I'm Baaaack...(new waterfall plans)

[Gareee©]

Looks like the group survived the trashing last year.

Refesher: 12x13x2.5 pond in Waynesville, NC, and I was relocating water
snakes last year.

Goldfish bred like crazy last year.. we went from 5 to over 20 in just one
year!

Frog have already been breeding like crazy here as well.. we counted over 18
in the pond a few weeks ago.

Winter has been VERY mild here this year.. the pond was iced over only 2-3
days tops over the whole of winter. early warm spring temps have already
broken the fish out of hibernation. it was so mild, that the water lillies
still have green leaves!

Greenwater has been bad already this year, but water temps have still been
to low overnight to even think of adding pond vegitation. I caved this
year,and just ordered a Laguna 25 Watt UV Clarifier, and a Little Giant
WGP-65 pump for a new waterfall. Both should arrive today, and I'll install
the uv clarifier in line with our pond spitter.

I've already begun basic building of the waterfall.. it'll have a 3 ft drop,
and we are planning an "upper" pondlet, with a 6-8 ft stream going to the
new waterfall, and then into the main pond.

I've got a book on pond and waterfall construction, and am trying to decide
best construction methods... I already have a larger rock at one end of th
pond where the waterfall will be, and need to work around that, without
creating a place where dirt will run off into the pond from the higher
elevation.

Filler under the waterfall will have a number of logs from downed trees here
that are too hard to split from the fireplace (they are large fork branches)

Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[~ janj]

>On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 10:16:35 -0500, "Gareee©" > wrote:

>Looks like the group survived the trashing last year.

Glad to see you back Gareee. :o)

>Frog have already been breeding like crazy here as well.. we counted over 18
>in the pond a few weeks ago.

Speaking of frogs. Last spring I removed a bull frog from the lily pond and
hauled it off to the D.pond. Last weekend I found another in the koi ponds.
I hope I can catch it, so it can join the other at the D.pond. I don't like
them here, because I don't want them eating the treefrogs or goldfish fry,
etc.

Sounds like you have a lot planned for this spring. I'm just waiting for
spring to really "break" here. :o) ~ jan

--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

[Gareee©]

"~ janj" > wrote in message
...
> >On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 10:16:35 -0500, "Gareee©"
> > wrote:
>
>>Looks like the group survived the trashing last year.
>
> Glad to see you back Gareee. :o)

Good to be back.. I couldn;t find any other good online pond community, and
kept hoping things would finally cool down here.
>
>>Frog have already been breeding like crazy here as well.. we counted over
>>18
>>in the pond a few weeks ago.
>
> Speaking of frogs. Last spring I removed a bull frog from the lily pond
> and
> hauled it off to the D.pond. Last weekend I found another in the koi
> ponds.
> I hope I can catch it, so it can join the other at the D.pond. I don't
> like
> them here, because I don't want them eating the treefrogs or goldfish fry,
> etc.

Well, I already have as many goldfish as I want, so they are kinda welcome
to the fry if they want them!

> Sounds like you have a lot planned for this spring. I'm just waiting for
> spring to really "break" here. :o) ~ jan

We still get occasional cold snaps, but today it was 60 or so out there mid
day.

I had to double check the uv filter today... it didn't appear to be working,
but trying to see the glow is almost impossible, even at night. Taking it
apart, I found the bulb had come unplugged during shipping.

We picked up the line for the waterfall pump today, and HAD planned to drain
the pond, replace the filter material on the outside of the "plastic milk
crate filter" I cobbled last year from plans acquired here.

I think we'll put the waterfall pump in the filter this year, to increase
it's effectiveness.

The UVs only been on for a day, so of course, we won;t see any real results
for another few days.

(BTW, will running it during the day only extend it's life?)

Today we planted 2 new dogwood trees, and a small Christmas tree acquired at
Christmas time.

With luck, tomorrow we'll clean out the pond, replace the outer material
(or just clean it) off the milk crate filter, and replace old green water
with fresh water, which should help the uv process.

If time permits, we'll also start work on the waterfall. I'm thinking for
liner for it, we'll just use doubled heavy duty black tarp from Walmart.

(Local stores haven't gotten liner in stock yet.)

There will be a pondlet, with a stream coming downhill from it, and a
"stairstep" waterfall, rather then one with a big drop. Drop into the pond
itself will probably be a foot or so.

I may reuse the kid's pond we painted black with Krylon fusion as the
pondlet.. haven't decided that yet. (And the wife really likes the little
pond).

I'll post links to pics when the work is complete.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[~ janj]

>The UVs only been on for a day, so of course, we won;t see any real results
>for another few days.
>
>(BTW, will running it during the day only extend it's life?)

I always thought on & off were harder on bulbs, I suspect this is very
possibly so with UV lights, aren't they more like fluorescent?

>I'll post links to pics when the work is complete.

Looking forward to them.

I've got the day off, no wind, and the temps are heading for the 50+ range
as I type. So I think I'll get the cover off the lily pond and start the
filter on it. This will mean getting filter boy out there, where we can
also discuss the "real" filter going in this spring/ASAP.

There are also peas to be planted and perhaps lotus dividing. ~ jan


~ jan/WA
Zone 7a

[Richard Sexton]

In article >,
~ janj > wrote:
>>The UVs only been on for a day, so of course, we won;t see any real results
>>for another few days.
>>
>>(BTW, will running it during the day only extend it's life?)
>
>I always thought on & off were harder on bulbs, I suspect this is very
>possibly so with UV lights, aren't they more like fluorescent?

Two things shoren the life of flourescents. heat and turning them
on and off. LEave it on and keep it cool as you can. Cheap fans help
a lot, they're a buck from a big old nasty box in places that
sell computer parts. You can use a cheap computer power supply
from any computer ever made to run them. Goodwill usually has
$5 computers that ae good for partsa lke this.

--
Need Mercedes parts? http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home pages: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net

[Gareee©]

Oh, MAN! Cleaned out the pond today, and the filter. (milk crate in the pond
type)

It was literally almost SOLID green gunk, and the algea and debris in the
pond were staggering. The pond was actually clear in Novermber, so all this
accumulated in the last few months. (Winter was MUCH more mild then the
norm.)

The water coming out of the new pump was almost solid green, and it was
almost the consistancy of pea soup.. I'm glad I started cleaning early.

The water now is about 9/10ths fresh water, and all the fish, salamanders,
and taddies seem just fine. the water is still VERY green with gunk, so
after a day or so, I'll drain it down again, and add more fresh water.

We divided the iris (never had for 2 years), and from like 4 plants we'll
now have about a dozen!

I'm starting to wonder if the little giant pump will be strong enough for a
small waterfall though.. I hate to buy another new one since I just bought
this last week.

I had planned on starting construction on th ewaterfall/stream today, bu
tthat will have to wait a few days to get this pond nice, clean and clear.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Phyllis and Jim Hurley]

Gareee,
Around here, logs will rot and settle. If they are under your waterfall and
rot, that could be a significant problem. RR ties work better...or treated
wood. We have both in our berm as structural elements. They are doing fine
after 8 years.

Jim

--
See our pond at: home.bellsouth.net/personalpages/pwp-jameshurley
Ask me about Jog A Thon fundraiser (clears $120+ per child) at: jogathon.net
"Gareee©" > wrote in message
...
> Looks like the group survived the trashing last year.
>
> Refesher: 12x13x2.5 pond in Waynesville, NC, and I was relocating water
> snakes last year.
>
> Goldfish bred like crazy last year.. we went from 5 to over 20 in just one
> year!
>
> Frog have already been breeding like crazy here as well.. we counted over
18
> in the pond a few weeks ago.
>
> Winter has been VERY mild here this year.. the pond was iced over only 2-3
> days tops over the whole of winter. early warm spring temps have already
> broken the fish out of hibernation. it was so mild, that the water lillies
> still have green leaves!
>
> Greenwater has been bad already this year, but water temps have still been
> to low overnight to even think of adding pond vegitation. I caved this
> year,and just ordered a Laguna 25 Watt UV Clarifier, and a Little Giant
> WGP-65 pump for a new waterfall. Both should arrive today, and I'll
install
> the uv clarifier in line with our pond spitter.
>
> I've already begun basic building of the waterfall.. it'll have a 3 ft
drop,
> and we are planning an "upper" pondlet, with a 6-8 ft stream going to the
> new waterfall, and then into the main pond.
>
> I've got a book on pond and waterfall construction, and am trying to
decide
> best construction methods... I already have a larger rock at one end of th
> pond where the waterfall will be, and need to work around that, without
> creating a place where dirt will run off into the pond from the higher
> elevation.
>
> Filler under the waterfall will have a number of logs from downed trees
here
> that are too hard to split from the fireplace (they are large fork
branches)
>
> Gareee©
> (Gary Tabar Jr.)
>
>

[Gareee©]

"Phyllis and Jim Hurley" > wrote in message
...
> Gareee,
> Around here, logs will rot and settle. If they are under your waterfall
> and
> rot, that could be a significant problem. RR ties work better...or
> treated
> wood. We have both in our berm as structural elements. They are doing
> fine
> after 8 years.

These are BIG.. like I can hardly move them big. I'm 6 foot tall, and I can
barely circle them with my arms!

I was planning on using them, and also large rocks, (maybe riprap), n such.
I'll consider the advise though, and see what else I can dig up.

I'm cycling th ewater again today.. a simple system seems to be to run a
pump from one end, and from the other end, just drop the garden hose in.

The pump pumps out faster then the garden hose, so after an hour or so, I
need to let it catch up by stopping the pump.

I also then use the hose to wash settled matter towards the pump, so it can
pump it out.

The fish seem fine with this, and it give them time to adapt to the new
water. (We pretty much get fresh mountain water here, and they probably add
some gov regulated chemicals, but doesn't seme to taste like that.

BTW, anyone here have a little giant WGP-65?? I just bought it to run a
small stream/waterfall, and am wondering if it's powerful enough for that?

The lift will probably be about 4-5 feet tops, and the line from th epond to
the upper pondlet will probably be about 20 feet tops.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[[email protected]]

in spring the biobugs are not up and booting at all. the green stuff acts as the
filter removing nutrients and fish wastes. replacing all the water may or may not
add more nutrients to the water. best is to remove the green stuff with daily filter
cleaning until the water temp is high enough to support the biobugs, OR, if you got a
veggie filter that the plants are removing most of it.
at this time of the year in my heated pond where I am feeding the fish I am happy
there is green algae to soak up the nutrients (my seachem ammonia alert says no
ammonia) ... when I begin running my veggie filter before putting in the plants the
string algae does a good job. only when the plants are in and I see good root growth
do I turn on the UV to get rid of the suspended algae. and I watch carefully for any
ammonia or nitrates. Ingrid

"Gareee©" > wrote:
>Oh, MAN! Cleaned out the pond today, and the filter. (milk crate in the pond
>type)
>
>It was literally almost SOLID green gunk, and the algea and debris in the
>pond were staggering. The pond was actually clear in Novermber, so all this
>accumulated in the last few months. (Winter was MUCH more mild then the
>norm.)
>
>The water coming out of the new pump was almost solid green, and it was
>almost the consistancy of pea soup.. I'm glad I started cleaning early.
>
>The water now is about 9/10ths fresh water, and all the fish, salamanders,
>and taddies seem just fine. the water is still VERY green with gunk, so
>after a day or so, I'll drain it down again, and add more fresh water.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.

[Gareee©]

> wrote in message
...
> in spring the biobugs are not up and booting at all. the green stuff acts
> as the
> filter removing nutrients and fish wastes. replacing all the water may or
> may not
> add more nutrients to the water. best is to remove the green stuff with
> daily filter
> cleaning until the water temp is high enough to support the biobugs, OR,
> if you got a
> veggie filter that the plants are removing most of it.
> at this time of the year in my heated pond where I am feeding the fish I
> am happy
> there is green algae to soak up the nutrients (my seachem ammonia alert
> says no
> ammonia) ... when I begin running my veggie filter before putting in the
> plants the
> string algae does a good job. only when the plants are in and I see good
> root growth
> do I turn on the UV to get rid of the suspended algae. and I watch
> carefully for any
> ammonia or nitrates. Ingrid

Hmmm maybe I don't need the uv on yet then? We are seeing quite a bit of
plant growth outside the pond already though.. the dogwoods are all in
bloom, or already turning green, the daffodils are in bloom, or loosing
their flowers already, and creeping flox is already in full bloom.

I think my filter was just so clogged with the gunk that it couldn't pull
any more crap out of the water.

(I'm also thinking it's pump has seen better days.. it's flowrate is much
less then before, and I think it's time to just use it for a decorative
pump, and replace it with something stronger.)

You mentioned string algae.. I have quite a bit on the liner and rock in the
pond.. I've been removing some of it.. should I let it be?

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[~ janj]

>Hmmm maybe I don't need the uv on yet then?
>
>You mentioned string algae.. I have quite a bit on the liner and rock in the
>pond.. I've been removing some of it.. should I let it be?

If you've got string algae, using UV should be fine. What is your water
temp? Sounds like your bio-bugs should be waking up with all the
out-of-the-pond plant action going on. ~ jan


~ jan/WA
Zone 7a

[Phyllis and Jim Hurley]

Can you post a picture of the project on alt.binaries.aquaria? It would be
fun to see.

Thinking on the big logs: You might check around to see if logs are rotting
in your neck of the woods. I am thinking that big logs leave big empty
spaces if they rot out.

Jim

--
See our pond at: home.bellsouth.net/personalpages/pwp-jameshurley
Ask me about Jog A Thon fundraiser (clears $120+ per child) at: jogathon.net
"Gareee©" > wrote in message
...
> "Phyllis and Jim Hurley" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Gareee,
> > Around here, logs will rot and settle. If they are under your waterfall
> > and
> > rot, that could be a significant problem. RR ties work better...or
> > treated
> > wood. We have both in our berm as structural elements. They are doing
> > fine
> > after 8 years.
>
> These are BIG.. like I can hardly move them big. I'm 6 foot tall, and I
can
> barely circle them with my arms!
>
> I was planning on using them, and also large rocks, (maybe riprap), n
such.
> I'll consider the advise though, and see what else I can dig up.
>
> I'm cycling th ewater again today.. a simple system seems to be to run a
> pump from one end, and from the other end, just drop the garden hose in.
>
> The pump pumps out faster then the garden hose, so after an hour or so, I
> need to let it catch up by stopping the pump.
>
> I also then use the hose to wash settled matter towards the pump, so it
can
> pump it out.
>
> The fish seem fine with this, and it give them time to adapt to the new
> water. (We pretty much get fresh mountain water here, and they probably
add
> some gov regulated chemicals, but doesn't seme to taste like that.
>
> BTW, anyone here have a little giant WGP-65?? I just bought it to run a
> small stream/waterfall, and am wondering if it's powerful enough for that?
>
> The lift will probably be about 4-5 feet tops, and the line from th epond
to
> the upper pondlet will probably be about 20 feet tops.
>
> --
> Gareee©
> (Gary Tabar Jr.)
>
>

[Gareee©]

"~ janj" > wrote in message
...
> >Hmmm maybe I don't need the uv on yet then?
>>
>>You mentioned string algae.. I have quite a bit on the liner and rock in
>>the
>>pond.. I've been removing some of it.. should I let it be?
>
> If you've got string algae, using UV should be fine. What is your water
> temp? Sounds like your bio-bugs should be waking up with all the
> out-of-the-pond plant action going on. ~ jan

I checked today, and the water temp is already 64! (The pond is in full sun
though, because there are no leaves on the trees yet.)

Did anyone ever confirm rid-x jump starts the biobugs? I have it here for my
septic system anyway...

The water is now glass clear, with the exception of a thin silt bottom layer
covering the bottom.

The pump/hose filling system worked just great!


--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Gareee©]

"Phyllis and Jim Hurley" > wrote in message
...
> Can you post a picture of the project on alt.binaries.aquaria? It would
> be
> fun to see.
>
> Thinking on the big logs: You might check around to see if logs are
> rotting
> in your neck of the woods. I am thinking that big logs leave big empty
> spaces if they rot out.

Actually, they aren't. when they downed the trees 2 years ago, the idiot
grader half buried some of the trees I was going to be chainsawing for fire
wood. Little by little I'm uncovering them, and they show no sign of decay
at all.

I'll take some pics tomorrow if possible.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[[email protected]]

clean your filters!!!! clean your pump!!! sometimes all that is needed is opening
it up and cleaning the magnet and the hole it sits in.
leave the spring algae for now. later use a brush to wind the string algae up and
get rid of it. it is a WONDERFUL water cleaner and keeps the pond healthy until the
biofilter and plants are booking.
Ingrid

"Gareee©" > wrote:
>I think my filter was just so clogged with the gunk that it couldn't pull
>any more crap out of the water.
>
>(I'm also thinking it's pump has seen better days.. it's flowrate is much
>less then before, and I think it's time to just use it for a decorative
>pump, and replace it with something stronger.)
>
>You mentioned string algae.. I have quite a bit on the liner and rock in the
>pond.. I've been removing some of it.. should I let it be?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.

[[email protected]]

dont throw any of that stuff into your pond. some of that stuff is purple bacteria
which are anaerobic and can make some very toxic gases.
Ingrid

"Gareee©" > wrote:
>Did anyone ever confirm rid-x jump starts the biobugs? I have it here for my
>septic system anyway...
>
>The water is now glass clear, with the exception of a thin silt bottom layer
>covering the bottom.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.

[Gareee©]

> wrote in message
...
> clean your filters!!!! clean your pump!!! sometimes all that is needed
> is opening
> it up and cleaning the magnet and the hole it sits in.

Magnet??

I cleaned the pump, and the filter out, but it's still sucking up all the
crap that was in ther efrom this last winter, so I'll probbly clean it again
in a week or two, hoping it;s doing it's job. (The pump for it is a small
fountain pump which pumpas water up to a 2.5 ft tall stone gargoyle, and he
used to spit foreward about 2 foot... now he's spitting out only a foot or
so.

I'll try the clreaning again, adn also check th eline for kinks, or rocks
reducing the flow.

> leave the spring algae for now. later use a brush to wind the string
> algae up and
> get rid of it. it is a WONDERFUL water cleaner and keeps the pond healthy
> until the
> biofilter and plants are booking.

Cool. Advise taken!


--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Gareee©]

> wrote in message
...
> dont throw any of that stuff into your pond. some of that stuff is purple
> bacteria
> which are anaerobic and can make some very toxic gases.
> Ingrid

Cool. Advise taken



--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Gareee©]

Per a request, I posted images of the pond now, and the waterfall/pondlett
plans in alt.binaries.aquaria.

Anyone want to check over there, and give me feedback?

The title is I'm Baaack! Waterfall plans or some such.

With the low traffic here, it'd sure be nice to just post the images here...


--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Gill Passman]

Gareee© wrote:
> Per a request, I posted images of the pond now, and the waterfall/pondlett
> plans in alt.binaries.aquaria.
>
> Anyone want to check over there, and give me feedback?
>
> The title is I'm Baaack! Waterfall plans or some such.
>
> With the low traffic here, it'd sure be nice to just post the images here...
>
>

My news server doesn't carry alt.binaries...any chance you could post
them somewhere else...

Thanks
Gill

[Gareee©]

"Gill Passman" > wrote in message
...

> My news server doesn't carry alt.binaries...any chance you could post them
> somewhere else...

Yup...

http://webpages.charter.net/gareee/PondPlans_before.jpg

http://webpages.charter.net/gareee/PondPlans_after.jpg

The light blue in the after images should be flat water, the darker blue
would be small drops.

The white tube is the feed from the base of the inlet into the pond, to the
top of the pondlet.

The main pond is 12x13 or so, and anywhere from 18"-3 ft deep, average
probably 2 feet.

I tried to approximate the yard slope with the images.

That large rock at the right of the pond is too heavy for 3 men to move, and
needed a mini track hoe to place.

Any feedback is appreciated!

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[~ janj]

>On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 13:14:47 -0500, "Gareee©" wrote:

>I cleaned the pump, and the filter out, but it's still sucking up all the
>crap that was in ther efrom this last winter, so I'll probbly clean it again
>in a week or two, hoping it;s doing it's job. (The pump for it is a small
>fountain pump which pumpas water up to a 2.5 ft tall stone gargoyle, and he
>used to spit foreward about 2 foot... now he's spitting out only a foot or
>so.

Gary, is your pump in a filter, in the pond? ~ jan


~ jan/WA
Zone 7a

[Gill Passman]

Gareee© wrote:
> "Gill Passman" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>
>>My news server doesn't carry alt.binaries...any chance you could post them
>>somewhere else...
>
>
> Yup...
>
> http://webpages.charter.net/gareee/PondPlans_before.jpg
>
> http://webpages.charter.net/gareee/PondPlans_after.jpg
>
> The light blue in the after images should be flat water, the darker blue
> would be small drops.
>
> The white tube is the feed from the base of the inlet into the pond, to the
> top of the pondlet.
>
> The main pond is 12x13 or so, and anywhere from 18"-3 ft deep, average
> probably 2 feet.
>
> I tried to approximate the yard slope with the images.
>
> That large rock at the right of the pond is too heavy for 3 men to move, and
> needed a mini track hoe to place.
>
> Any feedback is appreciated!
>

Wow, It looks pretty amazing to me...do you get problems with the trees
at all? and do you intend planting around it to soften the look?

Gill

[Gareee©]

"~ janj" > wrote in message
...
> >On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 13:14:47 -0500, "Gareee©" wrote:
>
>>I cleaned the pump, and the filter out, but it's still sucking up all the
>>crap that was in ther efrom this last winter, so I'll probbly clean it
>>again
>>in a week or two, hoping it;s doing it's job. (The pump for it is a small
>>fountain pump which pumpas water up to a 2.5 ft tall stone gargoyle, and
>>he
>>used to spit foreward about 2 foot... now he's spitting out only a foot or
>>so.
>
> Gary, is your pump in a filter, in the pond? ~ jan

Yep.. the old smaller one is.. I checked, and there's nothing obstructing
it. I built one of those "milk crate" filters last year, and filled about
1/4 the bottom with brown aquarium gravel (for weight so it wouldn't float.)
On top of that, I placed a piece of flagstone to help hide it. Putting the
pump in the water outside the fiilter has no effect.

(The pump was cheap, about $39-$50 at lowe's and is about 4-5 years old
now.)

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[~ janj]

>On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 14:46:43 -0500, "Gareee©" wrote:

>http://webpages.charter.net/gareee/PondPlans_before.jpg
>
>http://webpages.charter.net/gareee/PondPlans_after.jpg

That's better, I was trying to get there from Google, wasn't working.

>The light blue in the after images should be flat water, the darker blue
>would be small drops.

Love it! The idea and the diagram!

>The white tube is the feed from the base of the inlet into the pond, to the
>top of the pondlet.

Are you planning to bury this?

Can I talk you into getting the filter and pump out of the pond? Or at
least the filter? That way you can use the clam shell technique around the
pump (means not doing any maintenance in the pond). Pumps I've done this
with have stayed amazingly clean. You could either have the type of filter
that up flows into your header pond, or a fake flower pot filter. For the
size of your pond though, I'd go with the first.

To get both out of the pond, I'd suggest either my filter (see website) or
some variation thereof. One could also have the pond overflow into a
settling barrel and pump from there. Getting a skimmer out of it. Though
you really need some bottom movement being 3 feet deep. ~ jan

--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

[Gareee©]

"Gill Passman" > wrote in message
...

> Wow, It looks pretty amazing to me...do you get problems with the trees at
> all? and do you intend planting around it to soften the look?

Thanks! Well, we do get a lot of leaves (poplar), but the pond is in a big
open area, so it mostly gets blowin stuff. This year I'll be netting over
it, to hopefully eliminate the majority. (It was all undeveloped woods here
when we moved here.. the houses behind us there can't even be seen in the
summer, because everything grows in.) We've had wild turkeys, possum,
turtles and even a raccoon stroll through our yard! the pond is now co
habited by Salamanders, and frogs as well as our goldfish. (and oddly
enough, we have 4 goldfish that are more dark brown-green then gold!) They
just never changed into the gold coloring.

We have a lot of bulbs planted, but because it's still early, nothings "up"
yet. We also have a lot of strawberry plants, and a lot of them will be
replanted along one side of the new pondlet, for color, and of course for
yummies!

There are also a lot of hostas in the yard, as well as gladiola, tulips, day
lilies, and even daffodils we replanted from other places on our property.
newly planted around the back part of the pond (from the photos) are
rhodedendrum.

The plan is to have the yard (which is more our front yard then back) be
like a stroll through garden. (one of our friends did something like that.)
We're also really lucky, because the city supplies mulch for free!

We're still not sure if the Christmas tree to the right will survive.. it's
from this year, and they seem hit and miss on survival. (It's got a lot of
brown already, but is still holding most of it's needles, so we're hopeful.)

The other Christmas tree behind the pond is from 2 years ago, and is doing
great. (It also has purple twinkle lights on it years round.)

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Gareee©]

"~ janj" > wrote in message
...

> Love it! The idea and the diagram!

I'm handy with photoshop, so it was a fun little personal project. Like
maybe 30 minutes of work, tops.

>
>>The white tube is the feed from the base of the inlet into the pond, to
>>the
>>top of the pondlet.
>
> Are you planning to bury this?

Yep. I'm just hoping the new pump I bought has enough push.

>
> Can I talk you into getting the filter and pump out of the pond? Or at
> least the filter? That way you can use the clam shell technique around the
> pump (means not doing any maintenance in the pond). Pumps I've done this
> with have stayed amazingly clean. You could either have the type of filter
> that up flows into your header pond, or a fake flower pot filter. For the
> size of your pond though, I'd go with the first.

Might be worth looking into. The big problem I have, is our ground is 25-30%
rocks. That means digging is a MAJOR chore. Only other option would be to
find some above ground method to hide it. Good possibility, is because of
the slope dropoff from the "downhill" side, only 1/2 of it would be hard to
hide. Anything that makes work long term easier is good.

>
> To get both out of the pond, I'd suggest either my filter (see website) or
> some variation thereof. One could also have the pond overflow into a
> settling barrel and pump from there. Getting a skimmer out of it. Though
> you really need some bottom movement being 3 feet deep. ~ jan

very little of the pond is actually 3 feet deep.. maybe only 1/4. The rest
is mostly 2 feet deep, with the shallows (maybe a foot and a half) being on
the right, about 1/2 of the pond. Digging as I mentioned was a huge chore,
and if I go deeper, I'd need to replace the liner. (Not cheap!).

I'll check yer website, and look at your to see what other possibilites
there are.

Thanks for the advise!

> --------------
> See my ponds and filter design:
> www.jjspond.us
>
> ~Keep 'em Wet!~
> Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
> To e-mail see website

[Gareee©]

BTW, the first link for the filter reference is broken.

WH is almost impossible to come by here, and I ended up begging from someone
here the last two years, and unfortunately, that's been too late in the
season to really make the impact it needs to.

So let me get this right.. the pump in the last section draws enough from
1,2 and 2 to create a syphon action from the intake in the pond itself?

One possibility, is to use the new little giant pump to pump up, through
your outside pond filtersystem, and then deposit into the top pondlet, and
the small stream/waterfall.. Im concerned though about it's strength.

Here's a link to azpond's pump page.. we got the wgp-65, listed about 1/2
way down the page.

http://www.azponds.com/subpumps.htm

We figured out pond has about 1600 gallons +-, and that would mean complete
circulation in under an hour's time.

(not counting additional water in the new pondlet/stream.)


--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Koi-Lo]

"Gareee©" > wrote in message
...
> > wrote in message
> ...
>> clean your filters!!!! clean your pump!!! sometimes all that is needed
>> is opening
>> it up and cleaning the magnet and the hole it sits in.
>
> Magnet??

The impeller is a magnet and collects slime in some pumps. You pull it
gently out and clean both the magnet and the impeller well.

> I cleaned the pump, and the filter out, but it's still sucking up all the
> crap that was in ther efrom this last winter, so I'll probbly clean it
> again in a week or two, hoping it;s doing it's job. (The pump for it is a
> small fountain pump which pumpas water up to a 2.5 ft tall stone gargoyle,
> and he used to spit foreward about 2 foot... now he's spitting out only a
> foot or so.

The tube or hose in the gargoyle needs cleaning as well. A thick coat of
slime forms in these ornaments slowing the flow of water. Also clean out
the hose between it and the water pump.

--

Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Phyllis and Jim Hurley]

Gary,

I took a look at your plan and the stump. Your stump is not buried as are
our berm items. It looks like no big deal whenever it does finally rot.
Our berms rum a total of about 30' and are 5' high. Logs rotted would be a
problem there. The stump appears to be the bulk of your support. Enjoy.
Nice looking pond.

Jim

--
See our pond at: home.bellsouth.net/personalpages/pwp-jameshurley
Ask me about Jog A Thon fundraiser (clears $120+ per child) at: jogathon.net
"Gareee©" > wrote in message
...
> Per a request, I posted images of the pond now, and the waterfall/pondlett
> plans in alt.binaries.aquaria.
>
> Anyone want to check over there, and give me feedback?
>
> The title is I'm Baaack! Waterfall plans or some such.
>
> With the low traffic here, it'd sure be nice to just post the images
here...
>
>
> --
> Gareee©
> (Gary Tabar Jr.)
>
>

[Gareee©]

"Phyllis and Jim Hurley" > wrote in message
...
> Gary,
>
> I took a look at your plan and the stump. Your stump is not buried as are
> our berm items. It looks like no big deal whenever it does finally rot.
> Our berms rum a total of about 30' and are 5' high. Logs rotted would be
> a
> problem there. The stump appears to be the bulk of your support. Enjoy.
> Nice looking pond.

Cool. I might cover the stumps with tarp, to reduce water seepage as well
before burying them.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Gareee©]

"Koi-Lo" > wrote in message
...
>> Magnet??
>
> The impeller is a magnet and collects slime in some pumps. You pull it
> gently out and clean both the magnet and the impeller well.

Im not sure if you can open this pump up at all, but I'll take a look see.

> The tube or hose in the gargoyle needs cleaning as well. A thick coat of
> slime forms in these ornaments slowing the flow of water. Also clean out
> the hose between it and the water pump.

Might just be easier to replace the hose.. it's cheap, and I think I still
have extra here.

Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Koi-Lo]

Moments before spontaneously combusting <Gareee©> at
> was heard opining:

> "Koi-Lo" > wrote in message
> ...
>>> Magnet??
>>
>> The impeller is a magnet and collects slime in some pumps. You pull
>> it gently out and clean both the magnet and the impeller well.
>
> Im not sure if you can open this pump up at all, but I'll take a look
> see.

Not all of them are made where you can remove the magnet and clean the well.
Don't force anything. The larger pumps sometimes are sealed. That would
keep the slime out. Most of mine are sealed. Make sure nothing is wrapped
around the neck of the impeller's shaft causing a drag on spinning.

>> The tube or hose in the gargoyle needs cleaning as well. A thick
>> coat of slime forms in these ornaments slowing the flow of water. Also
>> clean out the hose between it and the water pump.

> Might just be easier to replace the hose.. it's cheap, and I think I
> still have extra here.

There are brushes on wires to clean them but if they're over 7 or 8' that
can be a real hassle. :-( They do get a thick coating of a brownish slime
inside. I have to clean mine several times over the summer months.

> Gareee©
> (Gary Tabar Jr.)
--

Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Gareee©]

"Koi-Lo" > wrote in message
...

> There are brushes on wires to clean them but if they're over 7 or 8' that
> can be a real hassle. :-( They do get a thick coating of a brownish
> slime inside. I have to clean mine several times over the summer months.

Yeah, I had to replace the hose in the gargoyle several times, and it's a
major PITA. The problem is sliding the hose through the cement of the statue
itself.

We're actually getting an icy rain today, so I'll forgo any outside work.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[~ janj]

On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 18:27:54 -0500, "Gareee©" wrote:

>BTW, the first link for the filter reference is broken.
>
>WH is almost impossible to come by here, and I ended up begging from someone
>here the last two years, and unfortunately, that's been too late in the
>season to really make the impact it needs to.
>
>So let me get this right.. the pump in the last section draws enough from
>1,2 and 2 to create a syphon action from the intake in the pond itself?

Water always seeks its own level/a balance, so yes.

>One possibility, is to use the new little giant pump to pump up, through
>your outside pond filtersystem, and then deposit into the top pondlet, and
>the small stream/waterfall.. Im concerned though about it's strength.
>
>Here's a link to azpond's pump page.. we got the wgp-65, listed about 1/2
>way down the page.
>
>http://www.azponds.com/subpumps.htm
>
>We figured out pond has about 1600 gallons +-, and that would mean complete
>circulation in under an hour's time.

What's the diameter of the hose/pipe you're pumping thru? If I'm looking at
the right pump it say it will pump 1900 gph. If so, I think minimum you'd
want to push thru is 1' hard pipe.

Re: digging. I was thinking an upflow waterfall filter, and get dirt to put
around and plant beside it. Little to no digging. ~ jan

--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

[Koi-Lo]

"Gareee©" > wrote in message
...
> "Koi-Lo" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>> There are brushes on wires to clean them but if they're over 7 or 8' that
>> can be a real hassle. :-( They do get a thick coating of a brownish
>> slime inside. I have to clean mine several times over the summer months.
>
> Yeah, I had to replace the hose in the gargoyle several times, and it's a
> major PITA. The problem is sliding the hose through the cement of the
> statue itself.
>
> We're actually getting an icy rain today, so I'll forgo any outside work.
=======================
We have the same weather here in TN. It's 36F and raining right now. I was
hoping to get the blue Shubunkins moved and plant my Swiss Chard. It could
be worse. It could be snowing.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Troll Information:
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Gareee©]

"~ janj" > wrote in message
...

> Water always seeks its own level/a balance, so yes.
>
Ok, makes sense then.

>>One possibility, is to use the new little giant pump to pump up, through
>>your outside pond filtersystem, and then deposit into the top pondlet, and
>>the small stream/waterfall.. Im concerned though about it's strength.
>>
>>Here's a link to azpond's pump page.. we got the wgp-65, listed about 1/2
>>way down the page.
>>
>>http://www.azponds.com/subpumps.htm
>>
>>We figured out pond has about 1600 gallons +-, and that would mean
>>complete
>>circulation in under an hour's time.
>
> What's the diameter of the hose/pipe you're pumping thru? If I'm looking
> at
> the right pump it say it will pump 1900 gph. If so, I think minimum you'd
> want to push thru is 1' hard pipe.

I'm using ( think) 1.25 inche reinforced hose (it'as clear, with white
reinforcement fibers showinbg through)

> Re: digging. I was thinking an upflow waterfall filter, and get dirt to
> put
> around and plant beside it. Little to no digging. ~ jan

Yep, we talked that here as well... downside is digging the dirt from around
the yard to fill it, but topsoil/fill dirt around here is $65 for a whole
dumptruck full, so we'll probably go that route. (I need a few loads to help
level part of our hillside anyway)

I currently have about 1/2 a dumptruck load of mulch I still need to
distribute before I can order the dirt though.

Thanks god for a lawn tractor, and trailer!

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Gareee©]

"Koi-Lo" > wrote in message
...

> We have the same weather here in TN. It's 36F and raining right now. I
> was hoping to get the blue Shubunkins moved and plant my Swiss Chard. It
> could be worse. It could be snowing.

I wouldn't mind a little more snow! (We got very little this last year)

I even removed the bubblers already because we never even got a full freeze
over the pond this last year.

(The airstones on each needed to be replaced anyway.)


--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[~ janj]

>Yep, we talked that here as well... downside is digging the dirt from around
>the yard to fill it, but topsoil/fill dirt around here is $65 for a whole
>dumptruck full, so we'll probably go that route. (I need a few loads to help
>level part of our hillside anyway)

That's the way I'd go to, if in the same, hard to dig situation.

>I currently have about 1/2 a dumptruck load of mulch I still need to
>distribute before I can order the dirt though.
>
>Thanks god for a lawn tractor, and trailer!

:o) ~ jan


~ jan/WA
Zone 7a