19 replies to this topic

[koikeepr]

Now that I've got my filtration the way I like it, I've been trying to spruce up the looks of my pond area. I added a wrought iron fence and gate recently to keep the kids and predators out. We were going for an english garden-y look since we live in a farmhouse style home.

Here's how things look from the edge of the fence. Behind that bird feeder is where my filter pit with all the mechanicals is:



Here's a view from the upper pond which has Watonai and Sarassa goldfish only:



This is one of the paths that I put in that now goes around the entire pond:


This view is from the other end of the pond. I bought myself a new bench as the other one I had did not have a back. Lots of glasses of wine are enjoyed here:


Check out the next thread to see my video...

[koikeepr]

Here's a close up view of the area that has the filter pit. As the grasses and shrubs get bigger, they will hide it completely:



I added some conduit pipe with some closet door clothes rods hooks so that I could secure the filter pit covers open. I had one crash down on me a few months ago, and I got clocked really good. Ouch!



Here's the video. It's a tiny bit grainy since the file is a large, but hopefully you will still be able to appreciate the images:

[ame][/ame]

More work and improvements to come soon.

[stroppy]

my that is a lovely pond koikeeper .... and beautiful fish

[DrCase]

Like the fish and the music...
looks real good Koikeepr
I don't know if are cameras have to many pixels,,
but it would be good if the videos could just play through with out stopping
Nice pond

[koiguy1969]

nice setup koikeepr.....

[JoaniePA]

Love the video! Your fish look happy - now I have to go look up what watanai and sarassa goldfish are!

[koikeepr]

sarassas are more or less common goldfish--like those orange ones--but they redder and with white patches. They sort of look like kohaku koi and can get fairly large. They are known as the "poor man's koi" by many. Super easy to take care of and very cheap. You can buy 'em at most local petshops. I just love the bright red color. They would go well with your shubunkins, for example.

Watonai are a very old breed of goldfish that is japanese. Very few of us have them in the USA at the moment, but they they are making a comeback. They are bred by crossing a ryunkin and a wakin. They are truly beautiful in that they have long-flowing tails. They can also withstand the cold in a pond and can compete with koi for food. They can get large, however--up to 18", but 10-11" is much more standard. My hope is to hopefully breed them next spring and offer them for sale. We'll see what happens...

They are meant to be viewed from the top like koi. Here's a picture of three of mine when they were youngins':

[DrDave]

That is a pretty fish.

[JoaniePA]

oh my, they're beautiful.

[koikeepr]

the ones without the fancy tails in my video with the goldfish are the sarassas, JoaniePA. So, you can see the difference. The sarassas are all single tailed, where the watonai have long flowing double tails.

Yeah, watonai are totally beautiful in the pond. Flowy, but certainly not wimpy. They can hold their own against koi. I'm thinking about bringing three of them into a indoor aquarium this winter so that I can keep enjoying them...I haven't decided it yet, but i need to hurry up if I'm gonna do it. My husband is balking at the cost of the equipment I want to buy...and lord knows where I'm gonna put the tank... I gave up indoor aquariums 10 years ago, so I'd have to re-buy everything. It just go to be too much work for me with everything I had going on. Hubby is wagging his finger at me. LOL!

[Buck]

Beautiful pond and the video is awesome !! I love the stone borders crossing it and the way you staged the upper part to flow in...very nice!. How deep is it?

[koikeepr]

sadly not deep enough. I never built these ponds, I inherited them when I bought this particular house. The upper pond is about 3 feet and the lower one is 3.5 feet deep. I've been trying to retrofit the whole darned thing for the last year, which is why YOU should take advantage and do it right the first time, my friend. That way, you don't have to fix mistakes.

The sap that built them didn't even consider filtration. But some day, I will scrap the whole thing and do it properly. I will definitely put in a real bottom drain (though my retro drain has been working better than I ever hoped for), go for a depth of 4.5-5 feet and eliminate the double ponds and just go for one big sucker. If I had my druthers, I'd also actually move the pond as the nincompoop also put the pond right near deciduous trees, so I'm forever fighting leaves. But, that would mean a whole new hole...sigh.

Do you pond right, Buck! You won't regret it.

[JoaniePA]

I must find a couple of those pretty fishies - how big do they get?. I can already see that I'm going to need another pond.. The fish thing gets kind of addictive, doesn't it? I saw a big white cat in vulchor (sp?) position on my rocks two nights ago.. he tripped the motion lights in the yard. I freaked! I have one little baby fish that came from nowhere. Well, I know he came from somewhere but he seemed to appear like magic and now I worry about him because he hangs really close to the sides of the pond. I just graduated from teenager-parenthood to empty-nesterhood and I swore I was finished with things depending on me for survival. no more pets, no more kids.. and now there's these wonderful fish!

Hmm.. tell your hubby it's only an initial investment! And besides, it's not like it's like quilting or something which takes up a whole corner of the livingroom! or maybe you quilt too? It only takes up a huge corner of the yard and possibly .the diningroom table in the winter. lol

Joanie

[koikeepr]

cats are least likely to grab your fish. We have a number of strays that roam our neighborhood, and they will definitely go to the pond and stare in wistfully, but cats don't like to get wet--so they will rarely if ever try to get a fish. Racoons don't care if they are soaked and will get right in the water without a problem. Of course, herons and other birds of prey don't mind a dip in the water either. But, though most people don't believe it, cats are fascinated by the movements of fish and may try to paw at the water in an attempt to catch one for a snack if they can reach, but it would be very hard them to snag a fish out without getting into the pond--and since kitties hate getting wet, its unlikely to happen. THo I'm sure if a cat is hungry enough....who knows. I put small round or pointy rocks on top of my flat rocks so that that predators can't sit there on the edge comfortably. You might want to try that as a suggestion. Just pop a rock where you think a cat might be able to rest and that will keep them away.

Sarassas (the single tailed ones) are really easy to find in most petshops. Petsmart and Petco even have 'em. They're fairly cheap, somewhere in the $3.99-$5.99 price. Subunkin's are another to consider and also sold at these places. Also cheap. They grow to be the size that any standard common goldfish would, and the size is usually managed by the size of the pond they are in.

Wakin and watonai usually have to come from a breeder and can be expensive dependent on their size, color, tails, etc. They are nowhere near as expensive as koi, but my first 6 watonai ranged in price from $15 bucks to $60 bucks each because they were small. I've seen them for $100 plus, tho.

I confess I don't quilt. Fish have always been my hobby...

[Buck]

Why not just expand and add a deeper pool to it? I think its a beauty as it is and it would be a shame to start over.