Healthy Ponds
The Clearing-Up
Of Common "Untruths"
Other Water Garden Companies Have Told.

U pon hearing of these "stories" told to our customers, we just can't resist clearing-up some of other peoples' cloudy statements:

Bio-Filter-In-A-Box-In-The-Pond. No such thing. It is a Rube Goldberg contraption that some companies and people scam you with. A true Bio-Filter uses lava rock (or charcoal) as a filtering and trapping medium and is home to bacteria (an actual mini ecosystem) that the fish need in their gills to live. It is most commonly the waterfall tub where deadly ammonia-turned-semi-deadly-nitrites are turned into helpful (and harmless) nitrates that feed plants that in turn, feed fish. The box contraption is merely a pump filter, not a Bio-Filter; anyone who markets such a thing as a Bio-Filter doesn't know what they're doing and worse, will assist you in killing your fish, if your pond doesn't have a true self-filtering system.

A Waterfall Should Only Be 6" High. Another stupid story. Probably invented by someone who couldn't successfully build a taller waterfall. Waterfalls actually help aerate the water, that is, they help replenish the oxygen that the fish desperately need in an artificial setting, through their falling and bubbling action. Fountains and decorative squirters (read peeing cherubs and such) are not oxygen replenishers and are not meant to replace waterfalls. A trickling waterfall is not acceptable; if anything, you should oversize the pump and turn over 1/2 to the full volume in gallons of the pond per hour. Even a bubbler helps, but a true 12-18" waterfall really does the job right.

The Dead Fish I Had Were Probably Bad Fish To Start With. Nope. Fish die from many reasons: too high ammonia levels and stress are the most common causes. Ammonia is constantly released through fish gills, urine and solid waste, uneaten fish food, decaying plants, algae and insects. Ammonia damages delicate gill membranes and prevents fish from carrying on normal respiration. High levels of ammonia quickly lead to fish death through a breakdown in the immune systems and rapidly-spreading disease.

Pre-Formed, Fiberglass Ponds Are Natural Looking. Only If You're Blind. They are the most unnatural-looking water gardens ever conceived; they look like bath tubs buried in the ground. They are ugly imitations of free-formed, soft-liner ponds. If not perfectly leveled in the ground when installed, they rapidly develop stress cracks, leak and become part of the nearest landfill. Don't buy these pieces of junk. Use 45-mil EPDM Liners and you'll never have a problem. And you won't have a junky-looking installation.

Just Fill My New Pond With Water And Drop In The Fish. Not a snowball's chance. If you do, you'll kill all your fish with chlorine very quickly. First you need to inoculate the water with "dirty water" from another, disease-free pond, thereby starting the Bio-Filter in motion to build an mini ecosystem. This can take several weeks in a new pond. It's safe to install fish after 7-10 days in bacteria-laden water. The Bio-Filter's lava rock houses the bacteria, which the fish must have to live. Add only two fish per week; this allows the true Bio-Filter time to remove additional nitrites and ammonia. Don't shortcut this step; do it right. Add some pond (ocean or water softener pellets) salt to relieve stress, too.

I Can Feed My Fish Every Day. Big mistake. Koi, Rudds, Shubunkins, Orfe should never be fed, goldfish have to be. By feeding fish, you actually overfeed because they can and do easily live only on algae and plants and this extra, overfeeding causes ammonia and nitrogen levels to rise dramatically, and bang, split pea soup time again. It's also injurious to their health to feed regularly, because deadly ammonia and nitrite levels rise dramatically and prevent their gills from carrying oxygen to their bodies, resulting in nitrite toxicity. A dose of pond salt temporarily blocks this effect and stabilizes the fish until nitrite levels can be decreased by your stopping the food supply.

The Common Ground Shale Rock Is OK To Use As Coping. Wrong. Hundreds of millions of years ago, this area was an ocean floor, and the shale rock you pick out of the ground now was formed in sedimentary layers. After bringing it out of the ground, many of the layers flake off, and the resulting mica (shiny chips) that gets into the pond is harmful to the fishes' gills, acting like glass when intaken and causing internal damage and death. Always use quality mountain stone as coping rock in a pond or water garden, and you'll never wonder why your fish are dying mysteriously. It's available locally at reasonable prices. Don't shortcut this step or you'll really get what you didn't pay for.

Lots Of Fish Make My Pond A Fun Place. Wrong again. Lots of fish cause stress on each other, the Bio-Filter and the entire ecosystem. And will result in mass death. Overload anything and watch it fail. Poor water quality and low oxygen levels are just two of the symptoms. Especially in the summer, when heat causes water to retain less oxygen than in cooler spring and fall months. Gradually add fish over time until the ecosystem can adjust and rebalance itself properly.

My Pond Is Just Fine As It Is. Major misconception. You need to become a Pond Manager, with daily checks on the fish, other animal life, the Bio-Filter, Pump and its filters, debris at the bottom, plants and water coloration. And you must have the willingness to act quickly when "something" isn't right in the pond or you'll lose what you've got in there. PH and ammonia levels need to be monitored weekly and adjusted, if incorrect. One of the first signs of trouble in a pond, water garden or a natural wetlands is the absence of frogs. They usually find their way to running water, and leave (or die) when the pond's ecosystem becomes unbalanced. If you can get a frog to stay in your pond, you've got a winner.

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