Fish Pond question from the uneducated

No. It is unsightly, but the tree limbs provide hiding places from
predators. If it were completely sunk, all the better. I question
about any toxins generated from the decaying needles and limbs.

IOn 2 Jan 2005 14:26:36 -0800, "soonrgrl" wrote:

I live in a neighborhood where about a dozen homes back up to a small
pond with a fountain. Apparently, our HOA decided to "stock" the pond
with fish this year. I'm not sure how deep the pond is in the center,
but I doubt it is more than 15 feet or so.

Anyway, my neighbor was out trying to push his retired Christmas tree
into the pond this afternoon. Thinking that he was turning our pond
into a trash dump, I asked him what he was doing. His reply was that
he was giving the fish a place to live, and he asked me if I knew
anything about fish. Well, since I don't, I thought I would try to ask
around and get some more expert opinions on this issue. Is this a
reasonable thing for him to do?

I am concerned that his actions will result in a broken down pump
(which obviously, costs all of the homeowners to repair) or some other
problem. He tried to push the tree out there, but because the banks
are so shallow, it only made it out a few feet and got stuck there.
(okay, you can all stop laughing now!)

I would appreciate any words of wisdom you can provide. Thanks for
your advice.

acidic, probably not toxic, but needles are really hard on pumps. had em dropping
into big pond from neighbors tree and pumping out the pond was punctuated with
stopping the pump to clean out the needles. It is the dead organic stuff that fouls
ponds and forces cleaning. why put dead organic stuff into the pond on purpose?
Ingrid

Phisherman wrote:

No. It is unsightly, but the tree limbs provide hiding places from
predators. If it were completely sunk, all the better. I question
about any toxins generated from the decaying needles and limbs.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

wrote in message
...
acidic, probably not toxic, but needles are really hard on pumps. had em
dropping
into big pond from neighbors tree and pumping out the pond was punctuated
with
stopping the pump to clean out the needles. It is the dead organic stuff
that fouls
ponds and forces cleaning. why put dead organic stuff into the pond on
purpose?

I've always feared the "toxic gases" from the pond bottom muck, but
everytime I stir that muck up in my pond (and admittedly in my aquarium when
I neglect it) my fish love it. They swim in it, they eat it, they go crazy
for it. I have never seen a fish die or even swim away in a funny way.


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
Check out the IHMP forums, ihmp.net/phpbb
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

you really must take a tour of closed sewers then without an oxygen mask to test out
your theory. Ingrid

"Benign Vanilla" wrote:
I've always feared the "toxic gases" from the pond bottom muck, but
everytime I stir that muck up in my pond (and admittedly in my aquarium when
I neglect it) my fish love it. They swim in it, they eat it, they go crazy
for it. I have never seen a fish die or even swim away in a funny way.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

Benign Vanilla wrote:

I've always feared the "toxic gases" from the pond bottom muck, but
everytime I stir that muck up in my pond (and admittedly in my aquarium
when I neglect it) my fish love it. They swim in it, they eat it, they go
crazy for it. I have never seen a fish die or even swim away in a funny
way.

I've got to agree with Ingrid on this one. Yeah, they love what gets
stirred up from the bottom, because it's full of little invertebrates, but
if it's bubbling, it's not healthy. Koi ponds don't tend to get to that
stage easily, because the koi themselves root about in the muck enough to
keep it from developing gas pockets, but if you neglect a pond long enough,
it'll happen.
--
derek

"Derek Broughton" wrote in message
...
Benign Vanilla wrote:

I've always feared the "toxic gases" from the pond bottom muck, but
everytime I stir that muck up in my pond (and admittedly in my aquarium
when I neglect it) my fish love it. They swim in it, they eat it, they
go
crazy for it. I have never seen a fish die or even swim away in a funny
way.

I've got to agree with Ingrid on this one. Yeah, they love what gets
stirred up from the bottom, because it's full of little invertebrates, but
if it's bubbling, it's not healthy. Koi ponds don't tend to get to that
stage easily, because the koi themselves root about in the muck enough to
keep it from developing gas pockets, but if you neglect a pond long
enough,
it'll happen.

Whoa nelly...I am not saying let your ponds go stagnant an grow a creature
from the black lagoon. I am just saying that you do not need to be paranoid
about it. It seems like many people recommend managing pond bottom muck as
if it's uranium. I disagree. It's not good to let it go, but you don't need
to worry about it, is all I am saying. In my experience a bit of muck
stirred up will not kill your fish dead like a can of raid on a bee's nest,
and mine are not in a sewer pipe, so I am not worried about that extreme.


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
Check out the IHMP forums, ihmp.net/phpbb
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

I dont think your pond freezes over in winter does it? Ingrid

"Benign Vanilla" wrote:


"Derek Broughton" wrote in message
...
Benign Vanilla wrote:

I've always feared the "toxic gases" from the pond bottom muck, but
everytime I stir that muck up in my pond (and admittedly in my aquarium
when I neglect it) my fish love it. They swim in it, they eat it, they
go
crazy for it. I have never seen a fish die or even swim away in a funny
way.

I've got to agree with Ingrid on this one. Yeah, they love what gets
stirred up from the bottom, because it's full of little invertebrates, but
if it's bubbling, it's not healthy. Koi ponds don't tend to get to that
stage easily, because the koi themselves root about in the muck enough to
keep it from developing gas pockets, but if you neglect a pond long
enough,
it'll happen.

Whoa nelly...I am not saying let your ponds go stagnant an grow a creature
from the black lagoon. I am just saying that you do not need to be paranoid
about it. It seems like many people recommend managing pond bottom muck as
if it's uranium. I disagree. It's not good to let it go, but you don't need
to worry about it, is all I am saying. In my experience a bit of muck
stirred up will not kill your fish dead like a can of raid on a bee's nest,
and mine are not in a sewer pipe, so I am not worried about that extreme.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

wrote in message
...
I dont think your pond freezes over in winter does it? Ingrid
snip

I keep a pump running near the surface which keeps a nice hole open.


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
Check out the IHMP forums, ihmp.net/phpbb
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

Benign Vanilla wrote:


"Derek Broughton" wrote:
I've got to agree with Ingrid on this one. Yeah, they love what gets
stirred up from the bottom, because it's full of little invertebrates,
but
if it's bubbling, it's not healthy. Koi ponds don't tend to get to that
stage easily, because the koi themselves root about in the muck enough to
keep it from developing gas pockets, but if you neglect a pond long
enough,
it'll happen.

Whoa nelly...I am not saying let your ponds go stagnant an grow a creature
from the black lagoon. I am just saying that you do not need to be
paranoid about it. It seems like many people recommend managing pond
bottom muck as if it's uranium. I disagree. It's not good to let it go,
but you don't need to worry about it, is all I am saying. In my experience
a bit of muck stirred up will not kill your fish dead like a can of raid
on a bee's nest, and mine are not in a sewer pipe, so I am not worried
about that extreme.

Well, if _that's_ what you're saying, I agree with you :-) Ingrid's next
point is pretty good too - I do try to get the majority of the muck
vacuumed out before the pond freezes over. I certainly don't keep the
bottom spotless, even in Winter, but I do try to limit the muck to an
amount that can't develop serious anaerobic pockets.
--
derek

"Derek Broughton" wrote in message
...
Well, if _that's_ what you're saying, I agree with you :-) Ingrid's next
point is pretty good too - I do try to get the majority of the muck
vacuumed out before the pond freezes over. I certainly don't keep the
bottom spotless, even in Winter, but I do try to limit the muck to an
amount that can't develop serious anaerobic pockets.
--
derek
===========================
This past summer I had an outflow directed into the pond in such a was as to
keep most "stuff" from settling on the bottom. Kept suspended, it was
sucked up into the filter. Of course when the temps drop I shut everything
off but the small pumps that keep an opening in any ice. There is very
little debris on the pond bottoms.
--
Carol.... the frugal ponder...
"Things are more like they are today than they have
ever been before."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~