Garden Pond Tips & Advice (& thoughts on Water Gardens, Koi Ponds and Water Features)

Fun Pond Fact

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:32:00 +0000

Are your Pond Fish spawning (having babies)?
Do you want to watch the babies grow?
Use Pond Plants to provide hiding places for the tiny things(or their parents will eat them).
Baby Goldfish are the size of a pin head.
Baby Koi are only slightly larger.

Fun Pond Fact

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:06:00 +0000

Goldfish are born looking greyish or black while Koi are colorful right away (although they need to be at least 6 inches long before the true pattern establishes)

Do your part!

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:07:00 +0000

A Garden Pond provides much needed habitat for small Wetland Creatures!
Some countries in Europe give Tax Breaks for installing one!
(they also require a permit to remove one).

Frogs, Toads, Dragonflies and many other creatures find it harder and harder to find suitable habitat...do your part...provide a Pond!

Fun Pond Fact

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:04:00 +0000

Pond Fish are attracted to Pond Lights.
They are curious and will swim around them.
This is a nice added benefit to lighting up your pond.
See some terrific Pond Lights Here.

Fun Pond Fact

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:28:00 +0000

Koi can get a sunburn!
(It is very important to provide shade
inside the Pond during the summer months).

Water Lilies are Available Now

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:22:00 +0000

The cool spring weather delayed it a bit, but finally...
Water Lilies are here!

Available in our St. Louis Pond Market store and online!
Locally our Water Lilies come ready to put in the Pond, in a basket with a handle and in a mix that will not cloud or foul the water.
Mail Order, they come nice size, with several leaves and not a dried up tuber like other companies.

But if you have existing Water Lilies, here are some TIPS:

>> Water Lilies are very heavy feeders, the more you feed them the more they will bloom!

>> The size of the container helps determine the spread the of the Water Lily. If you want to cofine it to a smaller area then just keep it confined to a smaller container.

>> Hardy Water Lilies start blooming earlier in the year, but also stop blooming earlier in the Fall. Tropical Water Lilies start blooming later, but will keep on blooming when hardy Lilies have stopped.

>> Water Lily blooms make great fresh cut flowers for your vase or look wonderful floating in a glass bowl.

Fun Pond Fact

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:58:00 +0000

Goldfish are spawning!
Goldfish are egg scatterers and the eggs are sticky and cling to the pond liner, plants, rocks and whatever else is around. The Goldfish will also eat these eggs.

If you want baby fish, have plenty of Pond Plants around for eggs and babies to hide.

One of the best is "Parrots Feather".

Baby Ringneck Parrots

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:47:00 +0000

The PondMarket has Baby Ringneck Parrots!
Check out this video now in order to see the Baby Ringneck Parrots being fed by hand!

Fun Pond Fact

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:26:00 +0000

Wonderful Fertilizer!

That is what that stuff coming out of your Pond is:
Bottom Sludge and the stuff being cleaned out of your Pond Filter,....
put it around your plants and watch them thrive!

"Wet Footprints"

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:23:00 +0000

We have all heard of our "Carbon Footprint", and we know that big companies "trade" for carbon offsets....what if we could all do the same?
Well, we can!! Pond Owners can leave a "Wet Footprint"(TM) and in our small way help Mother Nature reclaim some of what we took!

The PondMarket is developing a program to encompass ways for everyone to build a little bit of habitat to make a trail of "Wet Footprints" which emcompasses providing places for creatures to live and things to grow.

The PondMarket has started putting a sign by products that are "Earth Friendly" in their catalog (we are not done...more products will get this seal as we review them one by one).

The Seal above and to the left will start appearing in our newsletters, on our site and in our catalog to show you ways to make a positive impact (or avoid a negative one).

This week, we feature the new "All Natural Algaecide" for Ponds! Truly a first and breakthrough product, it will help to avoid using harsh chemical algaecides when eliminating green water!

Pond Market and Amazon.com

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:30:00 +0000

Did you know....that the PondMarket has been a trusted Amazon.com Dealer for almost 10 years?

Most of our products can be purchased right from the Amazon.com website!
Very soon you will also be able to shop at the PondMarket online catalog and pay through your Amazon.com account (you can already use your Paypal account in addition to all major credit cards)

The PondMarket is always working on making things better, easier and faster for you!

Great Kits!

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:16:00 +0000

Right now at PondMarket.com great Kits can be found.
These Kits are put together for you, so you don't have to do the work!

Check out the Pond Package Kit!
163 Gallon Pond Kit for under $200 made of High Quality Equipment!

Comes With:
+Blue Damsel Flex Pond

+Pondmaster 190 Pump + Filter + Fountain Set

+Laguna Pond Fish Food

+Laguna Mini Pond Net

+Pint of Microbe-Lift PL Beneficial Bacteria

+8oz. Dechlorinator

+8oz. Accu Clear

Check out all the great Kits available at PondMarket.com right now!

Koi Pond Fish

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:56:00 +0000

Koi are the most spectacular ornamental pond fish to add to a garden pond.
Large and beautiful, Koi carp can also be tamed to eat out of a persons hand.
Koi are not suitable for very small ponds (they must have at least 200 gallons of pond water per fish) and must have adequate pond filtration.

Koi can live a very long time (40+ years) if the right environment is provided!

Fun Pond Fact

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:51:00 +0000

Water spiders collect air and store it in the strands of their underwater webs for use as needed.

Fun Pond Fact

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:44:00 +0000

While Koi spawn only once a year, Goldfish spawn all spring, summer and fall. Goldfish need to be only about 2 inches long to start spawning (have babies).

Pond Fish Food

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:24:00 +0000

Good quality Pond Food is formulated to keep pond fish healthy and helps maintain the quality of the Pond Water.

Pond Fish live in a special environment that allows only limited chances of finding natural food
that would satisfy all their nutritional needs.
It is also important that pond food be easily digestible to limit organic waste (which turns into Algae Food)
produced in the pond by using ingredients that are easily and more fully digestible by the fish.

Pond Fish Food is usually formed into sticks or pellets that float on top of the pond water
for longer periods of time to prevent them from falling to the bottom of the garden pond and fouling the water
before they can be eaten.
Different formulations of Pond Food are available for the cooler weather of spring
and fall and the hot weather of summer.

The digestive capabilities of the pond fish vary with the temperature of the pond water and these foods assure us that they receive all the nutrients they need during all these different circumstances.

Fun Pond Fact

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:24:00 +0000

MALE koi and goldfish develop “whiskers” before breeding, each spring,
on their noses, gills and pectoral fins to stimulate egg-laying females.

Testing your Pond Water

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:04:00 +0000

If you haven't tested your Pond Water yet, now would be a great time.

Check you pH level. The best time to test your pH is early in the morning.
This will give you a more accurate reading.
If your pH isn't neutral now is the time to start trying to balance it out.
Changing your pH level is a slow process and getting started now would be beneficial to you later.

Check your Ammonia & Nitrite levels. Ideally you would want these to be zero.
High levels of Ammonia and Nitrites can be harmful to you Pond Fish.

You can also check your Chlorine/Chloramine level, Phosphate level,
and Salt content of your Pond Water to be on the safe side.

Testing your Pond Water for any potential problems now will help you out in the long run.
The earlier on you take care of these problems the less work you will have later on during the season.

Spring Start-Up Pond Supplies

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:59:00 +0000

PondMarket.com has a whole page dedicated toward
Spring Start-Up Pond Equipment and Pond Supplies!

Plant Baskets, Spring Fish Food, Replacement UV Bulbs, Filter Material, Water Treatments, and everything you can think of for Spring Start-Up can be found on the PondMarket.com Pond Equipment & Pond Supplies Spring Start-Up Page!

Check it out and make sure you are ready for Spring!

Spring Start-Up

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:34:00 +0000

In most of the country it is time to get the Pond ready for Spring!
The trick to an easy care Pond in the Summer is to take a little bit of
time and care to prepare the Pond for an easy season NOW!
We make it easy: Use our printable "Spring Start-Up Checklist"
and download our free "Spring Start-Up" e-book!

Fun Pond Fact

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:15:00 +0000

Only ONE of every 10,000 frog eggs
develops into an adult frog successfully!

For more fun stuff and fast news of
Sales, Bargains and New Arrivals...follow us on Twitter:

Local St. Louis customers look for "PondMarket"
National Subscribers and customers look for "PondExpert"

Tancho Koi & Pond Water Quality

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:59:00 +0000

A Tancho Koi is your Canary for the Pond!
Just like a Canary used to let miners know that conditions in the mine were dangerous,
so does the Tancho Koi let Pond keepers know when water quality is not healthy for Pond Fish.
Look at the picture below.

Tancho Koi tend to develop red edges on their scales when the water quality in the pond starts to deteriorate.
Other Koi with white in their color do the same, but it usually takes much longer and much worse water quality before it shows.

It is, of course, best to test water quality regularly...but IF a Tancho Koi starts to look bad it is URGENT!

Pond Market Update

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:56:00 +0000

The Pond Market Team has been doing a great job of getting the store in shape for this season.
New products are on the shelves and ready to go.
New paintings are to be seen all throughout the store.
Come check out what is happening at the Pond Market!

Spring Check List

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:51:00 +0000

Spring is rapidly approaching and the warm weather is rolling in.
Now is a better time than ever to have all your spring supplies
ready for the new season.

Pond Thermometers, Test Kits, and Beneficial Bacteria
are some great items to have ready for your Fish Pond.

Check the Pond Market Spring Start Up Guide For Ponds
to make sure you have everything you need for the spring season!

Show us your Pond

noreply@blogger.com (PondExpert) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:54:00 +0000

The Pond Market Team wants to see what your Pond looks like.
You can upload a photo of your Water Garden to PondMarketPhotos.com.
Here you can display the beautiful Pond you've worked so hard to get.

You can also see other wonderful Water Gardens and get new ideas for your Pond.
Check it out!

Pond of the Week

Cathy's Pond - New York