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El
Niño Brings Spring Early
There we did it! Just
like everyone else we had to mention the talk of the town.
Early this year, earlier than any other years in our experience,
attention to aquatic ecosystems will be essential. This is
the effect of the weather system El Niño/Southern Oscillation
which appears to be unfolding as one of the most severe ENSO
events in history. Weather aside, the AQUA DOC team would
like to once again thank our customers for their patronage.
The AQUA DOC team is poised and anxious for the upcoming season.
Armed with new products, new facilities and insight from some
of our many resources and customers, AQUA DOC is enthusiastic
for 1998!
Tired
of Sharing Your Pond With Them?
Mother Goose never
lived in Ohio, but Sixty thousand Geese do live year-round
in Ohio. In too many places, geese have found lawns, sports
fields, parks, golf courses, and corporate settings near lakes
or ponds so agreeable, they cease migrating and become resident.
With their territorial and aggressive behavior, geese often
wear out their welcome, becoming a nuisance. They're feeding
habits damage grass, and their unsanitary droppings pose health
problems. By making grass in grazing areas unpalatable to
geese, ReJeX-iT® can help to resolve the territorial conflict
between birds and humans, without harming either.
ReJeX-iT® AG-36
is not a pesticide. It is a food grade biodegradable repellent,
developed from FDA approved ingredients and tested in cooperation
with the USDA's Animal Damage Control and Denver Wildlife
Research Center. All ReJeX-iT® products are EPA registered.
ReJeX-iT® products have unique abilities to repel geese
and other birds, but will not affect or hurt pets, children,
or other animals. ReJeX-iT® AG-36, when used properly,
is an effective tool to change the feeding habits of Canadian
Geese feeding on turf. If sufficient product is applied, the
grass will become unpalatable and the geese will leave the
area to find better feeding conditions. While it is relatively
easy to repel geese when they first come into an area, it
is far more difficult to repel them once they have become
resident. However, as with all animal training methods, time
and patience is critical to changing the geese behavior and
feeding location. Multiple applications will be required to
convince resident geese to change their home.
Proper timing and
application methods are critical to ReJeX-iT® success.
Combination with other irritants can greatly increase its
effectiveness. For further information regarding ReJeX-iT®
products and application programs, please contact AQUA DOC
at 1-800-LAKE (5253).
ReJeX-iT® AG-36
IS AVAILABLE FROM AQUA DOC UNTIL MAY 1ST AT THE LOW PRICE
OF $59.95 PER GALLON (Regularly $64.00 per gallon). Place
your 1998 order Toll Free at 1-800-689-5253.
The
Wonderful World of Water Gardening
Water features are
today's hottest trend in landscaping. Across America, high
maintenance, boring expanses of land are being transformed
into beautiful, low maintenance water features. Everyday,
millions of people return home to a little paradise…
their backyards.
Environmentally friendly
and completely customized water features can be installed
anywhere - similar to traditional landscaping. In addition,
water features like other types of landscaping, mature with
age increasing the value of your home.
AQUA DOC has built
and maintained ornamental ponds for satisfied customers for
twelve years. We also carry a full line of supplies for people
wishing to build their own pond.
New in 1998, AQUA
DOC is carrying complete Pond Kit Packages that include everything
you need to construct beautiful, low maintenance water gardens.
To view a Pond Kit Package, stop by our new showroom at 7935
Euclid Chardon Road in Kirtland.
AQUA
DOC's New Habitat!
 AQUA
DOC is proud to announce our new office! Located at 7935 Euclid
Chardon Road in Kirtland our new office provides a workshop
for inclimate weather, storage and office space for the AQUA
DOC team and our new office manager. Ornamental pond enthusiasts
will want to visit the new showroom for individual products
such as pumps, filters and liner, as well as complete pond
kits. As always, AQUA DOC's free expert advice is available.
Please join us as at our Grand Opening on Friday, April 17,
1998 at 6pm.
The
Uninvited Guest
Have uninvited guest's
taken residence near or in your pond, house or yard? Uninvited
animals, which reside in your pond can become a nuisance by
compromising your aquatic ecosystem or even your safety. AQUA
DOC is proud to provide complete worry free Trapping services.
Licensed by the US Department of Wildlife with over 30 years
of experience allow us to remove any nuisance animal from
your ecosystem!
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IS
MY POND HEALTHY?
You've put a lot of
care into your pond, now you're wondering: Is it healthy?
The water is a little green. Does that mean there's something
wrong? And what about all the weeds that seem to be choking
the pond? What does that mean? And just what are those little
bugs? The ones with all the legs…and that...what the
heck is that? Keeping track of just what goes on in a pond
can be a bit confusing, especially if your idea of a good
time isn't keeping up on the latest developments in aquatic
biology.
You go to the doctor
for a check-up to make sure everything is functioning O.K.,
or when you want to find out what that little twinge or ache
means. You take your car to a mechanic when it's running rough
or you're just dying to find out what's causing that "ping-ping-ping"
sound. Shouldn't you have an expert check your pond's health
as well? There's an easy way to do it, AQUA DOC's P.O.N.D.
Check-Up! (Plants, Oxygen, Nutrients, Depth). All you have
to do is make a phone call. It's not only affordable, but
you won't have to spend your free time pouring through some
thrilling biology textbook.
After all, things
may not mean what you think. Certainly clear water is better
than greenish or brownish water, right? Uh-uh, not necessarily.
That green coloring probably means you have a healthy growth
of algae in your pond.
These green algae
are the beginning of your pond's food chain. No green algae,
no fish. A little brown color is expected, a lot could be
a problem. Actually, if your water is totally clear you may
have a problem. Nothing is growing in it and that's just not
the way ponds work.
An AQUA DOC professional
can tell you just what shape your pond is in. If there is
a problem, he can recommend an effective and reasonably priced
way to fix it. Call AQUA DOC for details on the P.O.N.D. Check-Up!
POND
BACTERIA
Snake Oil or Pond Management
Tool?
"Our product will
make your lake or pond water aquarium clear, restore your
pond's natural balance, reduce fish mortality, eliminate weeds,
control algae, clarify water, reduce sludge, and eliminate
odors". I've heard all or read all of these claims. You probably
have too. Are all of the claims true? Are any of the claims
true?
Ponds are extremely
complex, or so I learned acquiring my Master's Degree in Aquatic
Biology. Nothing I have seen since working in Lake Management
has caused me to change my mind. Therefore, this winter I
contacted 14 Pond Bacteria suppliers to attempt to evaluate
the claims, answer the question posed in the title, and select
an effective and economical product for my customers.
My conclusions are
that adding some pond bacteria products to a pond can be very
effective for clarifying water and eliminating odors, depending
on the source of the watercolor and the odors. These bacteria
should be effective at reducing the amount of new material
being deposited on your pond bottom, and may digest some of
the sludge already there. These products will be able to control
algae blooms in some situations. However, the factors involved
in the success in controlling algae growth are too numerous
and interrelated to discuss here.
There are two conditions
that are critical for the products to work, regardless of
the objective. The first condition is that the bacteria must
be applied on a regular basis. These bacteria are strains
that are already present in your pond, so to be effective
you must raise and maintain the number of bacteria at a level
much greater than the amount the pond normally supports. This
requires continual applications. In addition, the presence
of dissolved oxygen throughout your pond is critical. These
products contain some strains of bacteria which function in
either the presence or absence of oxygen. However, their metabolism
and therefore their effectiveness is approximately 10 times
greater if oxygen is present.
There are definitely
snake oil products being sold, and preposterous claims being
made However, there are also reputable products which can
be effective pond management tools. We have selected one of
these reputable products, Cygnet BioBlend, to carry for our
customer's use and for AQUA DOC application programs. For
further information on whether BioBlend can be an effective
management tool for your pond, please contact us at 1-800-689-LAKE
(5253).
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