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1 VOLUME 31, NUMBER 3 March, 2015 Koi Show Month This month kicks off the koi show season. ZNA Norcal has a show planned for Sat, Feb 28-Sun, Mar 1. Lovely Koi From Last Year s Show The show will be held at the Sheraton Silicon Valley, 399 Silicon Valley Rd, San Jose. Check out for more information. Many other shows will be held in California and the surrounding area during the year. They are a great opportunity to see outstanding koi. They often feature raffles or auctions that give you an opportunity to make some real savings on koi or supplies. The numerous vendors also will be featuring show bargains... See more on pg 4 Visit our Web Site at: Club Meetings: The club meets on the third Tuesday of each month except July (Third Friday) and December (No Meeting) in the Willow Glen Public Library, 1157 Minnesota Ave, San Jose, CA Check the web site Calendar for updates and a map. At our meetings we get acquainted with any guests, address any pond issues from guests or members. We generally follow this with a presentation which is usually related to pond or water gardening. Finally, we enjoy refreshments and open discussion.

2 Officers Phone President Cal Hansen (408) Vice President Dr. Jessie Sanders (831) Secretary Don Chamberlain (408) Treasurer Eve Bretzke (408) Board of Directors Diane Stelma Frank Mullaney Rita Hughes Club Functions Phone Program Director Cal Hansen (408) Don Chamberlain (408) Splash Don Chamberlain (408) Website Don Chamberlain (408) Koi Health Advisor Sanjiv Kapoor (408) Club Equipment Cal Hansen (408) Diane Stelma (415) Event Coordinators Paul Townsley (408) Dealer Relations Cal Hansen (408) AKCA Representative Don Chamberlain (408) Membership Club dues are $30.00 per year. Our fiscal year starts July 1, so if you join before that date, your dues for the remainder of the current year will be prorated at the rate of $2.50 per month. To join, send your name, address, phone number and address along with your check for dues to: Treasurer s Report Since the Splash is widely distributed and available online, the Treasurer s Report is no longer published. The report is available from the club Treasurer. SCVKWG PO Box 9006 San Jose, CA Splash 2

3 February Steering Committee The Steering Committee did not meet in February. I expect a meeting in March as Pond Tour planning ramps up. Keep an eye open for the announcement. February Meeting Our regular monthly meeting was held Tuesday, 2/17. Guests and Attendance Once again we had 14 in attendance. Again this month we had a visitor. Theo Burger had just lost his fish and was hoping for some guidance. Pond Problems A long time member, Alan, had a similar problem. He had just lost six fish. Alan and Theo both live on the peninsula and have Hetch Hetchy water. This is great water and is generally much softer than the water we have in San Jose. The ph is generally down around the low 7s, which is ideal for koi, but since it is so soft there is very little buffering which can lead to problems. Alan was very aware of this having lost all of his fish once before to a ph crash. I had advised him to use plaster pills to buffer the water and then later suggested oyster shell. However, the oyster shell was not raising the ph the way he expected so he moved it into his skimmer where it would be subjected to more vigorous water flow. Unfortunately it was too vigorous. By the next morning his ph had shot up from the low 7s to 9 and his fish were all floating belly up. Alan had gotten hung up on ph, when he should have been checking his KH. The ph in the low 7s is about as good as you can get. His koi could have also done just fine at 9, but not the shock of going from 7 to 9 overnight. From Theo s description it sounds like he experienced the opposite problem. It sounds like something caused a ph crash with equally disastrous results. These two incidents point out the importance of monitoring KH especially if your water is soft. KH should be between 5-11 dh (number of drops required to change color). If it is less than 5 you should consider adding plaster pills or oyster shells somewhere in the flow. The ph will take care of itself and should remain stable. Anything from 7-9 should be OK, although the closer to 7 the better. Club Business After pond problems had been discussed Cal mentioned the upcoming koi and orchid shows. He also gave us a brief preview of upcoming presentations. Sue will be back again to talk about gardening. Roger Abe and Ed Grossmith will present on the koi at the Japanese Friendship Garden and haiga, a combination of haiku and painting. We also hope to visit Cabrillo College to learn more about aquaponics. Cal is trying to arrange a pond social in March. It looks like we have a volunteer so stay tuned for that as well. Planning will soon start in ernest for the July Pond Tour. The first and most critical problem is finding six suitable ponds that are roughly in the same area. We re targeting the north San Jose/Milpitas area this year, but who knows where we ll wind up. If you have or know of someone that has an exceptional pond in the Bay Area, please contact us at: scvkwg@gmail.com. By exceptional we mean a pond in a very attractive setting, a pond with exceptional koi, a pond with excellent filtration or overall design and construction, a very large or very small pond. In other words a pond that you think people would go out of there way to see. If you have or know of such a pond, please let us know. We ll be looking. Rita suggested we advertise for ponds on Craig s List or at dealers. Suggestions we ll certainly consider. Presentation I gave a presentation, Plugged Filter, or How I Got Into the Filter Business, and Learned to Love It. I described the issues I faced with my first two ponds and the problems I had with string algae that continually plugged my filters. This led me to the discovery of Peter Waddington s ERIC filters. I liked what I heard about these filters Splash 3

4 and started thinking of about how I could get a couple of them. This led to the insane idea of actually manufacturing them in the US. Peter builds them in the UK. Surprisingly Peter agreed to let me build them here and I was on my way to a new career. Unfortunately, the economics of manufacturing them in the Bay Area threw up an unexpected obstacle which has set me back considerably. Nevertheless, I ve persevered and have just finished a new design that I intend to install and test on my pond in the near future. If you re interested in more details the presentation will be in the website Library. Dessert 3/ th ZNA SoCal Koi Show Gardena Civic Center 9/ th ZNA NW Koi Show Oregon 10/ th Golden Empire Koi Show Bakersfield What Turns You On Let us know what you d like to hear about at our meetings or in the Splash. Just drop a line to scvkwg@gmail.com with your ideas. Blast From the Past Christmas Party 1987, recognize anyone? Seiko s Desserts The Middlefield s excellent idea continued to pay dividends as Seiko brought an array of delicious eats. At the conclusion of the presentation the group broke to partake and enjoy several minutes of intense discussion. It was getting close to 10:00 before we could lock up and bring another great meeting to a close. Koi Show Month Besides the local ZNA koi show there are many other events planned for the year: 3/6-8 28th San Diego Koi Show Del Mar Fairgrounds Splash 4

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7 Our Sponsors Please support our sponsors. They help make our club possible and provide valuable products and services to koi keepers and water gardeners. While we love their ads and you depend on them to get the koi and supplies you need, SCVKWG does not endorse any business or product. Please use your best judgement when selecting a vendor or product. Advertising Rates Annual Pond Tour Guide Business Card $25.00 Quarter Page $50.00 Half Page $ Full Page $ Back Cover $250 Splash 1 Year Business Card $35.00 Quarter Page $95.00 Half Page $ Full Page $ Combo Annual Pond Tour Guide/Splash 1 Year Business Card $50.00 Quarter Page $ Half Page $250 Full Page $ Back Cover Guide/Full Page $ Splash Splash rates are per year (12 issues). All ads will also appear on our website and will be linked to your website if possible. Ads placed mid-year will be prorated based on the number of issues remaining before July. Annual Pond Tour Guide rates are for the tour guide for our annual pond tour held in July. A special combo rate is available if you d like to place the same ad in the Tour Guide and the Splash. To place an ad, please send ad copy (pdf or jpg file) to scvkwg@gmail.com and we ll send you a bill. Your ad will appear in the next issue after we receive your check. YES! Please enter my subscription to KOI USA for 1 Year Club Member $25 2 Year Member $46 1 Year $30 Non-member 2 Years Non-member Only $53 AKCA Club Payment enclosed Charge my: Visa MC Bill me later CARD # EXP. DATE SIGNATURE (Required) NAME ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP TPU600 Canada add $10, all others add $10 US FUNDS ONLY Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of your first issue 2-year and expedited non-domestic subscription delivery available. Call or check our website. Mail to KOI USA, PO Box , Escondido, CA 92046

8 Skorey & Hughes Individualized Tax and Financial Services at Reasonable Cost 3150 Almaden Expwy, #231 San Jose, CA Phone: (408) FAX: (408) Splash 8

9 Advanced Polycoating Splash 9

10 T: (408) genkikoi.com 1850 S 10th St #14 genkikoi@hotmail.com San Jose, CA We quarantine new arrivals to ensure maximum health Plenty of Space for Your Ad Here! A Cost Effective Way to Connect With Lots of Koi & Water Garden Enthusiasts in the Bay Area. Santa Clara Valley Koi & Water Garden Club PO Box 9006 San Jose, CA 95157