Designing a Pond

No, we’re not meaning the Pond Doc when we say we are taking a closer look at parasites. We’re taking a closer look at those itchy little things that live on our fish and can make them sick. Parasites are found everywhere - in the food we eat and in our everyday living spaces. Some of them won’t hurt a thing and can be beneficial. The ones we’re attacking are the ones that are bad and cause problems for our pets with fins.

It's surprising that Robin Leach of “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” has not titled one of his episodes “Ponds of the Rich & Famous”, especially since Robin Leach enjoys his own koi pond in the gardens of his mansion on a remote island in the Caribbean. Many celebrities have koi ponds or water gardens but finding out about them is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I was, however, able to come across a few interesting and somewhat surprising tidbits — enough information to leave us all wanting more.

Named after an ancient Chinese Zen Master, Bodidharma, who lost the use of his arms and legs after sitting nine years meditating in a cave, the Daruma Doll is a symbol of his self-discipline and positive outlook. Its weighted bottom and rounded shape forces this ancient cultural doll to right itself after being knocked over, teaching us to be dedicated and persistent and symbolizing our recoveries from misfortune.

I’ve developed an interest in the age-old study of Feng Shui since Bob Grant, one of our customers, corrected me on the pronunciation. Now I know it’s pronounced "fung shway". I knew enough to be dangerous about the subject so I thought I might investigate it further. Feng Shui literally means "wind and water". It’s an ancient Chinese study of the natural and constructed environment that surrounds us and how we can improve our relationship with these surroundings to enrich our everyday lives, prosperity, health and well-being. The depth of the study is enormous but very interesting. You’ll find more on Feng Shui inside.

I am by no means an expert on Feng Shui. I would never want to belittle those who have studied the art by pretending that I know as much about this fantastic subject as they do. The more I read about Feng Shui the more I realize the depth of the subject and know that one cannot be an expert without years of studying. My aim is to acquaint people like myself to some of the ideals and make it fun to try to incorporate Feng Shui into our everyday lives.

When people come to the store wanting to build a pond from scratch, replace a malfunctioning pump or make the pond more maintenance-free I immediately go into my song and dance number — the famous if-it-were-me-I-would-install-an-external-pump routine! An external pump is the most important component to a pond system. It offers the pond-owner a less troublesome, longer-lasting, less expensive (in the long run) piece of equipment than a submersible pump that runs the same amount of gallons per hour.