Monday, July 20, 2009

August and September

It's time to be prepared and not to get behind. Once you fall behind it can be very hard and expensive to get your pond back in shape.

August is the warmest time of the year and requires that you keep up on your maintenance. Remember that you will have loss of the chemicals over time for several reasons. If your pond has lost some coloration since the spring it is best to get that back to the right level by the time the hot and dry season arrives.

September is already moving toward the next part of the ponds cycle. This is especially true in northern states. It's time to get the biological treatment in when it's most effective. Natural Pond Cleaner is one of those products and will break down waste in your pond. This type of treament is best if used year round but will be most effective in the spring and fall when it's cooler.

If you have any chemical needs, please feel free to stop over at www.pondcaredirect.com to check our price list. Shipping and taxes (for Indiana residents) are included in the price listed.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Should you change brands?

Well this is a good question. I have mentioned before that you need to find products you like and get patterns down that make using the products you have selected work effectively.

With that said there may be a time to change due to better products becoming available or to save some money. This is not always as easy as it sounds though. Always take care to compare the products you currently use to the new products line by line. If the newer product contains less active ingredients or is harder to use then it may not be a good idea to change or you will atleast have to figure out how many of the new product it takes to equal the coverage of the old to get a fair cost comparison. It is also important to note that sometimes a single product serves more than one purpose. There are dyes that contain biological treatments and some copper products that contain dye. Replacing those can be hard to figure out since the coverage rates of the original product and new product are likely to be much different.

In the end, we would love to have your business, but never switch to anything without taking the time to review product specifications prior to making your change. We will gladly attempt to answer any questions you have via email at info@pondcaredirect.com. Please stop over at www.pondcaredirect.com to view our complete product list.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Keeping up on things is the key...

You need to keep one step in front of problems that can occur in your pond. Issues with algae, weeds, waste build up and other issues can slowly appear over time when left untreated. The issue is the point that the slow build up becomes an obvious issue. Many weeds form root systems that can span large areas and multiply quickly. Algae tends to multiply quickly once it has gone untreated for a short time. There are many methods to keeping ahead of these problems and it is important you pick one.

Keeping algae down is not always the easiest thing. Waste is a huge feeder of algae. Using biological treatments, such as Natural Pond Cleaner, will help remove some of the food that algae may be using to grow. Another method is to treat using copper solution algaecides such as Cutrine Plus or Crystal Plex to have free floating copper to kill algae as it forms. Dyes will also help lower growth by helping to lower the amount of sun light that penetrates in to the water. Many powder forms of algaecides and powdered copper sulfate crystals are effective for killing algae but they are for treating algae after it's formed. The real key is to stop it before it starts.

Many plants that grow around the pond can be killed early on before they grab and take over large areas of your pond. Some can spread at quick rates and take over even larger ponds in a couple years without treatment. Using a good pond safe herbice like Weed Plex at the first sign of unwanted plants/weeds is a great way to control issues like this. You can either spray in the area of, in the water near or pour the mixture directly into the areas you see issues that have not yet broke the surface of the water. However, it is truely the most effective to spray them once they are above the water line. Adding a sticking agent (aka:Sticker/Spreader/Extender/Adjuvant/Surfactant) will make the product even more effective.

As a final note though, it is important to note that there are restrictions based on individual locations that may restrict the use of copper, herbicides and algaecides. Though dyes and biological pond cleaners are all natural and do not have the same level of restrictions. Also many of these products are not safe for use in decorative ponds or with Koi.

We carry most of these product types at PondCareDirect.com at some of the best prices around. All of our products include delivery, shipping and taxes if applicable.