The Pond Warehouse Blog » algae

Is your pond going yet?

Pond Warehouse — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:08:10 +0000

By now spring has arrived pretty much everywhere – except for my friends in the Northern states, Canada and the UP of my home state of Michigan.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind while getting your pond going for Spring.
1. Hopefully you kept your pump somewhere that it would not freeze and in a bucket of water to keep the seals moist. If not… do that next year. Before you hook up the pump, check it over, look for issues. Give the impeller a couple spins.
2. What about debris in your pond. Take a few moments and clean out any leaves sticks and anything dead in the skimmer – I always find interesting stuff in mine too. How is your pre filter, brushes and debris net?
3. Check your biological filter or aquafalls. Hopefully you kept your bio media wet. I keep my media bags and filter pads in the bottom of my pond near my aerator over winter. This keeps the bacteria healthy. If you didn’t do that – do it next year. It is always a good idea to wipe out any slime from your falls and filter. Gently clean the pads, don’t pressure wash them as it will rinse off the good bacteria and trash the pads. Do you need new pads? Put your filter back together.
4. Do you have a UV light? Look it over, make sure it is working. Remember the bulb is only good for 12 months even though it still lights up. Clean the quartz sleeve carefully, use vinegar and water. Keep the bulb dry.
5. I recommend doing a 25% water exchange. If you only have city water you may want to avoid this as you end up adding chlorine and needing to get that out. Make sure you set your water level back where it should be. Look around your stream, pond and aqua-falls. Do you see any moist spots where water is getting out of the pond? Now plug in the pump. Is water getting out anywhere? You may need to add some water now too.
6. Let it run for 24 hours before you bother testing the pH level. Make sure you keep cleaning the filter pad and debris net for the first few days (probably 2 times per day).
7. Time to check the water. There are many things you can check, but for simplicity make sure you check your pH. You want it between 6.8 and 8.2 – much better if it is around 7.2 in a safe range.
8. Don’t bother feeding your fish or adding bacteria or other treatments unless the water temp is 55F or higher. The only treatments that works well under 55F are pond dye, dechlorinator and pH adjusters. If your temp is above 55F by all means start your bacteria treatments. Double the first dosage of the year and keep on it every 2 – 3 weeks. If you use a algae treatment do that every 2 – 3 weeks as well,but alternate so you are doing that at a different time as your bacteria. Do your bacteria treatments in the morning once it is warm and sun is on the pond.
9. Feeding the fish – start slow, small amounts, make sure they eat it all and that all of the fish are eating. How do the fish look? Any issues?
10. Keep an eye on the fish, pH, water level and the debris net and filters until you know all is well.
11. Enjoy! Now go do some other chores

If we can be of any assistance give us a call.
Thanks,
Paul and Crissy

Fountains Provide Air and Flair !

Pond Warehouse — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:41:41 +0000

There is no doubt that fountains are beautiful and add a great deal of beauty and character to any pond or lake. Unfortunately over the years terminology and differing brands have confused people – most of the calls we receive are regarding people with an interest in fountains, but they don’t know where to begin. In this blog post I hope to clear the air and get back to simplicity.

Fountains are very benificial to a pond or lake by providing aeration, circulation and of course - beauty, but don’t foget about the soothing sound they provide. The sound is very relaxing and can also disguise noisy streets or other unwanted noises. Here is a video & audio (once you click just scroll down and pick a video) of an Aquatic Aeration fountain.

As fountains shoot water up in the air and the water crashes down on the pond – this oxygenates the water which greatly improves water quality and habitat. This water movement pattern also keeps water circulating throughout the pond, keeping the surface clean, free of algae and equalizing some of the water temperature from greater depths. Most fountains will circulate water depths from 4 – 6 feet deep. We do carry some brands that can move water from 10′ deep or more using a draw tube.

Fountains are a simple floating head with a pump attached underneath. The floating fountain assembly is either tied to blocks at the bottom or to the edges of the pond or lake with stakes.

Most of the confusion surrounds how big of a motor or how much horsepower do you need. Which then leads into power supply and energy usage. Most normal size units run on standard 115 household voltage and a 1 Horsepower unit pulls about the same a good strong vacuum cleaner – 11 amps.

Three things can influence what size you should buy. How big is the pond or lake, how big (height and width) is the spray pattern you want and how big is your budget.

There is an old rule of thumb that for every acre in size you should have 1 horsepower. Spray height is simple by looking at the various charts and patterns. Pick the pattern you like and how big of a display looks good to you – this may impact what size you buy. Lastly and usually most important is price. 1 HP and smaller fountains are certainly more affordable and are the most widely used.

See – it isn’t all that complicated. We carry a large variety of fountains ( EasyPro, Kasco, Air-O-Lator, Aquatic Aeration and Aqua Master) and they all come with everything you need. Fountain assembly, mooring ropes and a control panel with built in GFI and timer. After opening your box you could honestly be sitting on the shore or deck enjoying your fountain drinking a cocktail just 20-30 minutes later.

You can browse our product pages or give us a call and we can walk you through what is your best fit for your application and budget.

To get even more enjoyment, light kits are available for night time viewing and these run on timers as well. We even have different color bulbs to give you the look you desire.

If you have been considering a fountain for your lake, pond, lake association etc… Please give us a call, we would be happy to explain it all in greater detail.

Thanks,

Paul Cole

The Pond Warehouse

Spring is in Swing!

Pond Warehouse — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:06:50 +0000

With Spring in full swing so is the risk of your pond being out of control and the likely possibility of an algae bloom. Avoid all of those headaches and enjoy your pond with a couple simple tips.

Make sure you pH level is in check - make sure it is between 6.8 and 8.2. if it isn’t you at greater risk and so are your fish, plus if your pH is not set right your expensive water treatments will have little to no effect.

Next, it is always important to add good bacteria to you pond. For small water gardens (under 6,000 gallons) I like liquid bacteria. For larger ponds I recommend the 8 ounce water soluble bags called Pond Vive. Your should be adding bacteria to your pond every 2-3 weeks during the months that your water is over 55 degrees F.

The same goes for algae treatments. Why wait until you have an algae boom. I recommend treating your water gardens and smaller ponds with AlgaeFix or Algaway every 2 weeks during the high sunlight months. These simple treatments will save you from wasting a long precious Saturday or Sunday cleaning your pond.
Another alternative to algaecide is a UV light that bursts and kills the algae spores as the water flows past the light bulb. Give us a call and we can set you up with one that is great for your application.
Also now that your water is over 55F you should be feeding your fish regularly. Not too much, otherwise it is waste and that could lead to any overload of nutrients in your pond.
Enjoy the weather.
Thanks,
Paul