According to a study done by TetraPond, 68% of pond owners have included a waterfall when building their pond. Not only are waterfalls attractive they also serve a purpose. They splashing effect from the water helps to aerate the pond and also circulate the water.
Most pond owners are aware of the benefits of pond bacteria and the importance of keeping a thriving colony in their pond or water garden, However, many people are un-aware that there are two distinct groups of pond bacteria – sludge removers and nitrifiers. Sludge removers are very common in the marketplace and come in both liquid and powder forms. These are the bacteria that are responsible for digesting and removing excess nutrients and organic matter such as fish waste, excess food and dead algae. These bacteria are fairly hardy and can revert into spores should conditions in the water become unfavorable such as high pH spikes or cold water. These bacteria are also rapid multipliers and can colonize and spread quickly making them very efficient at their jobs.
Nitrifiers, on the other hand, are less prevalent in the marketplace mostly due to their sensitive nature. Nitrifiers are the bacteria responsible for biologically reducing and controlling toxic ammonia and nitrites. Two main species make up nitrifiers, Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. Nitrosomonas will convert ammonia into nitrite, while Nitrobacter will convert nitrite into nitrates. Nitrifying bacteria are very senstive to water conditions, needing stable pH, high dissolved oxygen content and no inorganic toxins like chlorine present in the water. Like their sludge removing cousins, they also multiply and colonize throughout the pond, although mainly in the filter, however they colonize at a slower rate, which is why it typically takes a new pond or aquarium several weeks to cycle and become stable to support fish. During that time frame the nitrifiers are colonizing and working on eliminating ammonia. Nitrifiers do not have the capability to revert into a spore form, which means they are easily killed and are only available in liquid form with the best formulas requiring refrigeration for the best results.
Fortunately for our customers, we carry both types of bacterias in our online store, just look under the Pond Bacteria section and find all we have to offer.
Rated for ponds up to 1000 gallons, this pump features:
Find it at www.pondworld.com
Lifegard All-In-One Filter Systems are marked down from $266.99 to $140.99, a 47% savings!!!
This submersible pond filter system beautifies, cleans and maintains a healthy pond, fountain or water garden from 300 gallons up to 1500 gallons. Includes mechanical filter, biological filter, 9 watt UV sterilizer, Quiet One pond pump w/ 4 water feature attachments.
Check them out at www.pondworld.com
We didnt forget about you folks who have large ponds. Our latest Deal of the Day is the Aquatic Weed Eradicator used to safely cut and remove nuisance aquatic vegatation from large ponds or lakes. Check them out at www.pondworld.com.
Tea colored water is a common occurence for pond owners and is very annoying, but many folks do not know what causes it. Tea colored water is caused by tannins. Tannins come from decaying leaves, twigs, mulch, bark and other similar sources. As these materials break down, the chemical in their cells that make up their color are released into the water. They are generally not too harmful other than the aesthetic distraction, but there are ways to get it rid of it and help keep it away. First of all you need to keep your pond cleaned out, which could mean vacuuming it out, using a net to scoop out debris from the bottom and even using pond bacteria to help quickly break down waste. If you actually get the tea colored water, it can easily be cleared by using activated carbon. Activated carbon will adosrb (not absorb) tannins and other toxins in water to help clean it. All you need to do is place the carbon is a mesh bag and add to your filter or under the water fall and in a day or two the tannins should be cleared.
On a rainy day like today, I want to remind people to check your pond for run-off of waste in your pond. Heavy down pours can flush all sorts of things into your pond, which can compromise your water quality and even lead to algae blooms. Use a good net to scoop our leaves and such, make sure your filter is working well and be sure you have good beneficial bacteria in your pond. Additionally, large pond owners should make sure their aerators are running as run-off waste can put a strain on oxygen levels in a pond when it breaks down.
With the recent innovations in pond lighting technology it is no surprise that more and more pond owners are adding lights to their pond or watergarden. I mean, why limit your pond enjoyment to just the daytime. It used to be that adding lights to ponds created a lot more work and problems that many thought they were worth. Until the recent improvements in LED lighting, ponds typically used incandescent and halogen lights, which have limited longevity. This meant more maintenance and more cost in replacing bulbs. Now that LED lighting is becoming increasingly affordable and lasts 10-30 times longer that traditional halogen lights, pond owners are taking advantage making their ponds enjoyable at night now.
Also emerging in the world of pond lights is fiber optic lighting. Like LEDs, fiber optic lights have become more affordable and offer certain advantages LEDs and halogens dont which are the facts that you do not have to change a bulb in the pond since light is generated outside of it and also that fiber optic lights typically do not require electricity in the water, which is safer for everyone.
Ponders interested in adding lights also have more color considerations now as pond lighting is available now in just about any color combination thanks to lenses and LED bulbs. So if you are interested in turning your pond into more than just a daytime luxury, look into pond lighting. It just may be an affordable may to extend the viewing of your pond.
The new Deal of the Day are our 2, 6 and 20 count Mosquito Dunks. Mosquito Dunks utilize Bti to naturally control mosquitos in ponds, birdbaths and other standing water environments by killing mosquito larvae befor they can become biting adults. Mosquito Dunks are harmless to fish, pets, people and plants once applied to the water. Check them out here: Mosquito Dunks
Because there are so many species of animals that call ponds home, it can be easy for a pond owner to get carried away with adding/ attracting too many species to their pond. It is important to remember that ponds are only designed to support a finite amount of aquatic life and if the boundaries get pushed you can be in for a lot of maintenance work or simply a deteriorating pond. For starters, fish, frogs, turtles and any other animals have to use the bathroom more times than not it ends up in the water. That means the pond is responsible for breaking it down, but there is only so much waste that can be processed before the water gets contaminated with ammonia and nitrites. As far as fish is concerned, there are some formulas to help calculate the amount of fish a given pond can support. On such formula is tofigure about 1″ of fish per 1 square foot of water, while another is 1″ of fish per 1o gallons of water. Also make sure you are factoring in the adult size of the fish and not the baby size.
Also, birds can look pretty and you my think you want them, but if you have a small pond, birds like ducks and swans can wreck a pond as they are very messy and desctructive and can quickly dirty up pond water. So if your goal is to have clear water and enjoy your fish, you might want to keep the birds to a minimum. Another no-no is introducing wild species into your pond such as fish or creatures caught from other lakes. This can potentially introduce diseases to your pond and kill your resident fish and animals. Also creatures like turtles can wreak havoc on pond plants, so again if your goal is to have a thriving watergarden with a diversity of plants, you might want to avoid turtles.
So really the key point when stocking your pond is planning. You really need to have a clear idea of what the goal of your pond is, whether it is for fish watching, fishing, birding or just raising beautiful water plants. In many instances it can be very time consuming to combine these goals.