Winging it in the water garden

My two backyard ponds were my most daunting challenge when I moved into this house four years ago. The former owners, avid gardeners who sold us the house themselves, kept pointing out its interior foibles, like a smudge on the family room vertical blinds. I kept thinking to myself, "Forget the blinds. I'm taking them down as soon as I move in. What do I do with those ponds?" They were rather vague with their pond maintenance tips. "Oh, we let it run all winter," they said of the pumps that power its fountains. "We've had such mild winters." My first winter here it snowed like Antarctica. I was pouring warm water on the top of the waterfall hose to keep it from freezing solid and causing the pump motor to burn out. (This past winter I turned the things off and used those floating rings to keep the water from freezing over) I fed the goldfish so regularly they mulitplied like mosquitoes and dirtied the water and filter so much I kept spending money on products meant to clarify the water and new filter pads. Eventually, I learned to let nature take its course. The goldfish are remarkably hardy. I haven't fed them in two years. I also have never scrubbed down the sides of my pond liner. I'm guessing that its providing them with enough microorganisms to keep them fed. And, each winter I lose a few to the cold. I figure it's survival of the fittest. I have about five or six fish in there now and they seem pretty happy. The water is plenty clear. Today, because the weather is finally pleasant again, I ventured out to Webb's Water Gardens in Fallston and purchased a water plant for my hot tub-sized pond. It's the larger of the two and while I understand water plants help to keep the water clear, I had never got around to putting one in there. The kids and I chose a Blue Pickerel Rush. I liked it because it took up a lot of space, flowers continuously and was only about $10. (I'm supposed to fertilize it every two weeks.) I also got a new adjustable bell fountain kit to attach to the pump filter in my smaller pond. I had noticed the "bell" of water coming out of the old one didn't hold its shape very well for very long. Since it was over five years old, I thought to try replacing just his part. It cost just under $20 and so far (I've had it running for about an hour) it looks much better. I think the pump itself (which runs about $100) should hopefully get me through another couple of seasons at least.