"Reel Mckoi" wrote in message
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"Gareee©" wrote in message
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** Have you checked to see where your nearest Pond Club meets? You will
get more free plants from members than you can use. :-) Been there -
done that. Plus I give loads away every year. I sell some to a pond
store about 25 miles from here. Occasionally some end up in the compost
pile.

I don't know that we even have a pond club here.. the city's population is
only 6,000. Even Asheville, a 45 minute highway drive away only has a
population of 60,000 in it's entire county.

(Which is of course why we moved here.. LOL!)

My pond gets about 6 hours full sun, and if I could find a local resource
for major plant stocking I would, but I'm lucky if the lowe's here gets
enough that won't dies off right away.

** Then check another Lowe's and check the Home Depots within driving
distance.

Nearest Lowe's.. 10 minutes away.. next nearest Lowe's... 45-60 minutes away
highway!

Only home depot is 45 minutes away highway, and they had nothing to speak of
this year. Lowe's got 2 shipments of pond plants.. the first was decent, but
3 of the 7 plants I bought died. The second batch they got probably
exopalined why 1/2 of my first batch died.. they were shipped and arrived
with no water at ALL in the containers! And after 2 days, they tossed the
shipment away, and didn't reorder for the year.

Also check Wal*Mart! I've found some really good pond plants there for
less than anywhere else. Watch them in the early spring when they first
come in. Get them then before they allow them to dry out and die. Check
your nearest towns and cities for pond stores and aquarium stores. Many
aquarium stores carry pond plants (and fish) in the spring.

Our walmart will get the dry pond baskets in, and we've bought two of those,
but one of the lillies has yet to even get a flower after 2 years.. the one
we bought live from lowe's has had about 20-30 blooms this year alone, in
only 4 month's time.

It's been 2 years, and without resorting to artifical shade covering
options (which ruin the natural look of ponds, IMHO, I've had green water
probably 80% of the spring/summer/fall months.

** Have you ever ordered online? That may be your only option if you're
100 or more miles from any town.

I've ordered some plants online, but to get 1/2 coverage on my pond, I'll be
ordering $100 bucks worth of something like water lettuce every year. Not a
practical option from a cost standpoint.

If I get crappy weather for a few weeks, the algae dies off, and the
filter clears it, but once I have sunny weather again, I'll get more
algae again after a few days.

** This is happening with my 2000 gallon pond now. It's all part of
nature.

Oh, I know the whys and wherefores after lurking here for over a year, but
I'd like to be able to enjoy the fish for a few months out of the year.

Plus the wife is tired of not being able to see the fish, and doesn't care
what solution corrects the problem. A Uv is the last resort, if I have to
turn to it.

Muffin's WL this week might put the pond over the edge, and clear up the
green for a while.


--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)
Gareee's Homepage:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine.../mainframe.htm