Product Review

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 03 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: CalPump Waterfalls
Product Rating:

Review:
It is made of a flimsy plastic that bows out when filled with water. But if it is partially buried then it will hold up just fine. Pretty easy to hook up using the fittings they supply.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 03 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: CrystalClear Clarity Max Plus
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Review:
I have been very happy with this. For the past year I have been using it and my water has never looked better. Whenever my water looks murky, after one treatment its crystal clear again. Usually takes half a day to work.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 03 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Pond Acid Buffer
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Review:
Most don't realize how important pH is for lilies, especially tropicals. This seachem product did its job and kept my pH low and stable for weeks.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 03 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Crystal Clear Algae Off
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Review:
I was impressed with how well it kept string algae out of my lily pond, howeve it killed all my mosquito fish in less then a day. So it works, but just not sure how safe it is on koi. Luckily I had none in my lily pond

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 03 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Stroller Nursery Triton Barley Pillow
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Review:
I use this bag of straw in my lily pond. I use a lot of fertalizers in that pond and algae is always a problem. some people say barley doesn't do anything, but they don't realize you have to wait for it to break down. All barley straw works the same, I like this because it comes in its own bag.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 03 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Tetra Ammonia Test Kit
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Review:
its a good reliable test for ammonia. Only good for about a year after you open it though. After that the tests aren't accurate.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Wednesday 03 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Matala UVC
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Review:
The plastic fittings seemed a bit flimsy and the plastic housing was not a strong type of plastic. However it worked just fine for a number of years and never cracked or broke. Cleard my water quickly and I never had green water once.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Oase BIOsys Skimmer
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Review:
I found the leaf basket to be a bit too small for my pond, but other then that its a good skimmer. Probably fine if you don't get tons of leaves like I do. the skimmer seems well made and I like the faux rock lid, it looks better then the straight plastic cover other skimmer have. But the lid will crack if you step on it.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Tetra 3-inch Bottom Drain
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Review:
This was very easy to install and has not leaked on me. I did think the materials were a bit light weight, but so far so good. The lid will float off if you don't weigh it down full of gravel and it can still get knocked off pretty easy and I have to go into the pond to put it back.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Flowmaster Water Garden Pump
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Review:
This pump has gotten a bit noisier over the years, but it is still running great so I have no complaints. If it gets too much louder though I will probably replace it. But right now its not as loud as the waterfall so that's fine.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna Power-flo Round Filter
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Review:
I have three of these running my large shallow lily pond. I have no fish other then some mosquito fish. Its just to keep the water moving. If I don;t keep the lilies trimmed then the plant pieces clog these filters pretty quickly. But I think that will happen to any under water filter. Its been several years and the filters have not had any problems.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Biotek
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Review:
I have the biotek 1.75 on my 2000 gallon koi pond. I have had it running for the past three years. It is very easy to backwash and gets very clean. I thought maybe I should open it up earlier this year since I had been using it for so long. But when i got it open it was still pretty much clean other then a healthy bio film all over everything and some weird bugs and what looked like little stringy brown algae at the bottom. But it never clogged and sludge never built up inside. The valve is well made and had given me no problems after three years exposed to full sun and Maine winters.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: PondCare Aquatic Plant Food Liquid
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Review:
I used this for awhile and had decent growth with my lilies. But I found the microbe lift product to be superior so I started using that instead.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna Aquatic Plant Baskets
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Review:
This is my favorite type of planting basket. Using this along with the microbe lift gravel planting media I have had amazing growth. i believe the mesh basket allows much better water flow to the roots giving bigger growth. Since my lily pond has no fish I use a liquid growth product and having the mesh basket allows that to reach the roots better. Every year I double my number of plants because the grow big enough to split.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Microbe-Lift Bloom n Grow
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Review:
I use this and their planting media/soil. The two combined have given me amazing lilies over the years. I now have over 80 because they grow so much I am able to split them every year and double my plants.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Crystal Clear Aphid X
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Review:
I get aphids every year. This works pretty well for a couple weeks but then I have to use it again as they will come back.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Microbe-Lift Planting Media
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Review:
I have a lot of hardy and tropical lilies, plus quite a few lotus, maybe 80 or more in total. I plant all of them in this mix. They grow so well that every year I divide almost all of them and double my number of plants. I have an entire pond and green house dedicated just to my lilies. I think i am personally keeping this company in business I buy so much of this planting media.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna Heating
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Review:
Living in Maine, a pond heater is a must have. I cover my pond in the winter with a PVC frame and a plastic tarp, but its often cold enough to still ice over so I use this Laguna heater. Not sure if it would work on a fully exposed pond in my climate, but with the covered pond it works perfect. Its been very reliable for 3 winters now.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: FishMate 21 Day Feeder
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Review:
I got this because I was going out of town for over a week and didn't have anybody to feed the koi. It did its job and the koi were fed and happy. Not sure if the feeder gave more food then i anticipated or if I mis calculated, but I thought I had enough food in there for 2 full weeks, but when I returned after ten days it was almost out.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Nycon Economy Nets
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Review:
I picked up one of these very cheap at the end of a koi show and the dealer let me have it for $20. It works, I can catch my koi safely and easily in my 2000 gallon pond.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: KnockOut - Ick Control
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Review:
I have only had to deal with parasites in my pond once. I never confirmed which parasite I had, but I added this KnockOut stuff and the fish were doing a little bit better the next day. I did two more treatments and within a week all the koi were doing much better.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Azoo Wheat Germ Koi Food
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Review:
I know its a cool water food but I use it year round because its less expensive then the other types and I don't have show quality koi anyway. But I have gotten big koi using this and they really love to eat it.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: PolyFlo Filter Mat
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Review:
I think this is the filter pad that came with my skimmer. It fell apart after a year and i replaced it with matala which has worked much better for me.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Matala Sheets
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Review:
I use this in my skimmer. I replaced my old pad that came with the skimmer and fell apart after a year. That was two years ago and the matala pads are still in great shape even though i hose them out 3 or 4 times a month.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: Laguna Biospheres
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Review:
I have been using the laguna media in my DIY filter for several years. It has net needed to be replaced, non of them are broken or even worn out. I have 3 boxes of this in a 55 gallon barrel and it works like a charm. Very easy to clean and I never have any ammonia in my pond.

Steve Hill (Hobbyist) on Tuesday 02 November, 2010
Product Reviewed: HIBLOW 40 - 120 HP
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Review:
Nice quiet long lasting air pump. I have been very happy with mine for over 3 years.

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