Mar 7
I'm currently busy renovating the back of our shop. Building 11 new tanks against the wall and rearranging everything for a cleaner more consistent layout. We will have about 3K more gallons for our fish stocks which will help greatly. Also, a large 250 square foot mezzanine to store product.
It's warming up and we are looking forward to getting back to work and starting another season. We have hired another respected koi enthusiast who is happy to lend a hand on weekends. This will help greatly during the spring rush having 3 people in the shop to help. In this hobby, most people want 20 minutes+ of your time, not 2 minutes. So this can lead to longer waiting times during the busy season but we hope to alleviate that with this new hiring
For those interested in ponds builds, please feel free to drop in to discuss your plans NOW. In May, we don't have a lot of time for this and would need to book an onsite meeting |
Feb 12
Well I have just returned from the 41st. All Japan Koi Show. My koi will just never look the same. It was a great experience. We visited breeders for the 3 days and the show for 3 days. A lot of koi in a short period of time but it was great. I just created an outings page with some pics of the show. I will also create a page on some of the breeders we attended when I get a chance. There will also be a 20-25 minute video shot at the show available on our free catalogue / Video disc this year - just stop by the shop and pick yours up or place a mail order and we will include it
If you are thinking about going to Japan, just do it. but I would recommend going during the show rather than the during the Fall harvest if you are more interested in seeing than buying fish |
Jan 1
Happy New Year. The final touches on the trip to Japan are in place and it should be a great experience. I will shoot a lot of photo's and videos. Also planning a major renovation to the back of our shop in February. It has become overun with product in the last couple of years and its becoming progressively harder to keep things tidy and organized. We will be constructing a bank of new tanks to give us more water and a better display |
Dec 1
We are currently working on our last project of the season. A pond build 7 x 12 and 6 feet deep. Hopefully the weather will hold and we will be able to finish it this season. The excavation was difficult as it was solid clay. The weather is holding nicely compared to the last 2 years when it was frozen at this time. The first pic shows the filter excavation, the second the pond shell
 
The trip to Japan is shaping up nicely. 3 days visiting breeders, 2 days at the All Japan Koi Show and we will be sightseeing for a few days as well. When i get back I plan to add 2-3 pages chronicling the trip |
Oct 31
Unfortunately I won't be going down to Ray Abels this Fall. I have been there for the the last 4 years so I guess I can't complain. I guess I will just look forward to Japan in February. Pond closings will start in another 10 days or so. It has been a long season but a pretty good one for us
I have begun to work on the website revamp. I do have a lot of things I would like to do - but of course this all takes time. One goal is to improve the pictures on the site as well as incorporate more video |
Oct 8
Nice 70 degree day out today but the weather is definitely changing. I was picking up some stone last week and was speaking with the owner. He said that he had considered filling the void that "Picov's" left when they closed down a few years back by opening up his own pond superstore. After a couple of head shakes I said to him, you know you really need to know a lot about biology, chemistry, physics let alone the fish, construction and health care etc etc etc. He really didn't say too much, but my receipt said it all. It was made out to "Clarke Coi Ponds". The sad thing is, in this marketplace there are now far more posers than real players and I'm hoping that most people are able to discern who really knows what they are doing and who just in it for a buck. Unfortunately I see it everyday, I just visited a pond on Tuesday that was less than 2 feet deep, full of stone and the lady said it was built by an "expert" [read landscaper with a shovel]
Took some pics last week of a pond we built earlier in the season...
 
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Sept 30
The weather has turned here in Toronto so it is time to start thinking about Winter preparation. Deicers and pond netting are now in stock and feeding wheat germ based food should have begun by now
Looks like my trip to Japan is finally going to come to fruition. Plan to attend the All Japan Koi Show as well as spend a few days visiting the farms. I will be traveling with Darren of Natures Touch Ponds - we also attended the AKCA Seminar back in February together and it was a great time. Looking forward to taking a lot of pics and video
We just completed another pond and it is our picture of the month for October |
Sept 1
We received another shipment of koi in this past month. We have sold a few fish, but there is still a good selection available
This Summer is probably the worst I can remember weather wise and I don't think that will bode will this upcoming Spring. I expect people to lose fish. If you were ever considering covering your pond, this would be the year to do it
We are putting in another heating system for a client this month. He has been unsuccessful with having a group of fish survive over several Winters so is finally taking the plunge |
Aug 4
Our third pond build of the season starts next week. We have been quite busy this year with smaller jobs and servicing. Still working on my plans to go to Japan in February. See the All Japan Koi Show and visit a few breeders as well. Weather this Summer in Toronto has been terrible - cool with rain, and I wonder what ramifications that will have on the fish next Spring - hoping we don't see die offs due to an insufficient period of pond water temps over 20 celsius
A long time client just lost fish when he performed a 50% water change and dropped the pond's temperature from 70 down to 50 Fahrenheit. This is a unfortunate example of just making a careless error which happens to all of us, this time however the price was very steep. I helped him build his pond 8 years ago and he had developed some very good bodies on his fish so this is a real shame. Please be diligent and focused when you work on your pond ! |
Regularly Updated pages: Home, Monthly Pic & Current Year Pics archive and this News page |
February 12
A new page on the All Japan Koi Show has been created featuring 20 photos. Small addition to the Clients Page #2 |
January 1
I have added 2 new pages. One is on Koi Keeping Basics and the other is for the 2010 Pictures of the Month. Added a couple of pics to the Selecting Koi page. Planning on a few more pages before the Spring |
December 14
Several new pages and items updated. New pages include Portfolio 15, How To: Install Diaphragms and a photography gallery. Another video has also been added to the videos page, it features the Sakai of Hiroshima Koi farm. I'm also working on a how to video to illustrate aquadyne bead filter flushing. More updates are planned - including at least 2 pages featuring my trip to Japan |
October 31
I have tweaked the site and made some cosmetic changes. I'm also working on improving some pages which haven't received any attention for 2 years ! |
March 22
Well it took a few hours but I created a new page dedicated to the AKCA 2009 Convention. It features about a dozen pics plus 2 videos you can watch |
March 2
The Koi for Sale page has received some much needed attention with updates and more info |
