During the summer months, Water Hyacinths are one of the best pond plants you can get for your pond.  You only need a few to get you going because they multiply so fast.

The picture below is a good example of what I’m talking about.  My wife bought five Water Hyacinth plants in about mid May(2010) and at the time of this writing, (about mid July 2010), you can see how they are filling up our pond.  Once they start multiplying, they grow like crazy.

Water Hyacinths are great to have in your pond during the hot summer months.

In a few more days we won’t be able to keep up with them and we’ll have to start getting rid of some.  They get pretty darn big and the fish love munching on the roots of them.  They really are a great plant for your backyard pond.

We are having a great summer this year and everything around the pond is growing great.  The fish are looking good, seem very healthy and growing.  The young Comets are changing from black to orange.

As stated in an earlier post, we tried some turtles again this year.  We got five very small ones and two pretty good size ones.  The two bigger ones were gone the next day, and three of the five small ones didn’t make it.  The two we have left have survived a few weeks now and seem to be doing well.  Hopefully they’ll stick around when they get bigger.

Well that’s about it for now, just wanted to let you know about the Water Hyacinths.  Talk to ya later, Bob

Someone told us that if you get a male and female together that they would more than likely stick around.  I don’t know, but they are kinda neat to have around.

All of our fish are doing really well and everything around the pond is growing like crazy.  We have been having a cool, wet spring here in Ohio which makes it good for flowers and plants.

My wife bought three Water Hyacinths for the pond.  It cost her 10 bucks, but they’ll grow like crazy and I’ll probably be throwing them out by August.  They are great for your pond and give your fish some protection, so keep that in mind.

I hope I can get some more pictures of your pond.  I would like to put them up on my main site.  There are a lot of people interested in what other people do with their ponds and gives them some ideas.  So send them in to me if you get a chance.  Talk to ya later, Bob

This is a picture of our turtle in our backyard pond.

Hopefully this new one will hang around for awhile.  It doesn’t seem to be scared or anything.  My wife threw a small piece of driftwood in the pond and the turtle got up on it almost immediately.

They are kind of neat to have.  It doesn’t bother the fish at all and it seems to like the fish food my wife puts in the pond.

This is about the size of our first turtle was before he or she ran away.

They also can stay under water for quite a long time before they come up for air.

This is also another example of some of the different things you can have in and around your pond.

An interesting thing happened that proves what I say about the importance of a UV filter. When my wife put in our pond filter and attached the UV filter to it, the pond water was really green and mucky. After a long winter, this is normal. After about three days we noticed that our homemade pond filter was doing it’s job trapping lots of debris, however the water wasn’t getting any clearer.

Here to find out that the UV light bulb was burned out, we immediately knew why the water wasn’t clearing up. She went and bought a new bulb, put it in, and within just a couple days, the pond water cleared up. We can now see the bottom of the pond and all the fish. It’s really amazing how well these Ultra Violet pond filters work.

Our largest Koi fish has made it through another harsh Ohio winter. She looks bigger and stronger than ever. As a matter of fact all the fish look like they’re doing really well.

Most of my wife’s perennial flowers are popping up all over. She raked around the pond and fluffed up the mulch. She has it looking good. How are things going with your pond? Let us know, and send us a picture if you get a chance. Good luck and all the best, Bob.

The longer you have a pond, the more established it gets.  Let me explain.  When you first put in a pond, everything is new.  The liner, the stones, the plants and flowers, etc.  As your pond gets established, things settle in, things sorta grow into each other, giving it a more natural look to it.  You’ll see what I mean as the years go by.

Your pond supplies and equipment should last you for many years.  I had to replace one of my original pond pumps that I had for almost 15 years.  It was a Mag Drive Pump made by Pondmaster.  It was like the energizer bunny, it just kept running and running year after year.  If you’re in the market for a good water pump, I highly recommend a Mag Drive.

During this past year, late spring, early summer, we lost quite a few fish, if I remember right they were all Comets and one of our big Koi..  They all looked perfectly healthy, but for a stretch of about 2 weeks, we would find a fish or two floating.  The only thing that we could think of that could possibly cause this was for the first time we hired a lawn service to fertilize our yard.  We think maybe some of the fertilizer got into the pond and killed the fish.  My wife drained about half the pond and replaced it with new fresh water.  The fish have been fine ever since.

The pond plants and the flowers around the pond really flourished this year.  By the middle of August we were throwing Lettuce and Water Hyacinths out on a weekly basis because they were taking over the pond.  They really grew fast.

Important note about leaves in the fall.  You want to try and keep them out of your fish pond.  They’re not good for the water or the fish.  We use a net while the leaves are falling and take it off when they’re done.  Saves you the trouble of scooping them out with a net.  Keep it in mind for next year.

As far as the winter goes.  It’s a good idea to keep a small hole when the ice starts to cover your pond.  This allows any gases to escape and thus keeping your fish safe.

I hope all of you have a great 2010.  Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit my main site Backyard-Pond-Guide.com to learn more about outdoor fish ponds.

Having an outdoor fish pond will bring you years of enjoyment.

It’s been pretty cold at night here in Ohio and most of the fish have headed down to the bottom of the pond to start their hibernation.  Very little movement from them over the past few days.

For those of you that have trees around your pond, I highly recommend that you put a net on your pond to keep the leaves out.  Decaying leaves are not good for your pond or fish.

The pond plants that she took out have been cut down and we will store them down in our basement for the winter.  They do come back to life in the spring so you may want to consider that also.

The fish we have all look very healthy and very relaxed at the bottom of the pond.  It’s amazing that they survive our very cold winters.  It’s like they go into some kind of suspended animation.  They’re really neat to have and they do live a long time.  My wife does treat them like pets of the family though.

I’ll talk to you again soon.  Bob

This past summer has been kinda hectic around the pond.  We lost quite a few fish in July, about 15 of them.  They were all Comets and all looked perfectly healthy.  We lost them all over the course of about a week.  My wife ended up changing about a third of our pond water and it seemed to help a lot.  We haven’t lost anymore since then.

We really don’t have an explanation for it, however this was the first year we ever had a lawn service come out and fertilize our grass.  We think maybe they got some fertilizer in the pond.  We’ll never know for sure, but we did cancel the lawn service.

I’ve added some more pictures of different ponds that others have sent in to me.  Feel free to send yours in too, I’ll put them up.  Talk to you later.  Bob

You may think that putting chemicals into your pond might work, however I don’t recommend them. The best and the fastest way to get rid of the algae is with a UV light. It’s unbelievable how well they clear your pond water up. It’s very simple the way they work.

UV clarifiers are simply a plastic tube that contains an Ultra Violet light bulb inside of it. It will have an intake and an outtake. All you have to do is attach some kind of pump to push the water through it and as the water passes through it, the Ultra Violet light kills the algae. Usually within a couple days you will see your water getting clearer and clearer, when eventually, you’ll be able to see the bottom of your pond.

If you’re struggling with green pond water, I highly recommend getting some kind of UV Clarifier. They come in both submersible and out of the water models. I have used both kinds in the fifteen years that I have had my pond and they both work well. Find out more about Ultra Violet Pond Filters. Bob

It gives you something to do that really feels worthwhile.  Say you have a pond with fish in it, flowers around it, and pond plants in it.  Well you need to take care of all of those things and it’s fun to do.  You get to see everything grow including your fish.  Our big white Koi fish was only about 3 inches long when we bought her and now 15 years later, she’s well over a couple feet long and all we really do is feed her along with the other fish.

You feel proud about your backyard pond.  Your friends and neighbors will like it and any kids you bring around will be amazed when they see the fish.

The hardest part about having a pond is building it and getting it all set up.  Once you do that, it’s pretty simple to take care of.  You can find all the details about having a pond by visiting my main website Backyard-Pond-Guide.com.

These are just a few of the neat things about having a backyard pond.  Why not start one of your own today, you’ll be glad you did.  Bob

Below is a picture of my pond taken on May 31st, 2009.

You'll get a lot of enjoyment from your own backyard pond.

We ordered a new Pondmaster Mag Drive pump (PM-7), which took about four days to arrive.  My wife hooked it up, and we were actually surprised at how powerful it is.  Below is a picture of it.

Pondmaster Mag Drive Pond Pump

The pump we had to replace was about 15 years old and we had to keep banging on it to get it to work.

As I said we bought the PM-7 which moves about 675 gallons of water per hour.  We are using it to pump the water though our external ultra violet water clarifier.  It didn’t take long for the water to start clearing up once we got it flowing again.

I really can’t say enough good things about these Mag Drive water pumps by Pondmaster.  They work great and last a long time.  Be sure to check out the Pondmaster Pond Pumps.  They come in several different sizes for whatever you may need it for and the size of your pond.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with it.