The above mentioned treatments are just that, a treatment or a band-aid. If you want a healthy pond you don't have to continually treat, get plants, plants, and more plants!

Most Common Maintenance Issues

1. Too Many Koi!

I love Koi as much as the next ponder, but they are not to be kept like goldfish. I've stated it before, but it bears repeating. 1 goldfish per 10 gallons, one 1' Koi per hundred gallons, and one 2' Koi per thousand gallons on a standard water garden. Now if you have a true Koi pond we are talking a whole other ball game, otherwise, you're going to have algae and health issues.

2. Over feeding you fish.

You actually don't have to feed your fish at all. Now they become more friendly when you do regularly, but don't go crazy with it. If there is any left over after they are done eating you are now feeding algae, not your fish.

3. Not enough plants.

Plants can be the entire filtration system on their own. Really. If you don't have plants competing for the nutrients and shading out the algae you are going to need treatments. Rule of thumb - Treatments are the band-aid, plants are the cure.

4. Rock bottom ponds.

Now this is not true in all cases, I'm speaking of my experience. There are some of the very best installers in the country that argue this fact to no end. My experience is that unless you love getting in your pond, or have more filtration than the average water garden, you will hate the rock on the bottom of your pond. It all turns green eventually anyway, why pay for pretty rock that you will never see again.

5. Cyclical mistakes.

Often to do with algae. "I had green water, than I drain it, than it turns green again!" Yeah, that is what it does. You didn't solve your algae problem, you just started the cycle over again. - or - "I love clean rocks so I power wash my pond" Same idea as above. If you remove all the beneficial organisms, which most live in the patina / carpet algae, you just restarted your biological system. Also, you get too aggressive with that power washer, you can put a hole in your liner.

6. Salt usage.

"My neighbor uses salt and they don't have the same issue as I do." They may not have the algae issues, but they don't have the same plants as you do. Over 1% and you start to burn floaters, over that and you start to kill most water plants. If you have a 'pond guy' that uses salt make sure its under 1%. Chances are he's listened to a Koi enthusiast and they mentioned salt, which is great for Koi. They often don't have water plants. And ... less salt comes out then you think on water changes, if you don't have a salt test, be very careful even if you are dosing lightly.

7. Un-potted plants.

Water gardens are not Natural!!! Unless you have a natural pond without any type of liner, unpotted plants will become a manintenance nightmare. Lillies and lotus need to be fertilized and divided regularly, it is MUCH easier to do this when they are potted. Cattail and many marginals can be very invasive and damage your opnd in the long run if they jump the pot or don't have one at all.

The Most Important Thing!

Now that we are in the full swing of the early pond season it is important to remember a few things. Plants!

That is only one, but they are so important that it should count as a few. Plants are the backbone of your water garden. If you have enough and the right type you really don't need much else. It will never stop amazing me at the level of maintenance that disappears just by having enough filtration and shade plants. Our courtyard pond gets a single dose of Aqua-One in the spring and then NOTHING else! It is roughly 15 by 8 with a Savio skimmer, endless cascades waterfall box, and a planting pocket.

There are anywhere between 4 to 7 lilies in the pond during the year and a lotus. There are hyacinth in the stream and the cascades is packed full of filtration plants. Also, not to be ignored are many plants in the planting pocket. If you haven't seen one of these, its basically a bog filtration pocket on the side of the pond. There is no water being forced through the pocket, but the underlay sides allows water in and out, but keeps the dirt in the pocket. A great visual buffer zone between land and pond also. You can pack this full of filtration plants and tropicals. They are largely under-valued. This is the only picture I can find of the pocket, but I know I have better ones at the store, I'll update shortly.



I'm not saying that you will never need to treat your pond again with enough water plants. Early in the year they are not established enough to starve out the algae, so early treatment is necessary, or a UV. But when you get the right balance, it minimizes the maintenance like nothing short of an ultra violet light.