In the start of this new year, some pond owners are deciding to throw in the towel for various reasons. Today I helped a nice lady who, finding herself alone, can no longer care for her pond.

This pond, it turns out, takes up most of the back yard, but is much too shallow for koi and is constantly under attack by predators, including the raccoon. When I turned up in the morning, the water plants had been torn up over the past night by these critters, and the fish were all hiding under a wooden bridge. I was able to round up all 15 of these fish, ranging from small to large in size, but otherwise not distinguished in their colors or patterns - mostly on the order of hi-utsuris - probably all from the same parents.

Now I'll be quarantining these fish and looking to find them a suitable new home.

In my pond maintenance travels, I get to see all types of ponds. Some well built, most with problems, and the occasional pond with some unique features. I was called to check out an older pond in the hills above Los Gatos. The owner was an older gentlemen who was no longer able to maintain the pond, and wanted me to quote on providing a major cleaning and then regular maintenance.

When I finally got up to the property, with much searching through the small roads in the hills, and no thanks to my GPS unit, I found a real treasure. This pond was, I believe, about 20 years old. It was concrete construction and had a two stage filter, including a filter with diatomaceous earth and two 4x8' tanks with Japanese mat. The pumps and DE filter were in a bunker right next to one side of the pond, and this bunker was connected to a walkway under a moon bridge which spanned the pond. In the walkway were windows on both sides, made of 1" plexiglas, where you could view the fish side-on. I've heard of another such pond, but this was quite a piece of construction. I'll be including this pond in my regular service run, and will be able to provide some interesting photos later.

Today I worked on upgrading some of the plumbing on a local pond. As with many do-it-yourself projects, many people don't think about the future, which includes both fixing and upgrading your system when you have the budget.

Burial in Concrete:
One common practice which makes upgrades difficult, is embedding pipes in concrete. As with houses with slab floors, having pipes frozen for all time in a 4" layer of concrete can make future upgrades or repairs just that much harder. Do yourself a favor. If you're building your own pond, do a few small things which can make your life, and mine, a lot easier. First, take photos of all underground pipes. Then, make a quick sketch, showing how everything is connected. Last, label all pipes and valves as to their function and destination. These are all simple practices that I use in my own business, and that make any future pond work easier and simpler.

Too Close for Comfort
Why people insist on putting pipes right up against eachother, I'll never know. It may be one thing when space is at a premium, but when you have plenty of room, why crowd those pipes. This leads to problems when attaching fitings, particularly valves. I don't know how many times I've had to deal with a pair of pipes with ball valves right next to each other. Would you believe it, with the valves sitting side by side, the valves could not be both completely closed at the same time. Please!! Plan for the future.