Greetings from a newbie!

On 7/3/04 4:24 PM, in article ,
"Jim and Phyllis Hurley" wrote:

You guys got right to it. Very nice.

Now enjoy it and begin to see little visions of a larger pond!

Phyllis

Thanks, Phyllis! The water lettuce and hyacinth really have gone crazy. And
the sedum I stuck in between the rocks is really getting established pretty
quickly. I'm actually pretty proud of the progress we've made in just a
month or so.

Is a bigger pond really not that much more to take care of than a small one?
I just worry about maintenance if we put in another.

Angie

Bigger is easier, at least to a point. Small bodies of water change
temperature and chemistry so quickly, which can be stressful for the fish.
Larger problems allow for more dilution of the wastes, so they don't jump as
quickly. Of course if the pond is much bigger, like deeper than you stand,
it makes it hard to get in and plant and fertilize the lilies.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"AngieB" wrote in message
...
On 7/3/04 4:24 PM, in article ,
"Jim and Phyllis Hurley" wrote:

Is a bigger pond really not that much more to take care of than a small
one?
I just worry about maintenance if we put in another.

Angie

Nice!

"AngieB" wrote in message
...
I've been lurking and reading for a little over a month now. My husband,
Randy and I decided over Memorial Day weekend to put in a pond -- we just
kinda jumped in a did it! It's small, just a 60 gallon pre-formed liner,
but
we like it. My dad had the brilliant idea to put fish in it without our
knowledge about a week after we put it in the ground. I thought the fish
were doomed for sure since it was filled with city water and we had no
plants yet. But, the 8 goldfish (2-3 inches long) and "Big Freddy" the 6
inch guy seem to be doing fine. Very active and they come to me when I go
out to feed them. It's probably too many fish for the size, but what do
you
do? My dad was being sweet, y'know?

We need to have a permanent solution for the electricity -- the orange
extension cord running to the garage is not very pretty. And I want to
landscape around it with more rocks and pea gravel. We were lucky enough
to
have all the rocks we needed to surround the pond and build the bench from
rocks that used to be a patio. Our driveway is native stone and when the
house was built in the 30s the patio was stone too. Over the years someone
pulled out the stones and piled them in the corner of the back yard. So we
just started going through the pile and building the perimeter. There's
still plenty left over for more landscaping.

I opened a webshots account so I could show you guys pictures and see if
you
had any suggestions for me. I really have no idea what I'm doing -- but
I'm
reading everything I can get my hands on. We have had consistently clear
water so far -- it did get a little dirty a couple of days ago when we had
a
huge rainstorm. And I'm doing a 20% water change once a month.

So...whaddya think? http://community.webshots.com/album/159023062ZIhpAQ

I sure enjoy reading all the posts in the group! There's so much to
learn...

Angie
Tulsa, OK

Wow! You have made a lovely little pond! You may be a tad overstocked in
the fish dept (they need about 10 gal. each), but if you're careful about
the water quality you can pull it off. And, too many fish are just an
excuse to build a bigger pond! :-)

Jacqui

On 7/4/04 10:29 AM, in article ,
"Chris and Jacqui Tondreau" wrote:


"AngieB" wrote in message
...
I've been lurking and reading for a little over a month now. My husband,
Randy and I decided over Memorial Day weekend to put in a pond -- we just
kinda jumped in a did it! It's small, just a 60 gallon pre-formed liner,
but
we like it. My dad had the brilliant idea to put fish in it without our
knowledge about a week after we put it in the ground. I thought the fish
were doomed for sure since it was filled with city water and we had no
plants yet. But, the 8 goldfish (2-3 inches long) and "Big Freddy" the 6
inch guy seem to be doing fine. Very active and they come to me when I go
out to feed them. It's probably too many fish for the size, but what do
you
do? My dad was being sweet, y'know?

We need to have a permanent solution for the electricity -- the orange
extension cord running to the garage is not very pretty. And I want to
landscape around it with more rocks and pea gravel. We were lucky enough
to
have all the rocks we needed to surround the pond and build the bench from
rocks that used to be a patio. Our driveway is native stone and when the
house was built in the 30s the patio was stone too. Over the years someone
pulled out the stones and piled them in the corner of the back yard. So we
just started going through the pile and building the perimeter. There's
still plenty left over for more landscaping.

I opened a webshots account so I could show you guys pictures and see if
you
had any suggestions for me. I really have no idea what I'm doing -- but
I'm
reading everything I can get my hands on. We have had consistently clear
water so far -- it did get a little dirty a couple of days ago when we had
a
huge rainstorm. And I'm doing a 20% water change once a month.

So...whaddya think? http://community.webshots.com/album/159023062ZIhpAQ

I sure enjoy reading all the posts in the group! There's so much to
learn...

Angie
Tulsa, OK

Wow! You have made a lovely little pond! You may be a tad overstocked in
the fish dept (they need about 10 gal. each), but if you're careful about
the water quality you can pull it off. And, too many fish are just an
excuse to build a bigger pond! :-)

Jacqui



I told my dad that was too many fish, but they are all getting along
swimmingly! Ha!

Oh, I wanted to share about how I put the potted plants on the side...I
didn't want to take up any of the fish's swimming space, but I was given the
horsetail and whatever the other thing is and had to do something! Here's
what I came up with: I had this triangular plastic coated wire shelf that is
supposed to mount and hang over the edge of the deck railing in the corners
-- like this: http://tinyurl.com/yw5re. I just slipped the overhang part
under the rock and it just hangs onto the edge of the liner a couple of
inches into the water. It's a great way to put plants on the edges without
building a platform for them to sit on. It's working so far and could be
really good for plants that don't need to be all the way into the water.

Thanks for the compliment! I told my husband today about wanting to make a
stream and bigger pond. He wasn't very enthusiastic...it's back breaking
work! But even so, the rewards are so great.

I got some more varieties of sedum from my sister today to put in between
the rocks and stuff. I'm having such fun!

Angie

In article , AngieB
writes:

I got some more varieties of sedum from my sister today to put in between
the rocks and stuff. I'm having such fun!


Angie,

That's the whole point of having a pond to have fun and enjoy it. Take care to
look after what you have and bigger and all that other stuff will come
naturally cause you'll know exactly what you want where.

Karen
Zone 5
Ashland, OH
http://hometown.aol.com/kmam1/MyPond/MyPond.html
My Art Studio at
http://members.aol.com/kmmstudios/K....M.Studios.html
for email remove the extra extention

On 7/5/04 10:52 PM, in article ,
"Karen Mullen" wrote:

In article , AngieB
writes:

I got some more varieties of sedum from my sister today to put in between
the rocks and stuff. I'm having such fun!


Angie,

That's the whole point of having a pond to have fun and enjoy it. Take care
to
look after what you have and bigger and all that other stuff will come
naturally cause you'll know exactly what you want where.

Karen

I've already been building my paradise in my mind. :-)

Great little pond start into the Porg collective.
-------
The Borg said:
"We are _Borg_ resistant is futile, you will be assimilated."
The Porg say:
"We are Porg, resistant IS futile, you will be pond-elated."

P - Pond, O - Oriented, R - Recreational, G - Group
------

10 gallons/goldfish is the standard aquarium rule, but to be on the safe
side ponders usually recommend 20 gallons outside. What it really comes
down to though is, how big is your filter? As RTB mentioned pond chemistry,
in a small amount of water with a high fish load, the chemistry can go
south very fast. I'd recommend 10% water change outs once a week and a
water flow rate of 250 gph, as one would do on a large aquarium.

Would you like to know about test kits? ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

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

On 7/5/04 2:50 PM, in article
, "~ jan JJsPond.us"
wrote:

Great little pond start into the Porg collective.
-------
The Borg said:
"We are _Borg_ resistant is futile, you will be assimilated."
The Porg say:
"We are Porg, resistant IS futile, you will be pond-elated."

P - Pond, O - Oriented, R - Recreational, G - Group
------

10 gallons/goldfish is the standard aquarium rule, but to be on the safe
side ponders usually recommend 20 gallons outside. What it really comes
down to though is, how big is your filter? As RTB mentioned pond chemistry,
in a small amount of water with a high fish load, the chemistry can go
south very fast. I'd recommend 10% water change outs once a week and a
water flow rate of 250 gph, as one would do on a large aquarium.

Would you like to know about test kits? ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

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

We have a 210 GPH pump but we don't actually have a filter. I did place a
soft foam block over the intake and I clean it weekly -- it picks up a lot
of stuff. The water just goes up to the waterfall and back in. Pretty
elementary, I know.

Do I need a skippy filter or something? I thought I was good with the plants
and doing the water changes once a month. If I have to do an actual filter,
I think we should do one that would be adequate to filter like 500-600
gallons because we are already planning to add another 500 gallon pond.

And how about those test kits? What do I need?

Thanks for your help!

Angie

We have a 210 GPH pump but we don't actually have a filter. I did place a
soft foam block over the intake and I clean it weekly -- it picks up a lot
of stuff. The water just goes up to the waterfall and back in. Pretty
elementary, I know.

To really know if your situation is working you would need a test kit for
at least ammonia & nitrite, the next 2 test kits I consider important are
pH & KH plus a thermometer.

Do I need a skippy filter or something?

No, nothing that drastic, but a flower pot filter would be perfect. You can
see 2 versions on my website by clicking *My Filter* and scrolling to the
bottom of the page, the one on the left is a factory made by Tetra, the one
on the right is homemade. I recently made my own for my lily pond, cost
under $15, not counting media, which can be cheap vinyl coated window
screening. On page 7, bottom right, of *My pond photos* is a recommended
way to encase your pump, instead of dealing with that little prefilter foam
you're cleaning weekly. Encasing it with mesh (do not leave the foam on)
will make it so you won't have to disturb the pump, and residents, in the
pond at all.

I thought I was good with the plants
and doing the water changes once a month.

You obviously have been, but your fish are growing and you want to prevent
"Critical Mass". That's when things go sour, fish get sick, half die while
you try to get things back to right again. This is where the test kits come
in. I highly recommend the tests kits from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
very easy to use, and reasonably priced. So far the cheapest place to
purchase is thru www.thatpetplace.com Sometimes you can find them at a pet
store, if so, open the box, one of the bottles will have a manufacturing
date on the front label at the top. You want that date to be no later than
1/04, though they claim they're good for 2 years. The KHA program
recommends getting fresh kits every year. ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

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