It’s winter time here in Oklahoma, a time when pond pumps in many water features that have skimming systems suddenly and seemingly for no reason just stop working. We seem to get many phone calls this time of year that “my pump has suddenly died, it was working this morning and this afternoon it has just stopped”.
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After so many years in this business, seeing patterns and situations that develop at given points in the year my first piece of advice for those customers with “sudden dead pump syndrome”, after telling them to unplug the pump, is to ask them to check the pump intake to see if their neighborhood frog has it’s leg caught in the pump intake. We estimate that about 90% of the time that is what the problem is. Most of the time if the problem is brought to our attention early enough the frog can be released and be on its merry way, hopping a bit crooked, but all the same on its way. Of course that is not the case in the pictures.

If you are located in the Oklahoma City Metro and need help removing your pump, preparing your pond for the winter or have any pond maintenance questions, call or Contact us.

For daily pond tips Monday thru Friday like and share our facebook page. To receive our monthly newsletter click here. Remember we are always just a click away from solving all your Oklahoma pond problems!
 
Continental Ponds is offering this pond information as a personal information source to our website visitors. Pond services are performed in Oklahoma City, Norman, Moore, Nichols Hills, Edmond, Yukon, Shawnee, Newcastle, Mustang, Bethany, Piedmont, Guthrie, Jones, Chandler, Midwest City, Del City, Shawnee, Tuttle, Blanchard, Bridge Creek , Warr Acres, Woodlawn Park, Lawton. Fish and Koi Pond Maintenance and Construction, Streams and Waterfalls, and Fountains are all in our wheelhouse of talent. Explore our website for more ideas. Like our Facebook page for daily tips and inspiration. 

As we all know Oklahoma is well known for tornadoes, rain, hail, lightning and various other weather conditions.  Do these storms affect my pond, if so how? Storms can suddenly drop water temperatures and most importantly change the pH in a pond. So you ask, "What is pH and how do storm affect my Oklahoma Pond".  Several things  can happen with storms, here are a few listed below, but lets start with what pH is!    

The pH level is a numeric value that indicates the relative acidity or alkalinity of the water on a scale of 0 to 14, with neutral at 7. Most Oklahoma            lake and pond organisms prefer pH levels of 6.5 to 9. When storms are present, atmospheric pressure changes sometimes causing pH in your                pond to change. This change in pH can be lethal to your fish.

• Hail is not big deal but if you have excessive amounts floating in the water you may want to consider scooping as much as you can out so that the fish don't suffer such temperature fluctuation.  (imagine someone dumping ice water on you!)

 

• Lightning is another thing most people don't think of when it comes to your pond. Sure we've all experienced a power outage, but we have seen ponds get hit by lightning that affected the fish. My personal pond got hit by lightning and killed two fish and damaged another. Of course this is something out of our control but we need to be aware it can happen. 

 

• Tornadoes, we've all seen them and know the damage they can do. No need for details here!

 

• Exposed liner can be damaged by hail.  Protect it by covering it with rock and gravel. Liner needs to be completely protected from the harsh rays of the sun, from the freeze and thaw cycle and from hail.  

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• Hail can cause leaves, branches and other debris to drop in the pond.  Get out what you can and make sure to dump the skimmer basket a couple extra times to make sure it doesn't get clogged with leaves caused by a hail storm.

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• Lily pads can be damaged. It is better to leave the damaged lily pads there because they are still converting sunlight to energy for the plant.    Wait until the whole leaf and even the stem turn brown and look mushy.  Then give them a quick tug and they will come right off.  Good to pull them off because they add nutrients to the pond as they decay and can cause more algae.  Luckily, lily pads send up new leaves pretty quickly and will look gorgeous before you know it!

 

• Excessive rain and hail can upset the balance of the pond ecosystem.  Give it an extra dose of beneficial bacteria.

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​For daily pond tips Monday thru Friday like and share our facebook page. To receive our monthly newsletter click here. Remember we are always just a click away from solving your pond problems!

Our outdoor design center is located at 9105 NW Expressway, Yukon, OK  73099. Please feel free to stop by for more water feature inspiration.
 
Continental Ponds is offering this pond information as a personal information source to our website visitors. Pond services are performed in Oklahoma City, Norman, Moore, Nichols Hills, Edmond, Yukon, Shawnee, Newcastle, Mustang, Bethany, Piedmont, Guthrie, Jones, Chandler, Midwest City, Del City, Shawnee, Tuttle, Blanchard, Bridge Creek , Warr Acres, Woodlawn Park, Lawton. Fish and Koi Pond Maintenance and Construction, Streams and Waterfalls, and Fountains are all in our wheelhouse of talent. Explore our website for more ideas. Like our Facebook page for daily tips and inspiration.

​Average Depth of an Oklahoma City Koi Pond
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On average, the depth of an Oklahoma koi pond is 2 ft. Now, you could really go as deep as you want, but 18" is the minimum to keep fish in the pond over the winter months in Oklahoma. You don’t want to go any shallower than 18" because over winter the ice will freeze, and there likely won’t be enough water for the fish to survive. Many people do go deeper than 2 ft., which is perfectly fine if the size of the pond allows.  Really, the choice is up to you on how deep you want your Oklahoma koi pond to be.

Why You Would Want Your Oklahoma City Koi Pond Deeper
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We will usually build our Oklahoma City ponds with an average depth somewhere between 2-3 ft. We have found that a depth between 2-3 ft. is ideal to keep the pond ecosystem in balance. Now, if you really want to enjoy your pond, you can go 6-8 ft. deep.

 This might sound a little much for the average backyard pond hobbyist, but with a depth of 6-8 ft., you can swim in it like you would in a pool. You might be thinking…hmm no thanks, ponds are not for swimming. You’re right if we are talking about retention ponds or ponds that have no filtration. But a swimming pond is much more than your average backyard pond. And honestly, they can be a bit easier to maintain than smaller ponds, due in part to the larger ecosystem of a swimming pond. Even better…kids of all ages will love playing in and around a swimming pond…and when we say kids, we don’t just mean under the age of 10. Ponds and water features in general, tend to bring out the kid in all of us!​

​For daily pond tips Monday thru Friday like and share our facebook page. To receive our monthly newsletter click here. Remember we are always just a click away from solving your pond problems!

Our outdoor design center is located at 9105 NW Expressway, Yukon, OK  73099. Please feel free to stop by for more water feature inspiration.
 
Continental Ponds is offering this pond information as a personal information source to our website visitors. Pond services are performed in Oklahity, Shawnee, Tuttle, Blanchard, Bridge Creek , Warr Acres, Woodlawn Park, Lawton. Fish and Koi Pond Maintenance and Construction, Streams and Waterfalls, and Fountains are all in our wheelhouse of talent. Explore our website for more ideas. Like our Facebook page for daily tips and inspiration.oma City, Norman, Moore, Nichols Hills, Edmond, Yukon, Shawnee, Newcastle, Mustang, Bethany, Piedmont, Guthrie, Jones, Chandler, Midwest City, Del C

Ponds, pondless waterfalls, and fountains are low-maintenance additions to any Oklahoma landscape. All needing a pump to operate and most running 24/7. Eventually, even the best equipment can have issues. Learn how to troubleshoot your pump to keep your water feature in tip-top shape. If you are having pump issues try these quick fixes to get things running smoothly in no time.

1. Pond pump only operates some of the time.
   Cause: You probably don’t have enough water in your pond or fountain.
   
   Fix: “Just add water” sounds too good to be true, but sometimes that’s all you need to do. Keep in mind that pumps must be submerged in water in order to work properly. Low water levels can activate a pump’s thermal shut-off. Once the pump has cooled down, the shut-off will deactivate and the pump will start running again. Keep enough water in your system to avoid this on-again, off-again drama. This is one of our most common phone conversation.
2. Pond pump doesn’t run.
   Cause: This can be caused by an interruption in the power supply. You might have a crummy electrical connection, a tripped breaker, or a blown fuse.
   
   Fix: Make sure your electrical connections are working and have been installed and tested by a qualified electrician. Keep in mind that if you’re using long extension cords, you might experience a drop in voltage at the pump and a jump in the amps. This can heat up the pump and burn out the motor.
3. Pond pump pushes only a small amount of water.
   Cause: You might have debris in your plumbing.
   
   Fix: It’s time to clean. Disconnect the pump from the pipe. This will let the plumbing drain – and debris to flow out. Inspect the plumbing to make sure there’s no more gunk in there. When in doubt, give it a good rinse.
4. Pond pump hums but very little water is moving.
   Cause: Debris might be stopping the impeller. 
   

          Fix: Again with the debris! Unplug and remove the pump from the pond. Take a look at the pump to make sure there’s no gunk mucking up the            works. Look for rocks or sticks that might be lodged around or above the impeller. Remove whatever junk you find.

         
 While you have the pump out of the water, lay it on its side and plug it in. Make sure the impeller spins before you put it back in the pond. If it’s not spinning, use a screwdriver to give it a little push.

Professional Pond Pump Help
If you’re "done" with your pump, or if you don’t even want to deal with it, we can help. Continental Ponds is happy to troubleshoot your setup and help you prevent future issues. Contact us online or give us a call at 405-834-2291

For daily pond tips Monday thru Friday like and share our facebook page. To receive our monthly newsletter click here. Remember we are always just a click away from solving your pond problems!

Our outdoor design center is located at 9105 NW Expressway, Yukon, OK  73099. Please feel free to stop by for more water feature inspiration.
 
Continental Ponds is offering this pond information as a personal information source to our website visitors. Pond services are performed in Oklahoma City, Norman, Moore, Nichols Hills, Edmond, Yukon, Shawnee, Newcastle, Mustang, Bethany, Piedmont, Guthrie, Jones, Chandler, Midwest City, Del City, Shawnee, Tuttle, Blanchard, Bridge Creek , Warr Acres, Woodlawn Park, Lawton. Fish and Koi Pond Maintenance and Construction, Streams and Waterfalls, and Fountains are all in our wheelhouse of talent. Explore our website for more ideas. Like our Facebook page for daily tips and inspiration.