Important Pond Winterizing Tip

When you turn off the pump in your skimmer, you have to release the check valve (if there is one). Look inside the skimmer to see if there is either a rubber elbow with clamps or a curved PVC piece with a union fitting attached to the return line. In either case, they must be loosened so the water remaining in the line from the waterfall box will drain out. The line must be open and free of water. The pump can remain in the skimmer for the winter. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Please make sure you complete this step, so your tubing/fittings don't crack. Click here for more advice on winterizing your pond from Aquatic Connections.

Aquatic Connections New Children's Mascot

Freddie the Frog has joined the Aquatic Connections Team. Freddie will be helping out with children's seminars and classes. He will be introduced to school children in January 2008, when two Ponds For Kids classes begin at a local elementary school. Freddie will be going on many adventures and will make appearances at Aquatic Connections Retail Water Garden Center. Keep you eye out for Freddie the Frog. You never know where he's going to show up. You can see more of Freddie's photos and adventures on his photo page at aquaticconnections.com.

P. Allen Smith's Advice on Poinsettia Care

Temperature plays a very important part in the care of poinsettias. According to Smith, you should protect the poisettia plants from temperatures below 50 degrees when you are transporting them from the store to your home. To prolong their color, keep your plants in rooms where the nighttime temperature is around 60 degrees and the daytime temperature is around 72 degrees. Smith goes on to say that poinsettias prefer high humidity. For more information on P. Allen Smith's tips on how to increase the humidity around the plant and whether you should fertilize poinsettias, click here to go to his full article. At Aquatic Connections, we try to pass along helpful tips about plants, gardening, and of course, ponds. Poinsettias can be arranged in beautiful urns, like the one in the picture, featuring Proven Winners Diamond Frost. If you have any of your own poisettia care tips, feel free to share them.

My Koi Died Because There Were Too Many Leaves

I put my pond heater in yesterday since it seems like temperatures are going to be staying down near the freezing mark. My net is still on the pond because the leaves on the tree directly above it haven't all fallen yet. (We built our two-tier pond around an existing tree because I thought it would look really cool-this time of year my husband wishes I never came up with the idea!) Anyway, right now there are tons of leaves on the lower pond and the net is no longer stretched tightly above the water. This is exactly what happened two years ago when all of our koi died. The surface water of the pond was frozen and we never cleared away all the leaves on top of the pond. Leaves were packed around the edges of the pond and prevented the exchange of oxygen and the toxins in the water. The ice on the pond will freeze and thaw slightly providing a small opening around the edge of the pond for this exchange. We lost ever koi we had. We always tell our customers at Aquatic Connections to put a pond heater in the pond, just to keep an opening in the ice. That year, not only did we not follow our own advise; we didn't remove the leaves and it caused a very lethal problem. So my advice is to blow the leaves off the pond net or scoop them out of the water now before they get stuck in the ice.

I Forgot To Put My Pond Heater In

I just realized that I haven't put my pond heater in the pond yet and there is already a thin layer of ice forming on top. We had our first minor snowfall early this morning; luckily it didn't amount to much. The net is still on the pond, so tomorrow morning when the temperatures are supposed to be in the forties I will have to remove part of it to install my pond heater. I'm going to leave the net on a while longer because the leaves haven't all fallen from the trees yet. The pond heater will turn on when the water is cold enough because it has an internal thermostat.

My suggestion is get your pond heater or de-icer in now as well as you aerator or bubbler, if you are going to use one. It's not a good idea to smash through the ice once it forms on top of the pond. You can order a pond heater online at www.aquaticconnections.com. Aquatic Connections has several varieties of pond de-icers in stock. I personally use the "rock" heater from Tetra. For more pond winterizing tips you can read the full article in the FAQ & Tips section of our website.

A Bird Was Stuck Under My Pond Net

I went outside this afternoon to fill my bird feeders up with seed, so the birds would have something to eat during tomorrow's snow/ice/rain storm. As I walked by my pond, which is covered to keep out the leaves, I was startled by a flapping noise and frantic motion under the net. It scared the daylights out of me and I actually jumped! Here, a mourning dove had found his way under the net but couldn't seem to find his way out. I don't know if he was actually ready to get out, but I'm sure I scared him as much as he scared me and he wanted to make a quick get away. Problem was he couldn't figure out where the exit was. So I carefully started to pull back some of the pond netting to make an escape route for him. I had to untie several of those fuzzy pipe cleaners that were holding two pieces of netting together(they work great, by the way, if you have to attach several nets together) I was on my fourth one, and he decided he couldn't wait any longer. He just burst through a small opening of net which was attached to a brick wall and flew away.

The lesson here: Keep an eye on your pond every so often to make sure there aren't any stranded creatures underneath. You may need to rescue them.

What was he doing under there, you ask? He needed a drink, of course! Water is very important to birds, squirrels and other wildlife, and it is sometimes difficult to find in the winter. I have seen many varieties of birds under my pond net, including morning doves, wrens and the dark-eyed junco. This was not the first time that I have had to rescue a bird from under my pond net. I wish they would use my heated birdbath instead!

Aquatic Connections is certified as a Backyard Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. At Aquatic Connections we recommend using birdbath heaters, which will help provide a source of water for birds (and squirrels) all winter long. They are available on our website www.aquaticconnections.com.

Extend the Life of Your Tropical Water Lilies

A brand new product is on the market that will extend the growing season for your tropical water lilies. The Thermoplanter is an innovative new tool for anyone who wishes to grow and enjoy tropical waterlilies. Whether you have a water garden in your back yard or a container on a patio, the Thermoplanter will make growing these wonderful plants easy. The Thermoplanter will allow you to place your lily outside 4-6 weeks earlier in the year than normally possible. In more southern climates the Thermoplanter will insure winter survivability only possible in the deep south. In the north the tropicals can be wintered in the Thermoplanter by simply bringing it indoors and plugging it back in, no difficult storage methods or techniques.
The Thermoplanter is available at Aquatic Connections Water Garden Center. It will be available for purchase online at www.aquaticconnections.com shortly.

Berry Producing Plants aren't Producing Berries!

According to P. Allen Smith, there a several reasons why a plant may not produce an abundance of berries or any at all. Some plants need a male and a female plant to produce berries. Maybe you have the female plant but not the male. Many hollies need a male plant within 300 feet of the female plant to produce berries. The male plant is the pollen producing plant. Another reason for lack of berries may have to do with the decrease in bees. Bees pollinate the flowers and if there aren't many bees there won't be many berries. This is a big issue in the news right now and it is affecting the farming community. Apparently, honey bees are disappearing and bee keepers are finding hives diseased and empty. And finally, sometimes plants just need a break. They need to rest and therefore produce less berries one year than they did in the past. P. Allen Smith reccommends using a slow release all purpose fertilizer AFTER the LAST freeze date in your area.

Winter Tips for Aquatic Plants

As cold weather approaches there are a few tips for trimming your aquatic plants. You can cut back hardy marginals to within 2-3 inches of the crown of the plant. Make sure the crown of the plant sits below the surface of the water. Remove any dead or decaying leaves. Take water hyacinths and water lettuce out of the pond so they don't rot and sink to the bottom. (Unless you live in an area of the country that does not experience cold winter temperatures) Remove dead leaves and stems from water lilies. Tropical plants need to be brought inside. If anyone has some success stories about overwintering tropical plants indoors, please post them here for others to read. Thanks.

Pond Winterizing Tip

It is time to put the second dose of Microbelift Autumn/Winter Prep bacteria in your pond. This specially formulated bacteria can withstand cold water temperatures and helps keep a balanced ecosystem as we approach the Fall and Winter months. If you missed the first dose in September, start now. Don't forget the enzyme packs. Please follow the directions for your size pond.

How many fish is too many fish?

One formula for determining how many fish you can have in your pond is: 1 inch of fish for every square foot of water surface. That gives you some different options. You can have a lot of little fish or a few big fish. For example, a 6ft by 8ft pond has 48 square feet of water surface. You could have 24 2 inch fish in that pond according to the formula. You could also have 8 6 inch fish or 4 12 inch fish. We all no thereis one problem with this formula and maxing it out oo early. Fish Grow. You should allow for the growth of your fish when deciding how many to put in your pond. Keep in mind there are many other factors that have to be considered when following this formula. Your pond needs sufficient filtration and/or aquatic plants to handle the number of fish. You don't want to overfeed them since that will produce more fish waste and could cause water quality problems. If you put in too many fish and they outgrow the size of your pond, what will you do with them. These all bring up topics that pond hobbyists deal with everyday. Please post questions, comments and solutions that may help a fellow pond owner.

Can too many fish cause algae problems?

Many pond owners experience two problems with their pond at some point in time. They have green water algae or string alage and they have too many fish. Are these two problems related? The answer is sometimes. The more fish you have in your pond, the more food you feed them, the more waste they produce. This can lead to poor water quality issues including algae. A simple rule of thumb for determining how many fish you should have in your pond is No more than 1 inch of fish per square foot of water surface. So if you have an 8ft by 10 ft pond, that is 80 square feet. So based on the formula you should have no more than 80 inches of fish. That could be 8 fish that are 10 inches long or 10 fish that are 8 inches long, for example. Some pond owners who have a lot of fish do not experience alage problems. Those pond owners most likely have sufficient filtration to handle the fish waste. We recommend a bottom drain to people who know they will have a lot of fish. It really helps clean the pond more effectively. They may have a UV light to kill the algae. They may also have large numbers of aquatic plants. These products can help keep the pond in balance despite a heavy fish load. If you want a lot of fish in your pond, you need the right equipment and plant material to properly filter the pond to prevent algae problems, poor fish health and poor water quality. Please feel free to post any comments regarding your algae problems or solutions.

My Pond Water's Green- How can plants help?

What can you do if your pond water's green and it really should be crystal clear? There are many reasons why a pond's ecosystem can be out of balance and water can turn green. Maybe one or several factors can be contributing to your problem. Let's start with plants. Alage, being a plant itself, will thrive in conditions where there is plenty of sunlight, lots of nutrients in the water and very little other plant life. Aquatic plants are an important part of a pond and will actually help control algae. The roots of the plants will absorb the nutrients in the water and if you have enough aquatic plants, will effectivley starve out the algae. How do you know if you have enough aquatic plants? Well, the pond industry generally recommends that at least 50% of your pond surface be covered with plants. That can be a lot of plants. Water hyacinth, parrots feather, creeping buttercup, forget-me-nots are a few "spreading" type plants that can help provide coverage. Plant bogs are very effective in keeping the water clear because the pond water is forced through the peagravel areas and the roots of the plants. Further discussion of plant bogs or types of plants that work well for controlling algae would be helpful. Please post any comments that will help out your fellow pond hobbyists.

How do I keep my fish population under control?

You started out with a few koi and a few goldfish and three years later you need a bigger pond. Not because the original fish have outgrown it but because they are breeding like crazy! What can you do? We have had requests at Aquatic Connections, for catfish because it has been discussed that they will help control the population. (by doing what? consuming the eggs or eating the existing fish?)You can scoop out the jelly-like masses of eggs when they are laid in the pond. Look for them in the areas where there are plants. You should notice some change in behavior of your fish before the eggs are laid. They seem a little more aggressive, swimming around a lot more with other fish chasing them. There should also be some change in appearance of the females when they are carrying a sac full of eggs, just as all pregnant women can attest to. Please help out your fellow pond owners with any tips you may have on controlling the fish population by posting them here.

If you need a new long-handled pond skimmer net to reach the eggs to scoop them out you will find them at www.aquaticconnections.com.

Help! I have too many fish in my pond!

So many customers have called, emailed or come in our water garden center, Aquatic Connections, over the years saying they have too many fish in their ponds and don't know what to do. We have often thought about setting up extra tanks and taking in customers fish. Taking care of tanks requires a lot of time and maintenance. The fish would have to be quarantined for a longer period of time because they would be coming from different environments, but it seems like there is a real need for this service. Tell us what you think. Should we set up tanks for these fish who need a new home? Should the customers who bring in fish be compensated for them? Should we resell them at a lower price because they are not direct from a breeder?

To join our email list visit our website www.aquaticconnections.com.

Backyard Ponds Are Easy To Install

Most homeowners can install a backyard pond in one weekend. Pond kits come complete with everything the homeowner will need but the rocks and the water. Get the same filtration systems used by the professionals. Pond kits can be found in sizes as small as 4' x 6' with the most popular sizes being 8' x 11' and 11' x 16'. Pond kits come with written installation instructions and many times include a VHS or DVD version of step by step instructions. Design and installation tips can be found at www.aquaticconnections.com. Homeowners who have installed their own pond are welcome to post their own installation tips.

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Fish Survey Results

Thank you to those of you who took the time to respond to the fish survey. Here are some of the most interesting results:

60% of people surveyed - have shopped at Aquatic Connections so often they've lost count.

30% of people surveyed - have a pond under 500 gallons
30% of people surveyed - have a pond 501 to 1500 gallons
17% of people surveyed - have a pond 1501 to 3000 gallons
19% of people surveyed - have a pond over 3000 gallons
4% of people surveyed - did not have a pond

58% of people surveyed - have over 10 fish in their pond

60% of people surveyed - have Domestic koi (comets were a close 2nd with 59%)

My observation would be that many of these pond owners have too many fish for the size of their pond. So let's open this up for discussion on filtration. Today's pond technology makes it easy and affordable for homeowners to have biological filtration(usually in the form of a waterfall box) and mechanical filtration (most commonly in the form of a skimmer). Today's pond kits are sold complete with both units and everything else you need. What type of filtration are you using? Does it work or do you need some help balancing your ecosystem? Please feel free to comment and help out your fellow pond hobbyists.

A Great Tip for Pond Netting

When you place your pond net over the pond this fall, try to keep it stretched above the water. It is much easier to blow off leaves when they are dry than when they are wet. If the pond is large, consider laying stakes or PVC tubing across the pond and then set the net on top. If you have any other tips on keeping leaves out of your pond, please fell free to post your comments.

What's The Best Way to Keep Your Pond Clean This Fall

One of the most successful ways to keep your pond clean in the fall is to maintain a healthy level of beneficial bacteria and keep it free of decaying debris. I have found that Microbelift Autumn/Winter prep is a bacteria that can withstand the colder water temperatures and helps maintain a balanced ecosystem.
Sludge Away by Microbelift is another product that will help break down decomposing leaves and debris. Pease feel free to comment with any Fall Tips you might have come up with that will help other pond owners.