Winter Pond Maintenance|Aerators|Floating Pond Heater|De-Icer|Rochester|NY|New York|Near MeHere's What We Do And Suggest For Ponds Near Rochester (NY):Use an aerator as your main source for de-icing your pond during the winter, to keep that hole in the ice. Also add a "true" pond de-icer as a back-up floating in the pond but not plugged in. Only plug the de-icer in unless it gets really cold and your hole in the ice is closing up. It's also great to have a back-up de-icing device in the pond in case another decides its too tired and stops working. So in reality- Using both is best! Learn more about Winter Pond Maintenance and Preparation
Winter Koi Fish Pond Maintenance Service Availabilities In Rochester & Monroe County (NY) Call Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls Now! 585-442-6373
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Why Should I Net My Pond?|Pond Tenting Services|Rochester|NY|New York|Near MeAt Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls, we feel tenting or netting your pond is one of the top 3 most important maintenance tasks that should be done to your pond every year. Often we are asked, "Why even bother if I am going to clean it out in the spring?" Netting your pond will make the clean-out easier in the spring, but that's not the reason we highly suggest this maintenance task. Keeping the leaves out will provide a much better environment for your fish to hibernate over the winter in your pond. When leaves fall into the water they immediately begin decaying and producing "not so nice stuff" in the water, which can be harmful to your fish. An over abundance of this "not so nice stuff", caused by buckets full of leaves, could cause your fish to not make it through the winter. Net your pond, keep a majority of those leaves out, and your fish will thank you!  Pond Netting & Tenting Service Availabilities In Rochester & Monroe County (NY) Call Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls Now! 585-442-6373Some Helpful Pond Info Links:Backyard Pond Tour|Koi Ponds|Fountains|Recreational Pond|Rochester|New York|NY|Near YouTom Warmerdam, owner of Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls based in Rochester (NY) traveled to Chicago in 2018 to participate in a water feature build, attend Pondemonium, network with other water feature artists from all over the world and go on the most amazing pond tour for contractors ever. Learn More About The Koi Ponds & Water Features On This Tour, Click The Video Below!Some of the water gardens we visited were projects Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls had helped build in previous years. Every residence we visited was privately owned. Tom With Acorn attends these events annually so he can bring the knowledge, design ideas and training home to incorporate similar water features and pond projects in the Rochester (NY) and surrounding Western (NY) towns. If You Need Help Or Have Any Pond Questions, Call Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls Of Rochester (NY) 585-442-6373Some Other Pond Info Links:Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls is offering this blog as a personal information source to our website visitors & Rochester NY Pond Owners. Our Pond & Water Feature Services are performed in Monroe County Rochester, Buffalo New York (NY) & Surrounding Western (NY) areas. Pond Maintenance, Pond Construction & Pond Repair are all in our wheelhouse of talent. Explore our website for more ideas.
The Purpose Of Pond Filter Pads | Rochester New York (NY)Filter pads (or other filter media) have an important role in your water feature, the purpose of filter pads is to keep a lot of surface area that will help to grow the beneficial bacteria. In reality should not be cleaned very often. This beneficial bacteria helps to balance your ecosystem water feature and are responsible for maintaining crystal clear healthy water; break down organic waste – in the form of sludge, and breaks down ammonia – from fish waste.  Also, some customers mistakenly believe this beneficial bacteria is “crud” and will unfortunately wash it off. Once removed, the process of growing beneficial bacteria will have to start all over again! Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls recommend to only clean your filter pads a couple times a year. Once during the spring clean out and again during fall shutdown. In some cases a third mid summer cleaning of filters can benefit the pond as well. Most filter pads will last a year or two before you should have to replace them.  How To Identify If Your Pond Needs Its Filters Cleaned (Summer Maintenance)
*Because each pond is unique, there are more examples but these are the most common. Not Sure What Type Of Filtration Is Right For You? We Can Help! Call Us For A Pond Design Consultation 585-442-6373Backyard Pond|Restoration|Repair|Rochester|New York|NY|Acorn Ponds & WaterfallsHave you been thinking about planning a pond renovation in Rochester New York (NY), or what you might want to do to change and enhance your existing fish pond or waterfall? If you’re still dreaming of your first fish pond or waterfall, this too is a great time to plan for that!  Pond Renovation Project By Acorn In Rochester New York (NY) Research Your ContractorResearch your contractors to make sure you are making the right decision. Someone telling you to rebuild the entire pond without options to repair the one you have most likely doesn't know where to start when trying to repair your current pond problem.
Hopefully You're Well On Your Way To Dreaming About Creating Or Enhancing Your Own Personal Paradise In Rochester NY Spillway Bowls Water Features In Rochester NY If you have a small space that you would like to add a little bit of paradise to, the patio pond or spillway bowl might be a great option for you. Or, perhaps you would like to test the waters of owning a pond a container water garden is a great place to start! Add Tranquility & Beauty To Any Rochester NY Garden With Our Bubbling Rock Water Features Or Garden Fountains! Consider Acorn's Bubbling Boulders Or Rock Fountains! Need Help With Your Vision? Contact Acorn To Design Your Own Personal Paradise Now! (585) 442-6373A fountain incorporated with a well thought out landscape plan, some decorative stone, and maybe some light can make for a very eye appealing creation. Something good for adding a little trickling water sound in a small area of your garden like near your front door or patio. They can be very sustainable by using rainwater to refill and top off the evaporated water. LED Lighting can be added for extending your enjoyment time into the night.  What do you envision for your own personal oasis? Right now – when your thoughts, ideas, and mental plans for your dream garden and fish pond are still fresh in your mind – is the time to get them on paper. Dreaming is always the first step to planning. In your mind, what would be the perfect backyard paradise? Here are some questions to ask yourself as you search for your perfect pond makeover.
Hire Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls To Design, Build & Maintain Your Backyard Pond In Rochester New York (NY) - Call Us Today! (585)-442-6373 Let's Get Started On Building Your Dream Pond Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls is offering this blog as a personal information source to our website visitors & Rochester NY Pond Owners. Our Pond & Water Feature Services are performed in Monroe County Rochester, Buffalo New York (NY) & Surrounding Western (NY) areas. Pond Maintenance, Pond Construction & Pond Repair are all in our wheelhouse of talent. Explore our website for more ideas.
Water Garden|Design|Plan|Ideas|Rochester New York|NY
As your thoughts turn to the lazy, carefree days of summer, consider the following options to enhance your pondering enjoyment: Add a New Waterfall
Introduce Finned Friends Maybe this is the year to add that beautiful butterfly koi you’ve been eyeing at the local garden center. After a long, cold winter, why not boost your spirits by rewarding yourself with a colorful jewel such as a new finned friend that will delight you as it glides gracefully beneath the lily pads? Fish add personality to your pond and can provide hours of entertainment. 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
Create Interest With a Fountain
Whatever your water garden dreams may be during this frosty season, be sure to make a plan for turning those pondering dreams into reality. Scour pages of water garden photo books, visit our web page on Patio Ponds or Pondless Waterfalls that have inspirational photos, dig through garden magazines that showcase water features and landscape design to find landscaping ideas. 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)Some Helpful Blogs:NY|Landscape Ideas|Small Space Water Features Rochester|New York|Near MeLooking to spruce up your yard in Rochester NY? 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.  Miniature water gardens, also known as Patio Ponds, are becoming increasingly popular on patios and decks. These small-scaled ponds provide the opportunity to enjoy beautiful waterlilies in a variety of colors. 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.  Refreshing fountains are popping up in yards all over the country as more homeowners look for unique ways to improve the curb appeal of their house. 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? Landscape fountains vary in size and can be added to any front yard, side entrance, under a window, next to a backyard patio, deck or can be incorporated into a pond or pondless waterfall! Indoors or outdoors, fountains are a great way to add ambience to any space.  The Stacked Slate Urn fountain does double-duty in this gorgeous front yard. Not only does it provide visual appeal, but it’s connected to a rainwater harvesting system. Rainwater is collected from the roof of the house and stored in the fountain’s 500-gallon reservoir.  Fountains make a great accent piece for your flower beds. This grouping of natural rock fountains are the perfect, rustic complement to the dainty, colorful impatiens. Who wouldn’t enjoy coming home to this beautiful scene? A trio of stone fountains welcomes visitors to these suburban homes, adding to the home’s value with increased curb appeal.
 Birds and butterflies enjoy visiting outdoor fountains to enjoy a refreshing splash or nourishing drink.
View our collection of videos about owning fish ponds & water features and get information and ideas for designing water gardens in the Rochester New York (NY) areas & beyond near me.   Whatever you choose, you’re sure to enjoy the beauty and refreshment that a small water feature adds to your outdoor living spaces! Have Your New Water Feature Or Backyard Pond Professionally Installed By Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls Of Rochester New York (NY)Some Helpful Pond Info Links:Pond & Garden Lighting Rochester|NY|Acorn Ponds & WaterfallsRochester New York backyard ponds and garden fountains are stunning during the day, but when pond and garden lighting is used to enhance evening views, you’ll find the landscape takes on a whole new dimension! 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.  As the sun begins to set, pond and garden lighting create a magical mood in the landscape. Think of that vacation you experienced at the beach and the serene feeling you enjoyed watching the moon cast a glowing trail over the ocean’s surface.  When you add a waterfall or underwater lighting to your water feature, you extend your viewing pleasure well into the evening. You can add lights during the installation of your water feature, or add later if you see dark spots you’d like to highlight. 
Add Underwater Lighting To Your Water Feature Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls Can Help You, Call Us 585-442-6373Some Helpful Pond Info Blogs:NY|Pleasures Of Koi Fish In Rochester|New York|Near MePond fish in Rochester NY such as the beloved koi fish play an important role in the nitrogen cycle of an ecosystem pond. Not only do koi dine on algae, but they provide a beautiful flash of color as they glide in and out of waterlilies. 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!
 Another koi fish beauty skims the surface of the pond. They say not to name your fish, fearing you’ll become too attached. But when you see their personality reflected in the water garden, how could you resist naming your finned friends? The Joy Of Baby KoiIf you have fish in your pond, sooner or later they are going to have babies. Late spring to early summer usually marks the time of year when koi and goldfish start to spawn. 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.  The eggs hatch a few days after although you probably won’t be able to see them for several weeks because they are too small. At this stage in development, the babies will feed off of all sorts of microorganisms in your pond. 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) 585-442-6373Some Helpful Pond Links:5 Tips For Feeding Pond Fish|How Much Food Should I Give My Koi|Rochester|NY|New York|Near MeFeeding your pond fish in Rochester NY is a fun activity that the whole family will enjoy. In the beginning, after you first bring your fish home, they will be a little shy and not seem interested in what you’re feeding them. Don’t worry too much about this; just sprinkle a little food in the pond and move back. After a few minutes, they will take an interest and eat.  1. Be ConsistentThe key is to be consistent, try to feed at the same time each day, and from the same spot. After a few weeks in your pond,they will be conditioned to you feeding them and the response will be considerably different. After a complete season, you will have them eating out of your hand. 2. Serve High Quality FoodSince everything you put into the pond is going to be broken down and removed by the filter, it is important to remember to only feed them high quality food. Feeding them anything other than high quality fish food could lead to many water quality issues like green water, string algae, and poor water conditions. 3. Variety is the Spice of LifeMany pond owners also choose to offer their fish a treat now and again. If you want to spice things up a bit, try a little fresh watermelon and watch your fish go crazy. Most fruits and vegetables will be fine as well, just keep in mind that the natural ecosystem has to deal with every bit we feed them or that is left in the pond.  4. The Five Minute RuleA good rule of thumb is to only offer what your fish can eat in four or five minutes. The decision to feed your fish is up to you. Many pond owners never throw a single piece of food into their pond. Your pond will produce food for your fish to eat and also help create a balance between plants and fish. Remember, however, that larger fish need more food than small ones, so they may take a look at your plants for a snack. Not to mention the fact that if you are not feeding your fish, you are missing out on another whole level of fun that your pond has to offer. 5. Choosing the Best Fish FoodStudies have been done comparing the digestion of protein from various sources in fish, and found that fish proteins were the best digested and assimilated by fish. Fish eat fish. Fish are adapted to the consumption of others in their food chain, so fish proteins are the best for fish. When you look at a bag of food and the first ingredient is wheat, is that the best choice for your fish? No, wheat protein is not equal to fish protein so keep looking. You should look for fish or other aquaculture proteins as the first ingredient in a decent diet for your koi and goldfish If You Need Help Or Have Any Pond Maintenance Questions, Call Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls In Rochester (NY) 585-442-6373Helpful Pond Info Links: |
AuthorLandscape 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. Archives
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