Canadian
Pond Newsletter March 2005 Issue: 4 Vol: 1
December
2004 Newsletter | January 2005 Newsletter | February
2005 | March 2005
| April
2005 | June 2005
| July
2005
| August 2005
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Using what nature provides
Our first goal as a young company has always been to design, build and maintain healthy ponds. By nurturing these vibrant aquatic ecosystems we can enjoy the peacefulness they provide in our lives. By having a pond on your property you are taking responsibility for a living entity. You can find beauty and calm in the ripples on the water and feel a bond with nature listening to the frogs sing and seeing the fish feeding and birds bathing, there is nothing like it! Accepting this responsibility to safeguard our ponds has made us realize that there are other ways that we can make an impact on the environment on a larger scale.
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SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Generating your own power
This year our company is entering into the realm of solar and wind power both for assisting in aerating ponds and pumping water and in creating electrical generating stations to enable us to live partially or totally "off the grid". We are excited in this evolution of our company and feel that by supplying both the tools and education to allow our neighbors to use wind and solar energy we will be helping in a small way to keep the environment clean for our children and grandchildren. We are currently in the process of assembling our solar and wind generating packages that will best suit our climate and various power requirements and will soon be making announcements on availability, pricing, specifications and energy ratings. Stay tuned!
If you are interested in learning more on wind and solar power, here are a few links that may be of interest:
Solar Power Solar Energy Society of Canada | Citizens For Renewable Energy | Canadian Wind Energy Association
Stone placement concepts
When
we first looked for a property in the Eastern Township, little did we know that
the geology of the area would be so interesting. The poor rocky fields of our
forefathers are now a unique source of inspiration and materials for the professional
and amateur landscapers of the area. When a well-designed stone arrangement reflects
light onto the surface of a golden pond, a timeless impression is made. When you plan to excavate a pond your chances of unearthing large boulders are very good. Make sure that the excavator operator puts these rocks aside for the final stage of the pond construction. If you are reviving an existing pond, you might find that it is worth rounding up large stones on the property, to enhance the shoreline of that old pond.
Some
stone placement concepts are worth knowing about. Research stone placement in
stonescaping resource magazines or books. In general, when you place boulders
around a pond you should clump them together in odd numbers, although isolating
one large boulder near a deep swim hole also works well. Stones are used for building
cascades, creating shoreline definition, accentuating rocky outcrops or for simple
submerged structures for fish habitat. When building a cascade you will need small
and larger stones. If you use only small stones it will look more man made than
if you try to emulate natural variation. Nature has a way of sorting rocks in
brooks that you should observe and study. Ask yourself how can you build your
structure so it looks as natural as possible? Natural rocky shorelines of many
variable rock sizes have vegetation growing in pockets around the rocks forming
a transition from the aquatic to the terrestrial environments. Strive to achieve
as natural a transition as possible when creating a shoreline. 
In
a pond environment, moving stones with machinery is not an easy job so be efficient
and decisive in your approach. Wait for the driest season to move heavy machinery
like hydraulic shovels on your land. Invite the excavator operator to walk the
land around your pond before the machines arrive so the strategies for rock movement
are already established. Try to hire a machine operator with solid experience
moving and placing rocks. Some excavating companies can supply you with boulders
and rocks for your needs if none can be found easily on your land.
If
the do-it-yourself route isn't your style, there are many experts you can call
upon for advice and services. The Sutton area is well equipped with talented landscaping
architects, designers and regular "Joe of all trades" who have done it all before
! Ask local experts to show you their previous projects and inquire about the
costs of those projects. Planning for your dream pond doesn't cost much and you'll
find a good design and an expert job will add value to your land if you want to
sell one day. Like many long lost cultures did around the world your stones arrangements
may last forever and leave some mysterious legacy behind.
Do you have goldfish in your pond ?
Is it possible that this small, benign looking goldfish Carassius
auratus, may be the wrong choice for your pond? Seeing goldfish in ponds around
the Eastern Townships are a common sight these days, maybe you have them in your
own pond or you are considering stocking it with goldfish. Think again.
It
is technically illegal to introduce Goldfish in earth ponds in Quebec. Goldfish
is a species that is legally sold for the aquarium industry and it is expected
that all owners will keep them in a closed system like an aquarium or a water
garden. Unfortunately, they are often introduced into man-made ponds that have
water overflow systems where the little rascals can escape to the watershed bellow.
The ministry of environment is revisiting the laws regulating fish introduction
into man-made ponds due their impacts on natural ecosystems.
Once, free to roam into the wilderness, goldfish find few limits in their search
of habitat. They adapt very well to water between 0 to 41 Celsius but prefer the
colder water. They can double their population numbers every 2 years and may grow
to a maximum of 3kg. They live many years. Their feeding habits are detrimental
to all the other indigenous fish species because they like to eat everything from
plants, small crustaceans, insects, fish eggs and detritus.
Once, free
to roam into the wilderness, goldfish find few limits in their search of habitat.
They adapt very well to water between 0 to 41 Celsius but prefer the colder water.
They can double their population numbers every 2 years and may grow to a maximum
of 3kg. They live many years. Their feeding habits are detrimental to all the
other indigenous fish species because they like to eat everything from plants,
small crustaceans, insects, fish eggs and detritus.
They basically have no predators. In nature, anything that is bright and colorful spells " I am not good to eat! See me! " The monarch butterfly, the ladybug, the Amazon's orange poison frog are good examples. The goldfish's bone structure also makes them very tough to eat so the usual fish eaters like the herons, kingfishers and raccoons avoid eating goldfish.
In
a closed pond system, goldfish will reproduce until the population reaches their
maximum carrying capacity for food and space making most goldfish stunted. Being
mostly benthic feeders, they stir the bottom sediments for food. Those sediments
become suspended making the water murky and preventing sunlight to activate growth
and microbial activities in the pond's floor, furthering imbalance in the system.
As responsible pond owners, we should do whatever is in our capacity to prevent goldfish or any other nonindigenous species from being introduced in the water systems of the Townships. Once introduced, we should try methods to limit their growth or at least prevent them from leaving which is a difficult task indeed. Rotenone is the only natural product that can eliminate all the fish in your pond without emptying it. The ministry of Environment has a list of accredited biologists that can do the job properly. Other methods are more drastic like pumping empty the pond to let it dry. Again this may not be successful since goldfish have been found surviving in the mud for days waiting for the water to return…