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My Sanity

Janet Lalonde

I often refer to my pond as "My Sanity". The water, the beauty and nature together relax me whenever I walk out to the pond. I just love watching my fish frolic in the Koi pond and marvel at all of the birds that drink and bathe in the waterfalls. The pond is divided into a fish pond and a lily pond. The lily pond has a variety of hardy northern lilies with some potted grasses, cattails, water hyacinths and oxygenating plants. Water from the fish pond is pumped to a gentle spillway at the base of an overlooking deck.

The water is filtered naturally through the plants and then spills back into the fish pond. A large 3 tank filter sits behind a cedar hedge at the far end of the fish pond. Water is drawn from the bottom of the fish pond and pumped into the first chamber which is a vortex that removes heavy debris. It then flows into a chamber full of brushes and then into the last chamber which has a series of filtering pads. The pond is shaded by a number of mature trees which prevents algae formation. The main waterfall is spectacular and very comforting to watch. The water from the waterfall spills into the Koi pond. The fish are often seen playing in the water turbulence. The pond sits amongst many large rocks (one weighing 8 tonnes) that were all found on this property. The rocks and stones have made the pond look as natural as possible. The collection of fish is 14 years old. It remains a closed collection. Most fish weigh in close to 9 pounds each. In early November the Koi are moved indoors to a 500 gallon stainless steel milk bulk tank and winter there.

Toad Mountain

Verne and Paula Gilkes

Toad Mountain Park is the home to Verne and Paula's koi family. The park site is nestled in a somewhat secluded back yard of the north/east side of Vankleek Hill. As you enter the back yard you are greeted by a humongous hosta called sum and substance which with its bright yellow leaves sets the tone for the tour you are about to take. As you enter the back yard you are confronted with a weeping juniper tree pointing to the mountain landscape of Toad Mountain Park, the focal point of the yard. In this landscape you will find Toad Mountain Lake a koi pond constructed to house the Koi of Verne and Paula. The Pond is constructed of freestanding field stone. The twin waterfalls add an exciting natural look to the mountain like appearance of the system. The water flows down over the twin waterfalls into the Toad Mountain Lake which then flows out through Bufo Falls keeping the surface of the pond sparkling clear. Before leaving Toad Mountain Lake we have to say the main focus of the whole system is the bottom drain of the pond. From the bottom drain the water flows to a Nitratech Filter set up in a filter pit outside the pond. Here the water is filtered of the heavy dirt by the vortex, the brushes and then polished by 3 pads. The water is then pumped through an 80 watt Emperor Aquatics Ultra Violet light. The Ultra Violet Light kills all the floating algae spores which are the cause of your pea green water. The water is then pumped back to the pond via the Twin Falls.

Vital oxygenated Air is added to the water by a Hakko 60 air pump, pumped through a 7 inch round air stone.

Now back to Bufo Falls. Here the water gushes through Bufo Falls on its way to the skimmer pond known as Toad Mountain Pond where small koi romp and play amongst the water lilies. Surface debris is deposited here and the water is returned to the Toad Mountain Lake by a submersible Pond Master magnetic pump. To see the other exciting features of this pond requires a visit to this enchanting garden of Verne and Paula's Toad Mountain Park.

Featured member pond

Pat Hardisty

The main pond is approx. 12ft by 8ft. flowing into a smaller skimmer/bog garden pond of approx.3ft. by 4ft (total surface area approx. 108 sq. ft. The pond holds approx 3600 us gallons of water.

The pond is made of an estimated 12 tons of fieldstone from a friends farm and has a 45ml rubber liner. There is plenty of aeration, provided by a 40L. Hakko air pump and a 5 tier waterfall.

The water is pumped at 2400gph through a three part Vortex filter system made by Nitritech using brushes and media pads. Each of the ponds has a bottom drain. After filtering , the water passes through an 80 watt UV-C lamp then back to the pond via the waterfall or an inlet pipe.

Once the ecosystem , ( the appropriate bacteria balance for a healthy environment for the Koi and plants ) etc was established , the pond has remained very clear with minimum maintenance on our part.

We have a very nice selection of beautiful Koi and some nice goldfish also that are a delight to observe – especially after dark as we have three underwater lights that give a wonderful perspective.

Our pond was designed and constructed by Moad Mountain Enterprises of Vankleek Hill.