Benefits of Watering Your Garden with Pond Water

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium get depleted from soil and need to be added back for optimal plant growth. For that reason they are the most common nutrients in fertilizers. Pond water is full of nitrogen in the form of nitrates, and phosphorous in the form of phosphates which is why your garden will love you for using pond water to water them. 

Not only is it great for your plants to water with pond water but your pond will be healthier and cleaner if you are regularly removing the "waste" water and adding back clean water. Some ponds with a lot of plants may not build up nitrates or phosphates because the plants in the pond are already removing them. A quick water test will tell you whether the nitrates are building and need to be removed. There is no other way to remove nitrates from a pond other than water changes and plants so using pond water in the garden solves two problems in one action. 

The other upside to choosing to water your garden with pond water is that it is an eco friendly and efficient way to enjoy two hobbies that use water without being wasteful.

Getting Calcium From Foods

If any of you are like me you know how important it is to get your daily calcium requirements but can't take a supplement without getting an upset stomach. Don't worry you can still fight against osteoporosis and other conditions associated with calcium deficiency by eating the right foods. Here are some high calcium foods. (Information found at the NIH website listed below)

Top 5 Foods:

1. Yogurt plain low fat 8 oz. 450 mg
2. Mozzarella 1.5 oz. 333 mg 
3. Sardines with bones 3 oz. 325 mg
4. Yogurt fruit low fat 8 oz. 313-384 mg
5. Cheddar cheese 1.5 oz. 307 mg

Top 5 Vegan Foods:

1. Soy milk fortified 8 oz 299 mg
2. Orange juice fortified 6 oz. 261 mg
3. Tofu firm made with calcium sulfate 1/2 cup 253 mg
4. Tofu soft made with calcium sulfate 1/2 cup 138 mg
5. Cereals fortified 1 cup 100-1,000 mg

Top 5 vegetables:

1. Turnip greens fresh boiled 1/2 cup 99 mg
2. Kale 1 cup raw 100 mg cooked 94 mg
3. Chinese cabbage raw 1 cup 74 mg
4. Corn tortilla one 6" diameter 46 mg
5. Broccoli raw 1/2 cup 21 mg

The average adult needs 1,000 mg of calcium a day according to the National Institute of Health.
A longer list of foods can be found at the national institute of health website Here

Pros and Cons of Pressure Washing a Pond

Everyone loves that brand new look that pressure washing can give an old pond. But nobody wants to wake up to floating fish, which can be a side affect of this approach to pond cleaning. Here are few pros and cons to pressure washing.

Pros:

• Looks nice
• Its fast

Cons:

• Loss of healthy bio bed in rocks
• Ammonia spike causing loss of fish
• Excessive stress on fish
• moving fish can cause abrasions leading to infections
• poorly ventilated holding containers can lead to suffocation
• small holding containers can over heat in the summer causing heat stroke 
• holding containers tend to be poorly filtered and over crowded which can cause ammonia burn leading to death 
• Stress of any kind can lead to weakened immune system and vulnerability to parasites and infections (bacterial and fungal)

The safest approach to pond maintenance is keeping the water quality low in nitrates and having a healthy bio bed. The low nitrates will prevent algae growth. Having water plants like lilies will help keep nitrates low along with water changes. There are a few cold water algae eaters too that will help keep algae on rocks short and not overgrown.

Do Fish Get Sunburns?

Photo by Mary O'Brien Author

Yes! Fish can get sun burns and for this reason it is important to design your pond in a way to allow them to escape from direct sunlight. Here are a few solutions that are easy and can add beauty to your pond too.

Plants. There are a lot of plants that grow and cover the surface of your pond and they all are great for shade. Here are some examples of surface growing plants:

Lily pads. Photo from Flickr 

• Water lettuce
• This plant grows at a medium pace and is great for summer. It is cold sensitive and will die off when it starts to get cooler in the fall. Because these plants don't last they are inexpensive but they need to be repurchased every year.
• Water hyacinth
• This plant also grows at a medium pace and is nice because it has a purple flower. Hyacinths also die off for winter and need to be repurchased in the spring.
• Water lilies
• These are a rhizome or root based aquatic plant. While the roots grow in soil or rocks at the bottom of the pond the leaves and flowers cover the surface of the pond. These are a good choice because when the leaves and flowers die off for the winter the roots hibernate and bloom again in spring.  Removing the need to repurchase like the two previous plants mentioned.
• Duck weed. 
• This is the fastest growing of the bunch, as a result it can be a nuisance. Some people who end up with duck weed regret getting it and then can never get it out of their pond. Duck weed is a nutritious food source and fish and koi will gobble it up, for this reason some people who want it to take off and provide shade find that their koi eat it before it can become a nuisance. Which one you will end up being depends on fish and pond size. If you have a very large natural pond I would avoid duck weed because it will be harder to control. In smaller ponds that have koi in them you could probably risk it and not have to worry. Take some time to look at pictures either way and be sure its something you would enjoy seeing all over your pond. 

                                      

   Lily flower with water lettuce in background. Photo from Flickr.

Hiding places. This can be done a number of ways and new creative hiding places are being thought up every day. Some tried and true examples are:

• Rock caves.
• Be careful when making these and make sure they are stable so they don't collapse on your fish. Its a good idea to put some weight on it too cause you never know when kids, dogs, or midnight scavengers will use them to stand on in the water. Also don't make them too narrow because fish will try to make it through even if they don't fit and can get injuries from wedging themselves between the rocks. On that same note if you build a cave next to a pond wall be sure your fish have plenty of room to fit between the cave and the wall. 
• PVC Tunnels.
• These are nice but they tend to float so you will need to weigh them down by putting some rocks into or on top of the tubing. You can get tubing with very large diameters and I would recommend it. Just like with the rock caves if the tubing is too narrow or the rocks used to weigh it down narrow the opening too much you run the risk of your fish getting wedged and injuring themselves. Do not use metal tubes because they can rust or leech toxins into the water. 
• Bridges.
• Decorative or functional bridges that cover a part of your pond also make great shade and can be quite pretty too.

Brunch Tostada

Brunch Tostada

• Corn tortillas (Browned in oil until crisp)
• Pink Beans (sauteed with garlic and pepper)
• Ground beef (Cooked with taco seasoning)
• Chopped tomato
• Chopped avocado
• Fried egg (seasoned with garlic and pepper)
• Salsa
• Lime

Fry your tortillas and layer the rest of the ingredients on top in order. If you really like lime the way I do you can spritz some fresh lime in between the layers. 

When you have leftover beans and meat from taco night this is an easy and delicious way to use up the leftovers. 

Do fish only grow to the size of their tank?

This is a myth.

Fish will continue to grow to whatever their adult size is or die trying. This myth was possibly started by hobbyists with goldfish which are commonly kept in bowls for years. 



What most people don’t realize is goldfish can live up to 30 years. Living in small poorly filtered tanks or bowls will cause stunting, usually from prolonged ammonia exposure. If the stunting doesn’t kill them the waste build up will. At some point the ammonia or nitrates will reach lethal levels quicker than you can clean the water. 

Here are some common fish that get big and a recommended tank size for them.

Fish Name	Average Adult size	Recommended tank size
Red Tail Cat	5 ft.	1,000 Gallons
Iridescent Shark	4 ft.	1,000 Gal.
Plecostomus, Regular	3 ft.	120 Gal.
Gourami’s (Not Dwarfs)	6+ inches	55Gal.
Cichlids, south American	12 inches	55Gal.
Gold fish	16 inches	40 Gal. Each
Goldfish, fancy (round)	3 inch diameter (tennis ball)	20 Gal. Each

Homemade Cheeseburger Pasta (Gluten Free)

Homemade Cheeseburger Pasta
(serves 2)

1/4 lbs Corn Pasta, Penne
1/2 lbs Ground beef (or turkey, or Shredded zucchini for veggie)
1 Tablespoon olive oil, light in flavor
1 Tablespoon gluten free flour ( I used masa)
Almond milk
2 Tablespoons Parmesan
3/4 cup shredded cheddar

This recipe has cheddar and Parmesan cheese in it so it is not dairy free, however the white sauce is made with almond milk to reduce the amount of dairy.

To start, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and put some water on to boil for your pasta. Then put your ground meat in a pan on medium low and stir as needed until browned.

Next start your white sauce by putting your oil and flour in a small saucepan. Turn on heat to medium and stir continuously while very slowly adding some almond milk. Start by adding 1/4 cup almond milk and stirring until smooth, then add 1 tablespoon at a time there after until smooth but not watery. Keep in mind the sauce will thicken as it heats so a little thin is OK at first. Once hot add the Parmesan and  1/2 the cheddar and stir until smooth, add some more almond milk to thin out if it becomes too thick after adding cheese.

If your water is boiling add your pasta and boil according to package directions.
Next get an 8 x 8" pan and put your fully cooked meat in it.

When your pasta is done add to pan with meat and stir in cheese sauce

Then top with remaining cheddar cheese

And bake until cheese is melted, top with grated Parmesan and serve. 

Top 10 aquarium questions: 3. What type of filter do I need?

What type of filter do I need?

This depends on the type of system you want to have. Decide whether you want fresh or salt, and then decide whether you want plants or fish only. 

There are three types of filtration to consider: 

Biological, as we discussed in detail earlier is where biological organisms break immediate wastes into less toxic wastes. Identify this component of your filter because you will never want to wash it. If it gets clogged rinse in a cup of tank water, but never wash clean or rinse with tap or you will lose all those beneficial bacteria you waited so patiently to grow during your cycle. This part will usually be plastic balls, or ceramic beads, or rock in a salt system.

Chemical, most commonly carbon, uses a chemical to absorb toxins out of the water. Chemical filtration can also absorb medication out of the water which is why you remove it when treating a tank.

Mechanical, usually a foam pad, physically catches debris out of the water. This you will wash regularly but never need to replace if you buy the aqua clear filters, because their foam pad is tough. Some filters combine the carbon with the pad and don't give you a choice but to replace both, lame. 

For fresh water fish only there are many pre-boxed filters you can use. My personal favorite are Aqua Clear filters because they have all three types of filtration, and the replacement filters are easy to find or make at home. Unlike some other filters where you have to find their brand or it won't fit into the filter. 

For fresh water planted you will want a filter that doesn't disturb the surface of the water. plants need light for photosynthesis, and ripples in the water deflect light. Good filters for this purpose are canister filters, my favorite being the Fluval G series. Which is digital and gives you read outs of temp, flow rate, and many other cool options. 

For salt water in general we have the unique ability to use live rock as biological filtration. You'll need rock and a pump to move water around the tank and through the rock. Many people stopped using carbon in salt tanks back when it leeched phosphates into their tanks, which kills corals, but now you can get reef carbon for a slightly higher price which does not leech phosphates. There are other types of chemical filtration for saltwater tanks, most of which are specific to reefs. These include bio-plastics, like the ones two little fishes makes, Granular ferric oxide or GFOs, and a few random others. These are most commonly used in Reefs so I will discuss them further in the reef section below. 

For salt water fish only, you can run them on live rock alone, however I prefer some sort of mechanical filtration, at least in the beginning to help clarify the water. Any of the filters mentioned thus far will work for this, I personally have used a Fluval and an Aqua Clear on two separate tanks and liked them both. Maintenance for a fish only is similar to a fresh water fish only, the only additional work being monitoring salt content of the water. Which is easy with a hydrometer or refractometer. Also most stores sell pre mixed salt water now, so you don't have to hassle with mixing it at home. If you do decide to mix at home it's a good idea to do this the night before so as not to burn your fish with undissolved salt. 

For saltwater reef, which just means saltwater with plants and or corals of any kind.You will need all the same equipment from fish only plus a protein skimmer. The protein skimmer mimics the wave action of the ocean by producing many small bubbles and catching the protein build up, aka the "skimate", and removing it from the tank. This serves two purposes. One it removes excess nitrogen from the tank which improves water quality, and Two this also improves clarity. Both of these are important for corals. Although fish can tolerate nitrate levels up to 40 ppm with no problems at all, corals need the nitrates to be below 10 ppm and 0 ppm is best. You will also need a phosphate reactor to help keep your phosphates at zero. The reactor is sold empty and you can choose to purchase GFO or bio-plastics. The difference being that GFO targets phosphates specifically, and bio-plastics act as a food source for bacteria that breaks down both nitrates and phosphates. I use the bioplastics but if you ever find yourself with high phosphates and need them down quick GFOs are your best bet.