My pond holds 150 gallons. I run two bio/mech. filters and the water is processed 2.5 times per hour. I know that many people believe that you should only process your water once every 3 - 4 hours but I find that the extra filtration helps in controlling the algae bloom and allows us to enjoys the ponds earlier every year. I run the "flower pot" filter all year but shut down the fountain in winter to prevent "super cooling" of the water.

The raccoons got all of my fish except for one & we have transferred him to Dede's pond. His name is "Survivor" because he jumped out of the pond the first week we had him. I went out to the pond one evening and I could not locate all the fish. Marie came out and luckily she spotted him right away. He must not have was not out of the water long before we noticed him & he "survived" his foray into the hostas! After the raccoon incident, we knew he was determined to live up to his name.

These azaleas were one of the first things we planted when Marie & I bought this house. After almost 30 years, they have grown quite large. They bloom like this every year. This view of the pond is looking out from the 2nd story sunroom.