Does High-tech “gismology” offers the right means to controlling nature?

If you take nothing else home from this discussion, understand that doing battle with Nature is a sure fire way to lose the water gardening war.

The essential ingredient in any successful water gardening experience is understanding Nature and cooperating with her in every possible way.

As a matter of fact a water garden is normally seen as an antidote to a high-tech, robot-dominated world of work that many humans want to escape from after work.

Water gardening offers a way to reconnect and cooperate with Nature, not a way to further dominate and control her.

Leave the high-tech stuff at work, roll your pant- legs up, stick your feet in the pond, and become a kid again. Relax.

Can you be a water gardener and a koi hobbyist simultaneously?

If you are in the business of showing koi competitively, which most water gardeners are not, then you may want to listen to what koi competitors have to say.

If you’re in the hobby for the sake of the relaxing lifestyle and to enjoy your pets,
combining water gardening and the hobby of keeping koi is done all the time.

In fact, knowledgeable water garden enthusiasts almost always keep some koi in order to have a naturally balanced system.

And water gardening lacks a sense of life and color if you fail to include a few of the crown jewels of water gardening.

So not only can you combine the two, we suggest that you should combine the two if you want to maximize your enjoyment of this most unique hobby.

Is more filtration in a pond is always better?

If you’re in the drinking water industry more filtration is always better.

If you’re in the swimming pool industry, more filtration is always better.

But if you’re in the pond industry, more filtration is not always better.

However, more filtration is always more expensive in more ways than one.

You can over-filter a pond and create maintenance problems that are best avoided.

Factually speaking, Nature keeps its koi in some pretty unclear water. If you can see a dime on the bottom of your pond, it’s more than good enough. Avoid over-filtering your pond and avoid unnecessary headaches and cost.

Does my pond need a bottom drain to have koi?

If you have rocks and gravel in your pond to break down debris, then a bottom drain is not necessary.

The beneficial bacteria that seeds within the gravel will remove any build-up that occurs over time.

There’s little difference in oxygen levels two feet down and two inches down, which eliminates one of the arguments favoring bottom drains.

They also tend to promote leaks and raise the possibility of land-locking your koi.

In clean, clear pond water, bottom drains look unnatural and detract aesthetically.

So generally speaking, we endorse the combination of a skimmer, biofalls or wetland filter. In general we discourage the use of bottom drains.

How often does a pond need to be cleaned?

If you build your pond so that it’s working against Nature, draining and cleaning it out will be a regular headache that you can look forward to.

If you build your pond so that it’s working in harmony with Nature, you can look forward to draining and clean-out once a year…max.

Actually cleaning a pond out in-season kills the good bacteria that you’ve carefully cultivated all spring, which makes regular clean-outs counterproductive.

Using a Timer on your pond is a great idea and saves you the hassle.

Using a timer to turn your pond off during the night is counterproductive because in the process you’ll lose oxidation in the water, kill off beneficial bacteria, and create all kinds of maintenance problems that you’re much better off without.

The only time you want to turn your pump off is in the winter or when someone is performing substantial maintenance like a spring cleanout.

The only timer we suggest is the one that turns your underwater lights on and off when the sun goes down in the summertime. It will draw you out to the pond.

My pond should be located in the lowest part of my yard, right?

Generally low areas of the yard collect water/run-off which will make your liner bubble
Without an explanation, that’s the presumption for many new pond enthusiasts.

But since the lowest part of the yard is usually not close to your house, that’s not normally where you’ll want to locate your pond.

For the sake of convenience and accessibility it’s important to locate the pond up close to the house, most often beside a patio or a deck.

In order to maximize your access, the pond should also be situated so that it’s easily visible from inside the house.

A professional consultation will help you to get the right answer to this question. Click on the Platinum Ponds logo to find out how.

Do Ponds create safety and liability issues?

In the day of mega-litigation, a box of Cheerios can be a liability issue.

Yet safety/liability are never small matters
Historically speaking, a correctly constructed pond (with shelves that step down into the pond) have proven to be safe.

Of course, educating kids about ponds is important if they’re going to be close
But if you’re still concerned, and you still want a water feature, a Pondless® Waterfall may be exactly what the Doctor ordered.

The Pondless® Waterfall also eliminates any worry over fish keeping because there are no fish to be cared for … which can be a pro or a con, depending on you.

The moral of the story is that if you want a water feature, there’s a way to do it.

For more info visit

Will having a pond decrease the value of my home?

When it comes to real estate, we all know that the three most important factors are location, location, and location, however…

In general, waterfront property commands more money not less money.

Recent surveys show ponds (and decks) to be the most desirable landscaping available in today’s market, so the odds are against losing money on a pond.

Surveys also show that if you want to dramatically increase the value of your home, the best investment you can make is in well-conceived landscaping.

For more info visit Platinum Ponds.

Is it okay to use chemicals in your pond?

If you have a swimming pool in your backyard chemicals are required.

If you have a small body of water like an aquarium, chemicals are occasionally required as well.

But to presume that what’s good for your swimming pool or your aquarium is also good for your pond is a mistake that you should try to avoid.

Products such as algaecide (copper sulfate) and fish antibiotics are sometimes used as quick fixes for imbalanced ponds.

But in the long run, when you contradict Nature, its wins and you lose.
Duplicate Nature and you’ll never lose. For more info visit Platinum Ponds.

Can you have koi in a gravel pond?

People who are involved in “showing koi” on a competitive basis, see their pets with a different set of eyes than water gardening people see them, however…

Koi are bottom feeders and they encounter rocks and gravel constantly in nature.

Koi are scavengers and naturally swim along the bottom, grazing on everything.

Koi are bored stiff with an unnatural, rubber lined bottom, and they’ll act bored in an unnatural setting.

Millions of happy and healthy koi are currently living in ponds with rock and gravel all over the bottom
Bottom line is, why contradict Nature? For more info visit Platinum Ponds.

Can you have a pond in the midst of trees?

Trees and ponds actually complement each other very nicely.

Trees can be the most interesting plants around your pond.

In the fall they will cause you to empty your skimmer daily.
If it’s a magnolia, you’ll have to empty the skimmer daily in the spring too.

But shade from trees help to discourage algae growth.

And sitting under the shade of a tree, on a hot summer afternoon listening to the sounds of your waterfalls is heavenly.

For more info visit Platinum Ponds.

Will my water garden attract mosquitoes?

If your pond water is stagnant it’ll definitely attract mosquitoes.

The trick is to make sure that your pond water is moving constantly.

If your pond water is moving, mosquitoes will be much less interested.

But just in case, skimmers sweep mosquito larvae in and drown them

Fish consider them a delicacy and pick them off the pond surface like candy

If you insist, you can use a larvae killer like PreStrike.

If you have a correctly constructed pond you can expect the mosquito population in your backyard will actually be less than without a pond.

For more info visit Platinum Ponds.

Do you have to test your pond water for pH daily?

People with aquariums do test for pH (among other things) regularly.

Small bodies of water like aquariums, require lots more testing than larger ones.

Generally speaking, the larger the body of water, the less testing is required.

In Nature’s large bodies of water, it never tests for anything, anywhere.

Do you have to bring your fish inside for the winter?

Again ask, does Nature bring its fish inside in order to overwinter them?

Aquarium people usually think in terms of small bodies of water.
But a pond is a relatively large body of water and the rules apply differently
Nature you see, allows its fish to hibernate at the bottom of the pond.

You should allow your fish to hibernate over the winter too
Your fish will be healthy, happy, and very anxious to see you in the spring.

Can Koi be kept in a pond that contains plants?

One again, millions of healthy and happy koi living in plant infested ponds are proof to the contrary
Koi and plants actually complement one another in nature, as they do in ponds.

Koi are happier and healthier when they are kept in the most natural setting possible.

Why would any water gardening enthusiast ever argue with Nature?

The aquatic circle of life is absolutely the central concept of ecosystem ponds and fish are one of the essential ingredients in that infinitely rotating circle.

Not only can they be, but koi should be kept in ponds that contain plants. For more information visit Platinum Ponds.

Does a pond need to be at least 36” deep to keep koi?

Millions of healthy and happy koi currently living in thousands of 24” deep ponds serve as physical proof that 36” is unnecessary when it comes to koi keeping.

The Earth’s insulation allows ice to only freeze up to 8 inches thick
This leaves 16” in which fish can safely hibernate over the winter

Building codes traditionally consider 24” to be a landscaping feature
A 24” deep pond also requires less work and costs less in the first place.

Is using UV lights the best way to keep your water clear?

A UV clarifier or UV sterilizer (the sterilizer’s wattage is significantly stronger), affects only the algae that physically passes through its beam, while most algae clings to a surface and is never directly effected.

The best goal is a naturally balanced pond in which the aquatic circle of life that we discussed previously is kept alive and well, allowing Nature to do the clean up work that it does so naturally, with almost no effort on its part.

An imbalanced pond will require the aid of unnatural solutions such as UV lights.

Drawbacks to the UV solution include the fact that when algae is killed, it often falls to the bottom of the pond, which in turn breaks down and creates more available nutrition, and encourages an even greater algae bloom as the result.

Your pond can actually develop an addiction in which it needs more and more UV clarifying in order to keep up with the increasing algae growth.

And finally, UV lights are NOT CHEAP and require continual maintenance.

For more info visit Platinum Ponds.

Can rocks and gravel make it difficult to clean your pond?

The conventional pond mentality presumes that the conventional accumulation of muck on the pond’s bottom will become all the worse with rocks and gravel … and they could not be more wrong.

The ecosystem pond mentality concentrates instead on maintaining a natural balance in the water garden, which in turn allows Nature to do most of the maintenance work on its own, for almost no extra cost.

Bacteria colonization occurs readily on the rocks and gravel because of the increase in surface area and helps the muck/debris to biodegrade/breakdown
Natural biodegradation turns muck and debris into nutrition that plants (including algae) can use to grow strong and healthy.

The aquatic circle of life occurs when the fish eat the plants, produce waste that falls to the bottom of the pond and, along with the debris biodegrades into nutrition that is used up by the plants which are eaten by the fish, etc., etc., etc.

As long as the pond is in balance and the infinite aquatic circle of life is in process, the pond owner will experience very few maintenance problems.

For more information visit Platinum Ponds.

Predators will eat all your fish?

Raccoons can swim but they don’t like to. They are much more likely to sit on the side of the pond hoping for a fish to swim within reach of a paw swipe. The fish, on the other hand, are generally acutely aware of the presence of predators and when the raccoon comes a calling, the fish generally swim to the bottom of the pond and hang out until the threat moves on to another location. In other words, raccoons are simply not a major problem for water garden enthusiasts.

Heron, on the other hand, have legitimate predatory credentials and are more than capable of making a meal out of your favorite koi, shubunkin, or goldfish if you allow them to. With long legs and large beaks, the Great Blue can easily swoop in, wade around and catch lunch before you have time to say “get out of here."

There are various solutions ranging from scarecrows (some are made to look like alligators) to laser equipped motion detectors that are poised to fire intermittent streams of water at offenders who trip the sensor in hopes of scaring them off.

However, Fish Caves are the best solutions to the heron dilemma, and can easily be made part of any well-conceived water garden during the installation process, for just a few bucks more.

For more info visit Platinum Ponds.

Pondless Waterfall Care

Recently, a couple new pondless owners have asked, "What should I do about the green stringy stuff?"

The string algae seems to thrive best in cold conditions. Seasonally, you begin to notice changes in the ecosytem. Unlike a swimming pool which is filled with chemicals and sterile, a pondless waterfall is a natural system that is friendly to plants, insects and birds.

If the algae becomes unsightly several things can be done for asthetics. First, and simplest option is to turn the feature off for 24-48 hrs. This will starve the algae and take it out of its growing enviroment.

Secondly, you can treat the water with Pondless Waterfall Algaeblast. This algaeside will kill the algae in the system. This will need to be added on a regular basis for added control.

Fighting against nature is always a poor choice. But, having a pondless waterfall feature can bring untold enjoyment for many years to come.

For more information visit Platinum Ponds

Southern Charm

Spring in the South is back. Ponds come alive early in the South, filled with exciting surprises as new aquatic life comes alive. We have always enjoyed Spring with it’s new fragrances and hues of colors. But, when you have a pond there are a host of questions you begin asking. So let’s take a few moments and highlight a few important questions we receive in the South.

Question #1 - When can I begin feeding my fish again?

Without getting technical about fish digestion, 55 degrees Fahrenheit or higher is the general rule of thumb for feeding fish. LoTemp fish food is a safer option until consistent warmer temperatures arrive. Medicated fish food can be added temporarily into the diet until the fishes immune systems strengthen. If you are in doubt, it would be safer to wait till your fish become extremely active after the 1st of March.

Question #2 – When should I clean out the debris in the pond?

The earlier the better. Leaves and debris begin rotting with warmer water temperatures and can do more than stain your water the color of tea. The question really is, are you nuts enough to clean a pond in January. If you have fish, the best time to clean your pond is when the hose water is about the same temperature of the pond. Fish will stress out less when these temperatures are almost the same. Hiring a passionate Certified Aquascape Contractor for a clean-out will be worth its weight in gold. Not just for the labor saving end, but also for the replacement of light bulbs and the proper handling of fish. You can rest assured if your pond is cleaned by a professional. Visit http://www.certifiedaquascapecontractor.com/ to one nearest you.

Question #3 – What do I need to have done in the Spring?

A great place to start would be to remove the filter mats and Lava rock/Bioballs and give them a good rinsing. If your mats and lava rock are in need of replacement, now would be the perfect time to do this. Removing any excess debris from the pond system will only help accelerate the jumpstarting of the ecosystem and leave less to be absorbed. Don’t forget to add beneficial bacteria. This will always help climax the system to its fullest potential reducing much of the debris. But don’t pass up the aquatic plants. These plants are natures sure way of reducing excess nutrients, keeping your pond in balance, and bringing friends back to visit your pond.

Southern charm and ponds go hand and hand. From plantation homes to modern suburban neighborhoods, ponds are the lifestyle. But with Spring there are a few things that need closer attention as our ponds awaken. These seemingly cumbersome tasks melt in comparison to the charm of the southern pond. These ponds set in their realistic elements evoke a southern fantasy that is enjoyed year round. With a relaxing change of pace set in a southern landscape, ponds help build life-long relationships to be enjoyed for years to come. From the enjoyment of being surrounded by nature to making memories with family, the southern charm fills our hearts and ponds.

For more information visit Platinum Ponds