Summer Vacation and Your Pond
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Article by: Brett Fogle So you've got your summer , Life's a Beach--A Shore Theme in your Outdoor Space vacation plans , Lazy Fish Worries all made. You've got a checklist to remind you to stop the newspaper delivery, hold your mail, drop the dog off at the kennels, and something else. Something that you're forgetting. Oh yeah, the pond. , Garden Sheds What are you going to do about the pond? If you're going away for a long weekend then your pond , Japanese Gardens - Basic Design Questions That Should Be Addressed won't even miss you. Check your water , Tips for Planting an Outdoor Herb Garden levels and make all of other normal tests, feed your fish, , Tips for Planting an Outdoor Herb Garden and hit the road. However, if you're going away for a longer period, say a week or two, then you'll need to take some extra measures to ensure that your pond , Starting with a Water Garden stays safe , The Magic Plant Copier and happy and that it doesn't miss you while you're gone. Here's a few more items to add to your vacation checklist: 1. Filter About a week before you pack the kids into the SUV clean all of the mechanical parts of your filter and pumps. , Solar Garden Lights This includes brushes and settlement chambers and all of the pre-filter parts. You want to do this a week in advance so you can keep an eye on the resulting water , Solar Garden Lights quality, after the cleaning, to make sure that everything is in balance. 2. Change , Watering and Tending to Your Bamboo Plant Correctly your water Dump about 20-30% of the existing pond water , Types Of Palm Trees and replace it with clean and chlorine-free water. , Using the Right Hedge Trimmers in Lawn Care This helps to dilute any build up of nitrates or ammonia. Fill the pond , Patio Canopies: Protecting Your Patio From The Elements to the top to compensate for evaporation while you are gone. This is a good time to check your oxygen levels as well as perform all of your other water , ing and Tending to Your Bamboo Plant Correctly balancing tests. 3. Place , The Advantages of Both a Liner Pond and a Preformed Pond, Rolled Up Into One Box! a moratorium on new fish This is not the time to add new fish , A Portable Perennial Garden to your pond. , Lap Pools - Great Exercise Inside Or Any Size Backyard You won't be there to monitor their progress and there's no telling what kind of problems you will face when you return. 4. Predator Protection Figure that your heron, raccoon, and other neighborhood predators are going to rush to your pond , The Flower Drying Game - Part 2: Sand or Glycerin? the moment that your taillights disappear and plan , The Magic t Copier accordingly. If you do not already have natural , Ants! - 1,000,000,000,000,000 Invaders! hiding spots in your pond , How To Bring An Old Lawn Back to Life then cover it with a secure pond , About Crocuses net that is made especially for this purpose. 5. Feeding If you'll be gone for two weeks or less, feed your fish , Life's a Beach--A Shore Theme in your Outdoor Space their normal amount just prior to leaving and don't worry about it again until you get back. Your average koi , A Portable Perennial Garden can get along just fine without being fed for two weeks or less. They'll find plenty of algae and the occasional wayward bug to snack on and their metabolism will adjust quickly to a reduced diet for a short period of time. If you plan , The Guide to Cloudy Pool Water to be gone for a longer time then your only alternatives are either having someone come and feed for you, or getting an automatic fish , Create Your Own Special Herb Garden feeder. Fish , Patio Canopies: Protecting Your Patio From The Elements feeders can be expensive, they can break down and stop feeding, and they are also subject to malfunctioning and overfeeding. Your best bet is a friend or neighbor. If you are going to depend on human help make sure that you leave very explicit feeding instructions and tell them not to deviate even a tiny bit. Make sure that they know that overfeeding fish , Gift Ideas for Bird Lovers is not a "treat" and that they could end up killing the fish , Patio Canopies: Protecting Your Patio From The Elements while trying to do a good deed. Also let them know that if they miss a feeding day not to feed twice as much the next time to make up for it. Now here are some tips , Attract Butterflies To Your Garden! for when you return: 1. Check to make sure that all of your fish , Teak Patio Furniture Will Dress Up Your Patio are present and accounted for and that they all appear healthy. , How To Bring An Old Lawn Back to Life 2. Perform all of the usual water , Designing Your Garden to Attract Hummingbirds tests and adjust anything that is out of balance. 3. Clean your filter and pumps , The Magic Plant Copier just like you did before you left for vacation. 4. Resume your normal feeding schedule. Owning a pond , Starting with a Water Garden doesn't mean that you have to give up your well-deserved vacation. A little planning and common sense goes a long way.About the Author: Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens , Designing Your to Attract Hummingbirds and several other pond-related websites including www.MacArthurWatergardens.com and www.Pond-Filters-Online.com He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 9,000. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive our FREE 'New Pond , Japanese Gardens - Basic Design Questions That Should Be Addressed Owners Guide' visit MacArthur Water Gardens , Creativity with Ponds today. |
  
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