The Pond Professor's Water Gardens and Pond Keeping Mini Articles

1. Pond biofilters, biomedia for filters in ponds The size of the biofilter box or container is almost totally irrelevant .... many people will tell you that the filter should be a certain percent of the pond volume.

2. Pond biofilters, solar power and ponds He had a dilemma because he could not run a pump to feed the biofilter 24 hours per day for the reason he relied totally upon solar energy and an emergency generator

3. Pond biofilters how big must filters for ponds be Let me try hard to debunk this myth of biofilter size and explain what is really really important

4. Pond biofilters bacteria starters unecessary for ponds The types of bacteria required for effective biofiltration are nitrosomonas and nitrobacter. Nitrosomonas bacteria convert ammonia to nitrites and Nitrobacter bacteria convert nitrite to nitrate

5. Koi food savings, buy food for fish feeding carefully Almost all fish foods and koi foods contain at least 10% water .... your pond contains enough water without paying another few dollars for more

6. Pond filters and oxygen in ponds for effective biofiltration I would like to discuss oxygen in terms of good and effective pond keeping

7. Pond plants, oxygenators, marginals in water features If you want to have a naturally balanced pool that requires the minimum of fuss and maintenance, without having to oxygenate the water mechanically, then plants that release oxygen into the water (i.e. oxygenators) are
   the essential ingredient.

8. Pond algae control using ultra violet light The one single piece of pond equipment that will improve the year round appearance of any water outdoor feature more than anything else is the UV light

9. Pond pump pipe size, diameter more important than length You might find it difficult to believe but using small diameter pipes (especially long lengths) can reduce your pump flow to a trickle.

10. Pond volume, pipes and tubing size important In a pond there are almost always too many fish and that is why a biofilter is absolutely essential. To be able to build or buy the right pond filter you must know the pond volume

11. Pond pumps, two better than single pump in most ponds Two pumps in a pond are almost always better than a single pump. This might sound strange but it is true as I will explain.

12. Water gardening pleasures in ponds and water features A garden is a source of immeasurable pleasure for so many people. The colours, textures and relaxing environment created allows a total switch off from the hurly burly of every day life

13. Ponds, water features, water fountains and water gardening in Spring Many ponds meet serious problems when weather starts to warm up as it does in Spring. The problems encountered are often bacterial disease problems

14. Water features, ponds, pumps siting water garden pond The most important location for your pond is where you can enjoy it the most and also most of the time.

15. Water features, ponds, pumps new water garden fountains When you install a new water feature .... this is the best time to choose equipment properly. The golden rule is don't rush and if you don’t not fully understand what you are buying AND why then reconsider.

16. Water features, ponds, pumps clean clear pond water Animals need access to and exit from water at times - such as the frog or toad. Birds need shallow water in which to bathe and drink without fear of drowning.

17. Water garden, ponds testing pond water If you would like to test how much water looks best for your fish pond's water feature or waterfall do the following .....

18. Water features, solar ponds, solar pumps in pond water To the best of my knowledge powerful solar pumps in terms of head or volume are just not available.

19. Fish ponds, water features, garden fountains mosquitoes Quite simply mosquito larvae are a prime source of natural food in ponds and natural watercourses.

20. Water features, ponds, pumps clean clear pond water What concerns me is the advice given to encourage people to add chemicals and other concoctions to their ponds.

21. Water features, adding pond chemicals to garden ponds Quite simply do NOT test the water at all. Why? Because you can get yourself into heck of a muddle once you start testing for the following reasons:

22. Water features, pond chemicals, water test kits for ponds I have made mention of salt use in garden and koi ponds in previous issues. It keeps coming up.

23. Water features, pond chemicals, testing ponds water quality By overdosing you would tend to kill off your biofilter which is very dangerous

24. Water features, Ponds and pond keeping in Florida The trouble with shallow ponds is that they go through significant temperature cycles. They warm up quickly and cool down quickly.

25. Pond algae on sides of ponds is not blanketweed The trouble with shallow ponds is that they go through significant temperature cycles. They warm up quickly and cool down quickly.

26. Water features, cleaning ponds, pumps clean clear pond water Let's say you have a crack or leak in a pond and you have to empty it to make repairs then it is important to plan ahead

27. Pond chemicals to control clean clear wateris poor approach In my opinion these chemicals are not really necessary but at least they do perform a specific function and do little harm.

28. Feeding pond fish too much increases biofilter load During mid summer a fish can easily eat 1% of its body mass. This will reduce as water temperature falls. So the amount of food you can feed your fish can feed depends upon water temperature.

29. Use pond skimmers reduce biofilter load by surface skimming A pond skimmer is designed to remove (skim) floating debris by suction and thus remove some of the potential biological debris polluting the water or making it cloudy.

30. Pond pressure filters effective water gardens biofilter  This year the product that everyone was offering was the pressurized biofilter and UV combined.

31. Waterfall pond pumps, measuring pump flow waterfalls Selecting a pond pump for a waterfall. If you would like to test how much water looks best for your waterfall do the following .....

32. Garden pond and water feature biofilters clean ponds The main reason for a biofilter in a pond is NOT to filter the solids out of the water. It is to purify the water by removing offending chemicals.

33. Garden ponds, uv light biofilters, water features design Ultra violet lights and biofilters Must the UV be placed before the biofilter?

34. Garden ponds, protecting pond fish fry and eggs or ova If you have very young fish in danger of being eaten by larger fish you can seperate them until they are a bit bigger as follows .....

35. Koi fish food sticks, floating fish food, water quality Do not buy fish food with more than 10% ash in it unless you know why. Read the label. If no label BE CAREFUL of fish food quality

36. Pond lights, effective low voltage lighting for ponds Water feature lights and pond lighting effects
    Lighting in and around ponds creates a brand new dimension and attraction to the water garden. Normally for safety reasons these water feature pond lights are low voltage.

37. Pond water quality. Controlling nitrate levels pond water Pond water quality ..... nitrate levels build up over a period of time since nitrate is the last of the 3 stage nitrification process that keeps pond water clean and healthy.

38. Pond water plants for the garden pond water features When buying garden pond plants check with the retailer ... how fast they grow and how big they will become. When small, water plants can be very misleading.

39. Water features, cleaning ponds, measuring pond volume If you are sick and tired of looking at debris on the bottom of your pond then consider buying an electrically operated vacuum cleaner. Just make sure that it is safe for pond use. OASE make the one that is best known.

40. Water features, salt in ponds, bacteria startes, other tips Water has a maximum density at 4 degrees centigrade, about 39 degreesFahrenheit so when a pond has a frozen surface the water at the bottom of the pond is normally at this temperature.

41. Measuring volume of water in garden ponds, water features If your pond is of equal depth and the same cross section then you can very accurately measure the pond volume as follows.

42. Water meters calculating volume of water garden ponds More on measuring pond volume. Measuring pond volume in USA .... Burt Ballou pointed out that in USA most homes have a water metre which can be accessed readily.

43. Correcting pond water for high and low pH values To correct pH problems in a pond use dilute solutions of vinegar, or lemon juice for high pH readings and baking powder for low pH readings.

44. Pond pumps, water features, choosing feature pumps Pump head is measured from the pond surface - not the bottom of the pond.

45. Water features need crystal clean clear water  Water features is used as a general term meaning different things to different people. Consider any of the following to be water features for the purpose of this discussion.

46. Water fountains need clean clear fountain water always  Paying attention to these points early on is important to get the most from your fountains ....

47. Indoor fountains need crystal clean clear water no splash  Indoor fountains are a great way to add liquid music to your private space

48. Koi ponds, fish pond design differences  "Proper" koi ponds are different .... the first difference is normally more about the pondkeeper than the koi fish

49. Landscaping ideas, garden koi fish ponds, water features  Coming up with landscaping ideas for a garden in total is a pretty complex task since it involves matching environment with the area, the house and also the topography of the land on which your house is situated.

50. Aquatic plants temperature hardiness map data for USA  USDA Hardiness Zones and Average Annual Minimum Temperature Range

51. String algae, blanketweed new problem solving approach  Two of my colleagues here have had problems with filamentous algae in their fish ponds this last summer (which has been exceptionally hot and dry for us)

52. Submersible pumps selection for water features  Submersible pumps provide oxygen to fish ... submersible pumps in circulating the water over a waterfall or through a spray or a drop from one level to another allow oxygen to become dissolved in the circulating water.

53. Water ponds, air pumps. Koi fish Japanese matting secrets  Before talking a little about air pumps themselves lets discuss the critical need for oxygen in water ponds in a bit of detail

54. Water pumps selection for water features  Water pumps provide oxygen to biofilter bacteria. The water pumps used in fish ponds must run 24 hours per day otherwise those beneficial bacteria in your biofilter will die from oxygen starvation.

55. Koi food: gold fish food pond keeping success  Buying the right koi food of fish food for the right reasons will save you lots. It may well be that the expensive fish food you thought you could not afford turns out to be your best bet and will save you money on your koi fish food bill.