Pond Tips for February
Seriously it’s February? We can’t believe that one month of 2013 is already gone. But, the good news is that Pond Season is not too far off. However, remember we can still get some cold weather in late February and into March. So even if you see your fish moving around a little bit, do not start feeding them yet. Here are the rest of your February pond tips:
- Check water levels regularly. Keep water levels consistent, adding fresh water
when levels recede. - Don’t let your pond completely ice over.
- Add beneficial bacteria. Remember beneficial bacteria helps pond filters control algae and algae blooms in ponds and koi and fish pools by reducing fish waste and pond scum.
- Maintain salt level between 1.25 – 2.00 ppt.
- Do one back flush of filter media.
Name That Koi!
Help Us Name Our New Koi!
Contest Instructions:
Help us name our five new show koi! Look over each koi’s profile and submit your name suggestions. We encourage you to even visit them at our Water Garden Center—the pictures do not do them justice! Each winner will receive a $20 gift certificate to Creative Visions Landscapes, Inc. so send your submissions today! Please submit suggestions via email. Make sure to write the number of the koi next to the name submission. Make sure to include your contact information (name, phone number, email address)!
Submissions Deadline: October 15th, 2011
Announcement of the five lucky winners: October 20th, 2011
Meet… Koi #1:
Coloring:
Silver, Blue/Black & Orange with Red Splotches
Sex:
Male
This cool, metallic-looking guy admitted has a strange habit: he loves to pretend he is a wild steelhead since he believes he bears a striking resemblance to them! Also, his favorite television show is “Hillbilly Handfishing” because he likes to imagine that the crazy people catching the catfish are actually being eaten, which makes him chuckle.
Meet… Koi #2:
Coloring:
Yellow
Sex:
Female
This striking gal’s favorite activity is playing peek-a-boo behind the water lettuce that grows in the pond. She is a ray of sunshine within this group of fish and has a great sense of humor. She also loves long swims at the bottom of the pond and nibbling gourmet fish food dinners by candlelight.
Meet… Koi #3:
Coloring:
Black with Orange Scale Plating
Sex:
Male
This guy’s markings are quite exceptional: when the sun hits him just right, his scales exude an orange color so that it seems as though his scales are a fish-netting texture. Not only is he physically unique, but this big lug is quite the character! He enjoys the occasional pet and stroke by the store workers, and he also loves to show off his impressive ability to breach– just as if he were a mini-whale (Although he certainly is not a mini-koi—he is the longest of the group!). When asked what actor would play him in a movie of his life, he enthusiastically answered: Free Willy or Brad Pitt, whoever is available.
Meet… Koi #4:
Coloring:
White, Orange, & Black
Sex:
Male
The smallest of the bunch, this young chap is happiest when he gets to tag along with the rest of the gang. He is a bit self-conscious about his crooked tail, but Koi #2 (our yellow gal) cheers him up and helps him joke about it. He loves to follow her under the water lettuce where they play peek-a-boo together. His strangest habit is that he enjoys attempting to perform the side stroke by periodically swimming completely on his side. He says that is inspired by Nemo from the film Finding Nemo because he doesn’t let his tiny fin stop him from living a life of adventure!
Meet Koi #5:
Coloring:
White, Black & Blue
Sex:
Female
This lady is not only gorgeous, but has an alluring personality. She enjoys welcoming visitors by gracefully swimming over in order to dazzle them with her stunning markings and her attractively plump belly. Her dream is to compete in a beauty contest and win her very own tiara. Her celebrity crush is Prince Harry, and she believes she would make an elegant addition to the royal family.
2011 How to Build a Pond and Waterfall Seminar
Join us this Saturday, 4/23 for an amazing pond building lesson. This seminar is sure to impress and will prepare you to jump into building your own pond. Seminar will be held at our water garden center located at 9965 SE Orient Dr. in Boring, OR. We have two sessions available, the first is at 11am and the second at 2pm. Please RSVP by email or call us at 503.663.5483 to save your spot. In this seminar you will learn about each component needed to build a water feature and how to do it and how to determine the cost.
Water gardening is the fastest growing division of property enhancement. We can help you create a beautiful piece of paradise for your landscape. You can have a koi pond or a plant pond, but they will be best put together. We carry all of the supplies you need and can give you the knowledge to build it yourself or we can do it for you!
Water Plants Arriving 4/29!
Did you know that water plants are truly the jewels of the water garden? They add texture and color, fragrance and beauty. They also have the added benefit of controlling algae growth, natuarally. Fish and plants work together to create a balanced ecosystem. Our selection of water plants will be available on 4/29.
2011 Spring Pond Jumpstart Seminar
Please join us for our first seminar of the season. Saturday, April 2nd at 10am or 2pm. At 9965 SE Orient Dr. in Boring. Space is limited, so please RSVP. This seminar will go over pond cleaning, fish care, and algae. Ben will be presenting. He is new to our staff and we are so happy to have him. He is very knowledgeable and has extensive experience with pond building, maintenance and fish handling and care. We know you will enjoy hearing him and come away knowing how to tackle your pond this spring. There will be a seminar special for (3) products including the Microbe-Lift Bacteria for Spring/Summer and AlgaeFix.
2010 Winterizing Your Pond Seminar Notes
Did you miss our Free Seminar? Don’t worry, here’s a recap.
-Winterizing Your Pond Seminar-
-Introduction and brief history of Creative Visions
Creative Visions Landscape, Inc has been in business in the Portland Metro & Vancouver Area for 24 years. We started out providing maintenance services and in 1999 became licensed by the Landscape Contractors Board to do landscaping and water features. Our location where we are at now, we purchased 7 years ago. We operate our landscape company there and in March
2010 we opened our Water Garden Center. We hope it to be a destination for the water garden connoisseur for years to come.
-Water gardening philosophy
Our philosophy at Creative Visions Landscape & Water Garden Center is to provide good quality products and services that work well and the information on how to use them. If we don’t have the answer to your questions we will research it and get the answer for you. We also don’t think it is beneficial to our customers to be the cheapest in town or the most elite, so our goal is to have affordable equipment, products and services so you our most valued customer can maintain a healthy pond/water feature at an affordable price.
-Brief outline of the course
Topics covered today will include water health, fall and winter feeding, fall maintenance check list, cleaning your pond in the fall, cozy winter water, re-cap the most important keys and go over a winter maintenance check list.
-Water Health
• Water testing is extremely important especially for new ponds and during the early spring months. Test kits are available or you can bring in a water sample and we’d be happy to test it. Track your results so that you can detect any early warning signs of a crash. Usually what happens is that everything seems normal to the eye but the chemistry of the water is slowly walking towards the edge of a cliff. Once it falls of the cliff you are experiencing a crash, fish will start dying and it is extremely hard to bring the water back to equilibrium. Continue reading