First year pond anniversary

It's been about a year now since I put in my first pond. My
mother's neighbor had bought a preform pond and small
waterfall, a liner, a filter and a pump; but got a transfer
to OH before installing it. I had just bought my first
house, so he gave it all to me. The hardform ended up
covering my riding lawn mower for almost two years, because
with a newly built home I needed alot of things more than I
needed a pond; a shed for instance. We finally installed it
early last summer. It's small. I'm guessing 200-250
gallons. I originally planned to have only plants because I
didn't relish caring for fish, but then I realized
mosquitoes are bad enough in my area. I live on Mobile Bay
in Alabama. I got two shubunkin and liked them so much I
got four more several weeks later. The first summer, green
water was horrible. There were weeks at a time when I could
not see my fish at all, but I never resorted to chemicals,
and did not want to invest in UV for such a small pond.
This year we are already up to 90 degree days here, and I
still do not have a sign of green water. I put watercress
in my waterfall form, and I run my pump hose that goes from
the box filter, into my waterfall form; through a homemade
filter. I take knee high stockings and stuff them with
batting and just stick the hose end in there. When all the
batting gets greenish, I just throw it away (but not without
squeezing the pond water onto nearby plants first) and make
a new one. My pond has been crystal clear to the bottom for
months now. Admittedly that is only two feet; but
considering there were months last year when I couldn't seen
in more than two inches, I'm quite pleased. The fish are
great. They come rushing when you even come near the pond.
They even beg my dog when she stoops over for a drink. It's
hilarious.

Just thought I'd share. I love my pond. We put a comfy
little swing beside it, where we spend hours in the
evenings. We plan all of our plantings, by how it will look
from the swing, LOL.

See pics in the album labeled "Our yard."

Robin
http://community.webshots.com/user/robinandtami