Hi from Montana!

j.w

I Love my Goldies
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Hard to get at mine w/ all the plants and bushes. I feel like I am going to fall in all the time balancing myself on the round rocks hanging on to a tree branch. If the stuff really works as good as they say and it won't hurt my fish or plants, frogs or snails then I would like to try it but I'm scared.
 

callingcolleen1

mad hatter
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I wish I could help you, if I ever win the lottery I will just go around visiting my favorite garden pond frends and help them all out! Next time you build pond, have edges raised with construction landscaping ties that raise the edges of pond, then glue rocks to outside edge to hide frame. That is what I did, makes it easy to lean over like a bathtub edge and reach in and net out. Plus too you can walk right next to deepest part, no sinking or slipping on rocks. When you get older things have to be made easy to access, plan now for the future, I know I am not getting any younger either, this year I will be 49 and I sure can feel it some days!!
 

j.w

I Love my Goldies
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I cleaned and netted today and I attached a longer pole to my net I made out of fiberglass screen door material and it worked great. Man that pond was thick w/ gunk on the bottom. It was nasty. I had to do a long water change slowly all day. Shame on me for not cleaning the bottom last Fall. Cleaned the pre-fliter and that was a breeze. Pond is better now for the fishies. They all smiled and blew me little round kisses
 

j.w

I Love my Goldies
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Those pix I posted were before I cleaned the pond. All the muck was settled on the bottom and hadn't been stirred up by my net. You should have seen it while I was cleaning it. The water swirled and turned sold green! Now it is clean.I have a bunch of batting in there under the falls catching the fine green crud still.

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On my two ponds, leaves and so forth in the goldfish pond, but once I got that out, that was pretty much it. Almost no black muck in the goldfish pond. Koi pond had almost no leaves or debris, but more black muck. And, I have learned that early in the spring, when water if just getting over being frozen, it goes through green or brown murky water, not very clear, but I don't worry anymore. Once the plants start growing in the bog and lily pots, the water starts clearing. It's amazing how that works. I can see to the bottom of the koi pond, not crystal clear, but I can see all the fish. Goldfish pond has been clear year round. Oh, and koi pond has lots of spongy looking algae that floats on warm sunny days, goldfish pond has none. I'd like to know why that is ... must be difference in koi poo and goldfish poo. Also, more koi on that larger pond than goldfish in the smaller pond, since I lost about half of my goldfish last summer.
 
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Since I started up my pond the water is getting clearer everyday :). Pond temp has been getting up to the low 50's during the day and the fish are starting to come up to the surface more looking for food. Just a little longer and I'll start feeding them (y). Going to start bringing up the pond plants that I pulled out of the pond last fall and put in the basement. I've started bringing out my solar lights, I'm such a junkie when it comes to them :D. I have to add to my collection every year. Currently 39 with a high of 60 today with intervals of clouds and sunshine.
 

callingcolleen1

mad hatter
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Koi eat more and poo more, so good filtration is required all the time. If you see the smear algae rise in the day time, just scoop it out with net, it should die off once the plants get growing good. Lots of plants are behind this year cause of the cold weather, trouble is the sun is not behind and is sun position is higher in the sky these days, shining more directly on pond, so you may see more of this smear algae this year than normal.
 
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I have that type of algae, Colleen. I net it out but much of it goes into the skimmer.
MT, I am in your "solor junkie" club!!! I cannot pass up a sale on the solar lights. At Christmas time, I waited until stuff was 75% off, then got some really good deals on solor lights there, too. I saw some new ones, they look like little tractors or cars or trucks, with an animal "driving" them, and the headlights look like flashlights. I must have one! Going to watch for them to go on sale. I may love solar lights, but they have to be on sale before I buy. LOL I just go by the displays often and watch for sales. Every now and then I will pay full price, if it's something that I really love. My sister said I was on the verge of having too much, but at night, it looks sooo pretty! I have full sun in most of my yard, so no worries about them not gathering enough light!
 
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I've seen those ones too and I want one:). Like you I buy most of them on sale. I just bought one the other day. Theres a hummingbird with a flower below and one above it, it looks like the hummingbird is going eat out of the top flower. The flowers change colors. Love it!
 

callingcolleen1

mad hatter
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I keep breaking those bigger ones, I am not sure how, but big Bear and bad Poppy keep may have had a "paw" in their downfall as well. They keep running into them thew the one flower bed, they think it is a "short cut" to go bark harder by fence!
 

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