PONTZ LANDSCAPE SERVICE, INC.
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813 ROHRER RD. LANCASTER, PA 17603
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717-285-3510 / FAX 717-394-6485
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“We may make mistakes, but they must
never be mistakes which result from
faintness of heart or abandonment of moral
principal”
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10th. annual Millersville
Community Parade scheduled:
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This year, the Millersville Community
Parade will celebrate its tenth
anniversary. The date for this year’s
parade is Saturday, October 28, the
starting time is 9:00 AM and the theme
for this year’s parade is “Dance to the
Music”.
We’ve said it many times before and
we’ll say it again; if you’ve never
attended this parade, you are truly
missing out on a GREAT FAMILY
EVENT. One of the finest, largest and
fastest growing parades in Lancaster
County, the Millersville Community
Parade features an eclectic
assortment of participants; from floats,
bands, drum and bugle corps,
community organizations, high school
and college organizations, senior
citizen groups, fire companies, and
much, much more. Pontz Landscape
Service, Inc. is proud to be a sponsor
of the parade and we will once again
be participating in the parade this
year.
If you would like to obtain additional
information regarding the parade,
volunteer to help, be a participant or
become a sponsor, please call the
parade “hotline” at 717-871-2213 or go
to the parade web site at www.
millersville.edu/~alumni/parade.html.
Hope to see you and your family on
October 28th.
“Patience is a virtue, believe it if you can, it’
s seldom found in woman, and never in a
man”
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The Truth About Ponds: Twenty Myths Debunked
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The interest in and popularity of ponds is at an all time high and it’s
interesting to note how many differing views there are concerning ponds.
It seems you can ask ten different pond contractors the same question
and receive ten different answers. Let us try to set the record straight by
exposing what are perhaps the twenty most commonly misunderstood
facts about ponds.
1. Predators will eat my fish! This is perhaps one of the most
common myths we hear. The fact is that, while Herons (large fish eating
birds) can and will eat your fish when given the chance, raccoons, cats
and other fish eating animals will NOT eat your fish. Over the years, Pontz
Landscape Service has built hundreds of ponds and we have yet to have a
customer tell us that an animal (other than Herons) ate their fish. To keep
Herons away, we suggest you install a “Scarecrow” which is a motion
activated device that attaches to your garden hose. Lay it next to your
pond and it emits brief spurts of water when a Heron lands by your pond
which will scare the Heron away. “Scarecrows” are available at most
aquatic and pet stores. Remember though, it’s non selective so if you’re
out by your pond, be sure to shut if off or you might just get wet.
2. Gravel and rocks in the pond make it difficult to clean! This is not
true because when you have rocks and gravel in your pond, it provides a
place for aerobic bacteria to grow. These bacteria break down the fish
waste and debris on the bottom of the pond which would otherwise
accumulate in the pond and turn into sludge. Having rocks and gravel
in your pond actually provides “Mother Nature” a way to clean up the
pond naturally.
3. UV lights are the best way to keep my pond clear! It is true that UV
lights kill algae however, they also kill bacteria so, in a sense, they do
both good and bad. The fact is, if you have a naturally balanced pond, in
which the aquatic circle of life is rotating the way “Mother Nature”
intended, you don’t need a UV light at all. Some other things to consider
about UV lights are that they don’t kill string algae. It will kill suspended
algae however, when it does, the algae falls to the bottom of the pond,
biodegrades and provides yet another wave of nutrition for another “algae
bloom”. Finally, UV lights are expensive and usually require replacement
each year.
4. Your pond must be three feet deep in order to keep Koi! This is
simply not true. We have been placing Koi in all of our ponds for years,
our ponds average two feet in depth and the fish do quite well. The fact is
that a pond will not freeze more than about eight inches, even in the
coldest climate, because of the amount of heat that comes into the pond
from the earth below. Fish only need about a foot of water to survive and
that includes Koi.
5. Koi cannot be kept in a pond with plants! Again, not so! In a naturally
balanced pond, koi and plants complement each other and need each
other. In nature, fish feed on plants and they then produce
waste which is then broken down by aerobic bacteria on the bottom of
the pond which, in turn, is used as fertilizer by the plants which then grow
to provide more fish food. This is known as natures “cycle of life”.
6. You must bring your fish inside for the winter! As long as you have
about two feet of water in your pond, your fish will be fine. They’ll simply
spend their time on the bottom of the pond and wait for spring to arrive.
Be sure to leave your pump run so the pond water remains oxygenated
and keep a hole inthe ice by using a bubbler or deicer and your fish will be
fine.
7. Pond water needs to be tested on a daily basis! No way! Leave
your test kit in the house and let “Mother Nature” do her thing. A well
conceived, naturally balanced pond normally requires no testing.
8. A pond in your yard will bring mosquitoes! This isn’t true as most
ponds either have moving water or contain fish. Mosquitoes like stagnant
water and will not lay their eggs in moving water. If a mosquito does
manage to lay eggs in the pond, the fish will eat them like candy. Finally, if
any mosquitoes do survive the fish, they will be swept up by the skimmer
and destroyed. For those who are still concerned about mosquitoes,
simply add a mosquito larvae killer such as Mosquito Dunks or Pre-Strike.
9. You can’t have a pond in an area where there are trees! This is not
only not true but the leaves on trees actually can benefit the pond by
providing some shade which in turn reduces the chances for an algae
bloom. While it’s true that trees mean more leaves in the fall, simply
cover your pond with light weight netting and the skimmer will take care
of the few leaves that make it into the pond.
10. You can’t have Koi in a pond that contains rocks and gravel. Koi
are nothing more than fancy Carp and Carp are bottom feeders. Koi will
actually scavenge everything that is on or among the rocks which actually
helps keep the pond clean. Koi with gravel and stone – no problem!
* Truth About Ponds Continued
* Our Favorite Plants : Grasses
Each year, our pond equipment
supplier, Aquascape Designs of St.
Charles, Il. holds a premier pond
construction training event called
“Pondemonium”. This amazing event
draws pond building contractors from
all over the United Sates and Canada.
Pondemonium runs from July 11
through the 16th. and features many
different events from day long “boot
camps’ to a “pondless waterfall”
building contest, pond building classes,
two pond tours in the Chicago area, a
tradeshow and three days of intense
classroom training called “Pond
College”. Again this year, two of our
pond crew members will be attending
the program including Crew Leader,
Daniel “Al” Jenkins and Crew Member,
Casey Leemon. In the fall issue of our
newsletter, we’ll tell you all about their
experiences at this years
Pondemonium.
“We may make mistakes, but they must
never be mistakes which result from
faintness of heart or abandonment of moral
principal”
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“The measure of success is not whether
you have a tough problem to deal with, but
whether it’s the same problem you had last
year”
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* Our Newest Employee
* Lanc. Co. C.T.C Student of the Year
*Longs Park Arts and Crafts Festival
Newsletter Archive:
Newsletter Moves to
Website
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Introduction to Fiber
Optic Lights
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Preparing your pond
for winter
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Plants for the Edge
of Ponds
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