Hi, I'm new to the forum but just wanted to introduce myself and have a thread to keep track of my pond progress and ask questions. I wish I would have found this forum sooner, but am glad I found it now. We bought a new house in 2016 that had very little landscaping on the property and none in the back yard. Grass and weeds right up to the foundation. We spent the first two years planting beds and establishing some shrubs, flowers and trees. Last year, mostly on a whim, I dug a big hole and decided it would become a pond. I didn't have much of a plan and certainly had no idea about ponds.
Digging the pond was brutal. Our house was built in place of a large barn, which had a stone foundation. The barn was relocated, but the foundation was just bulldozed and covered with topsoil. So any digging is extremely difficult. It's all rocks. I wanted a pond with deep sections for fish to survive the winter and maybe find protection from predators, so I dug about 5 ft down at the deepest parts and benched up from there for plant "shelving". It was difficult, and all the rocks I used to surround the pond actually came out of the area I dug. I'm glad the digging part is over!!
Before pond, first flower beds going in.
Pond year 1 (first draft):
My first year went great. I added a few plants, a cheap waterfall made out of a concrete mixing pan and some pump / filter combination I found on craigslist. I added a few plants and started adding fish. I eventually ended up with 3 koi, about 15 goldfish, and about 25 minnows. I really enjoyed the sound of the waterfall and perhaps more, the ecosystem that developed. We saw more birds, a few dragonfly's came, a lot of toads, and a few frogs. I'm not sure where everyone came from, but they all still seem to be happy to be here. My pond gets a lot of sun, so algae became a problem. My pump and filters were undersized and my plant population was too low. Still, it was a great first season. I left the pump running over the winter and everything seemed to survive very well.
This year, I was ready to make some improvements. Many finishing touches with stones and plants around the pond, and some improvement to the ecosystem. I read about bog filters, and liked the idea of a more passive system than one with filters that would clog up. I knew I needed a larger pump, and got a variable speed one that I really like. It is adjustable between 2500-5000gpm I think. I added 30 trapdoor snails to deal with the algae, and will work on adding the more marginal and floating plants this season as the weather warms up.
In addition to the bog filter, I added a bench in front of the pond, which is a really great place to sit, feed the fish, and enjoy everything close up. I also added a turtle shaped spitter by the bench, initially, to add some more oxygen and water movement, but now more because my kids like it and my dogs drink from it.
This year, I will work on getting more plants. Maybe some floating planters and some more plants to cover the surface of the water and help with algae. I have tons of room for marginal plants, which I hope to add as well. The closest store to me that sells pond plants is about 45 minutes away, so I've been using mail order vendors recently. I don't know anything about pond chemistry, additives or other treatments and haven't used any. Except for some algae, I don't have any issues that I think I need to address yet. Everything seems to be thriving so far, and I'm hoping will do even better once temperatures come up a little.
I am really pleased with how things have come together from the time I put the hole in the ground until now. I enjoy the addition to our property: the sound, the plants, and all the new life. It's much better than the weeds we mowed every week when we moved in. I look forward to learning more from all of the members here.
Digging the pond was brutal. Our house was built in place of a large barn, which had a stone foundation. The barn was relocated, but the foundation was just bulldozed and covered with topsoil. So any digging is extremely difficult. It's all rocks. I wanted a pond with deep sections for fish to survive the winter and maybe find protection from predators, so I dug about 5 ft down at the deepest parts and benched up from there for plant "shelving". It was difficult, and all the rocks I used to surround the pond actually came out of the area I dug. I'm glad the digging part is over!!
Before pond, first flower beds going in.
Pond year 1 (first draft):
My first year went great. I added a few plants, a cheap waterfall made out of a concrete mixing pan and some pump / filter combination I found on craigslist. I added a few plants and started adding fish. I eventually ended up with 3 koi, about 15 goldfish, and about 25 minnows. I really enjoyed the sound of the waterfall and perhaps more, the ecosystem that developed. We saw more birds, a few dragonfly's came, a lot of toads, and a few frogs. I'm not sure where everyone came from, but they all still seem to be happy to be here. My pond gets a lot of sun, so algae became a problem. My pump and filters were undersized and my plant population was too low. Still, it was a great first season. I left the pump running over the winter and everything seemed to survive very well.
This year, I was ready to make some improvements. Many finishing touches with stones and plants around the pond, and some improvement to the ecosystem. I read about bog filters, and liked the idea of a more passive system than one with filters that would clog up. I knew I needed a larger pump, and got a variable speed one that I really like. It is adjustable between 2500-5000gpm I think. I added 30 trapdoor snails to deal with the algae, and will work on adding the more marginal and floating plants this season as the weather warms up.
In addition to the bog filter, I added a bench in front of the pond, which is a really great place to sit, feed the fish, and enjoy everything close up. I also added a turtle shaped spitter by the bench, initially, to add some more oxygen and water movement, but now more because my kids like it and my dogs drink from it.
This year, I will work on getting more plants. Maybe some floating planters and some more plants to cover the surface of the water and help with algae. I have tons of room for marginal plants, which I hope to add as well. The closest store to me that sells pond plants is about 45 minutes away, so I've been using mail order vendors recently. I don't know anything about pond chemistry, additives or other treatments and haven't used any. Except for some algae, I don't have any issues that I think I need to address yet. Everything seems to be thriving so far, and I'm hoping will do even better once temperatures come up a little.
I am really pleased with how things have come together from the time I put the hole in the ground until now. I enjoy the addition to our property: the sound, the plants, and all the new life. It's much better than the weeds we mowed every week when we moved in. I look forward to learning more from all of the members here.
