<kkatizme66@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1192420020.128533.324870@q5g2000prf.googlegroups.com... > On Sep 24, 10:55 am, kkatizm...@yahoo.com wrote: > We > live in Beaverdam, VA, closer to Northern VA than Richmond, we get > more snow/sleet than they do. and we are very rural so we will lose > electric. As a matter of fact, right before we closed on the house, > the previous owners lost some fish due to an ice storm. A piece of ice > broke off and killed some fish. > > I was going by the pea gravel pond thing that leads to the koi pond by > what I saw at that farm up the road (where I am now working > temporarily) their system seems to work well and they do install alot > of ponds byu that method. they have the koi pond, a pea gravel pool > with the bio filter material and a stream leading fron that to the > pond, they say the gravel filter stuff only needs to be changed every > 5 yrs. > I live in the Sandston area east of Richmond and when we started ponding, we started with the berry farm. Are the pumpkins ready yet? The gravel filter will work. It will work to keep good water. It will work you to death, too. I have two ponds. One had the gravel filter for about 8 years. I took the 3200 pounds of rock out twice a year to clean and then put them back. They are now completely out and been replaced with a bead filter that can be cleaned weekly with a turn of a valve. Some of my friends also had the gravel filters and when they went south, they went south. Fish were dying, covered with sores, and no treatments would work. Some of the other materials will work in the same upper pond, waterfall area, such as the window screen, matala, strapping, or just plants in pots or free floating, and be much lighter to remove and clean. There is no filter that does not need to be cleaned periodically. Most people that I know in the area run the ponds year round. The amount of ice that we have gotten the last few years has been minimal. -- RichToyBox http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html Zone 7A/B Virginia