Algae Problems|Is There Too Much Algae?|Rochester|New York|NY |
It’s mid-December and most of Rochester, Monroe County New York (NY) is covered in snow. Many of us are seeking refuge by drinking hot chocolate and watching football curled under comfy blankets. At the same time, our thoughts turn to warmer days and dreams of dangling our feet in our wondrous water gardens as we listen to the birds sing and watch toads and turtles sun themselves on the pond rocks. | Cabin Fever |
Winter is a great time to dig out water gardening books and start planning new things for this year’s water garden. Much like veggie gardeners turn to seed catalogs for the upcoming growing season, water gardeners delight in planning the addition of new fish and plants for the pond. |
Add a New Waterfall
Most pond owners install a water garden in their landscape so they can enjoy the sound of running water. Chances are you have a waterfall to create this soothing sound, but why stop at just one? Aquascape has made it easy to add a waterfall to your existing pond with the creation of its new Waterfall Spillway. Designed specifically to retrofit into existing features, the waterfall spillway makes it easy to add multiple waterfalls to your feature. |
Introduce Finned Friends
Children love to feed them, cats and dogs enjoy watching them, and you’ll enjoy being greeted by them every time you visit your pond.
Splurge on Plants
New varieties of waterlilies become available every year and some are simply downright breathtaking. Look into adding some tropical water lilies for extra color & extended bloom time. You might also want to try your “blue thumb” at growing the lovely lotus. This majestic plant becomes the focal point of any water garden and can also be grown in aquatic containers placed on a sunny porch or patio. |
Create Interest With a Fountain
A variety of fountains and spitters are available for adding a new dimension to your water garden. Whether you choose a stylized patio pond or charming resin frog spitter, there’s a decorative option for every budget and taste. Not only do fountains and spitters add a whimsical or elegant touch to the waterscape, but they also help provide delightful sounds in the garden and help to keep the water moving. Turn Your Dreams Into a Reality |
Plenty of inspiration abounds to help you plan now for an even more enjoyable season of water gardening ahead!
Log onto our image gallery at www.acornponds.com/gallery for more photos to inspire you as you dream and plan new features for your water garden.
Have Your New Water Feature Or Backyard Pond Professionally Installed By Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls Of Rochester New York (NY)
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NY|Landscape Ideas|Small Space Water Features Rochester|New York|Near Me
When planning your landscape ideas and options, consider a new water feature. Fountains and container water gardens are the perfect way to add a splash of water to your landscape.
Affordable and easy to install, you’ll find a variety of water features to give your outdoor living space a unique look.
You can even add small fish like Rosy Reds. Kids love watching the tiny fish swim and you can bring them indoors when winter rolls around.
Fountains for decks, patios & porches - Fire can be incorporated!
One of the fastest-growing trends in outdoor living features is the combination of fire and water. Our popular fire fountain creates a soft, pleasing sound of water as it flows over and around the pebbles. Fire adds a surprising element that looks great at night, too.
An underground reservoir holds the pump and water that recirculates through the fountain. You’ll find a variety of fountain styles to suit your taste and budget.
Where Is A Good Location For My Fountain?
Have Your New Water Feature Or Backyard Pond Professionally Installed By Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls Of Rochester New York (NY)
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NY|Beneficial Pond Bacteria|Pond Water Treatments|Rochester|New York|Near Me
Why Add Beneficial Pond Bacteria If It Will Grow On It’s Own?
We decided to test products to see if they really made a difference. Over the course of a year, we consistently added beneficial pond bacteria and a sludge bacteria to one pond and not another, both having similar fish loads and proper filtration.
The results were dramatic. The pond with “stuff”, added consistently, was gin clear with no green water in the spring and a 3 week filter cycle ( pond enthusiasts: a filter cycle is how quickly water quality results showed 0 for ammonia and nitrites).
Also, in the fall there was very little sludge build-up on the bottom of the pondand every stone was visible. The fish were also very lively and looked extremely healthy.
The pond we didn’t supplemental pond bacteria to was clear, but not like the other, and the sludge build up was significantly visible on the rocks in this pond. The pond did go through a 7-10 day spring green water phase and the filter took about 8 weeks to cycle. (Big difference) The fish looked healthy and were active, but less active, but not as visible or vibrant as those in the pond with consistent pond bacteria additions(“stuff”). |
Read Acorn Ponds Info About Our Bacteria Dosing System
The Bacteria Dosing System
Have you ever forgotten to add your water treatments to your backyard pond only to be reminded by an abundance of algae growth? The Aquascape Automatic Dosing System will help keep your water feature looking great all year long! |
*Just Because We Added Some Liquid Bacteria To The Pond???
Adding beneficial pond bacteria is a way of supplementing and keeping pond bacteria levels steady so the bacteria are consistently keeping up with the ammonia and fish waste levels. This is somewhat similar to us taking vitamin supplements for our bodies in an effort to keep our vitamin levels consistent.
Adding beneficial pond bacteria eliminates high and low bacteria level swings which provides us with a cleaner and clearer pond, as well as a healthier environment for our fishfriends.
Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls is Western New York's including Pittsford, Fairport, Webster & beyond premier water garden and koi pond contractor. Building, maintaining, and helping customers with their ponds is our passion, hobby, and most of all fun and rewarding.
We take great pride in our attention to detail and careful planning from the design process throughout the construction of any water feature you can dream up. Beyond construction of your water feature, we also specialize in the maintenance of anything and everything related to waterscapes. Our vast knowledge of koi and pond fish will always be at your fingertips, whenever you need help.
Keep Your Pond Looking Great With Pond Maintenance Services By Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls Of Rochester New York (NY) Call Us 585-442-6373
Pond & Garden Lighting Rochester|NY|Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls
Tuck a spotlight behind a waterfall and the feature takes on a magical feel. Used in the main portion of a pond, you’ll enjoy watching fish dart in and out of the lights.
Although moonlight casts its own soft glow in your water feature, waterfall and garden lighting shows the details of the rock and water. Be creative with your garden lightingoptions and you’ll find you enjoy your water feature during the evening hours just as much as you appreciate it during the daytime. | It’s always a joy to watch fish swim in and out of lights. Be sure to incorporate LED lights which use approximately 80-90% less electricity and last 10 times longer than their halogen counterparts. Place a single bullet light in a container water garden or fountain bowl for a dramatic and interesting effect |
Add Underwater Lighting To Your Water Feature Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls Can Help You, Call Us 585-442-6373
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NY|Pleasures Of Koi Fish In Rochester|New York|Near Me
Koi and other pond fish make great outdoor pets … even learning to eat right out of your hand, if you’re patient! When you have a water garden of your very own, you’ll grow to love your fish as much as you love your cat or dog!
An Eskimo Kiss is shared over a trickle of koi food koi pellets. Fido might look like he’s snarling, but he actually adores the koi fish and watches over them every chance he gets. Learn more about feeding koi. |
Butterfly koi seem to lack some of the body size of regular koi, but the overall fish can run as long as 36 to 40 inches in the right pond with plenty of food. They are graceful and pleasant to watch swim. |
You simply can’t ignore this koi fish face! He may look like a Grumpus-Ala-Bumpus, but this Japanese koi is actually quite pleased with his pond |
The Joy Of Baby Koi
When koi and goldfish spawn, they produce thousands of eggs but very few actually survive and grow up into baby fish. Koi are egg “scatterers,” meaning they generally deposit their eggs on the bottom of the pond or in plants.
After a couple months the babies are about an inch long and may start eating commercial food. In order to “bulk” them up, look for a food that has high protein content. Depending on the pellet size, it may be necessary to crush them in order for the babies to eat the food.
By the end of summer you’ll have to decide whether to bring the babies inside or let them over-winter in the pond. If you decide to let them over-winter outside, they may or may not survive because they don’t have enough fat reserve to tide them over.
If you decide to bring them in, make sure you have a large enough tank with adequate filtration because they will continue to grow inside.
Another thing to remember is that if your pond babies continue to survive year after year, sooner or later they are going to get big and could overcrowd your pond. If you plan on keeping some of the babies, understand that eventually you may have to get rid of (cull) some of them.
Watching the baby fish grow up is fun and the whole process is a great learning experience for kids and adults, alike.
How many koi fish do you have in your water garden, and have you named them?
If You Need Help Or Have Any Pond Maintenance Questions, Call Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls In Rochester (NY) 585-442-6373
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Author
Landscape Designer / Pond Contractor, Tom Warmerdam has been designing, installing & maintaining koi ponds, water features, patios, landscape lighting & creating outdoor living area paradises all around Rochester, New York (NY) for over 30 years. His company Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls was awarded by Aquascape Inc. as one of the top 100 in North America in 2014. He has been attending conferences at Aquascape headquarters every year since 2004 in Chicago, Ill to maintain his Certification(Certified Aquascape Contractor) status.
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