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Ponds and water gardens |
Ponds and Water Gardens
We stock: Good range of pre formed ponds and liners. Pumps to suit any size pond or water feature. Fountain pumps and water features. Biological filters and ultra violet sterilizers to help keep your pond crystal clear. Pond lighting both submerged and emerged . Mist makes available for that added creepy touch. Large range of anti algae treatments, biological and chemical., chlorine neutralizers pH adjusters and pond medications. An ever changing range of goldfish and Australian native fish suitable for ponds and mosquito control!
Water changes for ponds: To maintain a healthy and clear pond, small regular water changes of 10 percent are a must. This is because the longer the water is in the pond - the more toxins build up from fish waste, uneaten fish food and decomposing leaves and other organic matter. A large or total water change will clean the pond temporarily, but will kill off all the anaerobic bacteria (and probably the fish) in the pond, making the algae and/or gunk come back even stronger next time. Anaerobic bacteria is the life support system for your fish so you don’t want it to die! Water conditioners will remove chlorine, chloramines, ammonia etc. but will not remove other chemicals like phosphates, some heavy metals and pesticides that are randomly present in drinking water. This is another reason for NOT doing a large or full water change. Biofilters are a good way of removing solid waste and some chemical waste from the water e.g. Ammonia and nitrite. But no matter how good your filter is, you still need to do small regular water changes. Lack of regular water changes will start a build up of nitrates, phosphates and acid produced from the good bacteria in your tank, and these chemicals will build up to dangerous levels sooner or later. A small water change of 10 percent each week is the best way to reduce most chemicals that build up in the pond from fish waste or organic external matter. Ponds in the bush have natural clay bases. Tree and plant roots absorb the chemicals that cause algae to grow and fish to die, through the base of the pond, in man made ponds this can’t happen, so small regular water changes are important to reduce these chemicals. Excess fish food (over feeding) will add a lot of organic matter to the pond. Large amounts of leafs decomposing will also build up chemicals such as ammonia and nitrites etc… Too much organic matter being broken down in the water will reduce the amount of oxygen in the pond also casing the pH to drop and the fish to get “sick” symptoms can include cloudy eyes and redness on the body and fins of the fish. Extremes in pH will cause death or will permanently damage the fish, plants and bacteria in a pond. pH can be checked with an aquarium pH test kit (note swimming pool test kits are calibrated to be used with chlorine and/or salt in the water and will give a false reading) these are reasonably cheap and easy to use. ( for more information check out our "water testing page") Queensland is sub-tropical meaning you wont be able too keep tropical fish in an outdoor pond all year round - it is only recommended to keep only native fish wherever possible to reduce the amount of non native fish escaping in our water ways. Some rainbow fish /danios and barbs are quite comfortable at low temps if you are unsure about temperate pond fish come in and ask.
Pond turning green with algae? The most common cause of ponds turning green is simply a lack of water changes or removing too much water at once…. If you reduce the amount of water you change to around 10% per week or fortnight this will reduce chemicals building up in the pond and therefore reduce the amount of algae that feeds of these chemicals. Feeding your fish too much food will also cause algae to grow. The more food you feed your fish, the more waste the algae can feed off , pond fish will get a lot of organic matter to feed of in ponds so if you reduce the feeding to once or twice a week this will also help reduce algae. Remember the more fish you keep more chemical waste will build up. Larger water volumes or ponds with less fish and plants will be easier to maintain. Ponds in full sun will develop algae problems quicker, to reduce this from happening a cover can be placed partly over the pond or larger plants can be placed around the pond to reduce the amount of direct light the pond receives. Only toping up evaporated water instead of removing water first is the most common way of getting a green pond… the longer you leave the water in the pond the more chemicals will build up causing the water to go green. Check your pH nitrates and phosphates weekly, as extremes will also cause algae to grow. Algae cures should only be used with a nitrifying bacteria supplement to remove the decomposing algae… and these should only be used once you have checked and adjusted your water quality. There are many different ways to reduce algae in ponds and tanks, come in and talk to us about some easy options.
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