Jayinflorida: How do you prevent your goldfish from eating the snails? I was thinking about trying to find some snails for the pond that came with the house we just bought, but read pretty much everywhere that goldfish would eat them. I'm also having trouble finding snails that won't be invasive and will last the winters (I'm in New England). Any suggestions? The reason is because of the pond sludge problem that I'm hoping snails would help with. We do have a (mechanical) filter, and some water flow that we hope to turn back into a waterfall soon. We currently have 7 goldfish in about a 500 gal pond, and from reading this forum, some of the plants are apparently water lilies. Not sure what the others are, yet. :) Thanks! Suzanne, new to this forum, but not as new to GW

Hi scottspond, some how didn't think she would, Florida vs Manchester, no contest really ;-) The area I live in is New Mills, in High Peak in Derbyhsire. If it doesn't ring a bell, it's just past Lyme park, Buxton is about 2 miles away, Stockport 9 miles and Manchester 20 miles (all via road) Handily the railway station is about 5 mins away from my home, so trips to Manchester are pleasent through the countyside and don't require I use the car ;-) And in summer I get to hop on the odd steam trian, every boys dream. My Mancunian mates reckon I've gone "all posh" living here, as I was born and grew up in Fallowfield and went to school in Rusholme. Regards ChrisC.

dang it....I had a really well though out response all done, and my internet explorer crashed. So I'll try again...lol!! First...a few comments regarding how koi ponds compare to aquariums. Normally, aquariums are lightly stocked with small fish. It's really easy to keep the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle operating perfectly in a correctly stocked environment. Same as a rock bottom pond...lightly stocked and properly maintanied it can work. In a pond's bio filter, ammonia is converted to nitrite and then to nitrate. Nitrate is most easily removed froma koi pond by way of regular water changes. Ever try to keep an aquarium with goldfish? Many goldie keepers I know keep no gravel in the tank at all, because of maintenance. That gravel gets really filthy very fast. I had a lovely goldie tank once....and gave it up. the maintenance was a nightmare! I'd rather deal with a huge koi pond any day of the week. Some people are reporting sucess with rock bottom ponds and no maintenance. Again...it is directly related to stocking levels. I hope these ponds continue to perform well for years to come, but for the vast majority of people, they will not. Most watergardeners install their ponds (and rocks) and then run out and buy a bunch of adorable little 5" long koi. The koi grow.....fast. They produce mountains of fish waste, which all gets trapped in the rocks. But because the pond looks clean, the owner is lulled into a false sense of security and does not think that there is a thing wrong, until the fish start dying or the fins start rotting off. Then they do one of two thing....they learn where they went wrong and correct their mistakes, or they just buy new fish (which is unfortunatly what most people do). Matt...you are on the right track with your new pond. You certainly can install your bottom drain now and add the rest of the system later. But instead of using a pipe cap, install a 4" ball valve on the end of the line. The water can't be permitted to sit stagnant in the unused drain line for too long or it will start developing the dreaded hydrogen sulphide gas. Opening that valve every couple of weeks and allowing the water to flow out for a couple of minutes will prevent the problems. I am attaching a link to the Atlanta Koi Club's web site. They have an excellent pdf that explains a lot about how a koi pond works, water quality, stocking levels, how much biofiltration is needed and many other wonderful facts. Cindy

Mary, those are very pretty pink dishes and I luv the sage from Kohls, very pretty! Luvs, if I thought you'd want to try to ship it, they actually had two of those pitchers! I just always think things like that usually end up broken, or I'd have bought you the other one! Yes, the gas for the boat is expensive, it won't be leaving the dock til gas goes down, meantime, it's our summer home on the water! I still enjoy just getting away & sitting on the back deck & relaxing! Karen, yes 3 four year olds, but the twin girls are very well behaved, like little angels. The other one, the boy, is a character & always up to something. I'll post a pic of him from his pre-school graduation, I laughed so hard at the pics I almost wet my pants. He will be a handful in regular school!!!All the other kids were behaving just fine & take a look at him at the graduation!!!!!