Product Review

Sara (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 13 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Digital Salinity Tester
Product Rating:

Review:
I got this meter and it said .01 as soon as I opened it. I did some research and found sometime the units need to be zeroed out. It was simple. you pull out the batteries, press the % button and while holding it down put the batteries back down and keep holding the % button until it reads 0.00. That fixed it for me and it has been a very reliable meter ever since then. Hope that helps anybody else having the same problem.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 13 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Sludge Remover - Triple Strength
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Review:
I started using this in my bog filter and I don't have to clean it out nearly as often. Really keeps the sludge levels at the bottom way down. i still have to clean it, but now only around twice a year when before I had to do it almost every month. I love not having to do that dirty job as often!

Sara (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 13 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Matala Sheets
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Review:
I mostly use the round coils, but I have used the sheets as well. The matala is the best pad style media out there. Catches everything, never clogs and is really easy to clean. You can also cut it to any shape you need very easily.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 13 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Filter Brushes
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Review:
filter brushes are just an all round great thing to have in your skimmer or filter. Catch tons of stuff, very easy to clean and will never clog, no matter how dirty they get.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Pond Care MelaFix
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Review:
I'm with everybody else, doesn't really do much. My goldfish had some infections and I got this at Petsmart thinking it would help....it didn't.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Thrive - Aquatic Plant Fertalizer
Product Rating:

Review:
Been using this for the past 2 seasons and I have noticed a huge difference in my lilies. lots more blooms and leaves and very few turn yellow.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: PondCare Planting Media
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Review:
I don;t have plants in my koi pond, but I have several in my goldfish pond. I really like this media. The lilies bloom great and I never get the black smelly sludge that builds up in the regular soil.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Matala Round Coils
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Review:
I don't own this so maybe I shouldn't write a review, but a member of my club built a filter using 55 gallon barrels and its the coolest thing I have ever seen. The rolls fit right in and they work amazing. I wish i had though of that when I was building my pond...would have saved me a lot of money.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: PondMaster Filter Media
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Review:
We use this in our skimmer. It works well and doesn't clog very easily, but I did notice after a couple years it started to fall apart. But for the money I don't mind replacing every couple years.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Koi USA Magazine
Product Rating:

Review:
I get this magazine because I am a member of an AKCA koi club and I want to support the organization. It's a good magazine with good articles but I think if you took out the ads and the club updates and the koi show info you would have a 20 page magazine.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Sheer Descent
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Review:
We put this in because we didn't want a plastic waterfall that will warp and leak over the years. Be careful though, it really needs to be perfectly level or the waterfall looks funny. We found that out the hard way. But once it was level it gives a perfect cascade of water. And because its metal the algae just hoses right off which is really nice.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Crystal Cclear AmmoniaFix
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Review:
Had the power go out and it knocked back my bio filter and I had a big spike in ammonia. I ran to the store and bout this and it solved the problem. The ammonia instantly showed up at 0 after one dose.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Microbe - Lift TheraP
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Review:
I use this all the time in my goldfish pond. My main 5000 gallon pond doesn't need any sort of cleaning product, but my goldfish pond really does. I have stopped using this product for a month or so and the pond turned really mucky. As soon as I started using it again it cleared up in a few days. Now I never let myself run out.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: TerraPond Clay
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Review:
my koi really love the clay. It makes the water sparkle and the overall health of my koi is excellent. I couldn't imagine having a koi pond and not using clay.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Serenity Water Conditioner
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Review:
This is another product that I loved but now I can't find anymore. If anybody knows of a place to buy it, please post it here!

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Jump Start
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Review:
This really worked well. My 5000 gallon pond cycled really fast, probably in less then a month I had no ammonia and no nitrites and clear water. It's worth the money if you ask me.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna Quick Test Strips
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Review:
I have been using these for awhile and they seem to be pretty accurate. I had a member of my koi club compare the strips to his drip/test tube kit and we got the same results, and the strips are so much easier.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Tetra - UV 1
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Review:
I had this little UV on my first goldfish pond with my Tetra filter. It was not too expensive and it worked pretty well but after a couple years it started to leak and we upgraded to a Laguna filter with a built in UV.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Matala Stainless Steel UV-C
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Review:
I have this on my 5000 gallon koi pond and the water is crystal clear. It can handle the high flow from my pump and the stainless steel chamber is really well made. It wasn't cheap but I am happy I bought quality equipment and I know I won't have to upgrade later.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: DeBride Medicated Ointment
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Review:
I never let myself run out of this stuff. You do have to catch the koi to apply it, but that's usually the best way. It works great and I even use it on my dogs and cats when they have a cut or something.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: MinnFinn
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Review:
I tried this one for some bacterial infections and it cleared up the problem. I didn't have to catch the fish or anything. And with a 5 ft deep, 5000 gallon pond, catching the fish is hard, so it was nice just to be able to treat the entire pond. Usually pond wide treatments don't do much, but this one actually works...yay!

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: KoiRx Terminate
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Review:
I used to use Proform C every spring, but this stuff works every bit as well and its less expensive, so now I use this. I haven't had a parasite problem yet.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Dainichi All Season
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Review:
This is my cold water food I use year after year. I basically go back and forth between the premium and the all season depending on the season. great food!

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Dainichi Premium
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Review:
The Dainichi food is my most used food. I feed one of the 4 types pretty much all year while experimenting with other stuff from time to time. But I always have this around. Great growth and color and very little waste. Yes its more expensive and my husband always complains that I spend too much on it. But its really worth it. If you have good koi you have to feed them good food, other wise why bother having good koi?

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: EA Freshwater Shrimp
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Review:
My koi LOVE these!!! But now I can't find them anywhere. Does anybody stock these anymore? I would love to get some more.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Holistic Choice Koi Food
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Review:
This food is pretty neat. I did notice the peas went uneaten and found them in the skimmer, but the rest of the fruits and stuff got eaten up pretty quick. I always like to try new foods and this one worked out well. I didn't use it long enough to be able to report on color or growth.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Pond Star
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Review:
I got this because it was cheap and for the money I am very happy. The koi really seem to like it and I did not notice an increase in fish poo over using my other premium brands that i normally get. I think I will stick with this for awhile and see how it goes.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Rhino Bottom Drains
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Review:
We looked at this and the koi toilet and this was a lot more expensive, but it was much heavier duty and really well made compared to the other. So we went with the rhino and it really has worked well. A bottom drain is a MUST for larger ponds and I think this one is the best on the market.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna PowerFlo Skimmer Filter
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Review:
I am a big fan of all the Laguna products. They are very reasonably priced and work very well. The skimmer is no exception. Not as heavy duty as some of the other brands, but functional and reliable. What more can you ask for?

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Matala Semi - Vortex Pumps
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Review:
We have a big bog filter and it doesn't have a drain so we got this pump to clean it out. It pumps all the sludge and leaves and never clogs. We just leave it in there because the bog is deep and its kinda heavy and hard to lift it out. But it always starts right up and drains the bog every time.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Torpedo Pump
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Review:
We bought this as a back up because it was on sale and we figured it would be good to have. We used it for about a month before it died...no wonder it was on sale.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Sunami
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Review:
This pump has been running our 5000 gallon koi pond for several years now. Its still very quiet. I don't know anything about watts and all that, but it didn't seem to increase our electrical bill by more then $30 a month or so. Still runs great and we are very happy with our purchase.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna Max-Flo
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Review:
It's a very good little pump. I used this with my Laguna filter. At the time I got it because it easily hooked up to the filter but its been a very reliable pump over the years. It rarely even clogs, but when it does the cage pops off and I can just hose it down.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna Filters
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Review:
We got the 1400 as an upgrade for our goldfish fish pond and it was much better then the little tetra PF we were using. It has a built in UV and back washes easily. The scrubber sponge cleaning things are nice but don't get it as clean as I would like, so once a month I still have to open it up and hose out the sponges. But for the money it has been a very nice filter.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Alpha ONE
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Review:
This is our current filter and we LOVE it. Cleans very easily and does a great job on our well stocked 5000 gallon pond. our water is excellent and we only have to spend a couple minutes cleaning it each week.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Tetra ClearChoice
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Review:
This filter was ok for when i first got started. I had a small goldfish pond and this is what my local nursery had on hand so i got it. Work fine for a number of years, a bit of a pain to clean, but for a small goldfish filter I really can't complain. I would not recommend for a koi pond unless it was some sort of extra filter added on to what you already have.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Microbe-Lift Anti-Fungal Treatment
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Review:
This product worked for me. Not sure what else to say about it other then it did what it was supposed to do. I guess that is actually saying a lot these days!

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: Pearls of Paradise Transport Tanks
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Review:
My husband got one of these for our pick up truck and it has worked great. I did notice though that when full its a bit too heavy for our small truck to haul so we could never fill it completely. But it was great for taking our koi to the show and home.

Sara (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 12 October, 2010
Product Reviewed: HIBLOW 40 - 120 HP
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Review:
I bought this online because the dealer was having a sale. Didn't do any research on it, but it turned out to be a very good pump. I have a 5 ft deep koi pond with an aerated bottom drain and this has been working for over 5 years without any problems. I have noticed a slightly louder hum then I used to which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.

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