10 replies to this topic

[Shaeward]

Hi! My name is Alisha. I've recently joined the world of ponding...and yes, I'm ADDICTED! My husband has been keeping fish (aquariums) since he was about 10 yrs old. My first experience came about 9 yrs ago when we set up our 55 gallon aquarium. I've loved having fish ever since! Along with our fish hobby, we also own, show and raise Boxers. We currently have 4 living in our home ranging in age of 4 yrs to 6 months. The dogs love the ponds and fish watching almost as much as we do.

We started the planning and research stage of our first pond last summer. Installation started in May of this year (DIYers) and first fish were added in July. As we started the landscaping around the pond (Which isn't near done but so much fun!) I decided another, smaller pond was going to be needed. A 91 gallon pre-formed pond was installed about 3 weeks ago.

Our larger pond is about 6 x 13 x 3 with a 8-9' "stream" that leads up to a waterfall (the stream looks more like a small pond instead of a stream...the water doesn't really flow like I had imagined due to the depth I guess.). It's around 1150 - 1200 gallons. It's home to 3 shubs, 2 koi, and 2 comets. I hadn't planned on adding any koi due to their size but couldn't resist once I discovered the butterfly variety. The shubs are my fave, though...love their color!

The smaller pond sets behind a retaining wall near the larger one. Much easier to install than the larger one since it's above ground so required very little digging. The dirt used to fill in around it came from the huge pile we accumulated from the digging of the larger one. Took me about 3 hrs to have it fully installed and ready for water. I added 2 fantails last weekend and will be adding another as soon as I find what I'm looking for.

This site looks great...I'm off to gain more info and check out the gallery.

[leeannecastro]

welcome, lets see some photos!

[DrDave]

Welcome aboard Alisha!

[Shaeward]

Thanks for the welcome.

Here are a couple photos of the larger pond:





Here's a photo of the small pond behind the retaining wall:



Here's a photo of the waterfall...I would like to take it apart and re-do it some time. I know it's going to be a huge job to do so probably will continue to put it off until next year...



Still have lots of work to do but it's coming along.

Edited by Shaeward, 22 August 2009 - 03:09 AM.

[Shaeward]

Here's the 7 fish in the larger pond:

At the surface eating:



About 2' under:



A photo of a puppy from our last litter laying in front of the pond last weekend:



And going for a dip a couple days before:

[Shaeward]

Here's a photo of the Heron that snagged the first Koi we had. As he was flying over the dogs chased him through the field. It's been about a month and we've not seen him since. We're hoping he was scared off for good.

[koiguy1969]

nice set up Alisha....and nice to have you with us

[stroppy]

lovely pond and i love that bridge ..... and the boxer is so cute

[DrCase]

Welcome to the forum...
I like your bridge too

[Shaeward]

Thanks everyone.

I had been searching for a bridge for quite some time (our set up was designed for one). We went into Sam's Club last week to pick up some stuff and to my surprise, there set the bridge!

[DrDave]

If anyone is interested in building their own, I have plans available on my wesite. They are easy to build in a day.