InfoTanza™ Survey

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Many of you have already seen the new look for www.IPPCA.com. That’s right, a completely new website! Why did we change? We listened to our members and gave them what they wanted. Plus we had our own wish list based on 5 years of acquired experience. As an IPPCA member you will have access to change your personal webpage information at will. You will be able to change your member’s profile and photos anytime you log in. We have also given you the opportunity to customize your page for keywords that allow the search engines to scan. There is a special area for your awards and any certifications you wish to display . All Contractors, Associate Members and Sponsors have the opportunity to blog. Start a blog about your company, what you are doing, specific jobs that are one of a kind. The ideas are endless on what you can blog about. The more you say on your blog, the more the search engines are going to find you, the better your company will rank and come up in the search engines. As you have already noticed, Pond Pulse has a new look also. www.InfoTanza.com has a new look and www.PonditatForHumanity.com will soon follow. To start individualizing your personal webpage follow these three easy steps: 1. http://www.ippca.com 2. Register: Create a new user name 3. An email will be sent to you to verify your email address 4. Click on the link in the email you receive and change your password to something you will remember. 5. Once you have registered, Administration will give you permission to edit your personal page and to start blogging. 6. If you had links to IPPCA on your personal website, you may want to check to make sure you are now linked to the NEW www.IPPCA.COM Along with all these new options you have on ippca.com. We have also added additional features such as: l. Online membership application for all different levels of membership. Two simple steps. Purchase the membership you are applying for File out the membership profile you just purchased. 2. Renew or upgrade your membership on a secure server. Options that will be added in the future: 1. Donate to Ponditat For Humanity 2. Calendar of Events If any member has links from your own company’s website to IPPCA you may want to check to make sure that the links have not changed. Links to your personal page on IPPCA will have changed. The link to the Online Customer Rating Form has changed. As you can see we not only listen, we also act on our member’s requests! Look for more changes to come in the near future. Keep the suggestions coming! What can the IPPCA do for you and your company? We are enjoying the new websites, we hope you do too.

INFO-TANZA 2009 ! ! ! WOW!!! I gotta go buy another pair of socks! Just like the Charlie Brown cartoon character, when he would be pitching baseball and someone up at bat would hit the ball straight back at him. In the next frame Charlie Brown would be shown upside down with his socks and shoes flying off, THAT was INFO TANZA 2009. It really was THAT GOOD! Wednesday the 21st was the Boston Marathon of liner information, starting off with the Firestone Certification class with Bill Johnson of Firestone Specialty Products. If you have taken this classroom course before, the information has been updated and is excellent! Then the IPPCA and Firestone SP co-hosted a hand’s on liner seaming, corner sealing and various penetration techniques seminar for the entire afternoon session that was heavily attended. Getting to practice and experience what you had learned in the classroom, as well as tips and tricks of the trade from field experienced contractors, PRICELESS! Thursday the 22nd started off with Mike White of White Water Filters discussing bead filtration. There was a whole new flood of information that many from the pond-in-a-day group never knew anything about. Mike was in this business before there was bead filtration (kinda), so his knowledge about bead filtration is more than you and I can even imagine. This is just one of many reasons why you go to THIS event every year. To meet and talk to people with the depth and wealth of knowledge that installers like Mike White have amassed. After a short break, IPPCA Silver member Great Lakes Bio’s representative Warren Franz filled those in attendance with information about air diffusers. Pretty amazing stuff, it’s not just about air but its how the air moves, how much water it moves based on bubble size and what it does to the aquatic environment. If you weren’t there, you need to call Warren and ask about air and air diffusers. Before we take the lunch break there is a chance to review and talk one on one with the morning’s presenters. That gives you a chance to review and stabilize all the mornings’ information before all those questions get lost in the afternoon’s information. At 1 P.M. Dave Jones of Gold member The Pond Professional had some hands on from the field information from large liner projects. Not only did Dave share large liner experiences with the crowd, but Larry Moore from Kentucky also discussed a large project with a three piece poly liner that was field seamed that he did based on information he got from INFO TANZA ‘07. 70,000 square feet of liner installed and seamed in 3 hours. WOW!!! Besides the skinned knuckle stories, there was a lengthy discussion about the differences between different types of poly and EPDM liner on these large projects. This tied together nicely with the information learned on Wednesday’s event with Firestone. Those people that had attended the seaming class knew what to ask and how it applied to projects they might do even though the projects might be smaller. Not only did the presenters know and explain the pit falls of big projects, they also understood what the hands on smaller projects required. Demi Fortuna of IPPCA Gold member Danner Manufacturing did a surprise bonus hands on friction loss based on size of pipe seminar. What a great visual! As pond builders, we are aware of and know about pipe size and friction loss, but not many of us have ever done a hand’s on splash in the water demo to actually see the effects. I can tell you personally that there is an amazing amount of water that can come out of a hose when it’s aimed in the wrong direction, like at me! No! I can NOT move as fast as the water! After getting air dried out, we “surfed” on the internet with John Olson. A very informative and in depth “teaching moment” seminar with the self made millionaire, entrepreneur extraordinaire and owner of IPPCA Silver member Graystone Industries Inc. What this man knows about internet marketing would fill a book! That book is “The Pond Pro’s Guide to Internet Marketing”. If you are just discovering the internet, pages 25 through 28 are just for you. Next up was Ray Davis with a presentation about floating island technology. These are not your regular, kiddy pool sized floating islands; these are floating islands that the pirates of the Caribbean would be proud of. The water quality issues that these islands address is not for the faint of heart! Everything from golf course ponds, waste treatment remediation to shoreline breaks for wave and soil erosion, this seminar covered it all. Day three, Friday the 23rd…the day starts off quietly, coffee and a cutting edge bacteria class with presenter Ed Cassidy representing Silver member EasyPro Pond Products. Even though “bugs” are basic and some think old hat, there are always ways to teach old bugs new tricks and Ed shared many aspects of the bacteria manufacturing and containment process that were very insightful and informative. Art Hantla of Bronze member Fielding Pump picked up the pace by giving a guided tour through the line of ShinMaywa pumps with a segway to Adam Bates with a new product in CSI Variable Frequency Drives. Never heard of CSI and VFDs? Well, in this day and age of rising energy costs, as a cutting edge professional you need this in your tool box to address your customer’s energy concerns. After a picturesque and great lunch catered by Hooters, the spotted owl people, we had our lives lit up by IPPCA Bronze member Atlantic Water Gardens representative Ken Hendry. I can say that I have used these pond lights for years, but the advances in LED lights are awesome! These lights are impressive! I learned updated information about LEDs that I had not been aware of. A very informative seminar about LEDs and how and why they work the way they do/did. We take a break after this to let the brain cells catch their breath. Many of us as pond builders are familiar with External pumps, but the next seminar took it even further. Ben Ashe, on behalf of IPPCA Silver member Easy Pro Pond Products took us through the applications and uses for the types and range of external pumps that Easy Pro will be débuting in 2010. This also related to an earlier seminar about Variable Frequency Drives. This is another example of information for you to use and apply as needed, that’s what INFO TANZA is about. The final seminar of the day, I have never seen on any manufacturers list nor have I ever seen this type of seminar at any pond related event before. Photography to Enhance your Marketability. The incoming President of the Professional Photographers of America Association, Louis Tonsmiere gave an excellent course on general DIY photography and the value of professional photography in your advertising. Does it make a difference? You bet, being a pretty good photographer is like being a pretty good pond builder. You know the difference as a pond builder and you know the same thing the professional photographer knows, it’s not necessarily what you take a picture of, its when. Whoa! Burn up the brain cells. Those poor little guys have been working over time. That puts day three in the books. Day four, Saturday the 24th, the last but not least day. IPPCA Silver member EasyPro Pond Products set a new record of support with speakers with their independant representative Warren Thoma delivering a great seminar on how to stretch outside the box in tough economic times. The final seminar on Saturday was Vicki Vaughan’s class on the correlation between water quality and fish health. I have attended fish health seminars before, but this was the most fun talking about fish with vertigo I’ve ever had and the class ended up with a tremendous amount of audience participation. Through the last 2 ½ days, the Trade Show element of INFO TANZA ‘09 was set up! Yes!!!, that is with an exclamation point. Atlantic Water Gardens, Easy Pro, ShinMayWa/Fielding with a guy from CSI to discuss Variable Frequency Drive units, Pond Trade magazine, Floating Islands Int, Great Lakes Bio., Water Garden News, Danner Proline and G C Tek. If you think this is your standard “trade show” think again! Because of our not-for-profit venue, there is not the “pressure” for these manufacturers to “produce”, so it’s more relaxed and they can spend that important one on one time answering your questions that you won’t find at other pond industry events. We actually had members that had only planned on spending a day with us that extended their “visit” for the entire event and some even helped with awards presentations! Awesome! Gold member Danner Manufacturing was also represented by Bob White, Danner’s National Sales Manager to gain more interaction time with attending contractors. As a manufacturer, you want your end user to feel comfortable dealing with your company and your product. There is a reason our corporate members and manufacturers have returned to this venue for the fifth straight year. Results!!! The Grand Finale’ for INFO TANZA 2009 was the Saturday evening event with the annual banquet and awards and recognition for the builders and the guys in the trenches. The Five Star Contractor Award trophy and $1000.00 check was co-sponsored by Atlantic Water Gardens and EWING Irrigation Products Inc. and awarded to Brenda Sorrells, Exotic Aquatics, Savannah, Georgia. Congratulations Brenda. Graystone Industries sponsored the 5th Annual International Waterfall and Stream competition photo contest by awarding $250.00 in cash and products to each of the eight category winners. Check out the INFO TANZA site (short cut….www.pondevent.com) for all the details of who did what and a picture of the whole squadron of “Top Guns”. My thanks to all who made the trip this year and that goes for the “infamous” Gil from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Gil has that amassed knowledge like Mike White but in a different venue, White Water theme parks…want to know more about these two and other IPPCA top tier members that appear and network at this awesome annual event?.... put INFO TANZA 2010 on your Calendar! I’ll be there!!!! Rocke’ Huntington President, 2009

IPPCA is working with Fed-Ex to combine the total of all IPPCA Member's Fed Ex accounts when determining the discounts for shipping. Each individual member's account will remain unchanged but your account will be combined with all the other member's volume to get you the best deal possible. For more information please contact me at info@ippca.com with your account information. I will then forward this information onto the Fed Ex representative to be included in the IPPCA Fed-Ex Benefit package I am working on. POND Trade Magazine's Product of the Year Time to Vote for Your Favorite POND Trade Magazine's first Annual Product of the Year Competition is now open for your input. It is time for you to vote for the product that you believe has had the biggest impact on our industry so far, or will in the near future. There are 28 entries for you to consider, so don't delay. Tell us what you think today. Click here to go to pondtrademag.com and vote

I became involved in the water garden industry in 1997 when I started my first installation company, Waterscapes Unlimited, Inc. I was head of the design and installation division until the fall of 2003 when I resigned to head to a warmer climate. Upon arriving in Huntsville Alabama I, along with my wife, started Living Art Water Gardens, Inc. I have installed approximately 300 water features since 1997, ranging all aspects of the design spectrum; informal, formal, naturalized, koi ponds, retention ponds, and hybrid swimming features. I have installed for both residential and commercial projects utilizing products from most major industry manufacturers.

Pond and Garden Lifestyles Magazine (formerly Pondkeeper) has been purchased by Tom Graham of TC Publishing, Inc. and is now Pond Trade Magazine. This means we will be soon seeing some new faces added to our great writers. The mission of Pond Trade magazine is broad and ambitious. We intend to be the uniting force in the Watergarden and Koi industries, which we are calling the Garden Pond Industry. With the pressure on the pocket books of the American Consumers today, we need each other now more than ever. We all know information is power. Our job is to get you the information you need to grow and prosper now and into the future. As we are still a relatively young industry, we have not become staid and regimented like some older business sectors. As such, most companies have really had to go it alone, with very few industry wide standards to rely on. This is exciting because it means we control our own destiny, but as we each develop our own solutions to problems, we often find ourselves at odds with others who have found different solutions, and developed different philosophies about the pond trade. What is undeniable is that we have many good people working hard to improve how we do what we do. Now is the time for us to put aside the minor differences that have caused some polarization, and recognize we are not competing with each other as much as competing with the gas station and vacation time shares. We are competing for the expendable income that our customers have less and less of. The mission of Pond Trade is to be the distributor of knowledge and the catalyst of change. 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.

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 specifiers. 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 Warren Thoma founded the firm in April, 1991. He is responsible for and oversees all operations and territories of Warren Thoma and Associates.

Stonehenge: A Wildly Different Patio Recently I saw some nice folks sitting on some big stones in the yard, just talking. And it got me to thinking. How wild would it be to build a patio into the landscape of a home where the patio is mostly shrubs or flowers or groundcovers and the seating is as natural as it gets, large stones. Whether arranged in a circle, or whimsically, big boulders that would make good seating placed into the yard would create a neat and unique sitting area. It could be formal, and utilize a circle like Stonehenge. Or, it could be totally random like you might see if you dropped a dozen boulders from an airplane. Such a “Stonehenge Patio” could have you sitting with a lovely view of butterflies on a drift of coneflower blooms. Or, it might be that cute little conifers or dwarf Japanese maples would be the object of one's eyes. Being one who loves waterfalls, I inagined sitting on a big boulder while being mesmerized by a lovely waterfall recirculating from an underground pond vault a few feet away. Talk about a different sort of patio, I think you'll agree it's a wild idea. A natural stone arrangement of large boulders surrounded by interesting plants and other embellishments could be adapted to either front yard or backyard applications. The age of front porches was in my childhood, but perhaps the age of a low-profile Stonehenge in the front of the home might be the wave of the future. Backyard entertainment would certainly be a little more intimate sitting across from your special companion while the firepit embers glow or the waterfall trickles. The night flying moths find the spider flower blooms of the annuals planted in the perrenial bed. In the daytime, hummingbirds find yucca and cactus blooms or the sweet nectar from a honeysuckle bush. Perhaps a soft carpet of creeping thyme or Irish moss would cover the sand and flagstones between the “seating stones”. Ajuga would provide color and blossoms amid the green paving. A red-berried holly or a hardy camillia or Chinese fringeflower (lorapetalum) would provide color in the upright form, while creeping junipers or the candles of a Japanese black or dwarf red pine offer up a natural salutation. That would appeal to you ladies I know, for it sounds so romantic! The starkness of a concrete patio has no place in this Stonehenge patio. Rather, the random placement of walking stones, sand and gravel—even mulch or moss—might be our surface. Add the plants of your choice. Then add some nice rustic stones for seating. Furnish this unique patio with a BBQ pit, a fire pit, a waterfall, some soft solar lighting, and perhaps some outdoor acoustical speakers for further enhancing the romantic mood (or the party mood) . Selection of easy-care plants and some that do not need a lot of water would give more time for enjoying the new Stonehenge, but a few groupings of flowering perennials or waving grass clumps could improve on the aesthetics. Stark or lush, your personal Stonehenge could give your place that missing something that would set it apart in the neighborhood—hopefully in a good way. Lush landscaping would just be icing on the cake with a patio built on the Stonehenge concept. Max Phelps Rock Castle Landscape The author is a landscaper. Contact via www.rockcastles.com or (606) 416-3911

Birthdays are original, personal, noteworthy traditions. Some people like to forget them. Others prefer smaller celebrations. But for some, the day must be a flag-waving, band-playing joyous merrymaking occasion. We are so used to celebrating our birthday every year that it seems like it's been a tradition almost forever!! But there too is a birthday history, and a place and time it all began... When early people had no way of keeping track and marking time (except by the moon, sun or by some important event) little attention was paid to the anniversary of a person's birth. Everyone realized, of course, that people grew older as time passed; but they didn't mark any special milestone for it. Only when ancient peoples began taking notice of the moon's cycles, did they pay attention to the changing seasons and the pattern that repeated itself over and over and so they began to mark and note time changes. That's the start of birthday history. Eventually, the first calendars were formulated in order to mark time changes and other special days. From this tracking system came the ability to celebrate birthdays and other significant anniversaries the same day each year. It is also said that Birthday celebrations began as a form of protection. It was a common belief that evil spirits were more dangerous to a person when he or she experienced a change in their daily life, such as turning a year older. To protect them from harm, friends and family would gather around the birthday person and bring good cheers, thoughts and wishes. Giving gifts brought even more good cheer to ward off the evil spirits. Noisemakers are thought to be used at parties as a way of scaring away the evil spirits. The birthday history custom of lighting candles originated with people believing that the gods lived in the sky and by lighting candles and torches they were sending a signal or prayer to the gods so they could be answered. When you blow out the candles and make a wish this is another way of sending a signal and a message. Even though historians are certain that people have observed their birthdays for quite some time, there are very few records of such celebrations that still exist. The only ones documented in birthday history are those birthdays of kings, high-ranking nobility, and other important figures. Common people and especially children never celebrated their birth when the idea came about. This trend has been explained by a theory that nobility were the only people wealthy enough to throw such celebrations, and quite possibly were the only ones thought to be important enough to have been written about or remembered. Some historians believe these early birthday bashes resulted in the custom of wearing birthday "crowns" as time went on. The Germans are given credit in birthday history for starting celebrations of children's birthdays. These celebrations were called "kinderfeste". The word "kinderfeste" is derived from two German words 'kinder' meaning children and 'feste' meaning festival or party. More in birthday history: The song "Happy Birthday to You" was composed by two sisters, Mildred and Patty Hill, in 1893, but nobody really paid much attention to it until the original words "Good Morning to You" were changed to "Happy Birthday to You", words that are sung in virtually every home across the world at least once during the year. In today's world the birthday party is eagerly awaited by every grownup and child. And that's why we here, at coolest-kid-birthday-parties.com, are devoting our energy to build this site and help you make that day so very special. Source

I figure the SSA based on a spherical - or round rock. Actual SSA of each rock will vary based on the overall shape, and smoothness of the rock. The below figures are based on smooth round rocks. Some rocks will have higher SSA's, while others will have lower SSA's. These figures should be used as "averages". Here is how to figure SSA for gravel/rocks. I am figuring rocks to have mostly a spherical shape. Here is the formula for figuring surface area of a sphere. http://www.teacherschoice.com.au/Maths_Library/Area%20and%20SA/area_2.htm Here is the formula to convert square inches into square feet. http://www.metric-conversions.org/area/square-inches-to-square-feet.htm It is 4 x Pie x radius squared. ( Pie is 3.14 -remember that from Junior High algebra?) (Radius is 1/2 the diameter) All SSA is figured in One Square Foot at 2" thick of what ever the media is. 1/2" rock has a .25" radius. 4 x 3.14 x (.25 x .25) = .75 square inches of surface area on 1 piece of 1/2" gravel. 1 foot equals 12 inches. 12" divided by 1/2" rocks = 24 individual 1/2" rocks. 24 x 24 rocks = 576 1/2" rocks in one square foot. We need 2" of depth for SSA comparison. So 2" divided by 1/2" rocks = 4 rocks high. Now multiply the 576 rocks per square foot by 4 rocks high to get how many rocks are in 1 square foot at 2" thick. 576 x 4 = 2,304 individual 1/2" rocks in one square foot at 2" thick. Now multiply those 2,304 rocks by the surface area of .75" to get how many square inches of surface area. 2,304 x .75 = 1,728 square inches of surface area. There are 144 square inches in 1 square foot, so divide the 1,728 square inches by 144 to get square feet. 1,728 / 144 = 12. So 1/2" gravel has an average of SSA of 12. You can add or subtract up to about 40% depending on how rough or smooth the gravel is. Now let’s do it again for 1" gravel 1" rock has a .5 radius. 4x3.14x(.5x.5) = 3.14" square inch surface area 12" / 1" rock = 12 rocks per linear foot. 12 rocks x 12 rocks = 144 rocks per square foot 2" / 1" = 2 rocks high 144x2=288 rocks per square foot at 2" thick 288 rocks x 3.14 square inches of surface area each = 904.32 total square inches 904.32 square inches / 144 = 6.28 square feet of surface area So 1" smooth rock has 6.28 SSA Now let’s do it again for 2" gravel 2" rock has a 1" radius. 4x3.14x(1x1)= 12.56 square inch surface area 12" / 2" = 6 rocks per linear foot 6 rocks x 6 rocks = 36 rocks per square foot 2" / 2" = 1 rock high 36 x 1 = 36 rocks per square foot at 2" thick 36 rocks x 12.56 square inches of surface area each = 452.16 total square inches 452.16 / 144 = 3.14 square feet of surface area So 2" smooth rock has 3.14 SSA 4" rock has a 2" radius 4x3.14x(2x2)= 50.24 square inches of surface area 12" / 4" rock = 3 rocks per linear foot 3 rocks x 3 rocks = 9 rocks per square foot 2" / 4" rock = .50 rocks high 9 x .5 = 4.50 rocks per square foot at 2" thick 4.5 rocks x 50.24 square inches each = 226.08 total square inches 226.08 / 144 = 1.57 square feet of surface area So 4" smooth rock has 1.57 SSA 8" rock has a 4" radius 4x3.14x(4x4) = 200.96 square inches of surface area 12" / 8"rock = 1.5 rocks per linear foot 1.5 rocks x 1.5 rocks = 2.25 rocks per square foot 2" / 8" rock = .25 rocks high 2.25 x .25 = .56 rocks per square foot at 2" thick .56 rocks x 200.96 square inches each = 112.54 total square inches 112.54 / 144 = .78 square feet of surface area So 8" smooth rock has a .78 SSA 16" rock has an 8" radius 4x3.14x(8x8) = 803.84 square inches of surface area 12" / 16" = .75 rocks per linear foot .75 rocks x .75 rocks = .56 rocks per square foot 2" / 16" rock = .13 rocks high .56 x .13 = .07 rocks per square foot at 2" thick .07 rocks x 803.84 square inches each = 56.27 total square inches 56.27 / 144 = .39 square feet of surface area SO 16" smooth rock has a .39 SSA Poly Flow Media It is available in 1.25" and 2.0" thicknesses. The 2.0" material is used exclusively in virtually all US manufactured pond skimmers and waterfall units. The open character of this media allows for high volumes of water to pass through without clogging while providing optimal surface area to facilitate bacterial colonization. The total surface area of this material is 49.6 square foot of material. The 10th annual Koi Health Seminar will be held in Seminar topics:

• Parasite identification and treatments
• Microscopic techniques
• Water quality and treatments
• Bacterial evaluation and management
• Culture and sensitivity
• Antibiotic classification and
• applications
• Viral evaluation and management
• Fecal exam and parasite management
• Surgical techniques
• Necropsy and sampling techniques
• Quarantine procedures
• Fall Ikeage

All course materials are included. Registration and information available online Register Here Early registration is suggested. For more information contact Vicki Vaughan at 706-247-6274 or vicki@flatrockkoi.com