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Virtual Tour of Halo Ponds of South Florida |
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This month, we took an exciting trip to a nearby fish dealer, that
also sells lilies and a wide variety of exotic palm trees. I visited
Halo Ponds in North Ft. Lauderdale, mostly to pick up some water
plants and a couple of algae eating fish, to combat my raging string
algae problem (which is completely gone now - more about that
later).
As many of you know, the general 'rule' is an ideal number of
plants in your water garden or pond is 60- 70% surface coverage by
either lily pads, or other floating plants like Water Hyacinths or
Water Lettuce. The purpose of this is to shield some of the rays
from the strong summer sun, and to cut down on algae in the pond.
Not everybody has this problem, but down here in Florida - it
sure gets hot! The sun is very strong here, and in many other parts
of the country, which can cause severe algae outbreaks - especially
if there are no plants to help soak up some of these excess
nutrients in the water. So, of to buy some plants we went!
Here at Halo Ponds, they had a pretty good selection of tropical
and Hardy lilies, marginals, parrots feather, etc. Here are some
pictures of Halo Ponds, and their facility:
Click here to read the whole story... »
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Water Hyacinths - A Great Pond Plant For Your Pond! |
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With vibrant green color leaves, a fragrant and beautiful purple
flower, and the ability to soak up excess pond nutrients faster than
a frog hops off a hot rock in summer - the Water Hyacinth is a great
plant to add to your water garden or pond.
Here are just some of it's benefits: They float, so you don't
have to worry about planting them or dividing them when they get too
big (they divide automatically).
Hyacinths multiply like crazy, so you may only have to buy 4 or 5
and by the end of the summer, you will be giving them away to your
friends.
They get a gorgeous purple flower when they bloom, that has a
sweet smell to it as it sticks 4-5 inches above the top of the
flower. And most notable about the Hyacinth is it's fantastic
ability to soak up excess nutrients in your pond, as well as act as
a 'floating filter'...
Read More About it... »
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A Quick Note About Water Quality |
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We've all been guilty of it at one time or another - but many pond
owners get all stressed out and worked up about adding all the
'right' chemicals, additives, etc. to their pond, hoping that it
will keep their fish healthier and happier.
Not that there aren't some really good additives out there, but
the bottom line is that if you just focus on keeping your water
quality high, and your pond clean of debris and decaying organics -
you should be in pretty good shape.
Here are the essentials of good water quality:
Oxygen - This is one of the fundamental elements that many pond
owners ignore. Your fish can't breathe air like we can, so they need
a high enough concentration of oxygen in the water to survive. If
you are not aerating your water sufficiently, for example, by
running a waterfall, fountain, or spitter, then you may be depriving
your fish of the precious oxygen they need to survive.
Continue Reading... »
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Product Review - Introducing the NEW PondFresh PF-100 |
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We designed the new PondFresh PF-100 specifically for pond owners.
This unique new water filter attaches directly to your garden
hose and removes harmful chemicals from your tap water, including:
Chlorine, Chloramines, Heavy Metals and 45 other VOC's (Volatile
Organic Compounds)
Featuring the Aquaspace Compound The PondFresh PF-100 uses a
state-of-the-art filtering media, originally developed by NASA for
use in it's space program.
Learn More... »
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Pond Algae Update... |
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Last month we profiled an article entitle 'The String Algae Blues'
where we talked briefly about some of the things you can do to get
rid of that nasty string algae in your pond.
We were using some of the old staples, like barley and some
Microbe-Lift but it just wasn't doing the trick.
Down here in the intense sunlight, we really needed something
stronger and although I've never been inclined to use chemicals in
my pond, this case called for something more powerful.
After carefully researching this product, I decided to give it a
try in my KOI pond...
Here are the results: |
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