design.garden-ideas-tips.com

Too much organic material in your pond or water garden puts algae into overdrive by providing nutrients that cause it to grow. Besides obscuring the beauty of your vividly colored fish, algae rob oxygen from the water and emit noxious contaminants that can kill them.

Ultraviolet (UV) clarifiers work by employing that part of the light spectrum to rid algae of its ability to reproduce. Once destroyed, the microscopically tiny algae form into larger clusters that are easily eliminated by common filtration systems.

Sun-blocking plants and those that provide abundant supplies of oxygen present another easy answer to maintaining a clear water environment for your pond. “Floaters” like water lilies, lotus, water hawthorn, four-leaf water clover, and yellow floating heart reduce sunlight by substantially shading the water surface and thereby impeding algal growth.

Water hyacinths have become a recent rage, especially for the lazy among us. No soil is required for these beauties. Toss them in the water and they’re “planted.” A water hyacinth isn’t just another pretty face, though; these plants do their part in the war against algae and blanket weeds by keeping sunlight scarce on the water’s surface. But one note of caution: This plant may take over the world if allowed. It’s invasive as all get out, so keep it under control or you (and your neighbors) may wish you’d never laid eyes on it.

Submerged plants, such as Cabomba, Anacharis, and Jungle Vall, not only produce oxygen for use by both plants and fish, but also absorb nitrogen from decaying plant matter and fish waste that would otherwise be used by algae to proliferate.

*************************

Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several other pond-related websites including www.MacArthurWatergardens.com and www.Pond-Filters-Online.com He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 9,000. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive our FREE ‘New Pond Owners Guide’ visit MacArthur Water Gardens today.

Share This

Water is the most important ingredient for all the life in the world and nothing can be alive without water. The plants must be provided with sufficient water for its existence as well as the growth. The water, air, and the sunlight are the main requirements of a plant for their life process, called the photosynthesis process.

The green house is designed to provide all the needs of the plants through out the year without considering the climatic changes and natural weather. For providing the water regularly to the plants the greenhouse owner has to procure the water pumps and the required hoses. The system can be operated either in auto mode or in non-auto mode. The nutrient or fertilizers can also be diluted in the water to feed the plants.

Many of the farmers, who are doing the business of the products cultivated in green house, are using the automatic watering system to keep the water feeding regularly, without any fail. Now-a-days the companies have developed the complete water management system for greenhouses with purifier and regulating the water, to be fed to the greenhouse plants. The design of a water management system consists of :

* Pumping and filtration system

* Acid injection system to correct the pH value of the water

* Injecting fertilizer along with the water

* Flow velocity management system

* Water storage tanks

* Re-pressurization system

* Reverse osmosis plant for purifying the water

* Emitter selection for drip and sprinkler systems

* Irrigation pre-heating

* Piping and pipe sizing

* Copper Ionization

* Water sterilization

The electricity is another important requirement to maintain the suitable environment as well as the water management system, inside the green house. The electricity is used to provide the light energy for the life process of the plants, for operating the electric heaters for maintaining the temperature, as well as for operating other equipments, which are running by the electricity.

The electricity is required for the operation of all of the equipment used in the green house for creating and maintaining the suitable environment inside the green house. The important equipments used in the green house are the heaters, humidifier, lights, air circulation fan, and watering system. Some greenhouse owners will use the instruments for measuring and controlling the environment and the operation of the equipments can be automated. This proves that the electricity and water are the main requirement of a green house to cultivate and grow the plants.

The greenhouse environment can be retained with least amount of efforts by using automatic controls for the function of ventilation, humidity, artificial lighting, heating, and water management. There fore, no need to spend more time towards the maintenance of greenhouse. The general concept of a green house is to maintain the temperature and humidity to keep the warm and suitable environment inside the green house for the growth of the plant.

The location choosing for your green house must be near to your house, where the water and electricity can supply easily from your house. The green house owner should also arrange the facility for drain and dispose the unwanted water. The concept of the green house is to provide a suitable environment and all the inputs for the growth of the plants through out the year, where the plants will grow with out the consideration of the natural climatic changes. For maintaining the suitable environment, the green house will be covered all sides and also provided with the transparent roof, which will allow the sunrays inside.

The material using for enclosing the green house must be capable to allow the sunlight inside the chamber and should have benefit of safety from the natural weather conditions and climate changes, which should never influence the plants growing inside the greenhouse. The material can be glass or plastic. The normally used material is plastic due to its quality to resist the natural weather changes and it is free from the rust.

The plastic material will allow the sunrays inside the chamber after reducing the ultra-violet radiation to the minimum level. The sturdiness and durability is the other specialty of plastic and the reason for choosing for the green house construction. Nothing is more important to grow the plants than the proper quality water. The professionals will give you the helping hand for the management in your greenhouse.

The important information is that proper and suitable water management can be profitable! Growers report says that reduced inputs of fertilizer compounds with better irrigation practices results in better crops. By using these tips on effective water management you can manage your greenhouse properly and increase the productivity in your greenhouse. Always keep in mind that an effective water management technique for the greenhouse is an essential one to consider.

Visit Greenhouse Gardening Information Guide and receive a FREE copy of our best selling e-book “All About Greenhouse Growing”

Share This

For many people, it’s never been a question of whether to use a
submersible pump vs. an external pump because most people have
smaller ponds and are used to just using a submersible pump.
They’re easy to install, and are pretty reliable - so why even
consider an external pump?

There are a couple of reasons…

But before we go into that, let’s briefly talk about the benefits
of submersible pumps first. For obvious reasons, a submersible
pump is named as such because it is designed to be placed in the
pond, and submerged under the water.

These are the easiest of all pumps to install, just drop them in
the water and plug them in - and you’re ready to do. Of course,
you might have some quick plumbing to do, attaching a hose to the
waterfall or to a submersible filter (another article entirely),
but other than that - that’s pretty much all there is to it.

Submersible pumps range in size or gallons per hour, from 50 GPH
all the way up to 50,000 gallons per hour, but for most ponds -
pumps anywhere from 350 GPH to 4000 GPH will do just fine…

So why might you also consider an external pump instead?

Here are a couple reasons. First, external pumps can much more
energy efficient. Now, a typical swimming pool or spa pump won’t
usually fall into this category - so be careful not to compare
apples to oranges! Pool pumps can also be huge energy hogs, so
always check the amps to compare different pumps together.
Anything over 10 amps will draw a significant amount of $$ out of
your pocket every month in electrical costs.

The external pumps that we are talking about are designed
specifically for ponds and water gardens, and are engineered for
energy efficiency. I’m not sure why those folks in the swimming
pool and spa industry haven’t figured out how to this yet, but
I’m sure they’ll catch on sooner or later.

I’m inclined to think the average pond owner is a bit more
intelligent than the average pool owner. Why else would someone
choose a pool over a pond? Unless of course you have both, but at
any rate - let’s just assume that we’re talking about external
pond pumps here.

For comparison, a typical 4000 GPH (gallons per hour) submersible
pond pump will typically draw anywhere from 10 amps all the way
up to 15 amps, depending on the brand. This can really burn a
hole in your wallet (or pocketbook) on a monthly basis, and in
some parts of the country will run you $50 - $70 in energy costs.

In contrast, a comparatively rated external pond pump like the
William Lim Wave I External Pump
(https://www.macarthurwatergardens.com/Pumps/wave_pump_for_ponds.htm)
is rated at 4380 GPH at 3.47 feet of head, and only draws 2.3
amps - that’s 3/4 less energy consumption than the submersible
pumps.

When you start getting into larger ponds, 1000 gallons up to
20,000 and above - it’s usually a good idea to look into these
more energy efficient pumps. For example, the 3/4 HP Dragon pump
(https://www.macarthurwatergardens.com/Pumps/dragon_pumps.html)
will move 7,770 GPH at almost 5 feet of head (and under pressure)
and only burn 6.2 amps.

External pumps are almost always better for using with
pressurized external filters as well, as submersible pumps are
not designed to handle all the back pressure. Other benefits of
using an external pump include:

-> Easy to clean without getting your hands messy

-> Come with a removable leaf trap which clog less often

-> Easy to hook up to bottom drains or surface skimmers

-> Generally last longer, and easier to repair / replace parts

So that’s it, more than enough information for you to make an
educated choice.

Just to recap:

For smaller ponds, and for simple installation and daily use,
submersible pumps are probably your best option. For larger
ponds, 1000 gallons and above, it may be worth looking into an
external pump for your needs. Although they cost a little more
on the front end, the energy savings alone can often more than
offset this increase in cost during the first year of use alone.

**************************************************
Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several
other pond-related websites including
MacArthurWatergardens.com
and Pond-Filters-Online.com. He
also publishes a free monthly
newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over
9,000. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive our FREE
‘New Pond Owners Guide’ visit MacArthur Water Gardens today!
**************************************************

Share This