PLANTS IN PONDS

By Clifford Woods

Plants in ponds will reduce the amount of algae that is able to grow, but also use the waste from the fish to give a natural water filtration system.

Plants below the water:These plants are the major contributors to water quality. They will oxygenate the water during the day and provide oxygen for the fish as well supplying excellent shade. Submerged plants compete with algae for use of nitrogen produced from fish waste and decaying plant material.
If you pot these plants it will allow for easy removal for thinning or when winter comes.

A few examples

Jungle Val - Hornwort - Cabomba

Floating and Surface Plants
Pick plant species that grow flowers and leaves on the surface of the water. The difference between floating and surface plants is that floating plants float freely on the water’s surface without attached roots, while surface plants have roots that extend down and anchor into the pond’s soil. Remember to remove plants if coverage exceeds two-thirds of the pond's surface area.

A few examples

Floating Plants:Duckweed - water lettuce

A few examples

Surface Plants: Hawthorne - Four Leaf Water Clover- Water Lotus

Side or Marginal Plants
Plants that grow well in moist or soggy soil or that grow well in standing water. Plant them along the side or edge of your pond. They will root in the soil and their foliage will spread out over the water. Careful to not choose plants that grow rapidly or that will spread to much and too far.

A few examples

Western Blue Flag Iris - Sweet Flag - Dwarf Bamboo

Advice: cleaning your pond and using only organic pond cleaners, makes for healthy ponds, happy fish and thriving plants and it also contributes towards a safer environment for any adults, children or pets spending time in the yard.

Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services

and Organic Environmental Technology.

We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and offer Environmentally Friendly products.

What You Need to Know About Healthy and Organic Aquariums

What You Need to Know About Healthy and Organic Aquariums

By Clifford Woods

Since an aquarium is an environment that is artificial, it needs intervention from the owner. This intervention is needed especially during the initial period of set up as it is hard to be certain about the quality of the water. In most of the cases, water that is used is from the local water source might contain chemicals that are harmful to the fish, so it is imperative to pay attention to water quality at the source. Other than toxic chloramines and chlorine, the source water might also contain phosphate, nitrate, calcium, iron, silicate, and other chemicals in different quantities.

This is not the water to use for healthy and organic aquariums.

The clarity of water is not a real indicator of the quality of water. Testing the water at the source is the only way to know what is in local water. Test results will decide the pH adjusters/buffers and water conditioners needed to adjust the water conditions to what is needed in aquariums.
While the majority of aquarium fish are able to regulate water that is less than ideal, some species are so sensitive that they need precise conditions to flourish. So, knowing what is in the source water is very important, as action may be needed.

Phosphate and nitrate are major plant nutrients. Increases in these chemicals not only lower the quality of water, but can also affect aquarium health. The presence of these elements in high amounts often means high levels of organic material that is decaying, which is not suitable for healthy organic aquariums.

Waste materials in excess not only contaminate aquarium water, but also affect the pH of the aquarium. Some inhabitants of an aquarium are really sensitive to low amounts of nitrate. The precipitation of magnesium and calcium ions can lower abilities to buffer and eventually disturb aquarium pH or make it difficult to keep the pH stable.

Dissolved calcium can also make it hard to reach desired pH levels for freshwater fish that need conditions that are acidic. There is water conditioner that is multi-purpose and can detoxify nitrate as well as ammonia, chlorine, and chloramines in the water, making it an enormously beneficial aquarium accessory to have around. When the concentration of iron is high and dissolves in your tap water, it may tinge the water and give it a reddish and cloudy condition. This condition is more noticeable in aquariums, with oxygen content that is high. Iron that dissolves not only defaces the look of the aquarium, but also lowers the quality of the water.

The best means of eliminating dissolved items from tap water is a purification system can be used on the tap water. A “reverse osmosis” unit is the best filter you can buy. This filter powers water to go through a semi-permeable film that removes 90-99% of impurities from tap water. The result is water that is free of contaminants as well as minerals and makes water suitable for healthy organic aquariums.

One of these filters can be obtained for the aquarium itself. The major purpose for weekly or monthly maintenance is to remove organic matter from the aquarium. Generally, there are 2 types of organic wastes – dissolved and particulate. Particulate organic matter is the stuff that can easily be seen developing on the filter pads and in the gravel. Simply remove the filter pad, rinse it well and also wash the rocks.

These are all simple tips and what you need to know about healthy and organic aquariums.

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Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental TechnologyFind out more about our Organic Aquarium Cleaner - Aquarium MagicianWe brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxinst and offer Environmentally Friendly Products.

The Value Of Clean Water

By Clifford Woods

It is a known fact that clean water is essential to all living things to be able to survive. With the environmental changes occurring at present however, the environment is at risk of losing clean water with all the uncontrolled pollutants that are incorporated in the water system.

There might be a time when clean water scarcity will be experienced all around the world.

One solution in addressing the problem of contaminated water is the use of beneficial microorganisms.

Beneficial microorganisms, either in the form of bacteria or fungi, have the ability to breakdown almost anything to use them for food as a source of energy. They are the reason for the decay of organic materials in the environment. Beneficial microorganisms, which we commonly term as good bacteria, are very helpful to the body since they fight harmful microorganisms or bad bacteria.

Aside from their benefits in the body, they also have some benefits in our environment, such as helping in production of clean water. These beneficial microorganisms are versatile; they can adapt to any type of environment they are in. These have the ability to clean water and thus, they are incorporated to dirty ponds and lakes that need to be cleaned up. Although there are natural floras already present in the local environment, they have already been depleted by pollution and thus, the need to incorporate cultured microorganisms into them is imminent. 

Beneficial microorganisms may be incorporated in ponds to produce clean water. Some types of beneficial microorganisms break down toxic ammonia present in ponds. They break them down into nitrites, which are converted into a useful form. An increase of nutrients present in the pond environment can also become harmful, beneficial microorganisms also feed on these excess nutrients. A pond that is full of algae and dead plants has its oxygen content of the water depleted. The introduction of beneficial microorganisms can help clean water by feeding on these dead plants and algae and emitting oxygen back into the water. The pungent odors due to increase in algae and dead plants are also reduced. In this way, other living things present in ponds and lakes, such as fish are able to thrive in the environment. And people enjoy the clean water caused by beneficial microorganisms too.

Bad bacteria present in a pond environment can cause illness to humans resulting in ulcers, septicemia, and gastroenteritis. These harmful microorganisms are incorporated into water systems that mix with water sources and then come out in tap water, which all the while is thought as clean water. Beneficial microorganisms can eliminate stomach illnesses by releasing antibacterial properties.

Beneficial microorganisms are able to balance the ecosystem around their environment to help other living things to thrive, such as in the case of ponds and lakes to keep clean water flowing. 

However, if the beneficial microorganism is out-numbered by harmful organisms and substances, the rate of pollution is faster than the breakdown from the beneficial microorganisms. They cannot do the entire job alone and so there is a need for humans to maintain cleanliness in the environment and to reduce pollution as much as possible to have unending supply of clean water. 

It is important to implement methods that will keep the correct balance of both algae and bacteria so that a healthy ecosystem is maintained. Where matter and waste are allowed to collect in the bottom of the pond, the oxygen content eventually decreases, which means that beneficial bacteria or microorganisms are unable to control for high levels of ammonia and nitrites. Even the application of a pump or filter to aerate the water will prove ineffective.

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Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental Technology
Find out more about our Benficial Microorganism Pond Cleaner - Pond Magician
We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and offer Environmentally Friendly products

Hydroponics and Beneficial Microorganisms

By Clifford Woods

Hydroponics is a subtype of hydro-culture or growing plants in water with nutrient solutions. It is a soil-less way of planting. Hydroponics derived its name from the Greek word “hydro” or water and “ponos” meaning labor. William Frederick Gericke of the University of California at Berkeley was one of the first ones to cultivate plants on mineral nutrient solutions. Gericke coined the term hydroponics in 1937 (although he asserts that the term was suggested by W. A. Setchell, of the University of California).

Through these types of studies, it was discovered that plants could thrive not only in soil, but also in water, since water contains the essential nutrients and beneficial microorganisms that are also present in the soil.

Hydroponics turned out to be more advantageous than soil culture, because pests are easy to control in this type of system. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive.

Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics.

Since the water environment of the plant can be controlled, nutrient solutions can be incorporated into the water depending on the nutrient needs of the plant. Many hydroponics growers also incorporate beneficial microorganisms as supplements to nutrients in the water.

There is actually a full range of ways to benefit from beneficial microorganisms, which can be utilized in hydroponics. The secret is only to know when to apply and how much to apply. Here are some of the benefits of beneficial microorganisms.

Development of Seeds and Clones Beneficial microorganism is not just used on the hydroponics systems itself, but also for propagating seeds and also on developing the cuttings. This stage of crucial development in plant life and beneficial bacteria will help boost the growth and development of these plants and cuttings. During this time, beneficial microorganism incorporation should be three times the normal use.

Elimination of Pathogens in the System Harmful microorganisms that cause diseases increase even in the hydroponic systems during root development. These harmful microorganisms, which are also called pathogens, result to plant diseases or plant death. There are certain types of beneficial microorganism that kill these pathogens. It is important to know what type of pathogen is attacking the system to know what type of beneficial microorganism to incorporate in the hydroponics system. Moreover, these also strengthen plants defences against harmful pathogens in a way like the immune system is boosted by supplements.

Boosts Nutrient Uptake of Hydroponics Plants Most beneficial microorganism types boost the nutrient uptake of plants in the hydroponics system by keeping the roots healthy by strengthening roots and increasing root size, since it is the one responsible for absorption. When spraying leaves with foliar fertilizer, these microorganisms may also be incorporated in the solution to enable the stomata of the leaves to absorb better.

Makes the Environment Suitable for Plant Growth Beneficial microorganisms control the environment such as correcting the atmospheric nitrogen and producing nitrogen for plants, since plants cannot produce their own. Some fungi types also help in assimilating phosphorous when incorporated in the hydroponics system.

Hydroponics is a new way in cultivating plants where the environment can be controlled to eliminate any usual problems experienced from soil gardening. The strategy is to provide an environment that plants can thrive on and this is through providing the correct amount of nutrients supplemented with incorporating beneficial microorganisms.

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Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental Technology You can find out more about our Organic Lawn and Garden Product
We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and offer Environmentally Friendly Products.

How Does Phosphate Get Into A Pond

By Clifford Woods

Ponds under attack from green water, poor coral growth, algae and cyanobacteria and are the things that are responsible for your dying fish. These are factors that generally leave aquarists frustrated, and most of them, are brought about by the presence of phosphates in water.


What Are Phosphates? Phosphates are naturally occurring compounds, which commonly form in water bodies. This is largely due to a number of sources, the major one being water sources. Soil and salt mixes that are swept into the water as a result of rain or wind are a major contributor for how does phosphate get into in a pond and these are usually harder to control than aquarium water.

It’s important to note that phosphates are the active ingredients in fertilizers. That being said, salt mixes that could be found in rocks surrounding the pond may be the reason why your water is choking.

How Can You Identify High Phosphate Levels? Identifying the signs of high phosphate levels can be obvious (if you know what to look for), or they might be a bit more subtle and hard to recognize but here are a few:

• The water color
• Predominant presence of nuisance algae
• Poor coral growth

Your water could indicate the presence of phosphates and if your pond is pea green, you need to think about phosphate testing. Nuisance algae predominance is also a good sign that your water is thriving with phosphates, since like already mentioned; it is the active ingredient in fertilizers and therefore, encourages growth of plants. And Algae of course is a plant. 

Types of algae to look out for are black hair algae and slime algae as well. You can also identify signs of poor marine, such as unhealthy corals and poor survival rates of invertebrates, such as shrimp and snails. There is several phosphate testing kits you can use to identify phosphate presence in your water.

How to Remove Phosphate Eliminating phosphates can be quite tricky and before you can conduct any elimination process, you need to first identify the cause. If you throw frozen foods into your ponds, this may the reason why there are high levels of the compound. You may want to consider rinsing foods before feeding your fish or simply avoiding frozen foods. The water that frozen foods are frozen in sometimes has high phosphate concentrations.

Are there golf courses, farms or even fertilized gardens and lawns around your pond? If yes, run off from the rain are washing these phosphates into your pond. Once you've identified (and hopefully eliminated) where the phosphate is coming from, you can start getting rid of what you already have.

Water changes with phosphate-free water can help cut down on your levels but can take time before you see a noticeable difference.

In salt-water aquariums, protein skimmers can help remove wastes and decrease the phosphate levels, and refugiums can be used in freshwater and salt-water tanks. There are various products in the market that can help you get rid of phosphates. These mediums act to absorb the compound or trap it for removal. When a phosphate remover is applied into the water, it basically traps the phosphates and immobilizes them, making them insoluble nutrients.

Phosphates in ponds are harder to eliminate, since you cannot control what products people use in their lawns and farms. That said, you can control the levels by always ensuring that your pond is clean and using a phosphate remover often. With persistent testing and removal, your pond can have a good water quality for your fish and other marine species to thrive better.

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Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental Technology Find out more about our Organic Pond Cleaner - Pond Magician We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and sell Environmentally Friendly Products.

What is Phosphate?

By Clifford Woods

Phosphates, which contain phosphorus, are essential nutrients that contribute to the growth and metabolic reactions of all animals and plants. The quantity of phosphorus can either increase or limit growth. Since it is essential to the growth of plants and animals, an imbalance in the amount of the natural growth of phosphorus can produce harmful changes to the environment. This is when it becomes a job for a phosphate remover to handle.

Contributing Factors In Phosphates Overgrowth
The internal contributor in the growth of the presence of phosphates in your fish pond is from the mineralization of dead matter, such as plants, uneaten food, feces, fish slime, bacteria, etc. The rotting food particles or dead plant materials settle either within the filter or on the substrate.  Vacuuming the gravel or rinsing filter materials every time you change the water in your pond or tank will substantially decrease the potential accumulation of phosphate deposits. The probable external sources, on the other hand, are additives such as frozen fish food, carbon or pH stabilizers.  

Effects Of Phosphates In Fish Ponds
For people who raise fish on ponds, the elevated presence of phosphates means algae invasion and that is a big threat to the lives of your fish. Using a phosphate remover is ideal in this kind of pond situation. Partially, changing the water in your fish pond more frequently can also help. Once the growth of water weeds and algae in your pond becomes uncontrollable, they will dominate the use of oxygen until the water in your pond will not be able to support the life of your fish any more  leaving them to die. So, use phosphate removers as soon as the presence of phosphorus becomes threatening.

Addressing The Issue With Phosphate Removers
The ideal amount of the presence of phosphates in your fish pond should be below 0.005 ppm. A phosphate remover will control the level of phosphates in your pond by reducing the amount of algae that grows in it.  

When phosphate removers are applied into the water, it basically traps the phosphates and immobilizes them, making them insoluble nutrients. 
Phosphates in ponds are harder to eliminate, since you cannot control what products people use in their lawns and farms. 

That said, you can control the levels by always ensuring that your pond is clean and using a phosphate remover often. With persistent testing and removal, your pond can have a good water quality for your fish and other marine species to thrive better.

For salt-water aquariums, it will maximize the coral growth in it. When buying them, make sure that you thoroughly check the brand specifications. Most often, it comes as phosphate mesh media bags or reactors.  

Those that come in reactors need to be installed, while those that come in mesh media bags are packed with phosphate removal media and employed inside the sump or canister filter.  

If you want to be rid of a persistent phosphate problem, be vigilant in eliminating the causes of its overgrowth in the first place instead of always relying on a phosphate remover to do the job for you. Avoid over-feeding your fish to reduce or eliminate the presence of uneaten foods. Choose a brand of fish food with the lowest levels of phosphates. Perform tank maintenance regularly by vacuuming the bottom of your ponds or tanks to remove plant decay, fish waste, and uneaten food. A filter’s job is to skim all dirt, so make sure you always remember to clean it, too.

Keep all these important maintenance steps in mind for your fish to have smooth-sailing lives.

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Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental Technology
Find out more about our Organic Pond Cleaner - Pond Magician
We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and sell Environmentally Friendly Products.

Benefits of Having Organically Clean Ponds

By Clifford Woods

Anyone who has a fish pond in their yard wishes there was some easy way to clean it out. It can smell bad and you have to clean it out occasionally to keep it healthy for any fish, so they do not get sick and die.

Even if the pond has a filter, other gadgets and products from the store, there are still going to be times when you need to clean the pond. Ponds tend to become the most polluted parts of our environment. And due to the polluted water in ponds, lakes and rivers, they attract insects and other little creatures, which make the pond even dirtier and can turn it into a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

So, cleaning a pond is not only needed for providing a healthy environment for garden animals, such as frogs or toads, insects and your fish, but also to keep the population of mosquitoes under control. Ponds that are built well and are in harmony with nature will need less maintenance.

Something that ponds do benefit from is organic pond cleaning. This is a method that is beneficial to the health of the fish, as no harsh chemicals are used and the waste that is taken out has many other uses. The use of chemicals also drops the quality of the water making it hazardous for humans as well. In order to have organic healthy ponds; it is essential that only organic pond cleaners are used, as it can keep the ponds clean without any risk to all the life that lives there.

The pond does need to be cleaned at least once a year with the fall or spring being the best time, as the water is cooler during those months and the fish adapt better. If the pond smells bad – you have waited too long. If cleaning the pond is done on a regular basis, it will not get to the point where it might get smelly.

Move the fish to a water tank while cleaning or if you have several ponds, you can just move the fish to another pond. This makes it easier on the fish. You need a brush that is nylon for cleaning the sides of the pond. With the nylon brush, there will probably not be any need for harsh cleaners.

The silt that is on the bottom of the pond can be scraped up and be used in the garden as mulch. This silt is great for gardens and plants, and will make your garden soil really healthy. Another benefit is that this keeps all the essential minerals in the pond for the health and protection of the fish.

Organically cleaning your pond, makes healthy ponds and healthy fish. It also contributes towards a safer environment for any adults or children spending time in the yard and with pets quite frequently drinking the pond water, it will be safe for them too.

There are many ways to contribute towards a safer and healthier environment for all of us to live our lives and the benefits of having organically clean ponds can be one of them.
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Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services and Organic Environmental Technology.
You can find out more about Organic Pond Cleaners at www.effens.com
We brew Beneficial Microorganisms that eat toxins and offer Environmentally Friendly Products.