Wednesday is the day we actually bring all of the pot & plants to Zilker Park for the Festival.  Let’s see…we had 5 trucks with two trailers & a “Gator”.  The crew consist of Steve, Me, Carlos, Melanie, Matt, Brad, Luis, Charlie, J.T. & my son Zachary.   We arrived in the park @ 10:00 am.  & got unloaded by about 12:00pm.

It is so interesting trying to get the trucks unloaded amongst all of the other work being done in the park.  There is a constant stream of golf carts zipping between 18 wheeler rigs carrying lights, sound equipment,  SweetLeaf Tea, cases upon case of beer & water.  Everyone at the park is in a hurry and thinks their contribution is the most important to the weekend’s festival.  It is really awesome to me to be surrounded by the best people in each industry all really excited to put on an unforgettable show.

Mel & Zach

Melanie Carlos Luis

Zach leveling pottery in VIP Grove

We all eat lunch together in the caterer’s tent.  Delicious chicken, pork tenderloin, wild rice, salad & tabbouleh were on the buffet style menu. Yummy!

Once every thing was unloaded Melanie & Zachary sorted the pots & plants for each stage, while the Outbound crew set-up the Large Leonesco 3-tier w/ pool fountain as the centerpiece for VIP.  Steve & I worked on arrangement of benches, pottery & plants in the rest of the VIP Grove.

At around 3:00 all but Zachary & me left the park to return to the shop.  Zachary & I finished designing the VIP Grove around 4:30.  We then went for a tour around the park “to look at the pots & plants” for the backstage areas.  I put that in quote because that was going to be the excuse we used if anyone questioned why were poking around in everything.  We spent to next hour & a half walking around watching the crews set up the massive stages for the weekends event.

So our day ended with Zach & I having dinner at Kirby Lane Cafe.  The end to another perfect day in Austin Texas.

Most of last week I was busy with the design of each area to be decorated by us.  35 pots, 45 plants, 2 benches, 1 arbor, 1 “kissing booth” lover’s bench & 1 large 3 tier w/ pool fountain were used for the centerpiece of the VIP Grove.  Another 40 pots, 30 plants & two benches were use as satellites in VIP.

Something interesting happened with the satellites.  Brittany with C3 Presents chose some beautiful green pots that she wanted to use in the VIP Satellites.  The color is stunning but I had few pots with which to co-ordinate.  I was troubled about this until Tuesday this past week.  One of our vendors called & said that they made a mistake and sent our Spring ‘10 order early & we would still not be billed until the later date…it contained the exact pots I needed to co-ordinate with the green pots selected by Brittany!  (you will see after we have set-up at the event)

Then 5-7 pots & 5-7 plants were selected for each backstage area.  The pottery is selected with the sponsors’ company colors in mind.

All of the pots & plants are separated by areas and loaded into the trucks Tuesday afternoon…then we pull-out using 2 large 24′ trucks, 2 company trucks pulling trailers at @ 9:00 a.m. Wednesday.   There will be 8 of us unloading & setting up for most of the day there.  We have made arrangements to eat food provided by C3 Presents’ caterers on the premises so we don’t have to leave & spend an hour-plus on lunch.

Check in tomorrow for pics of ever thing set-up plus extra behind the scene stuff!

Here are a few pics of stuff loaded into trucks:

So this is our 5th year to contribute to the ACL Music Festival. 3 days, 8 stages & 135 bands. It is a C3 Presents event. They also produce the Lollapalooza Music Festival in Chicago. These guys are top-shelf professionals and we feel honored to be able to work with them.

We provide them with fountains, pottery, benches & temporary landscapes in the VIP Grove, Artist’s Lounge & each backstage area. They rent all of the items from us; we design, deliver, set-up & remove from the event. What will follow in this blog is a discussion about that event.

Monday I drove by to look at Zilker Park and took some pictures of early preparations:

In the meantime, print this page and get your first discount!

How

When

Where

Why

about disappearing streams.

Because koi have no stomachs and cannot store food, it is important that they be fed small amounts of food at a time. As the temperature drops, so does the koi’s ability to assimilate food, especially those high in protein. For that reason, in the winter you feed more cereal-based food which is easily digested and does not stay in the gut too long. As the temperature gets colder, the metabolism of a koi slows down and you do not have to feed the koi daily.

In the warmer months we feed a high protein food for the fish need this for growth and repair. Between feedings the fish nibble on the velvet green carpet along the sides of the pond.

Feed the fish what they can eat for 5-10 minutes. Koi can easily become overweight because they will eat continually. It is best to use a measuring cup so that the amount of food given can be regulated.

This is especially important if different people feed the koi each day. If the fish are fed too much, don’t let the uneaten food stay in the pond and pollute the water. Always feed in the same spot of the pond.

Co-habitation
Koi and goldfish co-exist very well together. However, they can interbreed which may be a drawback for koi enthusiasts.

Quantity of Fish
The general rule of thumb is 1″ of fish per 10 gallons of water. However, with adequate aeration and filtration, you can double this to 2″ of fish per 10 gallons of water. An average size waterfall usually produces plenty of aeration.

Feeding Your Fish
Goldfish are quite self sufficient feeding on algae and other plant material. But if you want to ensure good growth and color, feed once a day with a high quality gold fish food. Feed the amount they will finish in five minutes. Koi, on the other hand, must be fed daily due to the fact that they don’t have stomachs and cannot store food. It is best to feed koi once or twice a day (all they will finish in 5 minutes), but do not over-feed them! During warmer months (when water temperatures are above 65°F), a high protein food will enhance color and growth. As the water gets cooler, it is a good idea to switch to a food lower in protein and higher in wheat germ. During colder months (when water temperatures are below 50°F) the metabolism of koi slows down and they no longer need to be fed. Any koi food is also fine for goldfish.

Do Fish Eat Plants?
Fish sometimes eat plants, however, this is much more likely to be the case with large koi and hard to predict. Many pond owners have koi and plants living in perfect harmony, while others are fighting a constant battle.

Extreme Water Temperatures
Cooler temperatures for fish are fine, so heating your pond is not necessary. The only threat from extreme cold is if the pond freezes solid. However, it is very important to protect fish from rising water temperatures from our hot Central Texas summers. Providing adequate depth (18″ for goldfish and 24″ minimum for koi) and sufficient plant coverage for shade (60% – 70% surface coverage,) will allow more oxygen in the water for your fish. Fish need adequate oxygen to survive and warm water does not retain dissolved oxygen as well as cooler water. Oxygen is provided by plants photosynthesizing during the day, but only by your water feature at night. So don’t turn off your waterfall at night. This is a common mistake that can be detrimental to fish.

Transporting Fish

• After purchasing your fish, be sure to keep them cool during the trip home. Never leave fish in the car during warm weather.
• Allow your fish to adjust to the water temperature of your pond. Do this by floating them on your pond in the bag of water they are transported in for about thirty minutes before putting them directly into the pond.
• When fish are transferred from one place to another, they can become stressed, so don’t be surprised if your fish do not eat for a few days.
• Make sure that your pond water is dechlorinated before adding fish. This is done with dechlorinating agents or by filling your pond and waiting at least ten days. Cedar Park and Leander residents should be aware that the tap water may contain ammonia levels that are potentially deadly for fish. In this case, you need to use a dechlorinator that also binds ammonia, such as Ammo-Lock, Kent Detox or Vanish.

Ingredients:
• One pound of granular or crystalline potassium permanganate (Kmm04)
• One pond, freshly cleaned of debris, bottom-detritus, dead fish or uneaten food.
• One group of fish with flashing, redspots, spider web skin lesions, fin rot, sliminess, ulcers, fungal lesions.

Precautions:
• The presence of large amounts of organic debris, uneaten food, dead fish, leaves, dead plants will cause the potassium to spend it’s energy on oxidizing the organics, not on the parasites or ulcers.
• The presence of dechlorinator in the water will inactivate the treatment. (Latency 2 days)
• The presence of Hydrogen peroxide will inactivate treatment. (Latency 3 days)
• Potassium can kill a lot of algae, increasing oxygen demand, especially in warm water over eighty degrees.

How to do this:

Day One
1. Bypass filter but increase circulation and aeration
2. Apply one level teaspoon of granular potassium permanganate per six hundred gallons of water. Do not stand down wind as the powder is added. Do not get in eyes. Do not get on skin. Do not breathe powder.
3. Wait until water changes from purple/pink into a brown or amber color.
4. Resume filtration and keep up all circulation.
5. Apply standard OTC Hydrogen Peroxide 3% USP at a rate of one quart per five thousand gallons of pond water. In one hour you’ll have clear water with no residual evidence of Potassium staining.

Day Four
1. Bypass filter but increase circulation and aeration.
2. Apply one level teaspoon of granular potassium permanganate per six hundred gallons of water.
3. Wait until water changes from purple/pink into a brown or amber color.
4. Resume filtration and keep up all circulation.
5. Apply standard OTC Hydrogen Peroxide 3% USP at a rate of one quart per five thousand gallons of pond water. In one hour you’ll have clear water with no residual evidence of Potassium staining.

Day Eight & Twelve
1. Exact repeat of Days One and Four