KISS MY POND

The Kiss method of engineering has been used in many systems since it’s original debut by Kelly Johnson, lead engineer at Lockheed, regarding jet planes. The jet planes they built had to be repairable with hand tools, by mechanics in the field, under combat conditions. Simple was an imperative.

When it comes to your pond, superior filtration for brilliant water quality and clarity is the imperative. Simple is no longer the defining factor. We are concerned about making sure that your fish are happy, healthy, and visible for your enjoyment.

The Helix Life Support Pond Filtration System focuses on just that, keeping your water clean and clear, to keep you and your fish happy. We also want it to be easy to maintain in the long run, because we know, if it isn’t easy, you won’t do it. That’s ok, we get it, we don’t like to work harder than we need to either.

That’s why we’ve designed products to be easy to clean with simple valves to turn, or lightweight baskets to pull out and rinse. No more back breaking labor dragging out bags of lava rock and awkward media pads filled with water and laden with slimy ooze.

I have had people ask why Helix seems more difficult to install than the other pond filters on the market. It is true; it is not the easiest system to put in. This system was designed for FISH, by complete fish geeks, to keep your water as healthy as possible in an often uncontrollable environment, the great outdoors.

So, like most quality projects, there are some up front dues that must be paid for the long term goal, kicking back beside your pond. The initial extra few hours of work during installation, are well worth the reduction in maintenance for YEARS down the line.

So, the real answer is, it is a little harder to put in because we were more concerned with long term ease of use, than initial ease of installation. After all, you install once, but you do maintenance every week for the life of your pond. Helix wanted to make that “every week for the rest of your life” part easier.

While Helix is definitely more complicated to install, the Helix filters are designed for long term ease of cleaning. We use air blowing through the media to loosen up debris, which is then drained from the system using knife valves. The water can then be directed to your trees, garden, or ornamental plants for beautiful leaves, blooms, and veggies.

Not only does this make your plants happy, but you are performing a very important task each time you clean the filters. When you drain the filter, you are performing a water change. This water change does important things for your fish.

Here’s a quick science lesson. Water changes add fresh oxygen, calcium, magnesium, and sodium. These are the primary minerals in tap water. There are also small amounts of zinc, copper, and a few others. The beauty of these minerals is they all have positive electrons that really want to bond with the negatively charged elements in your pond.

These negatively charged elements make up the debris that builds up in the bottom of your pond, specifically the stuff that makes that nasty rotten egg smell when you stir it up, and ammonia, fish waste. So, each time you clean your filter, it works a little to help break down the icky stuff that is inside your pond too! Bonus!! Can you imagine if every time you flushed your toilet, it cleaned the shower too?

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Additionally, the magnesium, and sodium are important in helping your fish to maintain healthy bodies. They use these elements to make their heart, kidney, liver, and other internal organs work properly, and to perform osmosis, a very important way for your fish to expel ammonia from their bodies at a cellular level. Is this too much chemistry? Hold on for one more tidbit.

The third thing the water change does is reduce any fishy pheromones that may be trying to build up in your pond. This allows your fish to get their “grow” on. Fish release pheromones, just like every other animal, including YOU!

A higher pheromone level tells your fish to STOP growing. Water changes reduce those pheromones. If you want great big, gigantasaurus koi, water changes will get you there, and Helix will make it happen, by simply turning some valves. See? EASY!

So, hopefully that helps you to understand how Helix works, why we designed and built it the way we did, and why, though it is a little more complicated to install, it sets you up for a lifetime of easy maintenance, and healthy, happy fish.

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