The Shocking Truth

In 2006  I created a product that kept my pond clean clear and healthy for fish.  I had never intended to sell this to others, but after years of trying everything on the market and listening to numerous fish experts I spoke with my family about making it available to others.  My son thought it was a great idea as he had been using it for his fish pond and also had wonderful results.  I then talked with my daughter who had tried it in her aquariums and she was also sold on the idea.

I decided to go for it.  Not such an easy task by any means.  I had to have the product tested for safety to people and the environment and then I applied for a patent.  After all the red tape was out of the way we began selling our product “J & A Green-Out”.

This turned out to be the right decision.  We have not only sold our product online to many satisfied people across the country but have also been able to help people with the design and installation of the correct plumbing, filtration and also injections systems for their ponds.

Before I started this blog, I bought numerous books on Koi ponds.  Reading them made my eyes water.  I couldn't believe that an entire industry could have it so wrong.  Everything in the books was contradictory to what really works.  I wondered about this for a long time.

Then one day while I was trying to get our product into a pond store, it was explained to me.  The store owner said that “It’s much better to have 100 products that don’t work very well than one product that does.  If I only carried one water clarifier, one type of pump and one type of filter, I couldn’t stay in business.  Therefore I am unable to stock your product which actually works.”  I was upset about this, but he was right, that is what business is all about, “selling a product” regardless of whether it works or not.  So at this point my product will not be carried in that store.

I still find it hard to believe that there is so much wrong information in regards to ponds and aquariums on the market.  It really frustrates me that there are so many people out there spending their money on products that do nothing to keep their ponds and aquariums clean and in a lot of instances are actually harmful to fish and the environment.

 

It is my intention with this blog to sort out the truth about Koi ponds and aquariums.  I will keep you posted.

How it Began

I built a Koi pond in 1999 without a clue as to what I was doing. Luckily, I got a few things right. The pond is lined with vinyl. The sides are 90 degrees with no slope. The depth is 30 inches (minimum 24 inches.) I used a 1 hp swimming pool pump and swimming pool cartridge filter.  The filter has 120 square foot filtering area at 20 microns. The pond is approx. 4000 gallons. The pond design worked out just right to put a low bridge over the middle of the pond. This enabled me to bring all the plumbing into the pond and out of sight. I was also able to install an underwater TV camera.  Now that's the way to watch fish.

After filling the pond, I added six small Koi.  The first week I was saying “It’s no problem having a Koi pond.”  After the second week I wasn’t saying that any more. The water was cloudy green and I couldn’t see the fish. I started on an adventure of finding a cure. I tried just about everything on the market, including algaecides, bacteria, water clarifiers & UV lights. You name it, I tried it. This went on for about 3 years.  There would be a few days when I could see the fish and many more when I couldn’t.  Finally I tried laying penny’s in the skimmer (not on the bottom.) Copper is a mild algaecide. The penny’s worked for a while but not consistently and there was a little odor.  

We had two hurricanes in 2004 and one in 2005.  The pond settled into a nasty green.  In early 2006 I was getting desperate to find something that worked.  I  tried more chemicals.  After a couple of months I had gone from 40 KOI to 4 KOI and still had nasty water and had lost most of the fish to chemicals that were supposed to be harmless to the fish. Needless to say, I wasn’t successful. I made plans to fill in that messy green hole. 

By accident, I discovered a useful element that could be reduced to a liquid at the microscopic level. Some would call it a clarifier, but it’s really more like a cleaner. Unlike an algaecide, it promotes the clumping of algae, Phosphorous, microbes and dissolved organic carbon so that they can be easily removed by a filter. Removing these pollutants is the answer I had been looking for. 

As it turns out, this product is ideal for Koi ponds, Koi pools and aquariums. I applied for and received 2  patents. I have found that by using my clarifier, a good filtering system and pump, the water stays clear with safe levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.  This eliminates the need for water changes, keeps oxygen levels up and the fish have a healthy environment.  I just add water for evaporation.

A Koi Pond is just a swimming pool with fish

What frustrated me was all those “so called” experts telling people they need to make their pond natural and that is wishful thinking.

We tried all the experts’ advice…using sand filter, bio filter, UV lights, bacteria, chemicals, etc.  With all those things, we still could not keep our ponds clear. That’s when we decided the experts are wrong.

The problem with Koi ponds is the waste in the water and the experts wait too long to deal with it.  Waste is a combination of fish waste, plant waste (leaves, flowers, etc.) and excess fish food.

The waste produces phosphorous, microbes and dissolved organic carbon, which starts the cycle which creates ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.  The experts wait until the cycle starts and then it is too late.  You need to get the waste out before the cycle starts.

We decided to look at our ponds like a swimming pool with fish.  So what do swimming pools have?

     - A pump that should be able to circulate the entire pond in a few hours

     - A good cartridge type swimming pool filters.

     - An intake, which is a skimmer and bottom drain or bottom intake.

     - A return, which is jets and a water fall.          

Filters are very important.  The best are pressurized swimming pool cartridge filters. They should filter at 20 microns.  Cartridge filters are sized by square foot surface area. You should have filters that equal 6% of the total volume of water in the pond.  (a 5,000 gal. pond x 6% = 300 sq. ft. of surface area.)

Next are intakes…

     - First is a skimmer which will skim the debris off the surface of the water.

     - Second is a bottom drain which will filter the majority of pond water.  The bottom
       drain is important.

Last are returns…

     - A return may be a jet to circulate the water in the pond.  Good circulation is important
       for filtration.

     - A waterfall is great for aeration and adds glamour and tranquility to the pond.

Now that we had a good filter system, we had to deal with what came out of the waste, before it was filtered, which was phosphorous, etc. that is on a microscopic level.  We wanted a product that was safe for humans and fish.  What we found is that water treatment plants use a product called Alum.  Phosphorous binds tightly to the Alum.  The problem was that it sank to the bottom.  We decided to make our own product,  J & A Green-Out, which is nontoxic and algaecide free.  It is so fine in the microscopic level that it floats freely throughout the entire water column.  This greatly improves its ability for clumping of algae, phosphorous, microbes and dissolved organic carbon so that they can be filtered out, thus stopping the cycle of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate before it starts.

Here are some under water pictures of a customer’s pond while I was repairing the aeration system and underwater lights.  The Koi were so curious & friendly, it was truly amazing!

I look forward to your thoughts whether you agree with me or not.  I enjoy talking ponds.