Look at that Escargot!  Okay, yes, it's an old joke! But some people don't think snails in their pond are too funny. Snails that originate in an aquatic environment do not survive in the desert outside the pond. The aquatic snails feed on algae and dead plant material (pond detritus), and are therefore considered a beneficial critter in the aquatic environment. There are very few varieties that feed on living aquatic plant material, and we only rarely see these varieties. If you do see them, they will most likely be eating your water lilies. What should I do about snails in my Phoenix pond?  Don't worry about the pond snails. They are pretty much relegated to life inside the pond. AND, BONUS, it's great fun for young children to hunt for them in the rocks and plants -- it's an activity that can keep them busy for hours! What Should I do About Snails in my Garden?If you have snails in your garden, on the other hand, the Master Gardeners can help you out here, because those are a nuisance. OTHER POSTS YOU MIGHT LIKE: PH FOR PHOENIX PONDS FUN FACTS ABOUT KOI FISH THE VALUE OF PROFESSIONAL POND MAINTENANCE CONTACT THE POND GNOME TODAY ABOUT YOUR PROJECT!
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Never Pray for PatienceHave you ever been told never to pray for patience, because it will not be simply granted, but taught to you? And how often have you heeded that advice? Some things give you no choice; however, those are the things that tend to be the most rewarding! Patience is a Virtue! An ecosystem pond teaches patience. Mother Nature has a way of deciding exactly when she will turn things around, and not until. Most of the ponds that we install do great right from the start, especially when people follow the instructions given. We tend to say that it’s like getting a puppy. You just have to have a bit of patience and coax it along. Getting impatient and adding quick-fix “chemicals” is the equivalent of smacking that little puppy on the nose with a newspaper for being a baby and just doing what puppies do. Most experts agree that is not the best approach to training. All of our clients who have followed instructions and had patience are rewarded with gorgeous living ponds that delight them every day. Don’t You Just Love a Problem That Fixes Itself? It’s funny how a pond can be pea-green for days on end, and then go crystal clear overnight. It happens all the time. Or be completely algae-ridden one day, and be clean as a whistle the next. Typically these turn-arounds take place the day after they've called us to come look things over to see what's wrong. Using Mother Nature’s formula for the life cycle will surprise you like that. If you’ll add the beneficial bacteria & enzymes, allow the plants to grow and thrive, not be in a hurry to add a bunch of fish or turtles, or other aquatic higher life forms, you’ll be amazed at how the pond just fixes itself one day. And stays that way.  We have a couple of stories of clients who “just couldn’t wait” to throw large Koi into their brand new pond. The large Koi, doing what Koi do, ripped all the young and yet-un-established plants out of the pond right away. With nothing to take up the nutrients cast off by the fish, the pond goes green. And then they’re shocked and upset by the results of their impatience. The pond eventually overcomes the initial impatience, but it takes a whole lot longer than if they’d just had a bit more patience in the beginning. Nature finds a waySometimes things go wonky in an ecosystem pond. From wind storms. From some chemical being accidentally introduced by your weed guy or pest guy, etc. From a dead organism or rotting plant that was left unchecked. Once the problem is found and corrected, a healthy ecosystem pond will come back from just about anything. Once again, patience is key.  Working with Mother Nature, and not against her, definitely takes some getting used to. We’ve become a society whose first inclination is to throw a chemical or pill at something instead of addressing the root cause and fortifying the immune systems to stay healthy. Same goes for ecosystem ponds. Fortifying the good guys (beneficial bacteria, plankton, etc.) will allow it to overcome just about anything. Case in point: a client with a brand-new baby ecosystem pond built for her beloved Koi had a painting contractor spill an entire bucket of paint into the pond. She was devastated! Well, believe it or not, the pond actually overcame that issue, and it didn’t take nearly as long as feared. Once the paint sunk to the bottom, it was pumped out and fresh water was added. Happy ending: the pond cleared up, AND the fish survived!
The RewardsIf you can control yourself and have some patience with an ecosystem pond in its genesis phase, you will be rewarded with years and years of pleasure! Have patience with the plants, and they will thrive. Have patience adding fish, and the entire pond will flourish. Have patience with the water quality, and it will give you stunning views. See more examples of the results.
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 Pond Fish Love Air!Have you ever seen your fish hanging out under your waterfall in your pond? Of course you have! They love the highly oxygenated water provided in that particular spot. Aeration for your Koi and other pond fish is essential to their health, especially during our long hot summers here in Phoenix. Pond aeration can be accomplished by a properly-built waterfall, a fountain element, or an aeration device. 99.9% of the ponds that we build come with a waterfall, but that may not always be enough. Some folks add an additional fountain element for the aesthetics, but the bonus is that it adds aeration to the pond, as well. We’ve found aerators to be so beneficial that we’ve started using them as an alternative to floor jets in a pond. What are the Benefits of an Aerator? An aerator provides additional life-giving oxygen to your pond. An aerator benefits all aquatic life, from large Koi all the way down to heterotrophic bacteria: the good guys that need to thrive to keep your water crystal clear and healthy for the upper level aquatic life forms. There are no drawbacks. Aerator vs. PredatorAerators are also terrific diffusers that can act as predator control. The water disturbance produced by the aerator obscures the view into the pond from would-be predators. But you can control this by simply turning it off when you are outside enjoying the pond. This video shows you how that looks: How Much Does an Aerator Cost?Not only is it less expensive to purchase than buying an additional water-moving pump, but it also uses less energy, making it more cost-effective on a daily basis. Basically, it’s less expensive to move air than it is to move water. The average DIY kit runs somewhere around $175 to $500, depending on pond size. We install professional-level aerators for between $400 and $2500. The professional-level equipment is a more heavy-duty version, including more substantial, weighted plumbing. All life needs oxygen, and we highly recommend aerator devices on ponds, especially if you have large fish. It’s a life-saver! CONTACT THE POND GNOME TODAY!
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Is a high pH bad for my Phoenix pond?  Pretty much everything you read regarding pH for backyard ponds is focused on a perfectly controlled environment for the fish. Here in the Arizona Sonoran desert, with our hard, alkali water sources, attempting to keep the water in your backyard pond at a neutral pH is impossible. People will drive themselves crazy with this effort, when in fact the pond fish can handle a wide variety of water conditions, including our high pH. Yes, even Koi. We are not, however, talking about raising show Koi. We are all about wet pets here at The Pond Gnome. Show Koi require a very different environment than what we build & maintain. But I tested the pH!  Just like a blood test is simply a snapshot of a small moment in your life, if you test your pH in the morning, and then again in the evening, you will get two different readings. Whaaaaa?!?! This phenomenon is due to the photosynthesis activity by plants and algae, just like your blood test is dependent on when you last ate, and what you consumed. Honestly, ain't nobody got time for that! AND large sudden swings in pH can be detrimental to your pond fish's health. What's the right pH for a Phoenix pond?  We have seen fish do well in pH values ranging from 7.2 all the way up to the mid 9's. The fish do not like rapid swings in pH; however, they have the ability to acclimate to our high, and naturally fluctuating, pH environment just fine. Should I try to adjust the pH in a Phoenix pond?  We never recommend attempting to adjust your pond pH with acidifiers, as the rapid pH swing is a potential fish killer. Buffers are a different story. Buffers can help control pH swings and are probably (theoretically) helpful to fish health and happiness, although we have no proof of this. Most of our clients just leave it to Mother Nature and she seems to do OK with it on her own. :-) OTHER POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY: USING SALT IN PHOENIX PONDS HEALTHY PONDS HAVE FILTRATION FOAM IN PHOENIX PONDS NEED HELP WITH YOUR POND OR WATER FEATURE? Value in Professional Pond Maintenance -- What's in it for Me?Many of our clients are pretty handy people, or gardeners in their right. They do all their own pond and water feature maintenance with very little, if any, help from us, except maybe their annual cleaning. They don’t feel that they need professional pond maintenance, as we have blogs and videos on just about everything they need to know. We love those clients, and do our best to enable them to be the self-sufficient kinds of folks that they want to be. We even teach an annual DIY Cleaning Seminar the second Saturday of every February, which they can attend for free. For our clients who want more help than that, or just want the luxury of a worry-free pond, we offer maintenance programs to suit just about any need: weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly. We like to say that we have programs for folks who want to do a little, a little more, or nothing at all! So, what’s the value of having your pond or water feature professionally maintained? Is the service worth your hard-earned money? We have a whole bunch of clients who certainly think it is! So, here’s the rundown on why you might want to consider professional pond maintenance:  It will actually get done – consistently  You can enjoy a cocktail in peace without your spouse nagging you about pond maintenance  You don’t have to stick your hands into freezing cold water in the winter  You don’t take a chance on getting a sunburn during the summer  You won’t wrench your back pulling out a stand of plants that you let get out of hand because you were busy doing other things  You’ll have more time for all your hobbies, like your project car, biking, hiking, fishing, boating, b-ball, shopping, golf, etc.  You can spend more time with the family (this is totally up to you)  You’ll have more time to spend on the rest of your garden/landscape (or you could hire that done, too)  Having someone trained to monitor and maintain your aquatic plants and occasionally check up on your other aquatic life (frogs, toads, etc.)  Having someone checking on all of your water feature equipment and letting you know when they see something amiss before it becomes a disaster. While we can’t predict everything, we can head off a lot of issues with regular maintenance.  Peace of mind while you’re traveling – no worrying about the water level in your water feature, or your pump going out without anyone home, or your yard flooding unexpectedly, etc.  You can come home at the end of a crappy day and NOT have to do anything before you pop a top and decompress in the backyard by your pond, waterfall, or stream  If something goes wrong, we’ve got your back because our Platinum Program includes free emergency service, and our other programs include priority consideration for any service outside of your normal visits  It’s got to be done anyway, so why not treat yourself a little? Sit back & enjoy! So, what do you think? If you’re interested in professional pond or water feature maintenance, let us know! OTHER POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
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