Product Review

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Alpine Power Head Pumps
Product Rating:

Review:
This sent water to my spitter for years. I never turned it off and never needed to. Very good little pump. When my other pump broke this was the only pump running in the pond for 3 days, it really saved me.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Sheer Descent
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Review:
I wanted a formal looking pond and this really completed the look. The stainless really looks sharp and gives a crisp looking waterfall.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: AquaChek Pond Test Strips
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Review:
Its really easy to check your water with these strips. I used a test tube type and it was too much work and almost never got done. With these I could test the water in seconds.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Boyu Air Pump S-2000
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Review:
This was waaaay too small for my pond. It really struggled and could not get much air down to my bottom drain. It was noisy too. Might be okay for a small pond that isn't very deep, but for me it didn't do the job.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: PondCare Ammo-Chips
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Review:
I used these for awhile, they kept my ammonia at 0 even when my pump broke. It was nice to never have to worry about ammonia. But I stopped using them when I started using the aquameds dechlor as it removes ammonia very nicely.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Savio Compact Skimmer Filter
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Review:
Its a solid skimmer. Very well built. The basket is easy to clean and never clogs, even in the fall when I have a lot of leaves. I use the UV in it and its a great way to add UV to the pond.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Savio UVinex
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Review:
I bought a savio compact skimmer without the UV and palnning on upgrading. I am glad I made that choice because it was very easy to add the UV later. The bulbs are great and my water is very clear. The only problem is the bulbs cost twice as much as other types. I understand they don't need a quartz sleeve, but you don't need to replace a quartz sleeve every year, you do need to replace the bulb. Luckily the bulbs last pretty long, my last was was almost 2 years.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Ultimate Koi Clay
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Review:
I have been very happy with this clay. I never knew my water could be so nice and it seems to make the colors of the koi a bit brighter too. I read that you can also use it in potted plants so I used it in my cactus and succulent garden and they did amazingly well.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Microbe-Lift Barley Extract
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Review:
I tried this and it didn't do anything for my string algae. It did get rid of a small amount of green water for about 2 days, but then it came right back. Maybe its just barley products in general, but its not worth the money.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: AquaMeds Dechlor and More
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Review:
The best dechlor on the market, hands down! It does a lot more then remove chlorine and is doesn't cost much at all.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Tetra Water Clarifier
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Review:
They had this at Petco or petsmart, I forget which. It was expensive and didn't do much at all. The next day my water was a little bit more clear, but I tried the Fritz product and was much happier.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Fritz Super Clarifier
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Review:
Every fall my water gets murky from leaves and the wind. I scoop out the wind and put the frtiz in and within minutes my water is very clear and by the next day its crystal. This stuff is not cheap but its the only one I use now. I tried the one from tetra and it really didn't do much at all.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Green Clean by BioSafe Systems
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Review:
This stuff works so fast and keeps the algae away. My pond is crystal clear and not a spec of string algae. I use it at the first sign of string algae and it never comes in.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: PerformancePro Cascade Low RPM Pumps
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Review:
I upgraded to this pump and I am very happy. I have 10 ft of head and this pump gets the water up there very well for the same watts as my old pump. This was also $200 more then my old pump was but its worth it. Very quiet as well.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Flowmaster Water Garden Pump
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Review:
Ran very well and didn't use up much electricity which is why i got it. It didn't handle my head very well so after a year I went with a larger Performance Pro pump and it got the water much higher for the sames watts.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna Max-Flo Power
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Review:
I doesn't handle solids all that well, but even when it clogged it never burned up which is impressive. I had it on the bottom of the pond which is why it clogged, so I moved it to my skimmer and didn't have any more problems.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna PowerFlo Mechanical filter
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Review:
This was my first filter on my original 500 gallon pond. I was pretty happy with it, but back then i only had 2 koi and 1 goldfish. I was able to keep up and didn't need to be cleaned all that often. But I doubt it would work on a much bigger pond.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Emperor Aquatics PSP Filters
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Review:
This is a great little filter. I backwashes very clean and very fast and my water is very clear. Its well made and solid. I have been using it for several years now and it works as well as it di the day I got it. Very happy with this filter!

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Firestone EPDM Pond Liner
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Review:
If you are going to use liner, this is the only one to use. Its very heavy so shipping is a killer, but if you can find it local then the price is very low when compared to other types.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Pond Underlayment
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Review:
I liked this because it was very cheap and light weight, but still strong and worked well

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Kordon Pond Rid-Ich+
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Review:
This is the only parasite treatment my local pet store stocks. It worked well for me the one time I had Ich, but I had to treat 5 times and used up several bottles, so the cost really started to add up.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Hikari Pond Solutions BiFuran +
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Review:
I like this a lot. Its great because you can just add it right to the pond and it fixes the koi up fast. It has worked well for me at least three times so I keep it on hand all the time.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Nycon Deluxe Koi Handling Nets
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Review:
3 stars because it only fits a special handle which is exactly the same as a pool handle, except its twice the cost. Basically the little plastic knobs you push in are opposite a pool handle, its a 5 cent part and if they made it differently then it would work on a pool handle, but they would rather make you buy their over priced handle. Other then that then net is good and works well. Its sturdy yet soft on the fish.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Koi Show Tanks by Deepwater 4-6 ft
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Review:
I got one of these from a guy selling on Koiphen. The material used were just ok, the support frame didn't seem very strong. It held the water but you can't lean on the edge even a little. Mine had a leak after a couple weeks so i used a patch kit for a pool toy I had and that fixed it up just fine.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Koi USA Magazine
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Review:
been subscribing to this mag for several years now. Very happy with the articles and info. Very informative.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Pondmaster Integra
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Review:
I fed this before switching to the Chengrow food. I thought it was a good food before I switched. My koi never really grew much and I noticed the amount of brown muck in my filter was much less after i switched.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Blackwater Medicated Food
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Review:
I had a few spawning injuries. I started feeding this and did nothing else and after three weeks I had no infections and they were almost completely healed. I ran out of the food and switched back to my regular food and they healed up the rest of the way on their own.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Chengro Growth and Color
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Review:
I have been using this food for a couple seasons and I don;t think i will be switching anytime soon. The colors really came out bright and none of my whites turns pink at all. Great growth too and the fish really like it. I get no pellets left after they eat.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Medo 80 Air Pump
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Review:
Very good air pump! Quiet and gives plenty of air. I use it to run my bottom drain, 3 air stones and another diffuser in my K1 tank. I added the K1 tank later and wasn't sure if I would need a second pump. So I added a new line from this and never lost any air flow to my bottom drain. Highly recommend

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Kaldnes Moving Bed K1
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Review:
I switched from the Laguna biospheres to the K1 and man what a difference. I think I doubled my surface area in the same size container. Its more expensive but it really makes a big difference.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna Biospheres
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Review:
These are very easy to clean and work well, but I did the math and the sq ft of surface area when compared to other media is not as good. But they also cost a lot less.

Poncho (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 17 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: BioMate Carbon Filled
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Review:
These were a great way for me to add carbon. I started with loose fill carbon and it made a real mess. So I added these BioMate balls and they kept the carbon out of the pond and really cleaned up the water.

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