An idea for supplemental surface shade....

[Mmathis]

I found these trays (the ones in the water, not the printed one) when we did some cleaning the other day, and got the idea that -- if they floated -- they would be perfect as supplemental surface shade for the pond and for the QT. And, THEY FLOATED! My lilies haven't filled in very much and there is a lot of "bare" water, so, PERFECT!

Around these parts, they're sold as "crawfish trays," but they show up in just about every store starting in early spring. I think they're about 16" or 18" in diameter, sturdy plastic, come in almost unlimited colors (I've only seen solid colors, though....), are only a few dollars each, and are advertised as being BPA free. I had 1 black one and 2 blue ones of this type. And a purple and blue one in a slightly different style (see pic of QT). The black one almost disappears in the water.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Great idea!

 

[Mmathis]

They do tend to move around with breezes. Not a problem, yet, but guessing if you really needed them to stay put, in one area, could drill a little hole and insert some fishing line to make an anchor. I'll have to take a few days to observe the sunshine pattern and where the trays end up over time....

 

[Dave 54]

Maggie brilliant thinking , I like it

Dave

 

[haver79]

Great idea.

 

[Lisak1]

Very cool idea! And the colorful ones look like pretty too - like floating pond art!

 

[Mmathis]

Very cool idea! And the colorful ones look like pretty too - like floating pond art!

True! And if you were talented [and motivated] you COULD paint something inside the platter. Couldn't you see a colorul koi "swimming" on a deep blue background... Hmmmm..... I wonder what kind of craft paint would adhere and stand up to sun & water......

 

[Timothy]

Good idea, but dangerous! My wife is going to get suspicious when half of our place settings are missing.

 

[Tula]

Neat idea! I too like the colorful ones, so cheerful and artsy

 

[Mmathis]

Oh, and I experimented -- they float just as well up-side-down. You do have to remember to remove the sticker, though....

 

[Mmathis]

ADDENDUM TO THIS POST:

If you do this, be sure to have plenty of air in your pond via lots of surface movement -- air stones, spitters, waterfalls, etc.!

Since the surface of the water is where gasses are exchanged -- as well as heat -- you might be compromising one for the other. There is a fine balance.

Warm water can't carry as much oxygen as cool water, so your "warm," unshaded pond is likely already low in oxygen. Placing a solid object on the surface [like the party platter] means that much LESS area for the water to off-gas toxic gasses and pick up O2.

No, I'm not willing to "experiment" on my fishies, and I haven't researched it, so this is based on speculation.

Just something to keep in mind......