Squirelette, I was not criticizing your post in any way. I was just pointing out that an extension cord running across a lawn is not a safe way to power pond equipment. It tweaks a nerve with me when people spend loads of money on high priced pond equipment and take shortcuts with their electrical connections. By the way, I completed over 90% of the work involved with my outdoor outlet by myself. I dug the three foot trench from my house foundation to a location near my pond. It took me two months using most of my spare time. I rented a hammer drill and punched a hole through my basement foundation. I purchased the DB wire, breakers, outdoor box, and mounting post after consulting several electricians and doing some Web research. I ran the DB wire from my indoor breaker to the mounting post. When I had everything in place, I hired a licensed electrical contractor to connect the wire at both ends and inspect the work that I had completed. Once the electricity was hooked up and my work was approved, I filled in the trench. I think the electrician cost about $100. I donÂt remember the cost of the equipment, but it wasnÂt that expensive. The pond liner and pump cost me a lot more. The major cost was the blisters and achy back I got from doing most of the work myself. I would do it again without hesitation. I donÂt worry about the weather or animals causing damage to my outdoor wiring. I donÂt worry about a faulty extension cord harming any of the children who come to visit my pond and feed my fish and turtles. Pond safety is the responsibility of the owner. If we donÂt use proper methods to maintain our ponds we may lose our fish. If we donÂt use proper methods to maintain safe electrical usage we may lose our life or that of another. I don't think I would have a pond if I thought it might harm someone. It would be an awful burden to bear if it did.

The yellow color with the veining is classic chlorosis, which is almost certainly caused by an iron deficiency. I don't know anything about Grow and Bloom, but check to see if it contains iron. Potash won't hurt anything, but I don't think potash is your problem. A potash deficiency usually shows a fairly uniform olive drab color without the veining on the hyacinths. Potash deficient hyacinths usually have really long roots as well. Nitrate won't hurt anything either. I don't think you really want to add phosphate because of the algae risk. Add iron. Find a chelated micro-nutrient mix, like Fertilome Liquid Iron. You should see improvement within a couple days. Go ahead and add some potash too. It won't hurt.

I am going on 1 month with a turtle in my pond. Let me say this....they can climb vertical rock surfaces. They might even be able to leap and or fly since mine keeps getting out and I don't know how. They do need a pot full of mud to burrow in to in the winter though. Especially if it freezes near you. As for koi...I have a 9 inch koi who currently bullies my red eared slider. I feed the turtle little pellets on a rock that he suns himself on that is partially submerged. He won't eat dry pellets so I have to toss them in the water. The koi will literally push himself on to the rock, 1/3 out of the water and muscle the turtle out of the way to steal a few sticks. Lately the turtle has planted his feet and stood his ground a little better. Its hilarious though I have seen his big clawed turtle feet push against my koi and worried about scratches. As for eating fish....every bite he takes of his pellets he makes crumbs and all my Mosquito fish and platies swirl around him as he eats. I have seen him go out of his way NOT to eat little fish right in front of him. though this doesn't mean he will always do so.

There is often debate over whether it's necessary to filter a pond, and always a few people who claim they have great luck with letting the pond "go natural" with no human interference. A man-made pond, though, is not a natural environment, and will only benefit from some form of filtration or at least aeration. Filtering keeps the water cleansed of organic wastes that can cause cloudy, smelly, murky, or even toxic water. It simplifies maintenance, conserves water by cleansing and recycling it, and can help create "gin-clear" water that allows optimal viewing of the pond and its inhabitants. If you plan on creating a water garden and keeping only plants in the pond, you should be able to get away with little or no filtration, depending upon the type and number of plants you grow. A small pump used with a spitter, fountain, waterfall, or similar feature, should create enough movement to keep the water from stagnating, and diligence in keeping dead plant life from accumulating in the water will help maintain water clarity. However, most people find that, once they've created the pond, they want to add fish, and this is when filtration becomes vital. The more fish you have, the more filtration is necessary to keep the water and the fish healthy. Fish produce ammonia from both their gills and kidneys. Ammonia is also produced from other organic matter decaying in the pond. Whatever the source, ammonia is toxic to fish and must be removed from the water. Frequent water changes and ammonia binding water conditioners will help temporarily, but the addition of a biological filter is the best and easiest way to deal with this toxin. Briefly, a biofilter works by creating a suitable living environment for certain types of bacteria which do the cleaning for you. As pond water is slowly pumped though the biofilter, Nitrosomonas bacteria consume the ammonia, turning it into nitrites (which are also harmful to fish.) Nitrobacter bacteria then oxidizes the nitrites into nitrates, which become food for the plants in your pond. Although these "good bacteria" are present on every surface in your pond, they are not usually there in large enough numbers to reliably cleanse the water of these compounds that are so deadly to fish, and so biofiltration is strongly recommended when there are fish in the pond. Mechanical filtration (that which removes solid waste) is always beneficial, but simply keeping the water clear of solids does not guarantee fish-safe water. Ammonia and nitrites can not be seen except through the use of water test kits. Ideally, water will first pass through some type of mechanical filter that removes solids prior to entering the biofilter, where the toxic compounds are oxidized to nitrates and sent back to the pond where the nitrates will be absorbed by the plants therefore keeping the pond healthy for both your fish and plants. These beneficial bacteria cease to function at temperatures below fifty degrees, so running the biofilter all winter is futile if you're in a cold winter area. The fish will not be eating and producing their usual amount of waste during the winter, so the biofilter will not be needed anyway. Once the autumn temperatures are below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, clean and store the biofilter until spring returns. If you're lucky enough to live in a warm climate, it should be kept running year round. Start the filter up again in the spring as the temperatures get into the upper 40s to low 50s. The nitrogen cycle takes about four to six weeks to establish once the bacteria begin colonizing in the warmer temperatures, so be diligent about testing your water for ammonia and nitrites if the fish are eating. It would take far too many pages to describe here all the types of filters available. Research and ask questions of more experienced ponders, and join several of the informative forums on the Internet. Do not always believe a manufacturer's advertisements, and if tempted to buy something being touted by a salesperson, research it before making an investment. There are many plans for do-it-yourself filters that are simple to make, produce excellent results, and are much less expensive than most of the commercial filters available. And remember - you can never have too large a biofilter! Ronaye, Steve and David