[MWG] Today's Pond Q&A
Funniest Pond Stories - Part II Hi Folks, Brett Fogle here, and I want to know your story! Last year we ran a contest to see who could send in the funniest pond story to share with our readers, and it was such a big hit... We're going to do it again! To read last year's article, click the link below. http://www.macarthurwatergardens.com/Newsletters/funniest-pond-stories.shtml So this year we're looking for some even funnier stories, which will be published in an upcoming issue of PondStuff! our (sometimes) monthly pond and water gardening newsletter. The winner of this year's 'Funniest Pond Story' as judged by our 9,000+ readers will win a $50 gift certificate to use when ordering on our website! $50 goes a long way towards fish food, a replacement UV bulb, some Algae Fix -- or whatever you need for your pond... So go ahead and send in your funniest pond story to me directly at brett@macarthurwatergardens.com. If you have pictures, great! Send those also. Please also put the words 'Funniest Pond Story' in the subject line. (Please send these to us by this Sunday, August 21st!) For everybody else, look for these to be published in this month's issue of PondStuff! Happy Pondkeeping Brett Fogle MacArthur Water Gardens 800-695-4913 ------------------------------- Today's Pond Q&A In this issue: - OVERWINTERING (FROG) - FILTER CLEANING ----------------------------- Question> Carolyn, I live in Massachusetts (zone 5) and I will be winter over my fish (goldfish & koi) and hardy lilies, marginals this year for the first time. I plan to have a Thermo Pond heater in the pond. I recently found I have frog living in the pond, will he survive since I plan to clean the bottom of the pond he will have no place to "bury" himself? Can you recommend any articles/web sites about prepping for winter. Thanks! Bill Ross _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Discover the tips and secrets of the professionals... New eBook covers all important elements of pond building and water gardening -'Water Gardens Made Easy' is availabe now. Click here to reserve your copy: www.water-garden-secrets.com _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Answer> Hi Bill, The Thermo Pond heater is good for winter and I have heard of frogs overwintering in protected ponds before, but no, he wouldn't have anyplace in ANY pond with a liner to dig in for winter. In fact, I hope there aren't any ponds with that much debris on the bottom. That would be a case of mistaken priorities because in order for the frog to make it, perhaps the fish wouldn't. Frogs don't necessarily stay in the water in winter. They tend to find soft ground near or under the pond. Many will travel to find suitable winter digs. If they were born in the pond, they sometimes come back. As for preparing for winter, you are already half-way there with the heater. Clean the pond and stop feeding before the water temperature hits 50F. As the temperatures hit 60F, cut out the high protein foods and drop it down to one feeding daily. Then when it is 55F, feed every other day. If you have any way to block the wind and weather for winter, that would be a plus. In case of power outage, keep an opening in the ice by using hot water instead of trying to forcefully break the ice. Otherwise, cut off any waterfall or above-ground water supply to the pond. I would keep the filter circulating. Moving water doesn't freeze as easily. And don't forget, we do water changes during the winter also, whenever weather permits. Literature can be obtained from many of the pond supply dealers and koi clubs. - Carolyn == Question> Hi Carolyn, In the waterfall I have 3 sheet of filter material weight down by 2 backs of Bio Balls. In the skimmer I have a submergeball pump connected to the same 2" pipe as the Dragon pump so the one pump pushes the water toward the Dragon pump and the Dragon pump pulls the water the reason I did these is because the distance from the skimmer to the pump is about 20'. The Dragon pump pumps the water through the aqua beads filter back to the waterfall. I find that in 2 weeks time the filter mats in the waterfall are very dirty and I thought that all the mess would stay in the aquabead filter, witch is cleaned every week and it looks like it does not have a lot of poop in it. I have about 30 12" koi in the pond and feed them about 3 times daily their is never any food left they eat it all. The water in the pond is very clean that is no problem just that I bought the aquabead filter so I didn't have to clean the waterfall every time. I don't have a prefilter vortex settling chamber only a leaf trap on the pump. I do have an airblower on the aquabead filter and I run it for about 3 minutes before I backwash. After cleaning the filter etc. the water runs good over the waterfall but in about a week it get less and less than I have to clean again. Hope this information will help solve the problem. Thank you, Bim == Answer> Okay,Bim, I think I see the problem. You are filtering the pond to perfection! However, the food is going in one end (of the fish) and out the other. The mats are excellent in picking up any debris and so is the filter. When you think about all that filtration, you may want to think about what you are filtering exactly-- fish poop. So, the more you feed, the more you will collect. The mats have to be "backwashed" by hand versus the filter which is easier. Would you say your pond is overstocked? These are the things that contribute to a drain on the filter system, not to say that an outdoor pond won't collect debris naturally that can in itself fill up those mats in a week's time. But if you cut back on the amount of food, maybe in half, you should start to notice a difference. When koi eat, not having a stomach to digest food, it is literally pushed in one end and out the other. Sometimes less really is more, as in this case. Another thing, you will probably be able to get away with one filter mat after the pond ecosystem is established. Do you use Microbe Lift to help break down debris? - Carolyn == Happy Pondkeeping! Brett Fogle MacArthur Water Gardens www.macarthurwatergardens.com © MacArthur Water Gardens 1698 SW 16th ST Boca Raton, FL 33486 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This email is never sent without permission. 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Message Added: August 18th, 2005 at 3:00 pm
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