solar powered ponds?

The still frog bog has no fish in it at the moment.
Only aquatic insects, tadpoles, worms and other slimey things.
When it had a bunch of goldfish in it I could see them gasping at the surface
before the sun came up. Removed most of them right away and the problem was
gone. Removed the rest of them so I could raise tadpoles in there.
The pond is so crowded with plants, they are planted in rocks, that I can't see
anything in there anymore. I use a net to test for mosquito larvae. Haven't
spotted any tadpoles since they went in as eggs.


k30a

Ok how's this sound.
WIND POWER. A couple of deepcycle 12 volt batteries. and a alternator off a
old car or tractor. As well u could also get the wiring and regulator off
the same vehicle. Should be able to buy 12 volt pumps and lights. Just a
though. Any comments.
"Brian" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this newsgroup, just doing research to see whether I'm
going
to put a pond in. I already bought some whiskey barrel planters to start
off my yard with a water feature to see how it goes. To me, the most
intimidating thing about doing a full pond is the electrical requirements.
Based on my research, even a small pond would require me to hire an
electrician to run a line out into my yard. The whiskey barrel option is
appealing because it seems small enough not to require a pump or filter.
One thing that I would love to do, and I'm surprised that I haven't
seen
others doing it, is to power a pond solely with solar power. It seems
like
that solution is the most in touch with improving our environment. Yet I
haven't seen any of the pond supply people selling solar powered items,
with
the exception of very small fountains and the like. Why don't more people
use solar power? Is it prohibitively expensive, or simply inadequate for
the power demands of most pond systems? I would love to hear if anyone is
using solar power and how they have things set up.

Thanks,
Brian

Thanks for all of your responses! I guess I'll stick with my barrel
planters this summer and see if I can learn enough (and save enough money)
to think about a pond for next summer. I'm in Maine USA, so solar power
seems really iffy and the pond-installing season is short as well.

Brian


"Brian" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this newsgroup, just doing research to see whether I'm
going
to put a pond in. I already bought some whiskey barrel planters to start
off my yard with a water feature to see how it goes. To me, the most
intimidating thing about doing a full pond is the electrical requirements.
Based on my research, even a small pond would require me to hire an
electrician to run a line out into my yard. The whiskey barrel option is
appealing because it seems small enough not to require a pump or filter.
One thing that I would love to do, and I'm surprised that I haven't
seen
others doing it, is to power a pond solely with solar power. It seems
like
that solution is the most in touch with improving our environment. Yet I
haven't seen any of the pond supply people selling solar powered items,
with
the exception of very small fountains and the like. Why don't more people
use solar power? Is it prohibitively expensive, or simply inadequate for
the power demands of most pond systems? I would love to hear if anyone is
using solar power and how they have things set up.

Thanks,
Brian

Are you using your barrels as soil planters or as water gardens? I started
a water garden in mine a bit over a week ago. I'd be interested in hearing
your progress, etc...

Good luck!

"Brian" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all of your responses! I guess I'll stick with my barrel
planters this summer and see if I can learn enough (and save enough money)
to think about a pond for next summer. I'm in Maine USA, so solar power
seems really iffy and the pond-installing season is short as well.

Brian


"Brian" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this newsgroup, just doing research to see whether I'm
going
to put a pond in. I already bought some whiskey barrel planters to
start
off my yard with a water feature to see how it goes. To me, the most
intimidating thing about doing a full pond is the electrical
requirements.
Based on my research, even a small pond would require me to hire an
electrician to run a line out into my yard. The whiskey barrel option
is
appealing because it seems small enough not to require a pump or filter.
One thing that I would love to do, and I'm surprised that I haven't
seen
others doing it, is to power a pond solely with solar power. It seems
like
that solution is the most in touch with improving our environment. Yet
I
haven't seen any of the pond supply people selling solar powered items,
with
the exception of very small fountains and the like. Why don't more
people
use solar power? Is it prohibitively expensive, or simply inadequate
for
the power demands of most pond systems? I would love to hear if anyone
is
using solar power and how they have things set up.

Thanks,
Brian

or- how about those have a heart cages with raccoons to catch them, and then
set up a fenced in 'raccon run'? I bet with all the raccoon activity, they
could power the whole shebang!

couldn't resist. : ]


"Donald" wrote in message
...
Ok how's this sound.
WIND POWER. A couple of deepcycle 12 volt batteries. and a alternator off
a
old car or tractor. As well u could also get the wiring and regulator off
the same vehicle. Should be able to buy 12 volt pumps and lights. Just a
though. Any comments.
"Brian" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this newsgroup, just doing research to see whether I'm
going
to put a pond in. I already bought some whiskey barrel planters to
start
off my yard with a water feature to see how it goes. To me, the most
intimidating thing about doing a full pond is the electrical
requirements.
Based on my research, even a small pond would require me to hire an
electrician to run a line out into my yard. The whiskey barrel option
is
appealing because it seems small enough not to require a pump or filter.
One thing that I would love to do, and I'm surprised that I haven't
seen
others doing it, is to power a pond solely with solar power. It seems
like
that solution is the most in touch with improving our environment. Yet
I
haven't seen any of the pond supply people selling solar powered items,
with
the exception of very small fountains and the like. Why don't more
people
use solar power? Is it prohibitively expensive, or simply inadequate
for
the power demands of most pond systems? I would love to hear if anyone
is
using solar power and how they have things set up.

Thanks,
Brian

I'm using solar power LOL...have two floating solar lights in pond. They
give off wonderful glow and I can watch the koi swimming at night.

Denise

Visit my gardens:

http://web1.in4web.com/mtcdrc

Well, I filled up two half barrels this past weekend and got some plants in.
So far, so good! I bought a hardy water lily and two marginals for each
one. I chose not to use a liner since they seem to hold water pretty well
without it. There were some leaks initially, but once the slats expanded,
the leaks disappeared. I"m trying to acquire some other plants to balance
things out, but I live in Maine and am running into fairly restrictive laws
about what plants I can buy! I think I'll follow that up in a new thread
and see if I can get any more tips.

Brian


"infoseeker" reply by post thx wrote in message
...
Are you using your barrels as soil planters or as water gardens? I
started
a water garden in mine a bit over a week ago. I'd be interested in
hearing
your progress, etc...

Good luck!

"Brian" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all of your responses! I guess I'll stick with my barrel
planters this summer and see if I can learn enough (and save enough
money)
to think about a pond for next summer. I'm in Maine USA, so solar power
seems really iffy and the pond-installing season is short as well.

Brian


"Brian" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this newsgroup, just doing research to see whether I'm
going
to put a pond in. I already bought some whiskey barrel planters to
start
off my yard with a water feature to see how it goes. To me, the most
intimidating thing about doing a full pond is the electrical
requirements.
Based on my research, even a small pond would require me to hire an
electrician to run a line out into my yard. The whiskey barrel option
is
appealing because it seems small enough not to require a pump or
filter.
One thing that I would love to do, and I'm surprised that I
haven't
seen
others doing it, is to power a pond solely with solar power. It seems
like
that solution is the most in touch with improving our environment.
Yet
I
haven't seen any of the pond supply people selling solar powered
items,
with
the exception of very small fountains and the like. Why don't more
people
use solar power? Is it prohibitively expensive, or simply inadequate
for
the power demands of most pond systems? I would love to hear if
anyone
is
using solar power and how they have things set up.

Thanks,
Brian

Well, I filled up two half barrels this past weekend and got some plants in.
So far, so good! I bought a hardy water lily and two marginals for each
one. I chose not to use a liner since they seem to hold water pretty well
without it. There were some leaks initially, but once the slats expanded,
the leaks disappeared. I"m trying to acquire some other plants to balance
things out, but I live in Maine and am running into fairly restrictive laws
about what plants I can buy! I think I'll follow that up in a new thread
and see if I can get any more tips.

Brian


"infoseeker" reply by post thx wrote in message
...
Are you using your barrels as soil planters or as water gardens? I
started
a water garden in mine a bit over a week ago. I'd be interested in
hearing
your progress, etc...

Good luck!

"Brian" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all of your responses! I guess I'll stick with my barrel
planters this summer and see if I can learn enough (and save enough
money)
to think about a pond for next summer. I'm in Maine USA, so solar power
seems really iffy and the pond-installing season is short as well.

Brian


"Brian" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this newsgroup, just doing research to see whether I'm
going
to put a pond in. I already bought some whiskey barrel planters to
start
off my yard with a water feature to see how it goes. To me, the most
intimidating thing about doing a full pond is the electrical
requirements.
Based on my research, even a small pond would require me to hire an
electrician to run a line out into my yard. The whiskey barrel option
is
appealing because it seems small enough not to require a pump or
filter.
One thing that I would love to do, and I'm surprised that I
haven't
seen
others doing it, is to power a pond solely with solar power. It seems
like
that solution is the most in touch with improving our environment.
Yet
I
haven't seen any of the pond supply people selling solar powered
items,
with
the exception of very small fountains and the like. Why don't more
people
use solar power? Is it prohibitively expensive, or simply inadequate
for
the power demands of most pond systems? I would love to hear if
anyone
is
using solar power and how they have things set up.

Thanks,
Brian

Since I haven't got a power supply to my pond I use a couple of those
small fountains to provide a bit of movement of the water. I live in a
very sunny place so they work very well. I've looked into solar panels
and small wind generators (we also have constant wind as well as sun)
to run pumps and the cost is high with also the requirement for battery
backup to do some smoothing of the supply. The water that can be
shifted by such a setup is very limited and will leave you feeling a bit
disappointed compared to a mains setup.

So my advice would be to run a mains supply across yourself. Armoured
cable is cheap, you can bury it yourself, cover it with some old roof
tiles to protect it further and then lay some of that yellow electrical
cable
warning plastic strip across the top. That complies with most bylaws
provided you go deep enough, get a qualified electrician to fit a socket
with a built in safety breaker and you're ready to go. Cheap as chips,
moderately safe and much more flexible.


"Brian" wrote in message
et...
Well, I filled up two half barrels this past weekend and got some plants
in.
So far, so good! I bought a hardy water lily and two marginals for each
one. I chose not to use a liner since they seem to hold water pretty well
without it. There were some leaks initially, but once the slats expanded,
the leaks disappeared. I"m trying to acquire some other plants to
balance
things out, but I live in Maine and am running into fairly restrictive
laws
about what plants I can buy! I think I'll follow that up in a new thread
and see if I can get any more tips.

Brian


"infoseeker" reply by post thx wrote in message
...
Are you using your barrels as soil planters or as water gardens? I
started
a water garden in mine a bit over a week ago. I'd be interested in
hearing
your progress, etc...

Good luck!

"Brian" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all of your responses! I guess I'll stick with my barrel
planters this summer and see if I can learn enough (and save enough
money)
to think about a pond for next summer. I'm in Maine USA, so solar
power
seems really iffy and the pond-installing season is short as well.

Brian


"Brian" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this newsgroup, just doing research to see whether
I'm
going
to put a pond in. I already bought some whiskey barrel planters to
start
off my yard with a water feature to see how it goes. To me, the
most
intimidating thing about doing a full pond is the electrical
requirements.
Based on my research, even a small pond would require me to hire an
electrician to run a line out into my yard. The whiskey barrel
option
is
appealing because it seems small enough not to require a pump or
filter.
One thing that I would love to do, and I'm surprised that I
haven't
seen
others doing it, is to power a pond solely with solar power. It
seems
like
that solution is the most in touch with improving our environment.
Yet
I
haven't seen any of the pond supply people selling solar powered
items,
with
the exception of very small fountains and the like. Why don't more
people
use solar power? Is it prohibitively expensive, or simply
inadequate
for
the power demands of most pond systems? I would love to hear if
anyone
is
using solar power and how they have things set up.

Thanks,
Brian

Since I haven't got a power supply to my pond I use a couple of those
small fountains to provide a bit of movement of the water. I live in a
very sunny place so they work very well. I've looked into solar panels
and small wind generators (we also have constant wind as well as sun)
to run pumps and the cost is high with also the requirement for battery
backup to do some smoothing of the supply. The water that can be
shifted by such a setup is very limited and will leave you feeling a bit
disappointed compared to a mains setup.

So my advice would be to run a mains supply across yourself. Armoured
cable is cheap, you can bury it yourself, cover it with some old roof
tiles to protect it further and then lay some of that yellow electrical
cable
warning plastic strip across the top. That complies with most bylaws
provided you go deep enough, get a qualified electrician to fit a socket
with a built in safety breaker and you're ready to go. Cheap as chips,
moderately safe and much more flexible.


"Brian" wrote in message
et...
Well, I filled up two half barrels this past weekend and got some plants
in.
So far, so good! I bought a hardy water lily and two marginals for each
one. I chose not to use a liner since they seem to hold water pretty well
without it. There were some leaks initially, but once the slats expanded,
the leaks disappeared. I"m trying to acquire some other plants to
balance
things out, but I live in Maine and am running into fairly restrictive
laws
about what plants I can buy! I think I'll follow that up in a new thread
and see if I can get any more tips.

Brian


"infoseeker" reply by post thx wrote in message
...
Are you using your barrels as soil planters or as water gardens? I
started
a water garden in mine a bit over a week ago. I'd be interested in
hearing
your progress, etc...

Good luck!

"Brian" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all of your responses! I guess I'll stick with my barrel
planters this summer and see if I can learn enough (and save enough
money)
to think about a pond for next summer. I'm in Maine USA, so solar
power
seems really iffy and the pond-installing season is short as well.

Brian


"Brian" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this newsgroup, just doing research to see whether
I'm
going
to put a pond in. I already bought some whiskey barrel planters to
start
off my yard with a water feature to see how it goes. To me, the
most
intimidating thing about doing a full pond is the electrical
requirements.
Based on my research, even a small pond would require me to hire an
electrician to run a line out into my yard. The whiskey barrel
option
is
appealing because it seems small enough not to require a pump or
filter.
One thing that I would love to do, and I'm surprised that I
haven't
seen
others doing it, is to power a pond solely with solar power. It
seems
like
that solution is the most in touch with improving our environment.
Yet
I
haven't seen any of the pond supply people selling solar powered
items,
with
the exception of very small fountains and the like. Why don't more
people
use solar power? Is it prohibitively expensive, or simply
inadequate
for
the power demands of most pond systems? I would love to hear if
anyone
is
using solar power and how they have things set up.

Thanks,
Brian