hi everyone!! i'm so glad i found this site, it looks like it could really be a blessing to me and my future plans. I've just started looking up ponds and different water gardens online about a week ago. i finally convinced my boyfriend it would be totally worth the work. he doesn't believe i can do it so i not only have my own expectations to live up to but now i have to prove him wrong.
i'm a huge nature lover and have many pets including a dog, a turtle, guinea pigs, hamsters, and right now i'm caring for a baby squirrel i found about three weeks ago but he will be let go eventually. we just moved and i'm slowly trying to turn my yard into one big nature haven. i didn't think it would be complete without a fish, turtle and/or frog pond! the vet says Hercules( the 9 yr old box turtle) is on it last legs so i think i just gonna have two ponds; one for fish and one for frogs. the frog pond isn't going to be difficult i think. after all when i was growing up i had a huge hole in the backyard that slowly became a frog pond and we didn't do anything to it. they came back year after year!! but i would like advice on how to keep it clean and if i should have anything for mosquitoes because i know the tadpoles eat their eggs but i don't really wont them around. i live in Alabama and summer is bad enough with out them
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The real problem is going to be the fish pond. i'm really limited on funds so i was gonna do the kiddie pool route. my aunt had one for about ten years so i know they work, i'm just gonna add some old carpet and LOTS of sand to line the bottom and sides with. i read somewhere (it might have been this site) that a trick to make it look more natural ( since you cant really help the original circle) is to put silicone on it and rub a sand and gravel/ aquarium rocks mixture into it. is that safe for the fish?? i also don't have an inside aquarium so i wouldn't be able to "winter" them inside. my friends grandparents have goldfish that stay in the pool year round( they are huge!!), is it only gold fish you can do that with?? or is there a certain depth you have to have so it wont freeze? i'm pretty sure i'm only gonna have goldfish tho, like i said, funds are limited.
any advice you can give me will be very appreciated. even if its to say i'm to inexperienced to do this. i don't wanna get fish and have them die on me. i live in Alabama but not on the coast and also need to know what type of plants to put in the pool that are right for this area? the only thing I've ever grown is tomatoes, my boyfriend is the one with the green thumb, so ill need plants that don't take a lot of work and are best left to themselves. i want plants in and around the pool and would like them to last year round(please keep in mind the low budget when providing plant ideas, i know they can get kinna pricey too). and if i have plants should i also get a pump? I've seen lots of pictures online of peoples ponds and don't understand why some are so filled with algae the pond is completely green and some are pretty clear. i know algae is important and serves as many fishes food but is there a limit where i should start cleaning it out? when we had fish in an aquarium when i was little we always cleaned it so none accumulated. should i just leave it? also when should i start planting and adding fish? its February right now so i know its too early. when we plant our garden we begin at the end of April around here to avoid frost. is that about the time i should plant my pond plants?
i know there's a lot of questions and i have a million other questions, but i am a beginner and really don't want to mess it up. if u think there's something that i should know but havent addressed here please speak freely, all advice is welcome!!
i'm a huge nature lover and have many pets including a dog, a turtle, guinea pigs, hamsters, and right now i'm caring for a baby squirrel i found about three weeks ago but he will be let go eventually. we just moved and i'm slowly trying to turn my yard into one big nature haven. i didn't think it would be complete without a fish, turtle and/or frog pond! the vet says Hercules( the 9 yr old box turtle) is on it last legs so i think i just gonna have two ponds; one for fish and one for frogs. the frog pond isn't going to be difficult i think. after all when i was growing up i had a huge hole in the backyard that slowly became a frog pond and we didn't do anything to it. they came back year after year!! but i would like advice on how to keep it clean and if i should have anything for mosquitoes because i know the tadpoles eat their eggs but i don't really wont them around. i live in Alabama and summer is bad enough with out them
. The real problem is going to be the fish pond. i'm really limited on funds so i was gonna do the kiddie pool route. my aunt had one for about ten years so i know they work, i'm just gonna add some old carpet and LOTS of sand to line the bottom and sides with. i read somewhere (it might have been this site) that a trick to make it look more natural ( since you cant really help the original circle) is to put silicone on it and rub a sand and gravel/ aquarium rocks mixture into it. is that safe for the fish?? i also don't have an inside aquarium so i wouldn't be able to "winter" them inside. my friends grandparents have goldfish that stay in the pool year round( they are huge!!), is it only gold fish you can do that with?? or is there a certain depth you have to have so it wont freeze? i'm pretty sure i'm only gonna have goldfish tho, like i said, funds are limited.
any advice you can give me will be very appreciated. even if its to say i'm to inexperienced to do this. i don't wanna get fish and have them die on me. i live in Alabama but not on the coast and also need to know what type of plants to put in the pool that are right for this area? the only thing I've ever grown is tomatoes, my boyfriend is the one with the green thumb, so ill need plants that don't take a lot of work and are best left to themselves. i want plants in and around the pool and would like them to last year round(please keep in mind the low budget when providing plant ideas, i know they can get kinna pricey too). and if i have plants should i also get a pump? I've seen lots of pictures online of peoples ponds and don't understand why some are so filled with algae the pond is completely green and some are pretty clear. i know algae is important and serves as many fishes food but is there a limit where i should start cleaning it out? when we had fish in an aquarium when i was little we always cleaned it so none accumulated. should i just leave it? also when should i start planting and adding fish? its February right now so i know its too early. when we plant our garden we begin at the end of April around here to avoid frost. is that about the time i should plant my pond plants?
i know there's a lot of questions and i have a million other questions, but i am a beginner and really don't want to mess it up. if u think there's something that i should know but havent addressed here please speak freely, all advice is welcome!!