Pond skimmer « Garden Water Features

August 12, 2009

Koi in Your Backyard Pond: 3 Important Considerations

Koi (photo flickr-corrieb)

For some water garden enthusiasts, the best reason for having backyard ponds is to be able to raise koi or other fish such as the common goldfish. Both koi and goldfish are beautiful fish and relatively easy to care for. (Be aware, though, that there are different varieties of goldfish, and not all of them are as hardy as the common goldfish. Check before you purchase.)

Koi and common goldfish are indeed easy care backyard pond fish, but that doesn’t mean that they are “no care”. There are three important things to consider before introducing koi or goldfish into your backyard pond: 1) water temperature, 2) oxygen, and 3) predators.

Backyard Pond Temperature

Depending on your climate, you may or may not need to use a small heater during winter to keep the water in your backyard pond from freezing solid. It’s OK if ice forms at the top of your pond, as long as there is unfrozen water deeper down for the fish to swim in and a hole for oxygen. Do check to make sure your pond is deep enough to prevent it from freezing right down to the bottom during winter. If in doubt, install a small heater or pond deicer to prevent the water from freezing solid.

Oxygen

You’ll need to use pumps and filters to keep enough oxygen in the water to support fish life in your backyard pond. You may also want to use a pond skimmer to remove the big debris prior to filtering.

Predators

Backyard ponds can attract attention from predators such as (in North America) raccoons, birds (particularly herons), snakes, and domestic cats. These predators can decimate your fish population. Not only is this upsetting, it can also be expensive. You can minimize this problem by designing your backyard pond to have lots of places for fish to hide from predators.

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June 19, 2009

How to Get Rid of Pond Algae

Filed under: Pond algae — Tags: Backyard ponds, Garden water features, Pond algae, Pond skimmer — admin @ 9:11 pm

What is pond algae?

Pond algae is one of the biggest and ickiest problems you can face in your backyard pond. The microscopic plant life loves to live in stagnant water and oftentimes is what gives still ponds that slimy, green, slick coating. There are several different types of pond algae to worry about, from the kind that float free in the water, to the stringy versions, to the plankton variety.

How do you get rid of pond algae?

Enough about what it is. What exactly can be done to get rid of pond algae? To know how to get rid of this alien-like life form, you need to know why pond algae is attracted to your pond. For starters, any pond with a lot of sunlight is a surefire hotspot for pond algae. If your pond water contains a lot of chemicals called nitrates and phosphates, expect a visit from the green slime too.

Other reasons that the pond algae will start include a climate with really hot and muggy weather, or if you don’t do a good enough job of circulating the water. Add to the list refuse buildup in your pond. In other words, if leaves typically fall off trees and other brush into your pond, they can lead to pond algae growth.

What else? Experts also suggest that you can expect pond algae growth if you don’t have other types of healthy plants in your water pond. If you don’t, something else will grow to use up the nutrients. And last but not least, if you’ve built your pond with limestone, concrete, or marble stones, they will contribute to giving your pond a higher pH level, which pond algae likes.

Try to avoid it from the start

It makes sense then, that if you avoid a lot of the above factors, right there you’ve taken a big step to avoiding growth of pond algae. This includes filling your pond with aquatic plants that will soak up nutrients before pond algae can get at them. Or designing the pond from the get-go so that it’s out of direct sunlight and away from trees or other landscape that could drop debris into the pond. Of course, debris is likely to get into your pond anyway, so it’s crucial to clean it out and not let it sit there too long.

If you want to use chemical and other “high-tech” attack measures, try special chemicals designed to kill pond algae, called algaecides. You can also buy ultraviolet sterilizers that destroy some types of pond algae, but not all.

The most environmentally friendly way to get rid of pond algae is to make sure the water is always moving. Otherwise the pond water becomes stagnant.

So you can either install a pump which introduces airflow and circulation into the water, which will help prevent the formation of algae. Or you can buy algae tablets from your local garden center or pond supplier. Algae tablets slowly release a NON TOXIC chemical that dissolves the algae. They last for quite a while and do not harm aquatic life.

Overall, the key is to prevent the growth of the green slime of pond algae in the first place. Once pond algae does infest your pond, it is a mess to clean up.

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Installing a Pond Skimmer

Filed under: Pond skimmer — Tags: Backyard ponds, Garden water features, pond pictures, Pond skimmer — admin @ 9:09 pm

Component parts of pond skimmer

A pond skimmer is a type of mechanical filter that grabs leaves and other debris off the surface of your pond.

Pond skimmers are designed to work with other types of filters, as a sort of pre-filter that removes the larger elements such as floating leaves. This prevents the large debris from clogging up any other filters that you have, as well as the pond pump.

A popular pond skimmer is the MicroSkim™ made by Aquascape (pictured at left). It automatically sweeps the pond surface clean, depositing leaves and debris into an easy-to-clean debris net.

The debris net and filter brushes act as a pre-filter for the pump, preventing leaves and debris from clogging it, thus reducing maintenance normally associated with placing a pump on the bottom of a pond.

How does a pond skimmer work?

If it’s true that a picture is worth a thousand words, the video below will help you understand how a pond skimmer works. This installation is particularly good for a retrofit (i.e. when you have an existing pond that you want to put a pond skimmer into).

Why bother with a pond skimmer?

Is all this trouble worth it? Of course! Your pond skimmer is meant to make your backyard pond a clean and healthy place for your fish and aquatic plants. The skimmer does its job by removing leaves and other vegetative debris. Otherwise, that debris would rot in the water, releasing harmful chemicals. And those harmful chemicals aren’t fish friendly!

Your pond skimmer can even double as a pond vacuum before you completely submerge it in the water. After you’ve got the skimmer set up properly, you can use it to suck up leaves and other debris that are floating on the surface of the water. That’ll save the effort of having to do so when the leaves sink.

Then when done, gently release your pond skimmer to sink and do its job underwater, and never fear, your pond will then be clean, as your skimmer works in tandem with your filter and vacuum.

Below is an excellent video that shows in detail how to install a pond skimmer during the construction phase of your pond.

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