Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

[katypond]

Let's talk about ponds.  I have a pond that is about 1000 gals.  I have about 6000 of water an hour running right now with about 4000 running though a 50 gal.DIY bio-filter, because I can't pass up a pretty koi or a free goldfish.  Expanding the pond over the next couple of weeks.  Let's hear about your's.

[CichlidFan]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

I'm very excited about the pond I am trying to install right outside my front door. I was in the process of diggin out the hole for the prefab liner to lay in when I discovered my area of choice turned out to be hiding a rather large pine tree stump just under the surface. I've been on hold these last six weeks or so due to constant rains that keep filling up the hole where I've been chippin away at the stump.

As soon as I am able to work without getting all muddy, I intend to get back to chippin and choppin at this stump so I can get my pond liner in....level it up and finish up the installation. I intend to have a small waterfall in one corner of the pond, and hope to draw frogs and other precious little life forms to the pond once it's finished and running.

I'l be happy to post pictures once the project is completed.

CF

[guppymax]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

My ponds are sort of commercial looking cinder block plastic lined ponds with five gallon home made box filters.

The HLA toured Kruckeberg's Eden a while back and I took some pictures.

max

[PhishPhreek]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

I have had ponds in the past but at my current location the mosqueto control truck comes by once or twice during the summer and the spray kills all my outdoor fish.

[kaleido]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

Hey Katypond if you are still looking for waterlilies and pond plants I can give you some this weekend.  I am in the Spring/Champions area.
Dan
Look for a new thread on the Lone star Koi club meeting this Sunday.

[blacksmith37]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

If building or expanding; I highly recommend a gravel bed and/or stream for filtering. After a few years neither has needed cleaning and they keep the water glass clear (although a pale gold like weak light beer- I think from all the pine needles/oak leaves that fall into my system).
I also have a 350g plastic stock tub and it is a pain to try to keep clear with traditional filters.

[katypond]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

Thank you!!!!!!

[Anonapersona]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

I have a 300 gallon pond made out of a horse watering trough. I lined the galvanized tin wtih a rubber liner, then surrounded it with round fence posts with banding to keep them stable. It is above ground, so no issues with snakes or frogs. (though I do have a green garter snake that may still be living under the deck, apparently he has not found the fish)

It has an external pressurized filter -- had UV, leaked, burned out, not replaced. I have simply made peace with the occasional spring green that happens if I feed too much before the water is warm enoug to let the filter bacteria do their thing. It also has a fountain/filter that is so much easier to clean that I clean it and tend to ignore the canister filter for long periods.

I keep only goldfish. Earlier experiments with a few koi failed as at a certain size they tended to jump overboard. I recovered a few jumpers, but eventually they were all goners.

The other big lesson was that fish food does not last forever. Throw it away after a year or so. Do not buy in large lots! I cannot say whether the food was what made the koi try to escape, maybe.

[kaleido]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

I have a 300 gallon pond made out of a horse watering trough. I lined the galvanized tin wtih a rubber liner, then surrounded it with round fence posts with banding to keep them stable. It is above ground, so no issues with snakes or frogs.

My lily pond is above ground about 16 to 20 inches.  I have seen garter snakes among the plants.  Every year we get a new crop of 3 inch tadpoles.  ( I assume they are bullfrog )  I think it is only a mater of time before similar wildlife finds your ponds as well.

[misplacedsooner]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

I just dug out my first pond, its one of the cheap prefab walmart kinds that I got in a trade with another of my aquarium club members. its only like 100 gallons. I got a pump  fountain thing with it that is good sized, bigger than what walmart has by far and a spitting frog to go on the waterfall. I just got it back filled late last night and need to get some flagstone for the edging yet and to prop up the waterfall. any advice is welcome and wanted :)
mike c.

[Anonapersona]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

[quote="kaleido";p="25218My lily pond is above ground about 16 to 20 inches.  I have seen garter snakes among the plants.  Every year we get a new crop of 3 inch tadpoles.  ( I assume they are bullfrog )  I think it is only a mater of time before similar wildlife finds your ponds as well.[/quote]

After 15 years I'm sure enough time has past!

It has been many years since we've had tadpoles. This pond is 24 inches high, with 3" fence posts cut at staggered heights (sort of a faux-bamboo look) to keep the neighborhood cats from getting comfortable on the ledge. There is a seat on the deck that overlooks the pond, but no cat could fish from there.

I have seen a very big garter snake that may now be living under the deck -- I hope he has not discovered the pond for they are as at home in the water as they are on land and they will eat fish.

I know that when it drys out some, the opossum will come back to raise her young under the deck and so the snake will be evicted then, if not eaten. Hopefully he will be busy enough with mosquitoes to not come looking for little goldfish. I've only seen the snake once, but a neighbor noticed him so I was somewhat prepared for when I almot stepped on him.

To MikeC, I once designed a smal pond just like that for a neighbor. It had a raised bed made of regular landscape timbers, with planting areas of various shapes around the kidney shaped pond. We hid the pond edges with flagstone and planted dwarf monkeygrass across the front with some small cascading flowers (sweet allysum), taller flowering plants to the sides and rear (lantana, pentas, others). It was quite beautiful for such a small pond, the large spitting fish was lovely. Do be careful to site it so that rainwater does not splash off the roof into the pond, that can damage the plants and was away fish in the overflow. some roofs have algae-proof additives which are not good for fish. Be aware of drainage patterns anytime you add dirt to a yard. Water seeks the path of least resistance, and if you add dirt here and block the flow path, the water may be forced into your back door or over a main walkway, or simply pool in a new area. So be very aware of water-in and water-out. Not sure about what the waterfall you have looks like, but be aware that waterfalls are a cause of great evaporation (or even massive water diversions) and with a small pond that can cause things to get out of whack. (Ture story -- Had a neighbor that had rented a great big house while they were building a new home nearby, the house had a big koi pond out back. There was a tall waterfall, visible from the main rooms of the house and they ran it all the time. After a few months, in the summer, she finally went outside to look at the fish to find the pond was down to about 3" deep, with big koi stuck on their sides in the shallow waters.)

[misplacedsooner]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

thank you , that is alot of good info for me. the waterfall is also prefab, about 2 ft. long.
mike c.

[Anonapersona]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

OK, Mike, one more thing to consider is the total volume of water everywhere in the pond when the power goes off. Streams and waterfalls can hold a lot of water while they run, and so your 100 gallons may lose a lot to the falls while it is running. If you then fill the pond back up, when the power goes off it may overflow. With 100 gallons, you don't have a lot of room to spare for losses.

You'll want to be very careful to keep the water level up and don't put too many plants in the pond itself as that will reduce the water volume further. Do your planting around the edges, in the dirt.

When you first start the pond, put in just a few goldfish, you don't have room for koi. You can add a bit of anachris, just break it off and let it float, it is fine without dirt. You can buy it at Petsmart or whatever. It will suck up amonia from the fish and since it is floating, give protection from the sun and from birds. A shallow pond is an easy meal source for a heron. (A neighbor, not from the earlier story, had a big pond with huge koi, maybe 20 or 25. Got cleaned out by a heron, lost every one, in the span of a month or so. Fish that size were worth hundreds each.)

With the plants and the shade that gives, you may be able to avoid the typical green water on startup. If it does turn green, don't worry, it will pass. Do not try too hard to fix it, just feed lightly until it is gone. Fish can go for a week with no food, and godlfish will be happy eating the anachris -- it is a goldfish salad bar and goldfish love greens, they are natural algae eaters. Eventually your pond will end the cycling as the bacteria are established and the pond becomes balanced. Do not let the anachris get too large, it can consume oxygen during the night, so keep it thinned out as it grows. Dry it before throwing away, it can be a pest in local waters.

If your pond is near an oak tree and rain washes over the tree then into the pond, you will have tea colored water. Best to just get used to it, but keeping leaves out of the pond will help.

Do not put gravel in the bottom of the pond. Goldfish will mouth it to get algae off and may choke on the rocks (goldfish surgery is not fun). It also makes it near impossible to vacuum the bottom of the pond -- goldfish are poop machines and the pond must be kept clean. Get a pond vac attachment for the hose and use it occasionally. Remember all the food you put in will still be there as poop later, feed more, clean more.

[misplacedsooner]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

wow, thank you. I will be refering to this very often. Im at the point of getting to laying the flagstone around the edges, thought Id put bricks under the lip and the flagstone to hide it and make it look nice and prop up the water fall. thats a good idea on the plants on the outside. I had figured to just square it off and fill in with that white quartz rock. I put the pond right in front of my front patio. it will get morning sun for 4 hours or so then be shaded the rest of the day. yes, there is a giant sycamore tree about 25 feet away that will help contribute to the shading. tree is probably 70-80 feet tall so it does overhang the pond.
mike c.

[Anonapersona]

Re: Does Anyone talk about Ponds or Pond life any more

The thing about sinking the preformed pond into a raised dirt bed is that it supports the floor of the pond evenly.

On more thing, see that the pump that runs the waterfall is not set right on the floor of the pond. Two things are a concern. Should something upset the balance of that waterfall so that water is diverted, and even falling leaves can plug it up, the water will be drained to the level of that pump. If the pump is setting on the bottom of the pond, you will kill your fish as the water is all drained before the pump runs itself dry and burns up.

Second, when it is cold outside, the fish will be exposed to rapidly cooled water as that waterfall super-chills the water. The water in the pond, especially if it is surrounded by dirt, will be much warmer than the air over a winter night. Consider that day temps are typically 55 in winter but night is near or below freezing. Running that waterfall will mean that water temps tend toward air temps and that sort of temperature swing is really hard on fish.

It is helpful if your pump has a partial bypass valve, so that you can reduce the flow that goes to the fountain and waterfall, but keep the flow that is filtered as it goes past the sponges (your pump does have a sponge filter?)

Now, after all of this, if you think you may not want fish in the pond, you can use Mosquito dunks instead, or just trust that the splashing water will deter mosquitoes, which it probably will. They can last for 4 months - the solid bule pellet kind. Personally, I'd not skip the fish they are too much fun.