POND PULSE

Volume 1, Issue 10, October, 2007

	“Meaningful Messages” There are three sides to every story · Yours · Mine · Truth Quoted by Denne Goldstein

IPPCA New Sponsor

Atlantic Water Gardens

Dear IPPCA.     Just a quick note to thank you for the comprehensive instructions as to how to build an upflow bog filter I came across on the internet.  (http://www.bogfiltration.com/bogfiltration.html)     With those instructions, along with your phone counsel, we successfully constructed an effective bog filter.  Not much happened for the first 4 or so weeks after the filter was constructed and implemented.  Then, all of a sudden, upon my return from an overnight business trip, the pond seemed to have "snapped" to crystal clear water.  What a treat to see the catfish on the bottom of our 4.5' deep, 40,000 gallon pond for the first time since we put them in there over 9 months ago.  They've gotten bigger but need a bit more size before we harvest them for a great Thai catfish mango salad recipe we love.     We have now planted over 30 aquatic plants in the bog and look forward to them growing and filling in.  It sure is nice not to have to fuss about the daily cleaning to try and get the water clear.  Mother Nature, with our help to get her started, is doing a fine job on her own.     I've sent you some pictures separately of the bog construction as well as the crystal clear water results.  Feel free to use them to show our success to others with interest. Thanks again, Mark and Nancy Epstein Cambria, California

Good morning Gloria Our pond is completed and it looks fantastic!!!  Mike and his crew were terrific.  Mike really understood our needs and problems.  He reworked the mini pond and the water feature behind the bridge.  We love what he did back there!  Richard decided that he wanted to keep the fleur de lis as is so Mike set the skimmer and the top of the fleur de lis at the same water level.  This way only the top inch of the fleur de lis hardware is above water.  He split 4 pots of Iris plants into 9 sections and stuffed them into the rocks which make a big difference. Even Richard likes how that looks! The 3 biggest Iris pots are in the mini pond.  The whales are gone and I'm trilled to have my pond in tact. We were supposed to go out to dinner with Richard's sister (in from Calif.) and his Dad on Sunday.  This morning I called his Dad and invited them over for a Bar B Q instead! Thank you again for recommending such a skilled professional!!! Jan Steinberg

Thank You IPPCA

The only real question is can the IPPCA find enough qualified pond professionals or can enough qualified pond professionals find the IPPCA to make the network work throughout this country or the world.

So how did I win? No, this was not a large project or a highly profitable job. I don’t know about you but I am in this business to make money. However that is not the only reason I am in business. Once in a while you get to help someone with a tough situation and that is priceless. This year I have been fortunate twice in this respect. The first was in Danville, IL with the pond for habitat and then this pond. I want to thank the IPPCA for both these opportunities. So maybe I am the big winner.

By:

Mike White

White Water Filters

the water out to the drainage ditch at the street 140 feet away. Needless to say the homeowners have not put a pump in the sump every time it has rained. So the whales returned. This is where I came into the picture and after fixing the problem the homeowners win with a pond that now works.

The IPPCA wins with a very happy homeowner, showing that a network of professional pond contractors can and does work. This is probably the biggest win as examples such as this demonstrate how important an organization like the IPPCA is to the industry.

I want to take this time to thank the IPPCA for the recent referral to repair Jan and Richard Steinberg’s pond. This was one of those win – win – win situations. This pond started out eight years ago as a pond designed to collect runoff. However, it would go dry by late summer. Four years ago the homeowners lined the pond and made it a little smaller, adding a small upper pool and waterfall. This is when the whales appeared or the liner was lifted by ground water. This spring Jan and Richard brought in a so called pond professional to fix the problem. He installed a five foot deep sump eight feet from the pond connected to two drainage pipes under the bottom of the pond. The homeowner was told that when it rains you can put a

pump in the sump and pump

Do You Qualify to Become an Easy Pro Certified Aquatic Specialist? Contact IPPCA to find out.

In the beginning, there was water. Then somewhere in here there was humankind. Humankind decided they liked water so much in its natural containment that they wanted to create that same environment closer to their domiciles.

And then there were ponds, kind of. From that point forward, humankind has been learning from their mistakes and dealing with green water, murky water, smelly water, mosquitoes, leaking in places they never thought possible, healthy fish, sick and dying fish, plants that would be beautiful, plants that were a problem, and just generally running around trying to duplicate good ole mother nature’s way of doing things and if possible, improve on them. Isn’t that what we do in the Green industry every day?

And then along came a thing called “instant gratification”. This made it very easy and convenient to do the other recently discovered phenomenon called “marketing”. Now the number of ponds installed by an amateur started to rapidly increase and increase, until they became so frequent that no one really was amazed anymore with them, except when they were beautiful, contained clear water, luscious plant growth and healthy fish, then people were amazed, because this has become the exception, not the rule in the pond and waterscape community.

This article is not designed or intended to point fingers at anyone. It is designed to point out a too frequently occurring fact in our industry. 40% of the ponds and waterscapes built by professionals and amateurs alike

do not function properly from the day their pumps are first plugged in. Another 40% that at first worked are failures prior to their first year’s birthday. Why this huge failure rate? Possibly because so many “professionals” are cross-dressing from one profession they are good at over to one that they have no real professional knowledge of. Pond and Water Garden hobbyists as well as landscape and irrigation contractors have been inundated with so much “see how easy it is…..look how much money you can make in a day” marketing materials in the last decade that I’m simply amazed that every yard in the country doesn’t sport two or three ponds.

We can’t totally blame “marketing” for this. I think that the human ego has a lot to do with it. Pond design isn’t rocket science, but there are basics of water chemistry and quality, flow rates, bacteriology, aquatic botany, ecological balance, pump sizing, filter capacities and capabilities, construction methodologies and techniques and many other items that any green industry professional knows are the tricks of the trade. Many of the day to day chemicals and equipment we use and take for granted, are advanced tools and toys that most homeowners or beginners in the industry have no clue about. That’s why we’re the professionals.

Most major manufacturers do offer basic training. Too few take advantage of it or pay attention to it. How hard can it be, right? Dig a hole, throw in some liner and pre-formed plastic equipment, pile up some rocks, plop in a pump and “vwaalaa”, instant pond. I

Industry Plagued by 80% Failure Rate