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Welcome to
the July/August 2004 issue of The Water Garden News. This newsletter is
published ten (10) times each year by The Water Garden. ********************************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE OF THE WATER GARDEN NEWS
====================================================================== Understanding Pond Filtration by Randall Tate Pond filtration is one of the most misunderstood functions that we undertake to maintain our pond environment. We write about this aspect of water gardening often but I feel that it deserves frequent discussion to help you keep the main points in mind as well as keeping you up to date on new information and products as they come along. When talking about filtration with most new pond owners they assume that the only type of filtration they need to do is mechanical filtration. They see debris in suspension in the pond water and see the need to remove this to improve the clarity of the water. This is just one type of pond filtration and the one that requires the most time for maintenance. Mechanical filtration can take several forms. For a small pond of one to two hundred gallons this is most often a small in pond filter that contains a sponge or similar material. While this will work well in trapping small particles because of the small pore size it soon stops up. You may find that you need to clean this filter every few days to keep your water flowing and your pump from burning up. Larger ponds of a few hundred gallons may use a larger type of in pond filter. These often use a more open cell sponge or a fiber type of filter media. This type of filter media is a good material for this size pond as it does a good job of trapping larger particulate while also allowing good water flow giving you more time between cleaning. For many ponds a skimmer is the best method of providing mechanical filtration. Some skimmers will only catch debris larger than 1/4 inch or so. The better skimmers will also provide fiber media to also catch smaller debris while making it convenient to clean. A skimmer will not only filter out debris that is suspended in the water, it will also catch a large portion of floating debris that has blown into the pond and has fallen from nearby trees. For very large koi ponds settling tanks function as mechanical filtration swirling and slowing down the water to allow particles to fall to the bottom by gravity. This debris can then be removed by opening a valve at the bottom of the tank. These tanks can be quite large, usually several hundred gallons. Most often a bottom drain is piped to one or more of these tanks. The tanks are round and sit in the ground at the same level as the pond with the water flowing in by gravity. Water is pumped from the tank and flows on to a biological filter. Since mechanical filters will require the most cleaning they should be as easy to clean as possible otherwise they tend to get ignored leading to inadequate water movement and or pump failure. While mechanical filtration reduces the solids in the pond water, biological filtration is the most important when it comes to having a healthy pond. Biological filtration simply means using bacteria to clean our pond. The action of beneficial bacteria not only improves the water quality for the fish but also improves the clarity decreasing the amount of algae in the pond. There are several types of bacteria that work to our benefit in the pond. These bacteria will attach themselves to any surface that is in the water, the pond liner, stone, plants, and anything else that is underwater as long as it has a source of nutrients and oxygen. If we depend only on the bacteria that is living only on the liner, plants, etc. that is in the pond then we will not be able to keep many fish and our water quality may suffer. What we need to do is add more surface area to the pond. A lot more surface area that the bacteria can live on is needed. There is nothing magical about biological filter media. As we stated previously, bacteria will live on most any surface in the water. What we need to look for is a type of media that will provide as much surface area as possible and still keep the filter small enough to conceal in the landscape. We also want a media that is not too dense (unlike a sponge) that will allow the water to flow around and through it without clogging up. While gravel and lava rock have been used for years this material not only requires a very large filter (10% of the pond size or larger) it is heavy and difficult to clean. The best materials today that provide a high surface area in a small space with sufficient void space to allow the water to flow through easily are synthetic material. Small plastic shapes with textured surfaces, fiber media, and ribbon are considered the most efficient materials to use. As long as the material provides the bacteria with contact with the water then little or no cleaning is needed. Sometimes (usually ponds of a few hundred gallons and less) the biological filter and the mechanical filter are the same. This could be a skimmer containing filter media or an in pond filter. This means that we need to clean the filter to remove most of the accumulated debris without over-cleaning it, which would destroy some of the beneficial bacteria. Larger ponds will use one of the methods of mechanical filtration already discussed in combination with a biological filter. The mechanical filter will be cleaned on a regular basis and the biological filter should require little attention. While all biological filters perform the same function of housing a large colony of beneficial bacteria they can vary a lot in design and efficiency. In addition to the differences in the media there are also differences in the overall design meaning some are better than others. Most filters are simple up flow or down flow designs. This means that the water enters the bottom of the container and flows up through the media then out to the pond or the water enters the top of the container and flows down through the media leaving the bottom of the filter. You will also see designs that use different types of media with the water flowing in one end and traveling across the filter container and existing at the other end. One design is about as good as the other as far as directional flow is concerned. One improvement that will help with any filter design is a device to aerate the water in the filter. Bacteria need lots of oxygen to break down their food source to improve the water quality and help eliminate the algae. One design is an aeration tower. Basically the water enters a pipe under some pressure just above the water level and mixes with the air before entering the filter media chamber. This provides more oxygen in the water allowing the bacteria to do a better job for us. Make sure that you have good aeration in the pond as well. A waterfall usually does a good job of this. Another filter type is a pressurized filter. Basically this is a canister (some look like swimming pool filters but are vastly different) containing a small plastic media that functions as a mechanical as well as a biological filter. While this type of filter works well it comes at a much higher price. The advantage of this filter is that it can be installed remotely from the pond, which is a benefit when you don't have extra space around the pond to install a filter. This type of filter is closed and under the same pressure that is inside the pipe going from the pump back to the pond. Another advantage is that it is very easy to clean, just open a valve. The disadvantage, other than the higher cost, is that it should be cleaned weekly in most cases. If this filter is not cleaned regularly then the media can clog meaning you must dismantle the filter and manually clean the filter, which is a chore. Ultraviolet Sterilization is considered a type of filtration although it should be considered an adjunct to filtration to help with algae control. We have discussed UVs in the past and will do so again in the future. Read about
Ultraviolet Sterilization in the May 2004 issue: LINKS TO PRODUCTS MENTIONED ABOVE Filters Filter
Media Ultraviolet
Units ===================================================================== Join Our Rewards Program & Save on Pond Supplies Join Hundreds of Other Customers who are saving money through our new Pond Points Program. Every purchase from our catalog will earn points that are redeemable for Water Garden merchandise. Membership in the program is free. Join by filling out the short form (your name, zip code & email address is all you need to provide) on the registration page.Members of the Pond Points Program also have exclusive access to periodic sales and specials. Points are earned for online (or phone) purchases made at WaterGarden.com. Simply check the box indicating that you are a Pond Points Program member when you place an order online or tell the person taking your phone order, and The Water Garden will add valuable points to your account. POND POINTS
REGISTRATION PAGE
New for You New UPS Rules Allow Many Plant Orders to Ship by Ground While we have added a few new plumbing pieces to our catalog, there are no significant additional new products to discuss this issue. However, we are pleased to be able to offer new shipping options on plants to much of the eastern United States. New UPS rules and zones are now allowing us to ship many plant orders by Ground. All plants must be delivered within 2 days to ensure safe arrival. Previously this meant that all plant orders had to ship by UPS 2 Day Air. Now customers with a 2 day Ground shipping range do not need to pay for this expedited shipping. A form located on the checkout pages will tell you, by entering your state and zip code, if your plant order can ship by Ground or if it needs to ship by 2 Day Air. Savings for Customers Living Outside the 2nd Day Ground Zone Too! We also have a new savings for those who do still have to have plants shipped by 2 Day Air. As long as your plant order contains only plants the 2 Day Air shipping charge will never exceed $39.00. On a large plant order, the shopping cart may calculate the charges above this price. If it does the charge will be reduced to $39.00. Plant
Index Page NEW PRODUCTS
PAGE HERE,
FISHY FISHY - A koi named Quasimodo? Goldfish called Larry, Moe and Curly? Fish names go beyond the standard Goldie and Spot, according to a recent online survey conducted by The Water Garden. Respondents to the poll submitted the names of their fish, which ranged from the cute - Nemo and Dory from the animated underwater film "Finding Nemo" - to the wacky - Big Rhoda and Monterrey Jack. We wondered if water gardeners named their fish the way people name cats and dogs. We found that not only does it seem that people give their fish names, but they're pretty serious about it - one pond owner has 130 fish and has named every single one of them! While Goldie and Spot were the overwhelming favorites among those polled some of the names submitted, like Filet O. Sole, were decidedly unique. The movies provided many fish names, like The Soggy Bottom Boys, who were inspired by George Clooney's musical group in the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou." A Western-loving water gardener in Canada called his goldfish Butch and Sundance after the characters played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Even fast food commercials influenced the monikers chosen by some people, like Crunchy, Chewy and Cheesy, owned by a woman who let her youngest son name three of her fish after the Taco Bell ad. This same pondkeeper also has a fish she calls Not For Sale - "When we first tried to buy it, that's what the salesman told us," she said. Some pond owners went for themed names for their fish, like Liberty and Justice for a pair of koi acquired over Independence Day weekend. Several water gardeners took the Japanese heritage of their koi seriously, coming up with names they felt honored the origins of their fish. "We have a 3-year-old male koi who's named 'Toshi' ," wrote one respondent, "short for Toshiro Mifune, the '60s movie star of Japanese samurai films." Fish were also frequently named in honor of favorite celebrities, including Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Prince Charles, and even Mary-Kate and Ashley after the Olsen twins. While many water gardeners name their fish for fun, one respondent noted a more practical reason for christening his fish: "We find names extremely helpful when noting the different habits and problems a fish might have." =====================================================================That's it for this issue of The Water Garden News, we hope you found it useful and entertaining. When you are in the Chattanooga area all of us at The Water Garden would be pleased if you would stop by our new retail center to say hello.
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