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Filed under Koi Pond Accessories by on Nov 28th, 2008. Comment. 
Discuss – Building a fish pond entails more work than just digging a hole in the ground, and filling it with water. The first thing individuals have to do is use a plastic lining to separate the ground from what to become the fish pond.
Choosing a Pond or Fountain Light: LED or Halogen?
Basically, there are two kinds of lights available for ponds, halogen lights (which have been around for quite a while), and LED, which are more recent developments. Here are some differences between the two. Note that here we are addressing 12volt systems only.
Some advantages of LED:
Focused light
Solidly built and hard to break, durable
Last twice as long as best fluorescent bulbs and 20 times longer than incandescent bulbs LEDs also are more efficient per watt, produce greater lumens per watt than incandescents or halogen bulbs. LEDs can be built in a number of colors so do not require a filter, which greatly reduces efficiency of light. Finally, LEDs run cooler and are less likely to warm the pond or for their seals to get damaged because of the cooler running temperatures.
Some Disadvantages:
LED lights are still quite expensive and it is taking a while for the price to drop. Also, it is difficult to find an LED system that produces high wattage. Fountain Tech produces the highest pond light wattage we know of at 8 watts per light fixture. And a total of 130 separate LEDs are used in the fixture to do this!
Halogen:
Some Advantages
These are good lights, not as durable as LEDs but pretty durable all in all. The most common sizes are 10 watt, 20 watt, 35 and 50, though you can also find 75 watt lights. You can usually buy lens covers to change the color of the light, though lens filters do reduce the luminosity a great deal. In general, it is more efficient to use colored bulbs. Still, you will find less light from a colored bulb than a clear one. LED is the way to keep luminosity efficient when using colored light. You can find a good selection of both at Cheap Pumps.
Some Disadvantages:
Discuss – A Koi pond is also much larger than a water garden because Koi can grow to be very large in size, some growing to be the size of large trout or catfish. It is recommended that a Koi pond be large enough to hold at least a thousand gallons of water in order to keep the fish healthy.
These light bulbs don’t last nearly as long as LEDs, though they still last a long time. They burn quite hot and sometimes the high temperatures burn the O-rings and the fixtures leak.
About transformers:
Transformers that will be used outside (as almost all will!) really need a 3-prong plug. Beware of the “for indoor use only” transformer as, in order to find an indoor plug and then run the cable to your fixture outdoors these are often more trouble than the price savings is worth. Find a UL-approved transformer that can be used in or out of doors. That’s our recommendation.
Michael Guista is president of Fountain Mountain and has published two books. You can see some of his company’s products at http://www.fountainmountain.com
Filed under Koi Pond Accessories, Koi Pond Do It Yourself by on Nov 28th, 2008. Comment.
Discuss – The poor Koi keeper is left wondering what happened. He then proceeds the way of many before him, with a shovel, lots of sand and a determination to fill in what was once a treasured feature of his garden, his Koi pond.
One of the most frequently asked questions in the
fall-winter pond season is, “Do I need a pond heater or deicer for my pond?”
There are several factors to consider before answering that question. Let’s
take a look at what happens to a pond in the winter and when a deicer would be
needed. In the fall, our ponds start to change with the weather. Debris, which
has settled to the bottom of the pond during the spring and summer, is now
joined by hundreds of falling leaves. Over the winter, this debris will begin
to decompose. As they decompose, a slightly toxic gas is released that
harmlessly dissipates into the atmosphere after it rises to the pond surface.
In northern locations, where the pond freezes over completely, the gases have
nowhere to go and begin to build up. These gases can, over time, harm or even
kill your fish. To avoid the untimely demise of your favorite fish, you will
want to keep a hole open in the ice to allow for the release of these gases.
Discuss – Another way to obtain Koi pond aeration is to have different kinds of under water pond plants such as Anacharis and Hornwort. These plants will grow and spread out very well under water.
Now what you do not want to do is go out to your pond
with an axe and chop away! Many people think that this will help but what they
are unknowingly doing is sending massive shock waves through the pond with each
strike of the axe. If that doesn’t kill the fish outright, it will leave them
brain dead.
A better way to vent these gases is to use a floating
pond deicer. The de icer is a nearly indestructible heating unit that is fish
and liner safe. The deicer will come with an internal temperature switch that
will turn on only when the water hits below freezing and will turn off when
water temperature rises to about 45 degrees. The floating pond deicer will keep
a hole in the ice. A common-sized deicer is about 1250 Watts. It will maintain
about an eight inch diameter hole in a 600 gallon pond. For larger ponds, a
good rule-of-thumb is to add an additional unit for each 600 gallons of water.
Discuss – Be careful where you dig your fish pond. Where the fish pond is located can determine how much work a person has to put in to maintain a clean fish pond.
To obtain the fullest benefit from your deicer you
should try to install it in an area that is not exposed to high winds as cold
winds can pull the heat off of the deicer thereby decreasing its effectiveness.
Many customers utilize various types of wind blocks and achieve excellent
results even in windy weather.
As a final thought, I would like to address the common
misconception that a shallow pond of 12-24 inches is not good to winterize with
fish in it. While there may be some locations where your water will freeze
several inches deep your pond does not become a solid block of ice. The fish
may perish in the frozen pond but it will likely be from the toxic gases
produced by decaying matter. For small and shallow ponds I strongly suggest the
use of a pond deicer. A properly placed pond deicer can be the difference
between life and death for our favorite Koi or goldfish.
Discuss – Make sure that when constructing a natural pond, that you dig deep enough, so that the pond does not freeze over during winter. Also, consider what types of aquatic life you want to include in the pond before digging.
Jon Loewy is the Owner of
Pondless Waterfall, a water feature store that specializes in pondless
waterfall supplies, kits, and installation.
Pond Pump and Fountain has a full line of pond kits and pond accessories.
Filed under Koi Pond Accessories by on Nov 16th, 2008. Comment.