well the season is almost over 15% off this week to say thank you

hello all,
      once again the year has flown, but thankfully we have had some nice weather and the koi have managed to put on that much needed body weight to help them get through our next winter, just to say thank you for your continued support we will be offering 15% off all stock this week [excluding in store offers] so grab that nexus you have promised yourself and save a fortune, we will start to put out our monthly news letters shortly, so email us with a request for inclusion on the mailing list an be in line for some good deals over the coming months,
regards paul

the national koi show 2013

Hello all,
          as we have said this year we will start to sponsor koi clubs and we thought we would start big,
we have taken a 9m stand at the national koi show in Coventry and hope all you koi keepers will try to make the effort to attend the show on one of the days over the weekend, there is a huge range of quality koi on show and it is the koi keeping event of the year and should not be missed, so if you attend call in and say hello and enjoy the day,
regards paul

the start of summer

hello all,
             what can I say, I blink and 5 weeks has gone by already well do I now see a glimmer of summer on the horizon I have no excuse as to why it has been so long since I have done any blogs but I can say I will try a bit harder,
  I am delighted to say we have now sponsored the Yorkshire koi club and we hope to help the national show this year, we will be looking to sponsor other independent koi clubs in the future months,
    for those of you that are not aware the maruju tancho koi are now on sale and they are fantastic quality so grab one while you can, lets hope this is the start of our summer and the temperatures are just going to get better so our koi can get over that long winter and finally put some size,  on as we all know last year was a washout, but things must get better, mind did I not say that last year and look what happened,
speak to you shortly
regards paul

winter

Well what can we say,does anyone think we are going to get a summer this year,just when we think it cannot get any worse it does,when we look back at our summer last year,yes that 2 weeks we got in march last year,when we all cleaned our filters out and grabbed our shorts out of the wardrobe only to find it was over as quick as it started,this year it has not even started,we are thinking about selling brollies and wellington boots,we think we will make a fortune,we have looked at it in depth,and if we bring them in from china at tuppence a pair,and sell them at £50 a pair because nobody will have them in stock as they already have there summer stock in we will be rich,well thats what my new business plan looks like,or do you have a better money making idea we can share and get rich together,
   now the dillema,how many koi do we bring in from japan just in case we get a summer or do we risk running out,answers on a postcard please,
paul

the tancho's have landed

Hello all,
              we are pleased to say the tancho's have finally landed,we hope to get them photographed in about a week,once we are sure that they have settled down. after there first quiet day they are now actively eating and enjoying the water currently at 6o deg,which we will start reducing in a fortnight so they will be ready to go in 4 weeks time weather permitting,
     All koi are available for sale with a £50 non refundable deposit securing each fish which we will keep until weather warms up,
We are sorry we have to charge a deposit,but we have had so many occasions when people have asked us to keep fish only to change there minds at a later date.
   we are currently resizing all our koi and re photographing for the web site,but as this is a very big task please bear with us,also note the tosai matsunosuke go sanke mix are coming on in leaps and bounds so anyone with a growing on unit make sure you have a look at them,
regards Paul

high quality sakai matsunosuke

hi all,
        as we where disappointed that the tanchos would not arrive until march,we have managed to squeeze a box of high grade tosai hand selected mix on this shipment due in 28th Feb,sorry about the photo there was no time to get a video,

these are some very nice koi with great potential in the right hands,ideal to grow on will be nice to see them in the flesh next week,
regards paul

delay in tanchos

Hi all,
i have just been informed that the tancho kohaku hand selected koi that where due on the feb 28 shipment,have been deemed as not ready to travel by the breeder,so they now will not be received by us until the 2nd shipment which is due in in march,sorry for the inconvenience i will give you the full delivery date when i  know,however we hope to have a box of high grade matunosuke showa and sanke mix,which we are just waiting for confirmation of,watch this space,i will post photo as soon as they are confirmed,
regards Paul

first shipment of the year

hello all,
            as i sit here and watch the snow through the window,it is hard to believe that we are only two weeks from our first shipment of koi for the 2013 season [assuming we get one] below are the first 3 boxes that we have purchased which are due in on 28th feb 2013,as usual if there is anything you are looking for please let us know,
enjoy regards paul

koi season nearly here

Hello all,
              have you noticed how the seasons seem to change quicker and quicker every year,I used to say that as you get older the days seem to pass quicker,well now it seems as if the years seem to roll past as if they where days,and it seams as if we close our ponds down ready for the winter we seem to be re-opening them for the summer season [that's if we are lucky enough to get one]well here we are again and the season is upon us,so get ready to get those filters cleaned out and test kits ready,with the barmy weather we are having the fish don't know what season it is,one day they are looking for food the next they are on the bottom of the pond,so be careful what you are doing and don't be lulled into the feeling winter is over because this is England and we know what happens with our weather and as we all know our filters are still sleeping so don't give them a sudden shock and start over feeding our koi, see you all soon
regards paul

first confirmed koi of 2013

hello all,
             here is a sample of some tancho and ginrin tancho kohaku
which we have purchased,these are expected to arrive on 28 feb
prices will be published asap,they are described as 18-22cm and
are bred by maruju,as you can see they are of a very good quality
and should grace any koi pond,
regards paul teesside koi,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0TGC_UYc1-s

winter is here

hello all,
well the forecasters got it right for once,but lets see
if they can predict our summer or lets see if we get
one,
     we are now in the process of sponsoring clubs
and Internet advertising sections relating to the
aquatic specialist,and are pleased to say that we now
sponsor the aquarist classified ads and would like to
thank tony for his prompt service he basically gave me
a shove in the right direction and set the ads up for us
straight away,so watch this space we are on a roll,our
buyer in japan is starting to send us pictures of Japanese
koi available for the first shipments of the year so will
keep you all updated but until then enjoy the snow,
regards Paul

new year

Hi all,
        well we are well into the new year,and i must pull
my finger out,as you can see the shop move has not gone
as planned and the parking issues have not improved and
we are now in a position where we will not be able to move
as this season is nearly with us,so we are just going to have
to grin and bear it for another season,we are on with the
quarantine rebuild,and are starting to refurb the koi side of
the shop and are looking at the koi ponds,as we have once
again had a visit off the idiots who think it is funny to
damage the liners so we have 2 vats out of commission at
the moment,but will be back up and running shortly,we
are at a crossroad this year as we do not know what this
season will bring this year,so don't know if it is worth
bringing in any larger koi or to stick to the smaller ones
any thoughts would be appreciated,
regards paul

welcome to 2013

hi all,
       Hope you are not suffering much this morning,
some of you now know why i gave up the heavy
sessions and i have to say i am pleased i did,apart
from the odd mishap when in japan[it is considered
rude not to drink with the breeders]well that's my
excuse anyway,
      Well as we are now into 2013 and we have closed
the door on 2012,what will this year throw at us,we all
have very few good memories of 2012,which most of us will
remember as the washout year and all we can do is hope for
a better year,this year we must all try and bring our hobbies
and passions back to reality and we must all shoulder the
blame for allowing things to stagnate,2013 is the year to
show the British spirit is still alive and kicking and we
are not going to let a recession or weather dampen our
spirit,
  Lets bring fish keeping back to the fish keeper and lets
enter into the community together,as together we are all
strong,we have allowed the odd ones to sway our thoughts
and judgements and in doing so we have set ourselves into
a path of destruction,and we are at risk of destroying our
hobby for good,now is the time for us to regain control and
bring back the passion we all had and still have for our hobby
lets remember fish keeping for the right reasons and not for the
wrong ones,
  we all at teesside koi and aquatics wish you the very best for
2013,lets make it the year of change,
regards Paul

christmas greetings

Hello Everybody,
                           sorry about the lack of activity on the blog
i will definitely pull my finger out next year,and make sure
we get an active blog going,as with all good intentions i have
not been able to keep up with it as i should have but we will
make sure it does not happen again,
   what can i say about this year,well it has been a real challenge
for all of us,and the koi industry has been on its backside,but with
a bit of luck and some sunshine we can once again enjoy our
hobby, so without boring you all to tears we all at teesside koi
and aquatics would like to thank you all for your support and
custom,and wish you all the very best for Christmas and the new
year,lets work together and put the fun back into our hobby
kind regards
Paul, Jeanette and all the staff
at teesside koi and aquatics

tropical plants now in stock

Hi everyone,
          have been busy down the shop revamping the tropical section
so have not kept up with the blog,but that said i am happy to report
that the plant stand is now up and running,and we have received our
first shipment of plants,and the current feedback is that you all seem
very happy with the quality and assortment,so get yourselves down
and take a look,I am happy to say we have also changed some of our
sodium bulbs to metal halide so we are now glowing white instead of
orange which nobody seemed to like and in true fashion has only took
me 25 mins to change but 8yrs to think about,but as i always say its
better not to act in haste and repent at leisure,next a full clean up of
our koi side,
regards paul

the holiday is over

hi folks,
        sorry for the delay in my posts,but we did a cheeky thing,
we sloped off for a holiday,i said years ago i would not go back
to Spain again so this time we went to Majorca [lol] and it has made
me realise why i said i would not go back again,i mean £1.50 for a
blumming kit kat,and the airport i had to get an urgent over draft
from my bank manager for the 5 sandwiches 2 bottles of coke
1 kit kat and a twix ,it was lucky i did not go with the wife or i would
have been claiming off my medical insurance after hitting the floor,WHY
48 blumming euros,i can buy the whole of Spain for 100 euros and if i
batter well enough can probably get a kit kat throne in as well,
  i have to admit most of us did get something for nothing while we where
there, Spanish tummy sorry to those lovely Thomas cook air stewards who
despite watching my 7 month old grand daughter do her version of the
exorcist acted in a very professional manner and never once passing comment
on the strange colour scheme that suddenly appeared on my jumper and then
t shirt,  its strange when your daughter goes a funny colour and passes her child
back the moment there is a nappy to change,and has the cheek to say that i am
more used to bad smells as i deal with filter clean outs every day,hang on i thought
i was on holiday,well it must be over so time to get back to work,will restart our
blogs tomorrow,until then
regards Paul

applying the g4

hi all,
  sorry a bit late again,but here i am,we recently discussed the render finish on the
pond,and i said make sure it was dry before painting with g4,remember the warmer
and windier the weather the quicker it will dry,
  assuming we have now cleared the pond of all dust and debris we can now paint the
pond,we prefer to give the pond 2 coats of clear followed by 2 coats of colour we have
tried blue green and black,but we always recommend black,as this always looks nice and
does not suffer from the stains you get from algae,however the choice is up to you,
     when applying the clear coat,you will find it is quite thin and is easy to apply with a
brush or roller,the roller being the fastest,once you start painting,start at one end of the
pond and start from the corner working your way around the outside edges then the floor
working into the corner,depending on the weather the g4 will become tacky once tacky
you start with the second coat,making sure you cover all section carefully,then put the
colour coat on,again some people find one coat is enough when applied generously so
again it is a personal preference but we prefer the 2 coats of colour,
please note when walking on the g4 it is very sticky but causes no problems with the final
finish,but you may find you need to put the brush or roller onto a shaft to allow you to reach
 into the pond in the corner where you get out as this is the most difficult to reach once you
get out of the pond,
  why do we need to apply second and third and fourth coats while the g4 is still tacky well
the reason for this is if the g4 is allowed to dry it forms a glossy topcoat finish,this makes it very difficult to get good adhesion when painting over the top of it,so if the pond is to large to
complete in a single day you would need to sand the top surface with 1200 grade wet and dry
to allow the final coats to stick to the surface,so it is possible to go back to it when you are available
but it just needs a bit of preparation before you can get started,but the results are pleasing and
long lasting giving years of reliable service,
next blog we will go over fibreglass finishes to the pond,until then i hope i have given you food for
thought regards
paul

preparing the pond and rendering ready for g4

hello all,
             today we will go through the render and g4 finish on a pond,the principal
difference with g4 over a liner is that the finish is not flexible so the finish is only
suitable for brick and concrete constructed ponds,
when preparing the pond for rendering it is considered better to remove tight angles
from the pond,the most obvious method here is to angle a block or brick in the
construction stage,so as not to have 90degree angles in the corners[bottom and sides]
this is so we do not have dead spots in the corners,or sharp angles that will be hard
to render and paint,
    if you can afford it it is nice to get somebody in to actually do the render but you can
do just as good a job yourself if you take your time,once again the more time spent the
better the finish,when you are preparing the surface for rendering you must look at the
finish,if you have used concrete blocks then the surface will be rough so you can lay
straight onto this with the render mix,and you will get a good adhesion,but if you have
used smooth bricks then you are better using a pva glue on the surface so the render
will stick,
   when mixing the sand and cement we add chopped Fibreglass strands into the mix this
prevents cracking due to slight movement as the mix dries,we also add a plasticiser as
this allows the mix to become more slippery making it easier to work with,the secret
here is to start with smaller mixes until you become more confident so avoiding waste
and the urge to rush,when applying the render onto the wall try to keep an even pressure
to the float as you push the mix onto the wall,at this stage do not try to smooth it to much
but apply more to the next part of the wall until you have a reasonable area covered at
this point go back to the beginning and start to smooth the render if it is still to wet give
it a little time to cure,if it is a little dry then spray a little water on to it as this will make
it more fluid,keep moving along the wall until you have achieved a good finish,i prefer
to use a wet sponge for the final polishing because you can put as much or as little water
onto it as required,and i find easier than finishing with a float,once you are satisfied with
the finish leave to dry,the drying time depends on the weather but we usually find three or
four days in the summer is fine,once dried you will need to check for any rough edges,if
there are we cheat a little bit and use a rough sand paper to rid the pond of the edges,we
then need to use a blow lamp to remove any strands of fibreglass that may be sticking out
of the render,as if painted will become razor blades on the side of the pond,after this brush
and vac the pond removing any dust or debris from the bottom,and you are ready for the g4
finish,we will cover this tomorrow,and once again we will discuss preparing pipes and
bottom drains at a later date,
regards paul
teesside koi

installing a box welded liner

hi all,
       today we will discuss the installation of a box welded liner,
box welded liners are more suited to regular shapes but that is not to
say that you have to be square with them,oval or curved ponds can be
constructed by making a template of the top shape,we do this by using
a cheap tarpaulin sheet from a hardware store and cut it to the exact
shape of the pond,this is then used by the manufacturer to produce the
liner,remember to request an overlap,not all suppliers supply a standard
overlap,so always ask,
right we have taken receipt of the liner,we first must open it out and make
sure it is not inside out,you can usually tell because any writing on the
liner is on the underside of the pond so you will not see it when the liner
is installed,
   we then place the liner in the pond taking care to make sure the edge and
corners are properly aligned it is at this point you put some wait on the top
edge of the pond and you can start to fill the liner,as the water enters the pond
start to push out any creases in the bottom of the liner taking care not to pull
the weights holding down the liner into the pond as there is a risk of damage
to the liner,once again the more effort you put into this the better it will look
the advantage with this type of liner you will not have any folds but you may
have small creases in the finished pond but they will be almost invisible in
the finished pond when full of water,as the pond fills keep pulling the edges of
the liner so as to keep the liner slightly stretched so to avoid creases in the
finished article,when full you can install your preferred topping and the pond is
complete just ready to install the filter system which we will cover shortly
regards Paul
teesside koi

fitting the liner

hello all,
            we have now purchased our liner,in this instance we will assume it
is a pvc flat sheet liner,
   we find the liner becomes much more user friendly if we unroll it and lay
it flat on the ground in sunlight, this helps to soften it and make it much easier
to fold when installing in shaped ponds with shelves,
  the thing to note at this point is that all guarantee's state that the liner must be
installed on a suitable underlay,this can be something like a carpet or underlay
that is now surplus to requirements and can make an excellent protector for the
liner[make sure there are no tacks or staples in it] we can also use sand as this
offers a good protector or in some cases the original liner,this assumes the liner
has suffered an accidental damage and offers no risk to the new liner,
  firstly remember the liner is now supple and in its weakest state so when moving
into place make sure it does not snag on any sharp object as it may act as a razor
blade and damage the liner,
  it is better to have two or more people to move it at this time but can be done as
well by one person as long as you are fully aware of where the liner comes into
contact with the ground,
start by moving the liner into a position where the centre of the  liner is in the centre
of the pond,roughly fold the excess liner into the shape of the pond,when you are
happy with this it is time to add water to the pond,remember if you decide to wear
wellies ensure there is nothing sharp in the soles of the boot,
aim to have about six inches of water in the pond as you will need to use this weight
to hold the liner in place,as you are topping up the pond ensure you keep stretching
the liner and start to create the folds we find it is better to create large folds to get
rid of any excess with smaller folds to fine tune,be aware if you slip away for a
quick cup of tea [or pint] turn the water off,it is surprising how much water you can put
in the pond to an extent you may have to pump some water out because the weight
of the water will stop you folding the liner,remember the longer you spend doing this
the better the finish,so as they say patience is a virtue,so don't rush things,tomorrow
we will explain the box welded liner,
  don't worry if you are going gravity fed we will address this when we have finished the
advice on installing the different pond finishes
regards paul