Just checking in! We started our 1st pond 4 1/2 years ago, and I have a pic of the old pond. But, we moved the pond w/us and we built a new waterfall and after learning so much from the 1st one we've been able to add more plant shelves and all of the things that we really didn't realize were so important and convenient.
I love all of my fish and we have been lucky so far. They seem to breed every year and I find lots of new fish, and I get so excited, b'cause it is like I went on a shopping spree at the pet store everytime I see the new one's. I have one fish that I am very proud of. It is an Import from Japan, and is a beautiful Marble blue all over. Just solid blue. I paid a good bit for him. We have been using the same pet store for years and years, or I would have been a little skeptical as to whether it was really an import, but I have never seen another Koi like him, and the people at our hometown pet store are great people and have always been so helpful. And since we have had that fish all of our new babies have that beautiful blue in them. And it is getting huge along w/all the other koi and goldfish.
Well, just wanted to check in, and now it's time to head outside. This weekend is pond cleaning weekend, w/thigh high rubber boots, and cleaning out all of the leaves , pumps, etc........ Got to before the water gets warm and the fish start laying their eggs. I've always been told the water temp has to reach 72 deg and remain that warm, before eggs can be laid. So it's time to go play in the mud!!!!!!!!
Happy Ponding to everone, and I wish everyone wonderful success with their ponds again yhis year.
:> :) Happy Ponding & Gardening!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Traci S
How many ponders are out there ?? List your names - Update!
Traci S - now you know we want pictures!!! Of your pond, your "blue boy Koi", you in thigh high rubber boots, the other part of the "we" .... just pictures of everything.
Judy
Here's a shot I just took of our newest pond. Hoping it turns out to look nice when things fill in.
I am planning to plant the whole top part of it with a green moss so you can't see the top of the tub. Most of what I have in pots should fall over the sides and travel along the edges to hide the white parts.
crimsontsavo - how creative you are!!!!
Judy
Hehe me and mum fought over that bath tub. It's pretty deep and perfectly round. She still looks at me funny for winning it. :-))
(Okay okay I didnt 'win' it exactly...I just took it while she wasnt here and put it in the ground really fast, haha.)
Thanks!
Judy,
Well, I promise to post a pic of us in our Rubber Boots and covered in brown Algae and Leaves. As well as a pic of the pond once I get it atleast presentable. Right now the water is still so murky it would just look like a fancy mud hole. And also, For my Imported Blue Koi, I plan to try and catch it and as many as possible whenever I get more leaves out and do a 1/2-3/4 partial water change. I already have my big Rubbermaid container out there ready and waiting for them. And, I plan on catching the Blue, and my Solid Yellow Koi, and all of the multi-colors, and all of the goldfish-comets. So I'll take as many pic's as possible. I am excited to get to see them so up close as well!!! We are going to buy a bigger net tomorrow. And I have a ? I bought a Black Moor the same time I bought the Imported Blue. I was told it was certainly a pond fish, and I would see it periodically up until this past fall. Ofcourse, I haven't messed w/any of them since the cold weather. But are they pretty hardy, or do they not do as well in the cold? I am gonna fish for him/her w/the net too. But, I just wondered if they aren't as hardy as koi.
This is a pic of my Loving husband and myself at his company Christmas Party. We had a Blast as usual !! I think he is absolutely Gorgeous and I will post the pics of me in my rubber boots and covered in Brown Algae from head to toe asap. And a good pic of the pond and waterfall as soon as we get done w/ Spring cleaning.
Thanks,
Traci S
This message was edited Mar 20, 2005 4:28 PM
I know I said I would post pictures last week....sorry. LIfe just seems to keep getting in the way. Thisis a little pond that I put together 1 year ago. The koi have tripled in size. Wish I had more space!
here are a few more shots
Koi are kind of hard to see......goldfish show up though
The pond is 3 feet deep.......
Edge of the pond
Kind of gives you the idea.....
Hope I Haven't taken to much space on this thread......?
I had a patio, and there were two orange trees where the pnd now is. I left the lemon tree on one edge, and a tangerine tree on the other. I was working agains a brick wall and a chainlink fence, so I was real limited. The pond is 5 feet wide, 9 feet long and 3 feet wide, the water fall is about 5 feet away, with a small creek running into the pond.
I am posting this awful winter pic just to check in!! But today, we were in the process of cleaning out the leaves and all of the yucky stuff out of the pond to get ready for Spring. We are gonna do a 1/2 to 3/4 water change. Nowhere near finished yet. We plan on catching the fish and we have our rubber boots that come up to your thighs and all. As soon as we are finished we will post an After shot. I just hope and pray it'll be lots better!
Thanks,
Traci S
Well we're almost finished with the digging for the pond. Let's just say that we got carried away and the pond has ended up being MUCH bigger than I previously thought it would be. I've posted a picture on the Thrifty ponding site so I won't take up space here.
Keep the inspirational photos coming!
Pixydish
We have a 9'x12'x2' pond in our backyard. Will have to post pics when I get home from work. We started with a preformed 100 gal pond and were not satisfied. After one year we dug a 700 gal flexible liner pond and still were not quite happy. Now we are at roughly 1700 gals and that is large enough for now. Stocked with fancy goldfish and many colors of lilies.
Hi, I'm a newbie with a pond. I guess I should clarify, a newbie to DG. The pond is about 3 years old. I build it myself and it was one of the most satisfying projects that I have ever attempted. I'm ready to build a two-tiered pond next, then enlarge the existing pond. Some day I would like to resurrect an old dry pond that was here when we moved here. It was an a farm pond but the previous owners added a drain to it so the water level fluctuates alot and by summer it is completely dry. Too many ponds, not enough time :^)
I've enjoyed looking at everyones pictures, there are some gorgeous ponds here.
If you care to see my pond, there are pictures on my website ...
http://www.jandbk.org/pond_page
Jean
THAT was very cool! Thanks for sharing! It makes me want to go plant MORE around my pond! Yours looks so natural! Love it!
The website is not too shabby either, Great work!
mel
This message was edited Mar 23, 2005 9:29 PM
That's beautiful Mel!!!
So Jean, your DG name is Masterofnone? I beg to differ, oh Padawan! You should change it to Masterofthepond! Your pond (and the website) is terrific. Stick around Dave's Garden. I'm new, too, and it's a great place to get ideas and exchange information.
I'm building my first pond, so hope you don't mind my referring to your website pictures on a regular basis!
Pixydish (Melissa)
texmel Now thats a great pond and garden thanks for sharing
At the risk of reposting. (I forget so easily, LOL).
Here's a couple close up's of the pond coming to l;ife.
Sorry for all my blurry pictures.
Reflections~
masterofnone, great pond and website. where is germantown? belinda
Thanks everyone, for the kind compliments on my pond and website. I love seeing photos of everyone's ponds - every one is so different and unique!
TexMel, your pond is gorgeous, I love the layout. Is that a waterfall in the very back? I can just imagine strolling through your garden each morning.
Melissa, good luck on your new pond - it is so exciting when you first fill it with water and turn on the pump! Take pictures, it's so fun to watch the progression.
DayLily, Germantown is just SW of Dayton. Are you north of Zanesville? Very pretty area up there.
Thanks. I was also admiring your waterfall and stream. Yes, that is the main waterfall in the distance, with a 30' long stream with a bridge across. You can see the complete building of the pond in pictures at this link- It truly was a labor of love, and we have enjoyed every day of it. You know how some projects have their draining times.... not this one! So much reward!
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/489515/
that reminds me... the Koi were begging for food... gotta run!
mel
Gosh I have been out of circulation!!!!
Bump
Judy
Everyones pond looks so nice. I have a preform
pond that I will start putting in this weekend. This
will be my first one. I will be adding goldfish.
Pic of my itty bitty pond, got lillies and cannas coming on..
This view is from last Summer. Oceanside, CA
Lovely!!!!
Fabulous ponds. I agree with Masterofnone, I love seeing how everyone's ponds are different. You can get a lot of really great ideas from those photos. I really love reilly's rocks piled up so high to make the edges of that pond. Looks beautiful. I just started my first pond thread yesterday because we had an unsuccessful pond clean-out. The very next day, there was a layer of sediment that completely covered every surface, including the nascent lily leaves. I was broken hearted. But, anyway. Hopefully it shall pass and everyone had great ideas. I will take a photo of the pond, even in it's state of turbidity. I am not ashamed.....well a little. The water doesn't look as beautiful as so many of these....give me time! The waterfall isn't running right now because we are giving the sediment a chance to settle.
I've wanted to clean out the sludge in our pond a few times, but my hubby says NO, don't upset the biological control. Maybe he is right. The water is as clear as I have ever seen it, but the sludge sits on the bottom. I would just like to see the beautiful rocks again! But.... the Koi are happy!
I think I'll leave well enough alone!
PS... just make sure and wash out your filter every other day after all of this stir up! It will settle!
mel
I agree with your husband Mel, but only to a degree. It's a closed system, which means it may not be able to break down the organic matter as fast as it is generated if it's coming from outside sources, instead of just the plants and creatures that live there. And we live on the edge of woods and leaves are contantly falling in. It's a battle we never seem to win! The first autumn season, we didn't put the netting on until many leaves had already sunk. Bad way to start off. We have never recovered. We've rarely had "clear" water. In the dead of summer, it's definitely pea soup. You can never see the bottom. If the water was clear and there was sludge on the bottom, I would be happy. But, ours never is. It gets sun all day long, for like 10-5. That's at least 5 hours of strong sun. I think that's part of the problem too. And our lilies never seem to get going well enough to shade the water enough to keep the algae from growing. Bummer. Then, it's an ongoing problem.
earth... do you have a waterfall, skimmer, or pump that is recycling or aerating?
mel
we are new ponders. just got our pond in a couple of weeks ago so it's not finished yet. getting there though. we love it already!
Hey--littaboy, that's going to be great!
Mel--looks like I never replied to you, sorry. Oops. Yes, we do have a pump with a waterfall to aerate. It's a pretty powerful pump and we've been cleaning it frequently. Things have settled down a bit in the pond. It's not clear, but it's not murky either. It's not super green yet, but it does have some algae. The bottom is still covered with sediment. The plants seem to be doing very well. Hopefully the lilies will grow fast enough to provide some shade soon enough. No blooms yet. We are using barley straw extract.
I'm new to Dave's Garden, but I've been gardening for years. We moved a couple of years ago to a house with a huge pond - over an acre. Looking at your gems makes me jealous. A big pond is scenic, but it sure is a lot of work. The challenge of keeping the weeds and marginals under control is my job, and my sweetheart takes care of the water and fish. It sounded like a good idea at the time we agreed on the deal, but I'm thinking I got the short end of the stick. The prior owners put in daylillies, iris, several grasses, and I've added forget me nots and more iris. The rest is weeds, weeds, and more weeds.
My husband just read me a VERY interesting article by a pond builder yesterday. This was in the June issue of DIRT, Howard Garretts e-magazine.
I was wondering if I could "legally" copy that article for ya'll and post it here. It is a great perspective to building ponds and their ecosystem and balance.
Could someone tell me if this is possible.....!?
Mel
My husband and I put one in memorial day weekend. A friend of ours is supposed to hook the outlets we installed to the breaker box, so please ignor the power cords. Water is still a little muddy, we're waiting for it to settle.
And here's another picture, close-up of the waterfall:
Mel, don't know about that one. I'm not the one to ask.
Aggie--that's beautiful! Welcome to ponding. You are going to love it. I really like the way they piled up the excavated soil to make a berm. That adds an extra dimension to your landscape and gives you lots of options. Whatcha going to plant up there?
sstate--let those weeds grow, it's too much to fight. If I were you, I would choose one area, close to the house or the main viewing area, to maintain and plant and let the rest of it go. Then, as time goes by, you can continue to widen that area if you so choose. That's what I would do, otherwise, you won't have time to enjoy your pond!