Pond pics (lots -- beware dialup users)

[homebunnyj]

I started a new thread for pics of the pond at my new home because I thought it would be more considerate to post all these in a separate thread, and not bog down the other one with excessive images. Hope that's okay.

EDIT: I ended up using clickable thumbnails instead, so it loads much more easily.
Also, last count is 24 fish and a decent-sized frog of some sort.

East end -- about four feet across

Looking westward -- two feet at the narrowest, up to about four at wide points

West end -- a good six or seven feet across

Lotsa fish. I counted twenty-one, and I don't think that's all of them.

 

[homebunnyj]

More pics

Murky

The white comet is about ten or twelve inches long

I've never had a pond before. I have to figure out just how to proceed to get it running properly. Got a lot of research to do.

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Wow, that is so cool. I hope to have a place to do something like that in the future.

 

[seastaar88]

i really dig the boardwalk

 

[steve535]

I would first clean the filter mats then see if the pump works. that will buy you some time and get some O2 in the water.
go out and pick up some Accu-clear, stress coat, pond salt, Ecostarter and a $30 pair of hip boots.
I would then drain down the pond catch all the fish (hip boots come in handy) and store them with an air stone running. Cut back all the ivy hanging over the edge about a foot (it will grow back). Them get the hose out and wash down the walls of the pond (just rinse don’t scrub). A good hose end will work, power-washers can do a lot of damage purge the pond until the water is clear, you will never get it all out so don’t even try. reset any stone on the edging then start to refill the pond .when the water is up to the pump add your start up chemicals.
Spend about an hour cycling the fish back into the pond .by your self all of that should take only three or four hours. Maybe longer if the water pressure is bad. If your local garden shop sells pond supplies ask for some tips to help you along. Stress coat is about 1/8 the price at garden shops one gallon is only $12 and that treats 2000 gal. good luck and take lots of picks. steve

 

[homebunnyj]

Wow... Thanks, Steve! I appreciate the benefit of your experience.

The pump isn't working, I just recently determined that. It's a 24gpm beckett, so I guess I should look for a similar size. The rise for the waterfall & filtration is about six feet. I think the landlord will replace it, since he seemed pretty happy that I wanted to care for the pond.

 

[Dino]

Glad things are progessing so well.
It is looking great.

Dino

 

[VirgoWolf]

How far is the pump from the falls? look up some info on head length to find out what size pump you really need. What kind of filtration did you discover?

As for products.. I use Pond Prime from thatpetplace.com... ChlorAm-x is another pretty inexpencive one. I don't use salt or other additives, but I do swear by Koi Clay. Talk to Gene at KoiVillage.com, he is always happy to work with you and tell you what products would be best for your pond, and he never tries to push you to buy products you don't really need.

I agree that the first step is to drain it completely, get all the fish out and counted and make sure they are in good health, give the pond a good spray down, and remove any excessive mulm from the bottom. If you don't have too much to spend, see if you can burrow or rent a sluge pump... makes draining the pond a LOT easier, and it can handle a good ammount of solids that are lurking around at the bottom.

Try AmericanPonders.com too, of course not everyone there is worth listening to (like most non MFT forums), but alot of them really know their stuff. You probably will get alot of people pushing you to buy way more than you need, but they are really good for advice when you hit a snag. Our pond is way over-thought and we spent way too much money doing it, but then again I wanted to leave my parents with a pond that they didn't have to work on at all since they are both disabled. I just wish my favorite ponding forum was still around... I really miss that place...

 

[steve535]

24 gph would be enough for a small whisky barrel. You can pick up a Cal Pump or a Little Giant for under $150. think about getting something over 1000 gph. You would have to run a new line to the waterfall the beckett probably only has a ¼” feed.
VirgoWolf you don’t use any additives in your pond but it’s a well planed / balanced eco system. homebunnyj is looking at what seams to be an unkept body of water. he is going to have jump start the beneficial bacteria until it levels out.

 

[Seleya]

It's a nifty little pond, congrats! Run-off must be a killer tho. What's above the hill?

Good advice thus far, so I'll leave that alone for now. When you add the fish back, watch that the temp is at least somewhat the same. If the hose temp is way off of the bucket temp, try cooling the bucket down slowly (it's the smaller body of water and much easier to regulate) The fish you have are real survivors, so they should be ok as you get the pond in shape. Definitely don't add any more livestock for at least a couple of months tho.

An excellent ponder forum is koiphen.com.

 

[Orion]

24 gph would be enough for a small whisky barrel.

I was thinking along the same lines lol.

I've never kept a pond before (but want too!) so I don't have anything usefull to add other than I think it looks really neat. Seems like a very good use of limited space behind the house to make something usefull out of. It reminds me of my In-laws house, because theirs sets right next to a large hill like that.

Good luck and keep us updated with pictures!

 

[jessey]

i though maybe she said gpm - gallons per minute? that would be pretty strong!

the pond is gorgeous (it will be even better when the water's not green! ) good luck!!

 

[homebunnyj]

I did say gpm... which works out to about 1440 gph!

The more I look at the pond, the bigger it seems. :/

We found a small pump in the other end of the pond hooked up to a -- I dunno what you call it -- piece of pipe with holes in it, apparently to provide extra aeration. At least that one's working. It has another hose attached to it as well, which seems to go to another waterfall feature. I have no idea what this thing's gonna end up like, but it should be cool.

Rents in our area for a two bedroom house run about $750 and up. You can occasionally find one for maybe six or six-fifty, but they're nearly all cramped or in bad neighborhoods. This one's in the country, gorgeous, and has the pond, all for $625. We still can't believe our good fortune! (happy-dancing here)

 

[VirgoWolf]

VirgoWolf you don’t use any additives in your pond but it’s a well planed / balanced eco system. homebunnyj is looking at what seams to be an unkept body of water. he is going to have jump start the beneficial bacteria until it levels out.

I see what your saying, but that's not true either... we don't have any plants in our pond yet... it still remains under construction (yes, this is it's 3rd year and we haven't finnished it yet LOL) so we haven't gotten around to planting it yet. It's just like an aquarium, we do regular waterchanges untill it stabalizes and we have overkill on the filtration. (UV, savio skimmer, brushes, pads, leafbaskets, trickle towers, bio balls, savio filter/falls, and we're still debating the settling chamber, bottom drain, and TPRs since the addition we're planning kinda gets in the way...) I just don't like adding things to my pond anymore than I do my tanks, I keep it to a minimum and if I have to add anything, it's barley extract or something else very natrual, although with the filtration mostly finnished and the UV operational, we don't really bother with any of it anymore. Albiet we have a light fish load (20-25 fish, biggest being about 8" in a 4500gal +/- pond) for now, but I still would chose not to add anything I don't absolutely have to.

An excellent ponder forum is koiphen.com.

Ah yes... been a long time since I have been there... I like reading things there, but I think most of the people there think they're high and mighty LOL. I miss my AWGS (American Water Gardening Society), but I think AmericanPonders is pretty good too. Koiphen has alot of "insider info" though I guess... like where to get the cheapest stuff and alot of the DIY stuff.