water

A water display in the yard, garden fountains, or patio fountains turn the yard from ordinary to special. Scientists deduce that we humans began as water creatures and evolved to hunters who speared fish in the water. Hence our eager desire to be around water and to skip rocks. A child will be drawn to the water’s edge to start throwing rocks. People are drawn to water.

No matter what religious affiliation you are, it’s always fun during the holidays is to ride around and look at all the nifty (sometimes gloriously tacky) holiday decorations. Once upon a time — when we had time — Doc and I were known to lead the pack in our neighborhood in a holiday display competition. It got pretty wild! We decorated a toilet with a candelabra — a long story — and constructed our own street sign which we proudly displayed on our corner lot that pointed the way to such places as “Bethlehem” and “Crapperville” — more of the long story.

Ammonia is deadly. It is primarily created through the fish’s gills, kidneys and intestinal waste. Decaying uneaten food, plant material and leaves also contribute to ammonia accumulations. Ammonia is reportedly the leading cause of fish stress, breaking down his immunity system and leading to bacterial disease. Measurable to high levels of ammonia is common in new ponds (and aquariums), over-stocked ponds and established ponds from heavy feeding in the spring prior to biological bacteria growth or from inadequate filtration

A few days after one of the many torrential rainfalls we experienced this spring a customer called me for help with her leaking pond. “You must get out here quick,” she said. “The pond is going down every day. Pretty soon my fish will have no water at all!”

A UV is a bulb inside a PVC tube that is protected from water by a tube of glass. Water flows through the PVC tube and passes by the long bulb so that the ultra violet rays emitted from the bulb can sterilize microscopic algae that flows along with the water. This prohibits reproduction and growth of the algae and it quickly dies back. A UV is not effective against string algae because this type of algae attaches to the sides of the pond and rocks in the waterfall and does not pass through the light.