{"id":86,"date":"2026-08-24T19:11:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T19:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/?p=86"},"modified":"2026-08-24T19:11:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T19:11:05","slug":"2026-spring-pond-care-seminar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/?p=86","title":{"rendered":"2026 Spring Pond Care Seminar"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I founded the company back in the late \u201980s. My name is Mark, although they call me the Pond Guy around here.<\/p>\n

I went to school for landscape architecture, but most of what you see here today I never studied in a textbook or classroom. We learned by doing. Over the past many years, we\u2019ve slowly developed a system and an ecosystem that allows people to enjoy an ecosystem pond in their backyard with crystal-clear water, happy, healthy fish, and as little maintenance as possible.<\/p>\n

What you see in our garden, from the time you walked through it today until you got back here, represents more than three decades of trying, trying again, and getting better and better.<\/p>\n

How many people already have a pond?<\/p>\n

Okay, so almost everybody. Anybody here who doesn\u2019t have a pond yet?<\/p>\n

Well, we\u2019re going to sell you a pond today. You can come visit my ponds anytime you want!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s seminar is part of a whole series we have here in the spring called Coffee with a Pond Guy<\/strong>. I view my role today as sharing the lessons I\u2019ve learned over the years about how we make ponds easier to take care of, how we keep fish happy, and how we maintain good water quality.<\/p>\n

A lot of what I\u2019m going to talk about today is based on the Splash ecosystem pond<\/strong> that we\u2019ve developed over the years.<\/p>\n

How many people have a Splash ecosystem pond?<\/p>\n

Okay, about half the room.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to briefly go through this ecosystem to give you an orientation on how we think about ponds, fish happiness, water quality, and maintenance.<\/p>\n

We have several other seminars coming up throughout the year, including pond construction, waterfall construction, and a talk in May on aquatic plants.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m especially excited about the aquatic plant talk because, for the first time in I don\u2019t know how many years, it won\u2019t be me teaching it!<\/p>\n

How many of you have ever been to Longwood Gardens?<\/p>\n

Our May speaker will be Tim Jennings, the head aquatic gardener at Longwood Gardens<\/strong>. Tim and I have become good friends over the years, and he\u2019s graciously offered to come talk to us about aquatic plants.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be sitting in the back with you guys heckling him!<\/p>\n

Tim is amazing, and I\u2019m really excited about that.<\/p>\n

We also have a fish health and happiness talk scheduled, along with food trucks, live music, and all kinds of other things on the calendar.<\/p>\n

But today, I just want to briefly talk about the ecosystem pond.<\/p>\n

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Ecosystem Ponds 101<\/h1>\n

The first step when we dig a pond is to dig a hole, right?<\/p>\n

If you look at all of our ponds out here\u2014from the turtle pond inside, to the Lily Pad, to the swim pond, and even our 300,000-gallon habitat pond out back\u2014they\u2019re all built using the same basic system.<\/p>\n

Our ponds are dug with shelves. Each surface is perfectly flat and vertical: flat, vertical, flat, vertical.<\/p>\n

We do this intentionally so that when we place the rocks, they don\u2019t slip and slide around.<\/p>\n

Then we place the rocks on those shelves.<\/p>\n

Another thing you\u2019ll see are plant pockets<\/strong>. All of our pond plants are removed from their pots and planted directly in the pond. I\u2019ll explain why in a minute.<\/p>\n

We also put a fish cave<\/strong> in the pond.<\/p>\n

Everybody knows why we have fish caves: herons, bald eagles, and other predators are always looking for an opportunity to eat your fish.<\/p>\n

The fish cave gives the fish somewhere to go during the winter, but it also provides protection whenever predators come knocking.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the basic pond structure.<\/p>\n

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Skimming: 90% of the Filtration<\/h1>\n

Now we have a body of water sitting there, and pollen is probably the number-one nutrient source entering a pond.<\/p>\n

Think about it: pollen gets into your pond 24\/7, 365 days a year.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have proper filtration, that pollen just sits there and becomes a huge nutrient source. It drops to the bottom along with leaves, twigs, sticks, debris, and fish waste. Eventually, all of that muck builds up.<\/p>\n

Instead of letting that happen, we want to get the pollen and everything else out of the pond before the pond even knows it\u2019s there.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the skimmer<\/strong> comes in.<\/p>\n

If something falls into the pond, remember that 100% of the debris entering the pond is coming from above.<\/p>\n

We use a skimmer to remove that debris before it has a chance to sink to the bottom.<\/p>\n

We look at skimming filtration as 90% of the battle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ninety percent of filtering a pond is skimming debris off the surface before it has a chance to sink.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll see that in all of our ponds. From the turtle pond inside to the habitat pond out back, the skimmers simply get bigger as the ponds get bigger.<\/p>\n

We want the skimmer to be powerful enough to pull debris from one side of the pond all the way over to the skimmer.<\/p>\n

The UPMC Pond<\/h3>\n

How many people have seen the pond we built for UPMC, the hospital?<\/p>\n

If you ever have to go to the hospital, that\u2019s the cool hospital to go to!<\/p>\n

It has a 100-foot-long koi pond right at the main entrance. We built a courtyard around it with little seat walls, a bridge, and everything else. It\u2019s a pretty fun place to visit, and we\u2019re very proud to have been involved in it.<\/p>\n

But think about the challenge of trying to pull debris from 100 feet away.<\/p>\n

The way we solved that was by putting a waterfall at the far end to push debris toward the skimmer. We also had underwater jets pushing debris along.<\/p>\n

By the time everything gets close to the skimmer, the skimmer is powerful enough to pull it all in.<\/p>\n

So, just think about that in terms of filtration: skimming is 90% of the battle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Biological Filtration<\/h1>\n

The secondary part of filtering the pond is your BOF filter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A BOF filter is basically a series of nooks and crannies where beneficial bacteria and enzymes can grow.<\/p>\n

Those beneficial bacteria and enzymes consume the remaining 10% of the debris that the skimmer didn\u2019t catch\u2014things like fish waste and other organic debris that are breaking down.<\/p>\n

The beneficial bacteria essentially say, \u201cHey, that\u2019s food. I\u2019m going to eat that.\u201d<\/p>\n

They convert ammonia into nitrites. Then another type of bacteria consumes the nitrites and converts them into nitrates.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the only science lesson we\u2019re going to have today!<\/p>\n

If you have high ammonia in your pond, your fish are not going to be happy.<\/p>\n

Ammonia is extremely poisonous to fish.<\/p>\n

The second thing we want to get rid of is nitrites.<\/p>\n

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Green Water vs. String Algae<\/h1>\n

If you\u2019ve ever seen a pea-soup-green pond\u2014the kind where you stick your hand into the water and your hand disappears\u2014that\u2019s single-cell algae<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That algae grows when there are high levels of nutrients available to it.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter whether we\u2019re talking about Lake Erie, an acre-sized farm pond, or a little 5-by-5-foot pond on your patio. If you have green water where your hand disappears, you\u2019re dealing with single-cell algae.<\/p>\n

We sell algaecides and UV sterilizers, but I\u2019ve never professionally installed a UV sterilizer in an ecosystem pond.<\/p>\n

We make a lot of money selling UV bulbs, but we\u2019ve found that you generally don\u2019t need one in an ecosystem pond.<\/p>\n

The reason is that we\u2019re not trying to kill algae<\/strong>. We\u2019re trying to starve algae<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

There are algae spores everywhere. We\u2019re actually breathing them in right now.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a body of water with algae spores and there\u2019s a nutrient source available, the algae is going to grow.<\/p>\n

Our ponds stay crystal clear because we grow enough beneficial bacteria to consume those nutrients.<\/p>\n

If there are no nutrients left for the algae, the pond stays clear.<\/p>\n

So:<\/p>\n

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  • Beneficial bacteria consume ammonia, which helps keep fish healthy.<\/li>\n
  • Beneficial bacteria consume nitrites, which helps control single-cell algae.<\/li>\n
  • The byproduct is nitrates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Nitrates are essentially fertilizer for more complex plants.<\/p>\n

    That includes reeds, rushes, irises, water lilies, lotus, and other aquatic plants.<\/p>\n

    If you don\u2019t have enough plants and you have too many nitrates, what do you get?<\/p>\n

    Stringy, fuzzy algae.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    There are two basic types of algae we\u2019re concerned with:<\/p>\n

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    1. Single-cell algae<\/strong> \u2014 causes green water and thrives on available nutrients.<\/li>\n
    2. Filamentous algae<\/strong> \u2014 the stringy, fuzzy, hair-like algae that grows when excess nutrients remain available.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      A little stringy algae is probably normal in a pond because it shows that you\u2019re completing the nutrient cycle.<\/p>\n

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      Plants as Filtration<\/h1>\n

      The number-one place where all of this starts is the skimmer.<\/p>\n

      If you don\u2019t have a skimmer, then you become the skimmer<\/strong>. You\u2019re outside with a net trying to remove debris from the pond.<\/p>\n

      The second line of defense is your plants.<\/p>\n

      The more varieties of plants you have, the more nutrients you\u2019re removing.<\/p>\n

      A green-leaf plant pulls out different nutrients than a red-leaf plant. Plants with blue flowers and plants with yellow flowers can also utilize different nutrients.<\/p>\n

      So, the more variety you have in your pond, the better.<\/p>\n

      It looks amazing, but more importantly, the plants are competing with string algae for nutrients.<\/p>\n

      This time of year can be challenging because the plants aren\u2019t fully active and growing yet. That means string algae may start to take over.<\/p>\n

      Once your plants get going, we\u2019ll talk about how to manage that as well.<\/p>\n

      That\u2019s basically Ecosystem Ponds 101<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      Does that make sense?<\/p>\n

      So, I either bored you or taught you. There will be a test at the end!<\/p>\n

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      Water Lily Planting Depth<\/h1>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      When can you put the plants in?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Today is a great day to put plants in.<\/p>\n

      All of our hardy plants stay in the pond year-round.<\/p>\n

      For example, when we plant a lily, we ideally plant it at about 18 inches deep<\/strong> in a plant pocket.<\/p>\n

      If you have lilies in containers and you\u2019ve been raising and lowering them, you probably don\u2019t need to move them quite as much.<\/p>\n

      Hardy lilies will survive at 18 inches, and even around 12 inches, so leaving them at one depth can make things easier.<\/p>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      Would three feet deep be okay during the summer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Yes, they\u2019ll grow.<\/p>\n

      The problem is that when they\u2019re planted three feet deep, they have to expend more energy getting their leaves all the way to the surface.<\/p>\n

      When we grow lilies at our farm, we keep only a small amount of water above the roots. That way, the plants don\u2019t have to expend as much energy getting their leaves to the surface, so they grow faster and become hardier.<\/p>\n

      In your pond, if the lily is three feet deep, it will eventually get there. But if you raise it up a little, it will be warmer, get more sunlight, and require less energy to reach the surface.<\/p>\n

      If raising and lowering your lilies is a pain, I would simply leave them around 18 inches deep year-round.<\/p>\n

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      Retrofitting a Skimmer<\/h1>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      What if you don\u2019t have one of your ecosystem ponds?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      A lot of times, we\u2019ll go into an existing pond that was built without a skimmer.<\/p>\n

      That\u2019s actually our number-one retrofit.<\/p>\n

      As long as you have a flexible rubber liner, our typical skimmers\u2014the ones you see on our ponds\u2014will work.<\/p>\n

      If it\u2019s a concrete pond or another type of structure, it becomes a little more complicated.<\/p>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      What about a natural pond?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      A natural pond is a different animal.<\/p>\n

      It\u2019s very difficult to install one of our traditional skimmer\/BOF systems in that type of pond, but we can do it.<\/p>\n

      Our habitat pond out back is a good example of how we approach something like that.<\/p>\n

      We can figure out how to skim a natural clay-bottom pond and how to install a BOF filter.<\/p>\n

      It\u2019s more expensive than a traditional system because you don\u2019t have the flexibility of a liner, but there are definitely options.<\/p>\n

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      Spring Pond Cleanouts<\/h1>\n

      Right now it\u2019s springtime, and our crews are out cleaning ponds and getting them ready for the season.<\/p>\n

      How many people leave their ponds running all winter?<\/p>\n

      Quite a few of you. Awesome.<\/p>\n

      Everything you see in our gardens stays running all winter\u2014my personal pond, our display ponds, and even the UPMC pond.<\/p>\n

      We do have a few customers who say, \u201cI\u2019m going to Florida for three months and I\u2019m not going to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

      In that case, let\u2019s shut it down.<\/p>\n

      But for the most part, we like to leave ponds running through the winter.<\/p>\n

      If you do shut your pond down, you need to maintain good gas exchange by putting a bubbler on the surface. You also need to make sure all of your plumbing is drained.<\/p>\n

      Now that it\u2019s spring, it\u2019s time to look at the pond you probably haven\u2019t paid much attention to during January and February.<\/p>\n

      Maybe your neighbor didn\u2019t clean up his leaves, and now you have a foot of leaves sitting on the bottom of the pond!<\/p>\n

      When we do a spring cleanout, we typically set up a temporary tank next to the pond.<\/p>\n

      Then we pump the water out of the pond and move the fish into the temporary tank.<\/p>\n

      For a DIY cleanout, we have pumps, orange discharge pipe, and temporary tanks available for rent.<\/p>\n

      When we do it professionally, we use a much larger pump and three-inch fire hose.<\/p>\n

      Once the pond is drained, we blast around the rocks and gravel to remove the muck and debris that have accumulated over the winter.<\/p>\n

      We\u2019re trying to mimic what happens in nature.<\/p>\n

      Snow melts, water washes down streams, and everything comes rushing through. It creates a natural spring flush.<\/p>\n

      That\u2019s what we want to accomplish.<\/p>\n

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      How Often Should You Clean Your Pond?<\/h1>\n

      You may look at your pond and think, \u201cI don\u2019t see a single leaf. I can count every rock and pebble on the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

      If that\u2019s the case, you may not need a cleanout every year.<\/p>\n

      Some customers have us clean their ponds every year. Some absolutely need it every year. Others may only need it every three years.<\/p>\n

      It depends on the pond and how meticulous you are as a pond owner.<\/p>\n

      I\u2019m a very bad pond owner!<\/p>\n

      I have a 100-foot-tall walnut tree and a 60-foot-tall cherry tree, so I have leaves everywhere.<\/p>\n

      I neglect my pond, so I need to clean it every year.<\/p>\n

      But even if you\u2019re very meticulous, I would still recommend a cleanout about every three years.<\/p>\n

      An ecosystem pond is a closed system.<\/p>\n

      We talked about the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate cycle\u2014the nitrogen cycle\u2014but there are also many other macro- and micronutrients that build up over time.<\/p>\n

      Eventually, it\u2019s good to give the pond a nice flush.<\/p>\n

      Our retail fish tanks have a constant drip of fresh water because we\u2019re constantly flushing those systems.<\/p>\n

      The same concept applies to your home pond.<\/p>\n

      At a minimum, I recommend a substantial water change every year or two, depending on the pond.<\/p>\n

      When we perform cleanouts, we typically save 50\u201370% of the existing water<\/strong>, so we\u2019re really only doing around a 30% water change.<\/p>\n

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      Water Temperature During Cleanouts<\/h1>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      Do you have to wait for the new water to get close to the existing temperature?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Yes. That\u2019s a great question.<\/p>\n

      Water temperature is important because you don\u2019t want to stress the fish with a sudden temperature change.<\/p>\n

      During a cleanout, we often have multiple temporary tanks. We\u2019ll start filling one with hose water as soon as we arrive, and then we mix the fish with their existing water fairly quickly.<\/p>\n

      We\u2019re especially careful with larger koi ponds.<\/p>\n

      Goldfish tend to be a little more forgiving, but it still matters.<\/p>\n

      We recently moved all of the fish from our lily tank into our retail tanks, and we checked the pH, water temperature, and several other water parameters before moving them.<\/p>\n

      It\u2019s similar to taking someone from sea level and suddenly putting them at the top of Mount Everest. The environment is different, and their bodies have to react to those changes.<\/p>\n

      So yes, we pay attention to that.<\/p>\n

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      Spring Plant Maintenance<\/h1>\n

      Once the pond is drained, we clean up the leaves, twigs, and other debris and then look at the plants.<\/p>\n

      At this time of year, plants are just starting to emerge, so there isn\u2019t a lot of tall vegetation to deal with.<\/p>\n

      In my pond, I actually leave everything standing through the winter. The birds forage through it, so my pond looks pretty messy.<\/p>\n

      Then in the spring, we trim everything back and clean it up.<\/p>\n

      Fertilizing Water Lilies<\/h2>\n

      This time of year, lilies get their annual feeding.<\/p>\n

      We use these water-soluble fertilizer tubes. They\u2019re a slow-release fertilizer that we push down into the base of the lily.<\/p>\n

      We also use quick-release fertilizer tabs.<\/p>\n

      The slow-release fertilizer feeds the lily throughout the season, while the quick-release tabs give it an additional boost.<\/p>\n

      For maximum growth, we recommend doing the slow-release fertilizer once during the spring cleanout and using the quick-release tabs about once a month throughout the season.<\/p>\n

      The two plants we fertilize in the pond are primarily water lilies and lotus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      When we\u2019re growing plants commercially, we fertilize many of them because we want to get them to customers quickly.<\/p>\n

      But if you fertilize an iris during the growing season, you may end up with a plant that is twice as tall and floppy.<\/p>\n

      Irises generally don\u2019t need fertilizer.<\/p>\n

      Lilies and lotus, on the other hand, are heavy feeders.<\/p>\n

      We\u2019ve grown Victoria lilies at the UPMC pond, and those plants are incredibly heavy feeders. We can go through a container of fertilizer in a week with a Victoria lily.<\/p>\n

      Those are the giant water lilies with leaves large enough for people to sit on.<\/p>\n

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      Snails in the Pond<\/h1>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      I found some really strange-colored snails in my pond. Are there any snails I shouldn\u2019t allow?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      There are a lot of snails that can be problematic.<\/p>\n

      The snails we sell are the large trapdoor snails<\/strong>. They get to about this size and are live-bearing, meaning they don\u2019t lay eggs.<\/p>\n

      They may have several babies at a time, which is manageable.<\/p>\n

      The problem is the tiny snails that lay eggs.<\/p>\n

      You\u2019ll often see little black snails with egg masses that are incredibly large compared to the size of the snail.<\/p>\n

      Those can reproduce very quickly and can get into your pump and clog it.<\/p>\n

      Suddenly your pump is dead and you\u2019re paying a thousand dollars for a new pump.<\/p>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      Is there a way to get rid of them other than picking them out?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      It depends on the size of the pond.<\/p>\n

      There are treatments we use in our growing tanks and greenhouses when we have a snail infestation, but you have to be careful because treatments that kill the snails can also affect other things you don\u2019t want to kill.<\/p>\n

      The only snails we sell are the large, live-bearing trapdoor snails.<\/p>\n

      We like them because they\u2019re visible, they don\u2019t reproduce as explosively, they\u2019re not likely to clog your pump, and they do a good job cleaning the pond walls.<\/p>\n

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      Koi Eating Water Lilies<\/h1>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      My koi eat my lilies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Anybody else have that problem?<\/p>\n

      Koi can destroy lilies, but we don\u2019t see it as much in our ecosystem ponds.<\/p>\n

      One difference is that our ponds have rock and gravel across the bottom, and we plant the lilies directly into plant pockets.<\/p>\n

      When fish are in a pond with rock and gravel, they\u2019re constantly cruising along the bottom, picking up pieces of gravel and spitting them back out.<\/p>\n

      When koi are in a bare-liner pond with a potted lily, they can get bored.<\/p>\n

      They see the plant and think, \u201cWhat\u2019s this? Let\u2019s play with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

      That\u2019s when they can really go to town on the lily.<\/p>\n

      I see that much more often than I do in our ecosystem ponds.<\/p>\n

      You can read all over the internet that koi and lilies can\u2019t coexist, but then I\u2019ll just show people pictures of our ponds with koi and lilies living together.<\/p>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      I have gravel and they still destroy them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Sometimes they just do.<\/p>\n

      We have a protector in the store that may help.<\/p>\n

      It\u2019s a net that goes around the lily. If your lilies are in pots, you put the net in the pond first, then put the lily inside it. The net has a floating ring around the top that keeps the koi from getting to the stems and leaves.<\/p>\n

      They\u2019re located near the lighting department in the store.<\/p>\n

      Lotus can also help because koi don\u2019t seem to like the fuzzy, spiny texture of lotus stems.<\/p>\n

      Of course, some koi are simply huge, and anything in their way is going to get destroyed.<\/p>\n

      I was in Japan in October looking at fish, and some of them were absolutely massive. Those guys are going to destroy anything that gets in their way.<\/p>\n

      And for the record, there are no lilies in the mud ponds in the mountains of Japan!<\/p>\n

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      Trimming Water Lily Roots<\/h1>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      How often should you trim the roots of your water lilies?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      When we build a pond, we plant the lily directly into a plant pocket on a shelf.<\/p>\n

      When the rhizomes start trying to move onto the next shelf, we\u2019ll see that during the spring cleanout and simply prune them back.<\/p>\n

      We want the lily to fill its own shelf, but we don\u2019t want it growing into another area.<\/p>\n

      If it grows across the pond, it can block the surface, interfere with the flow toward the skimmer, and make it harder to see your fish.<\/p>\n

      So we typically trim lilies during the spring.<\/p>\n

      You could probably do it in October while they\u2019re dormant, but spring is our normal time.<\/p>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      What if the lily is in a pot?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      If the pot is starting to break apart or the lily is completely filling the pot, it\u2019s probably time to remove it.<\/p>\n

      Take the lily out, clean off the roots, separate out some good rhizome sections, and repot them in a new container.<\/p>\n

      We carry fabric pots for this.<\/p>\n

      Some of the less expensive fabric pots can simply be cut open with scissors. The heavier-duty ones can be pulled up, dumped out, refilled with soil and fertilizer, and reused.<\/p>\n

      If the roots are breaking through the pot, the plant is probably getting too crowded, and it won\u2019t produce flowers as well.<\/p>\n

      Some people repot every year. Others do it every other year.<\/p>\n

      If the lily is planted directly in a plant pocket, we simply wait until it starts growing where we don\u2019t want it to and trim it back.<\/p>\n

      \n

      Rock Size and Planting<\/h1>\n

      Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

      Does rock size matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      When you ask about rock size, the first thing I think of is the large boulders we use around the perimeter.<\/p>\n

      We use big boulders so you can walk and move around on them without them shifting.<\/p>\n

      For the plants, we use smaller gravel as a top dressing.<\/p>\n

      If you have lilies in pots and want to hide them in the gravel, we recommend taking them out of the plastic pot and putting them into a fabric pot.<\/p>\n

      Some of our fabric pots have a drawstring closure at the top that helps contain the soil.<\/p>\n

      Then you can top the pot with three-quarter-inch gravel or similar material.<\/p>\n

      If you have large koi that are destroying your plants, you can also put some larger rocks around the plant to protect it.<\/p>\n

      \n

      Pond Lighting<\/h1>\n

      Once the pond is drained, spring is also a great time to check your lights or install new lighting.<\/p>\n

      Our lighting systems start with a transformer, and the lights plug into the transformer.<\/p>\n

      This is a 60-watt transformer, and this is a one-watt light, so you could theoretically put 60 of these lights on this system.<\/p>\n

      As you size your system, it\u2019s a very simple calculation.<\/p>\n

      The transformer has a photocell that turns the lights on when it gets dark. It also has a timer that can turn them off after two, three, four hours, or whatever you choose.<\/p>\n

      We have traditional white lights as well as color-changing lighting systems.<\/p>\n

      There are some really cool options.<\/p>\n

      \n

      Feeding Fish in the Spring<\/h1>\n

      Now we\u2019re going to fill the pond back up, get the waterfall running, and we\u2019re good to go.<\/p>\n

      The fish have a nice, clean, happy home.<\/p>\n

      So, are we ready to start feeding them?<\/p>\n

      Anybody know the magic temperature?<\/p>\n

      Around 50\u201355 degrees.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Above 50 degrees, their metabolism starts speeding up. Below 50 degrees, they slow down.<\/p>\n

      In winter, koi don\u2019t technically hibernate. They enter a state called torpor<\/strong>, which is similar to hibernation.<\/p>\n

      They stop eating because they don\u2019t need the food. They\u2019re not moving around much.<\/p>\n

      If they get hungry, they can eat microorganisms and other food sources naturally present in the pond.<\/p>\n

      Having a thermometer in your pond is especially important this time of year.<\/p>\n

      We have basic thermometers and fancy Wi-Fi thermometers that let you monitor the temperature from your phone.<\/p>\n

      Once the pond is consistently above about 55 degrees, we can start feeding slowly.<\/p>\n

      I fed the fish here this morning, and they ate voraciously. It was fun to see everybody again after winter.<\/p>\n

      \n

      Spring vs. Summer Fish Food<\/h1>\n

      Right now, we\u2019re feeding a cold-water food<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      The difference between cold-water food and summer food is digestibility.<\/p>\n

      This time of year, the temperatures can swing dramatically. One day it can be 90 degrees, and the next day it can be 20.<\/p>\n

      If food sits in a fish\u2019s digestive system during those temperature swings, it can potentially cause problems.<\/p>\n

      Cold-water food is designed to be easily digested and processed quickly.<\/p>\n

      In the summer, we want to give the fish as many nutrients as possible, so we switch to a higher-protein food.<\/p>\n

      If you look at our fish food labels, you\u2019ll see the protein content.<\/p>\n

      Our summer foods have a higher protein content and also include ingredients that help enhance fish coloration.<\/p>\n

      So, think:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Spring:<\/strong> Cold-water food.<\/li>\n
      • Summer:<\/strong> Higher-protein summer food.<\/li>\n
      • Around 60 degrees consistently:<\/strong> Transition to summer food, which will probably be around May.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n

        Koi Crunchies<\/h1>\n

        Anybody ever use koi crunchies?<\/p>\n

        I love koi crunchies.<\/p>\n

        They\u2019re easily digestible and process quickly in the fish\u2019s digestive system.<\/p>\n

        They\u2019re also high in vitamin C.<\/p>\n

        In our fall class, I always tell people to get koi crunchies into their fish before winter because it\u2019s a good way to provide extra nutrients going into the colder months.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Spring Fish Health<\/h1>\n

        This time of year, everything is waking up.<\/p>\n

        Your fish are waking up.<\/p>\n

        Your plants are waking up.<\/p>\n

        But so are the pathogens in the pond.<\/p>\n

        Bacteria and other organisms that can affect fish are becoming active again.<\/p>\n

        We want to keep the fish healthy enough to fight off those infections.<\/p>\n

        If you\u2019ve noticed fish health problems during the spring, one thing we really like is probiotic food.<\/p>\n

        It\u2019s easily digestible and helps support the fish\u2019s immune system from the inside out.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Pond Salt<\/h1>\n

        Anybody use pond salt?<\/p>\n

        We keep pond salt on the shelf if it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n

        Pond salt can help with many of the pathogens that affect koi and goldfish.<\/p>\n

        If you start seeing problems this time of year, pond salt can be a good treatment.<\/p>\n

        However, if you maintain a high level of salt in the pond all the time, then if your fish develop a problem, you may need something stronger.<\/p>\n

        So we recommend not using salt unless you actually need it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        If you have fish health problems, let us know.<\/p>\n

        We have microscopes and diagnostic tools that allow us to examine fish for disease and help get them back to health.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Vacation Feeding<\/h1>\n

        Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

        What should I do if I\u2019m going on vacation for several days? Do I need someone to feed the fish?<\/strong><\/p>\n

        For the most part, your pond fish are fine without food for a week.<\/p>\n

        They\u2019re probably some of the easiest pets you\u2019ll ever own.<\/p>\n

        There are exceptions. Our retail fish tanks are very sterile environments, and fish in those tanks might start showing health issues after going a week without food, especially larger fish.<\/p>\n

        Your ecosystem pond is different.<\/p>\n

        The fish are naturally finding things to eat\u2014microplankton, nematodes, rotifers, and other organisms.<\/p>\n

        They\u2019ll probably be perfectly fine.<\/p>\n

        In fact, some customers tell me they\u2019ve never fed their fish in 30 years.<\/p>\n

        But to me, feeding fish is half the joy of owning a pond.<\/p>\n

        When I walk past my pond to feed my fish, they come racing across the pond to see me.<\/p>\n

        They recognize you.<\/p>\n

        They recognize your voice.<\/p>\n

        That interaction is one of the best parts of owning a pond.<\/p>\n

        If you have a large koi collection, those fish do need regular food. But even then, going a week without eating generally isn\u2019t a problem.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Feeding Other Foods<\/h1>\n

        Anybody ever feed watermelon to their fish?<\/p>\n

        Watermelon is a fun summertime treat.<\/p>\n

        Anything with vitamin C can be interesting.<\/p>\n

        If I\u2019m sitting on my patio eating an orange, I might throw some of the orange peel or flesh into the pond.<\/p>\n

        I\u2019ve also seen people put an entire slice of watermelon in the pond and let the larger koi destroy it.<\/p>\n

        It\u2019s a fun summertime option.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Rebuilding the Ecosystem After a Cleanout<\/h1>\n

        After a cleanout, we have to get the ecosystem going again.<\/p>\n

        When we clean the pond, we\u2019re doing something good by removing muck and debris, but we\u2019ve also disrupted the ecosystem.<\/p>\n

        Some people in the industry historically used pressure washers to scrub every rock in the pond.<\/p>\n

        I think that\u2019s a mistake.<\/p>\n

        You\u2019re destroying the ecosystem.<\/p>\n

        That green fuzz on the rocks is going to come back anyway.<\/p>\n

        We don\u2019t want to scrub the rocks completely clean.<\/p>\n

        We want to leave some of that biofilm<\/strong> because that\u2019s what helps kick-start the ecosystem again.<\/p>\n

        We\u2019ve rinsed the bio-balls and BOF filter during the annual cleaning, so we\u2019re essentially starting over.<\/p>\n

        That\u2019s why this time of year is a good time to add cold-water beneficial bacteria<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        Just like the cold-water fish food, it\u2019s specially formulated for slower growth and colder water.<\/p>\n

        Adding beneficial bacteria after the cleanout helps rebuild the ecosystem.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Water Changes and Pond Detox<\/h1>\n

        When we\u2019re doing a 30% or 50% water change, remember that if you\u2019re on city water, you have chlorine and chloramines.<\/p>\n

        Don\u2019t forget your pond detox<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        Just a few drops of detox can remove chlorine and chloramine almost instantly.<\/p>\n

        If there\u2019s anything more poisonous to fish than ammonia, it\u2019s chlorine.<\/p>\n

        We drink chlorinated water all day long, but fish can die when exposed to it.<\/p>\n

        All of our water treatments use a dosage rate based on gallons.<\/p>\n

        The formula for determining pond volume is:<\/p>\n

        Length \u00d7 Width \u00d7 Average Depth \u00d7 7.48 = Gallons<\/strong><\/p>\n

        For chlorine detox, we recommend doubling the normal dosage.<\/p>\n

        Your local water company may increase chlorine levels from time to time. It doesn\u2019t necessarily affect us, but it can make a huge difference when you have fish.<\/p>\n

        So, double the dosage.<\/p>\n

        Don\u2019t triple it.<\/p>\n

        Just double it.<\/p>\n

        And always keep a bottle of detox on hand.<\/p>\n

        If you\u2019ve owned a pond long enough, you\u2019ve probably left your garden hose running.<\/p>\n

        You go to church, come home, and realize, \u201cOh my gosh, I forgot to turn the hose off.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Then you look outside and your fish are gasping at the surface.<\/p>\n

        Pond detox can instantly dechlorinate the water and potentially save your fish.<\/p>\n

        I\u2019ve done it more than once!<\/p>\n

        \n

        Automatic Dosing Systems<\/h1>\n

        How many people have a dosing system?<\/p>\n

        The dosing system automatically adds beneficial bacteria to your pond.<\/p>\n

        We used to tell people to manually add Maintain or Clear once a week during the summer.<\/p>\n

        Over the past five years, since we started using dosing systems, we\u2019ve found that the dosing system makes the process much easier.<\/p>\n

        It automatically adds a small amount on a consistent basis.<\/p>\n

        You\u2019ll see it drip approximately once a minute.<\/p>\n

        The consistency makes a huge difference.<\/p>\n

        If you look around at our ponds, you\u2019ll see crystal-clear water and happy, healthy fish.<\/p>\n

        The dosing system is one of the things that helps make that possible.<\/p>\n

        \n

        High Nitrates in Source Water<\/h1>\n

        Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

        My source water is already very high in nitrates. How can I mitigate that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

        We actually use well water here for our fish tanks, so we monitor it closely.<\/p>\n

        In our fish tanks, we constantly have water hyacinth and water lettuce that we swap in and out.<\/p>\n

        The best way to remove nitrates naturally is plants, plants, plants<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        If there\u2019s a way to pre-filter your water using plants or another method to reduce nitrates before the water enters the pond, that would help.<\/p>\n

        High nitrates aren\u2019t necessarily the end of the world.<\/p>\n

        They can exacerbate some koi health issues, but fish can survive in water with elevated nitrates.<\/p>\n

        The same is true with pH.<\/p>\n

        We have customers with a pH of 8.5 whose fish are perfectly happy, and others with a pH below 7 whose fish are perfectly happy.<\/p>\n

        What we don\u2019t want is a dramatic change.<\/p>\n

        Going from 8.5 to 8 overnight is a problem.<\/p>\n

        Fish adapt to a consistent environment.<\/p>\n

        That\u2019s one of the benefits of a dosing system: it helps maintain consistency.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Maintain vs. Clear<\/h1>\n

        Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

        What\u2019s the difference between Maintain and Clear?<\/strong><\/p>\n

        After about five years of experimenting with these products, we overwhelmingly recommend Clear<\/strong> over Maintain for most ponds.<\/p>\n

        If you have pea-soup-green water, Maintain is your friend<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        It\u2019s fantastic for clearing up green water quickly.<\/p>\n

        However, if you use too much Maintain, you can end up with an overabundance of stringy, fuzzy algae.<\/p>\n

        It\u2019s very concentrated, and most ponds don\u2019t need that much of it unless they have an extremely heavy fish load.<\/p>\n

        Clear<\/strong>, on the other hand, contains just enough of the ingredients needed to maintain crystal-clear water, along with additional ingredients that help reduce string algae.<\/p>\n

        For most pond owners, string algae is the bigger problem, not green water.<\/p>\n

        That\u2019s why Clear is usually what we recommend.<\/p>\n

        On larger dosing systems, you can actually use two different treatments.<\/p>\n

        You can put one bottle of each into the doser and adjust the ratio with your phone.<\/p>\n

        If you have more string algae, you can increase Clear and decrease Maintain.<\/p>\n

        For dosing systems, keep the setting at one\u2014the lowest setting<\/strong>\u2014unless you need more.<\/p>\n

        If you need more, increase it slightly, then turn it back down.<\/p>\n

        A bottle can last an entire year when the doser is kept at the lowest setting.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Cloudy Water After Using Clear<\/h1>\n

        Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

        Why does Clear sometimes turn the water white for a little while?<\/strong><\/p>\n

        I haven\u2019t noticed that very often.<\/p>\n

        Are you using a doser or manually adding it?<\/p>\n

        Audience:<\/h3>\n

        Manually adding it.<\/p>\n

        It may be that you\u2019re slightly overdosing it.<\/p>\n

        The formula used in the dosing system is different because it\u2019s super-concentrated and designed to be added one small drip at a time.<\/p>\n

        If the water becomes slightly milky but clears back up by the next morning and the fish are acting normally, that\u2019s encouraging.<\/p>\n

        I haven\u2019t personally experimented much with that particular situation, but it\u2019s interesting.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Spring String Algae<\/h1>\n

        Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

        Have you noticed that spring algae seems particularly bad this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Honestly, my head has been behind my computer designing things, so I haven\u2019t paid much attention!<\/p>\n

        I know our habitat pond has some string algae, and there\u2019s some in one of our swim pond filters.<\/p>\n

        How about everybody else?<\/p>\n

        Are you seeing more or less string algae this year?<\/p>\n

        Audience:<\/h3>\n

        More.<\/p>\n

        Interesting.<\/p>\n

        Every pond is different, and that\u2019s what makes this industry so much fun.<\/p>\n

        Every year is different.<\/p>\n

        You have your daytime pond, your evening pond, and everything else\u2014and every year brings something different.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Why Is String Algae Worse in Winter and Early Spring?<\/h1>\n

        We commonly see the heaviest string algae from February through April<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        By the end of April, your plants start growing.<\/p>\n

        The pond begins waking up.<\/p>\n

        By June and July, string algae should be significantly reduced if you have enough plants.<\/p>\n

        \n

        What Should You Do About String Algae?<\/h1>\n

        We actually have an entire brochure about string algae.<\/p>\n

        So, what do you do?<\/p>\n

        Plants, plants, plants!<\/strong><\/p>\n

        That\u2019s always my first answer.<\/p>\n

        Barley<\/h3>\n

        Anybody ever tried barley for string algae?<\/p>\n

        Some people swear by it.<\/p>\n

        Other people say it doesn\u2019t work at all.<\/p>\n

        Barley has an interesting history.<\/p>\n

        We used to sell actual barley bales that people would throw into their ponds.<\/p>\n

        The problem is that you\u2019re adding organic material to the pond, which can break down and add nutrients.<\/p>\n

        Barley extract is different.<\/p>\n

        It creates a condition that string algae doesn\u2019t like. It\u2019s somewhat related to the same concept as hydrogen peroxide.<\/p>\n

        Some people love it.<\/p>\n

        Others don\u2019t see much of an effect.<\/p>\n

        It\u2019s one of those things worth experimenting with to see how your pond responds.<\/p>\n

        SAB<\/h3>\n

        If you\u2019re saying, \u201cMark, I have no more room for plants, and my friends are coming over in two weeks. I need this string algae gone,\u201d you can use SAB<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        SAB is a powder that you sprinkle directly onto string algae.<\/p>\n

        It damages the algae cells, which then break apart and get pulled into the skimmer.<\/p>\n

        As a polishing treatment, SAB can definitely be useful.<\/p>\n

        My Order of Attack<\/h3>\n

        For me, I would approach string algae in this order:<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Plants<\/strong><\/li>\n
        2. Physical removal<\/strong><\/li>\n
        3. Barley<\/strong><\/li>\n
        4. SAB<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          We also have algaecide on the shelf.<\/p>\n

          Don\u2019t buy algaecide.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          You don\u2019t need it, and you can kill your fish with it.<\/p>\n

          Algaecide is essentially a swimming-pool chemical and shouldn\u2019t be used casually in ponds.<\/p>\n

          We sell it because people don\u2019t always listen to me!<\/p>\n

          \n

          Final Questions<\/h1>\n

          Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

          What types of fish do you sell?<\/strong><\/p>\n

          We sell koi and a couple of different kinds of goldfish.<\/p>\n

          We also have a couple of tanks with bass, bluegills, minnows, and shubunkins.<\/p>\n

          We primarily sell pond fish.<\/p>\n

          Our habitat pond is stocked with those types of fish rather than koi and goldfish.<\/p>\n

          \n

          Audience Question:<\/h3>\n

          Do you carry replacement parts for this filter?<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Yes.<\/p>\n

          Check with the people in the store, and they\u2019ll be able to help you get the replacement parts.<\/p>\n

          \n

          Closing<\/h1>\n

          Well, I\u2019m three minutes over!<\/p>\n

          Any final questions?<\/p>\n

          Thank you all very much for coming.<\/p>\n

          Spread the word, and check out our calendar of events. It\u2019s huge.<\/p>\n

          Enjoy!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

          <\/div>\n
          <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          I founded the company back in the late \u201980s. My name is Mark, although they call me the Pond Guy around here. I went to school for landscape architecture, but most of what you see here today I never studied in a textbook or classroom. We learned by doing. Over the past many years, we\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-seminars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=86"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88,"href":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86\/revisions\/88"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/team.splashsupplyco.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}