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So why would goldfish survive in terrible water during the winter and not the koi? There is no way that a goldfish or koi any other fish that I know of that can survive in water that has only 0.4 ppm O2 in it and no way of getting to the air surface. I can not tell you for a fact why one would survive and the other would not but I can surmise from my own observations. Even though they are cousins of each other they are not kissing cousins or maybe they are but they are not that much alike.

The koi is called a cold water fish but really isn’t that much of a cold water fish. It really is a cool water fish. It will tolerate cold water of 38F but not much lower. In cold water it lays on the bottom where the temps stay about 38F. The goldfish is a true cold water fish and will be fine in temps above 32F. Yes in a cold pond if there are koi and goldfish together you may see the goldfish down at the bottom with the koi. But that is not because they have to be there like the koi, but because they are a schooling fish and wants to stay in the school.

So when the water on the bottom starts to go bad the goldfish will try to find better water. The koi will stay there until the water is bad enough to kill them. The goldfish are spending their time near the surface under the ice on the edges of the pond where the water is better. Because there is little or no circulation of the water under the ice the water conditions vary quite a bit in different areas of the pond. The koi being a cool water fish are going to stay at the bottom until that water is about to kill them. Then and only then will they try to find better water. You have to remember that the pond is covered with ice and there are no holes in the ice for them to go to. Under the ice there are bubbles of air with a lot of the ones in the center of the pond full of poisonous gases. The koi being very weak don’t have the time to search the entire pond for good water and before dying. Goldfish being a cold water fish started trying to find good water a lot sooner. The goldfish are staying to the edges of the pond where they are more likely to find good water. The air pockets here contain good air and not poisonous gases. The only problem the goldfish could have is that if the ice freezes down around them and traps them in a block of ice. But unless that block of ice freezes solid the goldfish could still make it.

Is the koi going to die in every pond that freezes over solid? If you had asked me this question a year ago I would have said most likely. But last winter at my shop I have an outdoor pond that is above ground. It is 11 x 9 x 1.5 ft deep. It had 6 koi that were about 6 inches and 8 goldfish that were 4 inches. When I went to remove the koi they hid in the rocks and I just left them there. I just let this pond freeze during the winter. It doesn’t get much leave debris in it but had a lot of plant debris from sale plants that are kept in it during the summer. I figured that there would be six dead koi in the spring. So when the ice melted away from the edges in spring and I could see into the pond the koi were still alive. So how could that be? I started to look for answers. The pond still had 6 inch thick iceberg floating on the water. The closer I looked at this ice, the stranger it looked. So I reached over to pull the ice closer and a piece broke off in my hand. Six inch ice breaking that easy, it can’t happen. I took a close look at the piece in my hand and it looked like a honeycomb. The whole block of ice on the pond had thousands of tubes running from the bottom of the ice to the surface. This ice was so brittle that I could crush it in my hand with no problem. I can only guess what caused this. There must have been enough already decaying plant debris in the pond that when it started to freeze enough gases were coming up to the surface that the ice had to form around them. The gases kept up all winter and kept the tubes open. In nature strange thing can and do happen.

Mark your calendars this event is one you don’t want to miss!!
Rocke’ Huntington
President 2009

Tom Graham, Editor and Publisher of PondBiz Magazine has graciously given us permission to print his article.

Thanks Tom!

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Welcome to PondBiz Magazine. Our goal is to help this industry find new ways to share knowledge and experience, so every business can reach their own potential in the quest for excellence. I believe we all win if we work together.

Every business has competitors. For many of us, we think of the pond dealer across town, or that site on the Internet as our biggest competitor. I would suggest you rethink that perspective a bit, and consider this. Isn't any business in this industry really competing for the same discretionary income that the travel industry is trying to attract? Are we not really competing with Nike, for that $90 our customer might spend on a pair of running shoes, or the outdoor living store trying to sell the new outdoor kitchen system?

We are also competing with the oil companies, as they drain cash out of our customer’s pockets, who might otherwise have spent that money on a new koi or night blooming water lily. These competitors are a bigger threat to our businesses than that other dealer in town could ever be.

So what do we need to do? First we need to try to stop seeing each other as the enemy, and start supporting each other. As an industry, I believe we will all be best served if we can consider others in our small community as friends and partners, working together to lift each other up. Together we can all achieve greatness and fulfillment. We really do have more in common than our differences. We have all made the commitment to make our living in the garden pond business – around a product that brings great joy to those who add them to their yard. Ponds are a universal symbol of comfort and peace, achievement and serenity.

My vision for PondBiz Magazine is to be a force to bring the industry together in a common goal of sharing knowledge and passion. I see a great community of hard working, committed entrepreneurs, sometimes fractured by differing methods, but united in a vision. The vision of providing a bit of heaven, whatever its form, to as many homes and families as we possibly can, and supporting them in a long-term relationship of trust and joy.

So I ask you this. Will you join me to share your wisdom with your fellow pond professionals? PondBiz Magazine is the conduit. You are the source and the recipient. We can all learn from each other if we are not afraid to share what we have learned the hard way, openly with each other. I have met with many of you already about this, and have commitments to get the ball rolling. Together we all get better at what we do, and the industry becomes stronger and more successful.

Let us hear what your dreams and visions, challenges and barriers are. Let us help solve your dilemmas so we can all grow and prosper together. We are here to serve. What can we do for you?

There has been a lot of talk about the good and the bad of MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) vs. MSRP (Manufactured Suggested Retail Price).

IPPCA would like you like to hear your pros and cons on this. Send your thoughts to info@ippca.com.

Nature’s Image wants to provide you with a place of tranquility, peace & relaxation that you can visit every day. A place to wake up to with a cup of java or settle down from a day of stress , to watch the birds , dragon flies & butterflies enjoying what you have presented them . The thing I see in the faces of my customers & hear them say is peace. The pride they take when entertaining around the feature to the pure joy of having this right at their home just out the door. Nature’s Image is a small business giving the personal touch not of a business, but of an artisan. Nature’s Image offers Landscape design & consultations for any budget. References are available and I encourage the use of this list.

Danner Mfg., Inc. has been specializing in the design of pond and aquarium products for over 70 years strong. As leaders in this Lawn and Garden Industry we are continually striving to produce quality, ground breaking pond and aquarium merchandise offered at very competitive pricing. To date Danner Mfg., Inc. carries over 300 items in their extensive product line. Merchandise includes ProLine waterfall and skimmer pumps, external pumps, hy-drive pumps, air pumps, biological filters, pond liners and underlayment, netting, tubing, fittings, ultraviolet sterilizers, lighting accessories, deicers, fish nets, fountain heads, fish food, water treatments, etc. Pondmaster is one of the most respected names in the watergarden industry-preferred by professionals alike. We have reengineered pond installation kits, pumps, filtration units, skimmers and more for the ease of assembly, installation and care. Danner Mfg's technology is moving forward aggressively to accommodate the needs in making pond construction projects less time consuming, more energy efficient, less maintenance and trouble free.

Brand names to look for are ProLine, Pondmaster, Magnetic-Drive, Supreme, Cover Care, Pool Care, Skilter, Aquamaster, Aquaking, Superking, Heetmaster, Dynamaster, Ovation, Challenge, Mainstream, Mystical, and Hampton Water Gardens.

With over 100 years of combined experience, and increased market share with every manufacturer we represent, we are the only choice for representation in the Midwestern United States.

At our main office in Evanston, IL, we spend most of our time training distributors, contractors, and specifies. When we're not attending a trade show in the winter, or presenting early order programs to our distributors, we can usually be found conducting an intensive training seminar on lighting, fountains, drainage, irrigation, or whatever is needed to add value to our services and our manufacturers' product lines.

Since 1991, we have been representing the premier manufacturers of Irrigation, Filtration, Drainage, Low-voltage Lighting, and Fountains & Aerators to the professional and commercial channels.

MISSION To help promote, educate, and bring to the Midwestern market new technology and products from distribution down to the end user.

Are you thinking about building or having a koi pond built? In this series of articles I will discuss how to build a koi pond. Why is it important for you to read this article prior to “digging in”? Because quite frankly there are many people in the pond industry that are telling people things that are not true, just to sell their products. Or, they installed a system themselves and feel it is the best.

Why should you take the time to read what I have to say? I have been involved with the koi hobby for over 10 years. I see more than 100 different ponds every year. I sell, install and maintain many different types of pond and koi products. I have worked with both old technology and cutting edge technology. I have written articles for various pond related publications and have conducted seminars. And I will be the first to tell you that there is no such thing as a “perfect” system.

What make a koi pond different from any other pond? The first thing is that this is a pond designed to house large fish, a type of carp, koi. In a large area they can easily be raised to a size in excess of two feet long and may grow to 3 feet long. That is a big fish. A fish this size needs room to swim and grow. But an even larger concern is that this fish uses very little of what it eats. More than 90% of the fish’s intake is expelled as waste.

A koi pond seldom has many plants in it as larger koi will eat almost any plants that grow on or below the water’s surface.

Koi are often costly and because of their bright colors, koi are susceptible to predators. In this area the primary predator of koi is heron, but raccoons can also present a problem. In addition, some times the design of the pond can cause damage to these “living jewels”.

Before you build your pond there are a lot of decisions that need to be made. Your first decision is what are you going to keep in your pond. Since you are building a koi pond, that decision has been made.

Next, you should determine the size and location of the pond. Let me give you a few pointers on this topic. First, water will naturally draw people to that area of your yard. By this I mean that if you don’t build it near your outdoor living area you will end up with a new outdoor living area – near the pond. Secondly, it should be close to and easily observed from your house. I guarantee that even while in your house you will look out to see the pond all the time. The closer, the better!

As for size, most people will tell you that you can’t make it too large. That isn’t necessarily true. If it is too large, it will be hard to see the fish or catch them when necessary. Your pond should be built so that all areas of the pond are within reach of a koi net extended to no more than fourteen feet. What this means is that you should be able to walk down one side of the pond or across a bridge and be able to reach every area of the pond. If you can’t do this, it means that you will have to use a seine net or have a helper every time you want to catch a fish in the pond. Yes, I know there are experienced pond keepers who break this design rule and can catch the fish. But it takes a great deal of experience to be able to do this. Or you are going to say, I don’t plan on having to catch any fish but that view is unrealistic.

If at all possible, the pond should not be in direct sunlight all day. Ideally, no more than four to six hours of direct sunlight should be on your pond during the summer. In the best arrangement, shade should be provided by a building or structure, but this isn’t always possible. If trees provide your shade, there will be a problem of debris from the trees getting into the pond. If it is not possible to avoid this situation, don’t worry about it. I am talking about ideal circumstances. I am always going to present the ideal ponds, but in building a pond there are always trade-offs from the ideal.

In future issues I will discuss pond design, skimmers, bottom drains, pumps, filtration, ultra-violet lights, ozone, aeration, plumbing and other pond equipment. Not everyone can build their ideal pond at the outset so I will also talk about pond building in stages based upon budgets.

Mike White
White Water Filters

T Y O P R O M O T E P R O T E C A T A D V A N C E T H R E P O N D A N D W A T E R S D C A P E I N D T U S T T R Y + + + + + + + + + + + V + + + D + + + C + + S + + + + + + + E T O M O R P A + + N + + + + E + + U + + + + + + + + + + + + + + N + O + + + + D T + + D + + + W A T E R S C A P E + C P + + + + + N O + + N + + + + + + + + + + + + + + E + + + + + E A R + + I + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + H + P + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + T + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + (Over,Down,Direction) ADVANCE(17,1,SE) AND(5,8,NW) INDUSTRY(9,8,NW) POND(23,6,N) PROMOTE(19,4,W) PROTECT(7,9,NW) THE(6,10,NW) WATERSCAPE(11,6,E) To Promote, Protect & Advance the Pond and Waterscape Industry

#10 1976: The British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room. #9 1995: Discover Magazine reported that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had found a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history. #8 1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version. #7 1998: The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Soon the article made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly spread around the world, forwarded by email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by physicist Mark Boslough. #6 1992: National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little. #5 1977: The British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Only a few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades. #4 1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial. #3 1962: In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970. #2 1985: Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton. #1 1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."