I'm trying to get a message out: Slow Air Demo.............

I'm trying to get a message out: Slow Air Demo

Namaste

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day all you Mothers out there!!

Mothers Day is a Great Day! Tell her you love her today.
My kids plan to make my wife Breakfast and give her gifts they bought. My daughter said she will clean the house today.....I don't think that will happen....we can't get her to clean her room.
But my wife won't mind because she is a mother and looks for the good in her children. My son will just keep giving my wife hugs and kisses all day. One of the things I plan on doing for my wife is taking her to Stephens Garden Creation to buy a Koi. I have about 20 fish in my pond and 2 Koi I had a couple of more but don't know what happened to them. Well Being the mother she is and still having that need to nurture something she wants another Koi. No problem I want one also. Mothers day is when Stephens (SGC) starts selling Koi again. SGC has an unbelievable selection of fish from small fry to 18"-24" Koi. We will get a 6"-10" so it won't start any crap with my bigger Koi 14".

Got to Go and call my Mother!

The Seven Deadly Sins of Pondkeeping

from http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/ponds/


The Seven Deadly Sins of Pondkeeping
By Greg Speichert Originally published in Water Gardening Magazine, May/June 1998 Reprinted with permissionAquarticles
1. Making the pond too small, too shallow, or too deep. Many first-time pond builders do not realize how many gallons it takes to make up a square foot of water. Two hundred fifty gallons sounds like a lot at first, but it is only enough to fill an area about 4 foot square and 2 feet deep. The best rule of thumb is to make the pond as large as you can for the space where you want it to go. If you really do want to start out small with an in-ground pond, then line the pond with EPDM rubber liner, so that you can add on when you decide to expand the pond or install a stream or waterfall. When it comes to depth, check with pond owners in your area to find out what works best in your climate. If the pond is too shallow, it will be difficult to care for fish or plants. The same is true if the pond is too deep.
2. Buying a pump that's too low in capacity or too high in electrical use. Measuring proper pump size is another matter that should be given thought and consideration. A cheaper pump with lower capacity may seem like a bargain when you are in the store, but once you bring it home and it barely powers a little fountain, it will not look like such a good deal any more. Make sure to pay close attention to the energy use of the pump. Buying a cheaper brand that uses a lot of electricity will end up costing you more money in less than a year's time. You will spend more money on your electric bill than you would have if you had simply bought a better pump. Invest in a good pump with a decent warranty. Avoid ones that are oil-cooled, since they can leak oil into the pond.
3. Making the waterfall or stream too big or too small for the pond. Adding a running water feature to a pond is a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to figure out how big to make the stream or waterfall. You have to keep in mind the amount of water that will be used by the water feature, because this will drain down the pond when the waterfall is running, and fill up the pond when the waterfall is turned off. There are excellent books on the market for waterfalls and streams. Buy them, borrow them from a friend, the pond club, or the local public library, and study them before you put in a running water feature for your pond.
4. Ringing the pond in stone so that it looks like a necklace. A pond is not particularly attractive when it looks like it has been edged by the kind of jewelry that Wilma Rubble wore in the Flinstones cartoons. At our nursery, the display ponds have what we call "planting pockets." These are areas that are scooped out along the perimeter of the pond, so that we can fill them with soil and plant water plants in them. Smaller sized stones are then placed over the soil. You can even build a bog garden at the edge of the pond, and then from there link the pond to your perennial border. Try to make your pond look like it fits with the rest of your landscape.
5. Neglecting to use enough plants to help balance the pond. You may think that we recommend using plants just because we sell them. Ask any water gardener if more plants have improved the balance in their pond, and they will tell you that the plants have worked wonders. Oxygenators help reduce algae growth in the spring, and several marginal plants will help keep it to a minimum throughout the summer. Plants are also beneficial because they help shade the pond and keep the water temperature cooler through the heat of the summer.
6. Expecting the pond to look like a swimming pool. North Americans are known for their cleanliness, and the same is true when it comes to their ponds. New pond keepers are aghast when algae starts to grow and the water clarity turns cloudy. This is normal, and a certain amount of algae is inevitable. You just have to know how to handle it and how to keep it to a minimum. You will never get rid of it completely, however. At least not if you want to have a pond with fish, plants and other living creatures. For those who cannot tolerate a single particle of algae along the side of the pond, or who cannot stand the usual seasonal changes of water clarity, we recommend that they get rid of their fish and plants, and that they regularly add bleach. If they want fish or water lilies, we suggest ones made of plastic. Having a live pond is like having children – you learn to appreciate their core beauty and overlook dirt or untidiness around the edges.
7. Having either too many fish or not enough filtration. Many gardeners decide to have ponds in their backyards because they want to have fish. The rest don't realize that fish are needed until after they have installed the pond. Putting too many fish in the pond, however, can be a disaster. It can seriously compromise the quality of water and place the lives of all of the fish in jeopardy. Too many fish can quickly foul the water, deplete the oxygen level, and change the ammonia levels to serious or even toxic. This is especially true in the middle of summer when pond temperatures rise during the day and drop at night. We use a conservative recommendation of one six-inch fish for every 100 gallons of pond water. If you want to have a lot of fish in your pond, then read everything you can find on fish health, maintenance, and water quality, and be prepared to add hard goods to your pond, such as filter units and ultraviolet sterilizers, to keep your pond water healthy for the fish!

Babies Babies someone eat the Babies

I'm the proud Grand-Parent of about 300 or so baby fish. I don't want 300 baby fish!!
Does it make me a bad person to wish that the fry get eaten?? It goes against my Pro-life views but I keep going back to Lion King and the song "circle of life" Or the survival of the fittest! That works also. I have 26 fish in the pond most about 4" big. I do have a couple of 9" Koi and a frog so I hope they are eating their share! I may have to get a Dingo.

E-BAY FOR POND SUPPLIES

I have been looking for places to buy pond plants in my area for the last two seasons.
One of the local Dept Stores "Boscovs" sells water plant's other places like Petsmarts and Stephens Water Garden in my area also sell good stuff. But once you know what you want and what the general price is the internet can save you tons of cash. I have been going onto E-bay for plants. Water Hyacinth sells any where from 2.99 for small plant to 5.99 for a big plant here in my area. I just bid on and won 12 extra large Water Hyacinth for 8.50 plus shipping . $17.00 total. I would have paid somewhere in the area of $75.00 for this retail. I also got 12 Parrots feather plants for 8.00 plus 4.95 S&H they go for 3.99 each up here retail. It pays to shop around. You can also by fish, pond pumps and supplies from E-Bay. l

Before picture of my yard

This is right behind the back of my house. Pretty ugly landscaping! Huh? I've got to do some thing here to make it more usable. Maybe I'll add a deck, something like 57' x 12' and then on the end I'll do a 18'X18' square deck. Maybe I could build a rock wall all the way down and add a three tier Koi pond at the end. ......Or I could just move!!

Before Picture

Looking down the hill from the pool to the back of my house. I love the warm weather months and this little deck just wasn't going to cut it. So I decided to rent a backhoe. Great tool everyone needs one.

Before picture

The hot tub. I dug out about 10' from the railing to the right.

After the new Wall and Deck

Next to the hot tub. This is the fire pit area for the deck. All the stone you will see in the deck and pond was quarried by myself in my backyard. No stone was purchased for this project. The flagstone pad for the fire pit was taken from the ruins of an old barn that is on mine and my neighbors property.

After Picture

This is looking down the back of my house.

After Picture

Looking at the end of my deck. Notice the little spot for the grill. I indented the stone wall so the grill wouldn't be in the way. I put a flagstone pad under the grill so it wouldn't stain the deck.

After Getting The Pond Ready

The bottom pool of the pond during construction. A couple of things to note, The liner I am used is extra thick because my yard is nothing but rock. I also under layed the liner with carpet to prevent any punctures. The other thing I decided to do was put a ledge around the pond below the waterline so you don't see the liner sticking out. I looked at many ponds and that was one thing that turned me off was seeing the black plastic.

After Picture

This is a end shot of the pond. It also gives you an idea of how tall the hill is in my back yard.
This year I plan on putting up a Bamboo Fence around the front of the pool so you don't have to look at the ugly crock pot pattern on the side of the pool.

After

This is a close up of the center pool. I have three levels, the very top level is where the filter is, that drains in to a shallow pool then in to the main pond.

After Picture

From the Deck to the woods

Looking in across the little pond

Looking at the back of my house from the woods