Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, water garden | Tags: Carter Country Boutique & Gifts, Carters Nursery, Carters Nursery Pond & Patio, Carters Nursery Pond and Patio, Choosing a Skimmer, Design Ideas, Design/Build, Jackson Tennessee, Jackson Tennessee 38305, Just Do It, Koi Health Tip, Koi Health Tips, Koi Pond, Koi Ponds, Low Maintenance, Maintenance Tips, Mechanical Filter, pond filtration, Pond Help, Pond Maintenance, Pond Maintenance Tips, Pond Skimmer, Pond Skimmer Sizes, Pond Supplies, Pond Tip, Pond Tips, Ponds, Signature Series Skimmers, Skimmer Basket, Skimmer Filter, Skimmer Weir, Tips, Water Garden, Water Garden Design, Water garden supplies, Water Gardening Answers, Water Gardens, Weekly Pond Tip, Yard Ponds
I have been operating Carters Nursery Pond & Patio since 1989. I’ve set up countless Garden Shows and hosted hundreds of Pond related workshops (pond builds, design classes, waterfall building, pond maintenance, koi health, etc etc)… I own & operate a 7 acre Garden Center and Aquatic Nursery with running eco-system ponds and a full Koi facility. My goal all these years has been to show Pond Enthusiasts a better way. But, that doesn’t mean I can rest on my laurels… Just Yesterday, I had a great conversation with a walk in customer that lives within 5 miles of my Nursery and has been a pond enthusiast for over 15 years! And guess what… He didn’t know that I was here and he didn’t know what a Pond Skimmer would do for him 😮 Sooooo, needless to say I spent some time with him and gave him the full .10 cent tour of my place! He was blown away and left with a skimmer of his own and a mission to install it himself 💥
So the question remains for many Pond owners –
Q- Does My Koi Pond &/or Water Garden Need A Skimmer?
The answer is YES! Most Definitely…
The simple function of the Skimmer is to help collect surface debris from your Pond. BUT, that’s not all it does for you. A good Skimmer also –
- Houses, hides and pre-filters your Pond Pump! No more clogged pumps! 💥
- By collecting debris before it collects on the pond bottom it Greatly Improves Water Quality!
- A Skimmer also greatly increases dissolved oxygen in your Pond Water! Making a much healthier Pond and much happier Koi!
- A Skimmer does most of the physical work for you, giving you more time to relax 😊
IF you are a Pond guy or gal and don’t have a Pond Skimmer, I am here to help! Drop by and I will show you the light 💡 or give me a call 1-731-424-2206 and I will come to you!
Thanks! & Happy Pondering!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
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Filed under: Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: 50 Degree Rule, 60 degree Rule, Beneficial Bacteria, Bulk Leaf Netting, Choosing a Skimmer, Cold Water, Cold Water Beneficial Bacteria, Cool Season Koi Food, Cool Season Water Treatments, Cool Temp Koi Food, Cut To Fit Leaf Netting, Debris Net, Fall maintenance, Fall Pond Netting, Fall Pond Tips, Fall Water Garden Maintenance, Feeding Koi, Fish, Fish Feeding, Fish Food, Fish Health, Fish net, Fish Sale, Floating Pond Thermometer, Food, Garden Ponds, Gardening Supplies, I Love Koi, Koi, Koi Fix, Koi Food, Koi Health, Koi Health Tip, Koi Health Tips, Koi Nets, Koi Pond, Koi Ponds, Koi Shack, Koi Supplies, Leaf cleanup, Leaf Control, Leaf Netting, Low Maintenance, Maintenance Tips, Maintenance Workshop, Pond Cleaning Supplies, Pond Fish, Pond Maintenance, Pond Maintenance Tips, Pond Net, Pond Netting, Pond Netting Frame, Pond Skimmer, Pond Supplies, Pond Thermometer, Pond Tip, Pond Tip Tuesday, Pond Tips, Preventative Maintenance, Rule of 60, Seasonal changes, Seasonal Feeding Times, Seasonal Interest, Seasonal Koi Feeding Temperatures, Seasonal Koi Feeding Times, Seasonal Water Garden, Signature Series Skimmers, Skimmer Basket, Skimmer Filter, Skimmer Weir, The Rule of 50, The Rule of 60, Tips, Tuesday, Water Garden, Water Garden Maintenance, Water garden supplies, Water Gardens, Waterfall, waterfall design, Waterfalls, Weekly Pond Tip, Winter Pond Tips, Yard Ponds
Fall is in full season! In fact we are only a couple of weeks from Peak Viewing time for Fall foliage in TN! Then you will again realize where ”Fall” gets its name… 🍁 🍁🍁
I always try to post proactive things you can do to keep your Water Garden clean and your Koi healthy over the Fall & Winter. Things like – Cutting your aquatic plants back, using pond netting, watching your skimmer more closely, feeding Cool Temp Koi Food, etc. –
We stock bulk Leaf Netting at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio in Jackson, TN | It will keep debris out of your pond & help protect your fish from predators during the cold, bare months.
Switch to Cold Water Bacteria NOW! –
Our Cold Water Beneficial Bacteria works and keeps on working when the plants and fish aren’t active and really helps the quality of your Pond Water! It is extremely effective at reducing sludge, dead and decaying leaves and plants, built up fish waste & excess nutrients like ammonia, nitrates & phosphates. These things make for poor water quality, reduced water clarity and can have catastrophic effects on your fishes health.
Keep an Eye 👁 on Your Skimmer –
Or, you end up with this 👇🏻
Every Pond should have a floating Pond thermometer! Our finned friends are cold blooded & water temperature is very important when it comes to seasonal feeding times. Pick one up at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio.
My final Pond Tip for today is this – Switch to Cool Season Koi Food NOW…
Switching to a Cool Temperature Koi Food is very important for the health of your Koi!
Well, there you have it, a little reminder to help keep the Maintenance to a minimum and to maximize the enjoyment of our wonderful hobby!
Happy Pondering! 🍁
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
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Filed under: Family time, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: #waterfallwednesday, Certified Aquascape Contractor, Design Consultation, Ecosystem Pond, facelift, I ❤️ Waterfall Wednesday, I ❤️ Waterfalls, Koi Pond, Master Certified Aquascape Contractor, Pond Cleaning, Pond Facelift, Pond Lighting, Pond-Less Waterfall Wednesday, Ponds, Redesign, Redo, Skimmer Basket, Skimmer Filter, Streams, Water Garden, Waterfall, waterfall design, Waterfall Facelift, Waterfall Rebuild, Waterfall Wednesday, Waterfalls, Waterfalls in YOUR Life, Wednesday
Here we are in June! And it’s already #waterfallwednesday 🌊 I recently went by a clients home who had built their own Pond and Waterfall many years ago. They really enjoy the outdoor lifestyle and just LOVE their Pond! ❤️ Overtime, the plants and trees have grown and pushed on the skimmer and the liner and they told me “it’s been over 15 years since we put this Pond in and it’s time for some maintenance & repairs, plus – we want a new look with the stream and waterfall”…
After we removed the old skimmer, trimmed roots, etc… We replaced the old skimmer with a new unit and then moved on to redoing the stream and falls.
We brought in some larger stone, much of it was Moss stone to have that immediate effect of age and we also added lights 💥 Now they have 2 Ponds… The daytime feature that they already love and now feature #2 – the new nighttime Pond!
Everyone is happy with the final results. 💥 Boom A win win! Always a great project! And Waterfall Wednesday, is always a great day!
Here’s to #waterfallwednesday !
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
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Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, Koi, Koi Ponds, Landscaping & Gardening, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Fall Pond Netting, Leaf Control, Low Maintenance, Pond Maintenance, Pond Netting, Pond Predators, Pond Skimmer, Predator Control, Seasonal Water Garden, Skimmer Basket, Water Garden Help, Water Gardens
“To net or not to net, that is the question”…
Pond Netting is a great tool to help keep the maintenance of your Water Garden or Koi Pond down over the fall and winter months . It can protect your fish from predators too…
WHY should I net my pond in the Fall?
Great question! The main reason to net your Water Feature in the Fall is to help with leaf and debris control. All the Ponds that I personally design and install have a skimmer system (mechanical Filter) that does this task for you. You simply empty that skimmer basket from time to time and have little to no leaf or debris problems. BUT, if you have a lot of trees in your Landscape as well, a Fall Leaf 🍁 Net may be in order. Depending on your leaf debris load, a skimmer might still need the help of a simple leaf net to keep up during peak leaf fall…
We stock bulk pond netting at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio in Jackson, TN
HOW do you use the netting?
You simply pull the net over the Pond’s surface and secure it along the edges. Some ponds will allow for a tight stretched net over the surface but some times we install risers to make a “Tent” effect of the net. This helps shed the leaf debris to the edges to make it easier to dispose of them.
Some ponds will allow for a taught pulled net. Others may need a center support for the netting. Either way, it saves a LOT of time on maintenance!
Keeping the leaves and other fall debris out of your Pond is a good thing! Leaf debris is unsightly, it also quickly starts to decompose releasing many compounds that are bad for your fish. In turn algae is fed by the decomposing leaf matter and oxygen is depleted. ALL of these things combined can be catastrophic for the health of your finned friends, in heavy leaf fall areas, it can even kill them.
ALSO – in the Fall and Winter most of the aquatic plants are asleep, leaving very little cover for your Koi… Pond Predators strike most often in the Fall and Winter… BUT, Blue Herons can’t get your pets through the Pond Netting! So that’s another big plus for having a Pond Net!
A Blue Heron is major Predator of our Koi and pond fish! BUT, we can stop them from harming our ‘finned friends’ in the Fall & Winter by installing a Leaf Net.
So to wrap this up – IF you have a LOT of trees in your landscape that shed leaves in the Fall, a Leaf Net might be for YOU! AND – if you have Koi that you love and want to protect, leaf netting could help you too.
FYI: You can get leaf netting for your pond at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio! We always keep 10′ and 20′ widths in stock, we cut to order and it’s very inexpensive. Questions? Call me at 731-424-2206
Filed under: General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: aeration, Aeration System., CAC, Certified Aquascape Contractor, Choosing a Skimmer, Fish in Skimmer, Gravel, Koi, Koi Pond, Master CAC, Master Certified Aquascape Contractor, pond, Pond Aeration, Pond Skimmer, Pond Skimmer Sizes, Signature Series Skimmers, Skimmer Basket, Skimmer Filter, Skimmer Weir, Water Garden, Water Garden Aeration
I had a customer come in to the Pond Shop yesterday needing help. He has had a Pond for several years now and is ready to make it lower in maintenance. He wants to put a skimmer on his Pond! He is a DIY guy and wants to install it himself and he wants to do it right. BUT, he has fish… Several are pretty good sized Koi and he is worried that the Pond Skimmer could be a problem… His #1 question was – “Will my Koi get trapped in my Skimmer Filter”?
One of the first things you need to do when choosing a Skimmer Filter for your Pond is to find out what size Skimmer you need.
The first thing I told him while answering his question was NOT to worry about the fish. It’s overwhelmingly NOT a problem. I showed him around the Ponds here at the Nursery & once he saw the simple operation of the system and how healthy & happy my Koi are he was a believer.
Then I asked him a few questions to figure out what type and size Skimmer would be best for his application.
- I found out that he has a fairly large Pond/Water Garden, 3′ deep, with quite a few fish.
- He has over 2,500 gallons of water in his system.
- He has a fairly powerful pump – around 7,000 GPH (gallons per hour). The water from that pump splits and goes to 2 different Waterfalls.
- His Pond has No bottom aeration.
- We sketched out the pond from a couple of photos that he had on his phone and were able to quickly figure out what he needed.
He installed this Pond himself. It’s basically round in shape with 2 different Waterfalls. The pond is 3′ in depth & the upper shelf is approximately 1 to 1 1/2′ in depth. There is no stone in the pond and no gravel on the bottom… Which after he saw how we do it is about to change 😎 Seeing is Believing!
Not only did he need a Skimmer Filter, he needed a Plumbing upgrade! He had a mis-mash of plumbing pieces going to 2 waterfalls from a submerged pump in the bottom of the pond. So we specified 2″ flex PVC Plumbing AND we added a Check valve in there to make it easy for future maintenance. We also decided to install a 2 stone aeration system.
So easy to install! A simple Aeration System will make your pond healthier, your fish happier & will help with much needed dissolved oxygen for your finned pets.
And we specified a Top of the line Skimmer, with an adjustable faceplate, a rigid debris basket and a removable weir (just in case his fish need some time to adjust to the new Skimmer).
This is the Cadillac of Pond Skimmers! With an adjustable faceplate, removable weir & rigid debris basket, the Signature Series 1000 Pond Skimmer by Aquascape Inc. has got you covered! | We are Master Certified Aquascape Contractors! | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee.
Here’s a side view of his new Skimmer! When this is properly installed it will be virtually invisible & do most of the work throughout the year!
The Skimmer we chose has LOTS of room inside the basket, an adjustable faceplate, a removable weir and is a great choice if you have Koi. | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee.
He left ‘Carter Country’ a Happy Customer!😊 He purchased the Skimmer, plumbing, fittings & Aeration System plus 10 bags of gravel and set off to install his new Skimmer 🙂 He has promised to send me an after picture and a report on his installation. I will share it with y’all too. It makes me smile when I talk to a fellow Pond Enthusiast that is excited about the hobby and his Pond!
PS: IF you ever have a problem with Koi getting trapped in the skimmer (its only happened a few times in 30 years) – give me a call and I will help walk you through the “training process”. It’s really as simple as checking daily and shooing them out, they will get the point. It’s also a great idea to remove the weir flap from the skimmer faceplate until the new wears off for the fish IF your having issues.
Happy Pondering!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Carter's Water Garden 