Forward progress continues. On tap for tomorrow is pulling the urn and getting the holes watertight and getting the area it is sitting all dressed up and perma like.
Garden Pond 103
- Thread starter gardengimp
- Start date
I walked out the door early one morning this week with my coffee in hand, said good morning to the fish who were swimming around begging for breakfast. Trying to convince me they were starving. I had been setting in my deck chair for about 10 minutes or so and two ibis came flying in from the south. About the time they were 30 feet above ground they did a 45 degree veer off from the pond and landed in the front lawn out by the street. Within a blink about another dozen ibis joined them. They hung around for a few minutes then all took off.
I walked over to my pond, and none of my fish were to be seen. They had all gone into hiding. So, now the original side of the pond has everything including the kitchen sink floating in it. I think the combination of the huge wild cherry loosing its leaves for the winter and the lilies going dormant has made my little pond visible from up high. I was surprised though to see ibis, I normally think of them as shallow water mud type birds. Not much mud here though for the past few months as dry as it has been.
So I am thinking the ibis must have veered off after seeing me. Maybe I should visit the adult toy store and get a blow up doll and set her up in my favorite deck chair. We are going down to Key West for Christmas with hubbies family, going to be the first time the fish have been left all alone for a spell. Wonder if my neighbors would think I had finally lost my last screw if I covered the pond with frost cloth before we left? Don't have any netting big enough. I looked for netting today, and ended up buying a roll of nylon mason twine. Figure I have plenty of hours of car riding I can make my own netting.
I converted one of the dogs practice jumps into a holder for some plastic chicken wire I use in the garden to try to keep the squirrels out of my seedlings. Found one of the silly fish this morning trying to skimming up on top of it. So, added some bobbers today. I'm sure anybody who comes up my front walk right now is going to wonder. Especially since I also have the two pieces to the new fish fort floating in the original pond. Thinking to let it get started growing some beneficial bacteria before assembling it for the new side.
The experimental floating impatiens island is working out pretty well. Maybe I can encourage it so it will be even bigger next fall. Surprisingly, it is the 'sun patient' variety of impatiens that is working out the best. The terrarium plant (that I totally don't know what it is, pale pinkish arrow leaves, grows like a philodendron) is also doing fairly well, just growing slowly. It's a newish addition so I don't know if it will make it through our horrible Augusts.
I walked over to my pond, and none of my fish were to be seen. They had all gone into hiding. So, now the original side of the pond has everything including the kitchen sink floating in it. I think the combination of the huge wild cherry loosing its leaves for the winter and the lilies going dormant has made my little pond visible from up high. I was surprised though to see ibis, I normally think of them as shallow water mud type birds. Not much mud here though for the past few months as dry as it has been.
So I am thinking the ibis must have veered off after seeing me. Maybe I should visit the adult toy store and get a blow up doll and set her up in my favorite deck chair. We are going down to Key West for Christmas with hubbies family, going to be the first time the fish have been left all alone for a spell. Wonder if my neighbors would think I had finally lost my last screw if I covered the pond with frost cloth before we left? Don't have any netting big enough. I looked for netting today, and ended up buying a roll of nylon mason twine. Figure I have plenty of hours of car riding I can make my own netting.
I converted one of the dogs practice jumps into a holder for some plastic chicken wire I use in the garden to try to keep the squirrels out of my seedlings. Found one of the silly fish this morning trying to skimming up on top of it. So, added some bobbers today. I'm sure anybody who comes up my front walk right now is going to wonder. Especially since I also have the two pieces to the new fish fort floating in the original pond. Thinking to let it get started growing some beneficial bacteria before assembling it for the new side.
The experimental floating impatiens island is working out pretty well. Maybe I can encourage it so it will be even bigger next fall. Surprisingly, it is the 'sun patient' variety of impatiens that is working out the best. The terrarium plant (that I totally don't know what it is, pale pinkish arrow leaves, grows like a philodendron) is also doing fairly well, just growing slowly. It's a newish addition so I don't know if it will make it through our horrible Augusts.
Got the toilet flange and spacer, so tomorrow is the big day. Cap the pipe on the existing pond side, and install the connectors on the new side. Here's to watertight connections.
Tomorrow, tomorrow - you're only a day away!
Oh, and a toad, frog and some dragonflies have moved into the new side. Guess things are starting to settle in. Provided this goes together as planned, I fill the new side partially back up. I'll use water from the old pond, the rain barrels, some that I will save draining it down to work on it, and likely a bit from the tap. I'll fill it just to the connection point then let it sit and run till after the Christmas. Hubs, me and our two dogs are heading to the keys for Christmas with his family.
Tomorrow, tomorrow - you're only a day away!
Oh, and a toad, frog and some dragonflies have moved into the new side. Guess things are starting to settle in. Provided this goes together as planned, I fill the new side partially back up. I'll use water from the old pond, the rain barrels, some that I will save draining it down to work on it, and likely a bit from the tap. I'll fill it just to the connection point then let it sit and run till after the Christmas. Hubs, me and our two dogs are heading to the keys for Christmas with his family.
j.w
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Yay almost there and neat you have new residents. Have a nice time over Christmas w/ your family
JW - you out did yourself, that Snowman is fabulous. Maybe I can put him out by our pond 
Well, the day progresses from one snafu to another. With about an hour of good light left, I realized I had purchased an outie and really needed to exchange it for an innie. Sadly, closed the pipe back up and left the new addition half empty. Will stop on the way home tomorrow and exchange it. I volunteer one morning a week at a Title 1 school taking a class of SNK out to grow veggies in a school garden. We picked all the crops last week and tomorrow we will look over the pictures and talk about what we grew. So it will probably be a short day and I should be able to get back into the pond around noonish.
Ran smack dab into all sorts of problems getting the pipe capped on the existing pond side. I had bought a 4" rubber cap thinking that would do the job just fine. Neither me, nor my husband when I called could get the dang thang on the pipe. We tried vaseline, super hot water, a mallet and many 4 letter words. It isn't hot enough here to leave it out on the asphalt, or I would have tried that also. We ended up putting a scrap piece of liner over the pipe with a hose clamp. That seemed to work fine until I pulled the cap off the new side. And the water ran, and ran, and ran until many gallons had flowed back into the pond I spent so much time pumping down. GRRRRRRRRRRR
The leopard frog was perched on the pump tubing at the opposite end of the pond glaring at me. I swear, he was glaring. The dragonflies are going to come by tomorrow and leave us nasty grams I'm sure.
But I did get the new fish fort assembled in place. Hope the babies appreciate all that building work!
Well, the day progresses from one snafu to another. With about an hour of good light left, I realized I had purchased an outie and really needed to exchange it for an innie. Sadly, closed the pipe back up and left the new addition half empty. Will stop on the way home tomorrow and exchange it. I volunteer one morning a week at a Title 1 school taking a class of SNK out to grow veggies in a school garden. We picked all the crops last week and tomorrow we will look over the pictures and talk about what we grew. So it will probably be a short day and I should be able to get back into the pond around noonish.
Ran smack dab into all sorts of problems getting the pipe capped on the existing pond side. I had bought a 4" rubber cap thinking that would do the job just fine. Neither me, nor my husband when I called could get the dang thang on the pipe. We tried vaseline, super hot water, a mallet and many 4 letter words. It isn't hot enough here to leave it out on the asphalt, or I would have tried that also. We ended up putting a scrap piece of liner over the pipe with a hose clamp. That seemed to work fine until I pulled the cap off the new side. And the water ran, and ran, and ran until many gallons had flowed back into the pond I spent so much time pumping down. GRRRRRRRRRRR
The leopard frog was perched on the pump tubing at the opposite end of the pond glaring at me. I swear, he was glaring. The dragonflies are going to come by tomorrow and leave us nasty grams I'm sure.
But I did get the new fish fort assembled in place. Hope the babies appreciate all that building work!
From us to us: Merry Christmas to Us!
Using a toilet flange and spacer was a lot easier to get water tight (for me) than a pipe boot with a hose clamp on a 4" pipe. That said, it wasn't particularly easy for us either. I think if I was making recommendations to people who are building their first ponds, ummm ... connecting pipe under the sidewalk not exactly a cake walk. Oh, and do not let spouses talk you into doing one part one winter and the other part the next. Dealing with water in one side of the pond just made it all the more difficult.
Also, using the 4"x4"x36" strip cobble as a lintel over the drain pipe is working out really nice. I think I will have a lot less issues with settling. The ends of the lintel are sitting on concrete block that is rebar'ed and packed with sandy clay.
The extension is not as completed as I was hoping by Christmas, but it is close. I still need to seal the hose clamp on the top side of the pipe connection and make sure every thing is watertight before filling in the sand on top the pipe. Then I can close it up and get the liner in final place and plant some mondo grass along the sidewalk edge. And of course, we need more rock. Go figure.
The final pipe connection went like so: 4" sch 80 pipe .... 4" x 4" rubber connector ..... 4" toilet flange ..... liner ...... 4" toilet spacer. I think using the rubber connector will help a lot. Really wish I had used one on the other side. Of course, I didn't really know they existed then. The rubber connector will act like an expansion joint, it will allow a bit of flex to the liner. Also, I left a bit of extra liner above and below the joint. Since the pipe has been under the sidewalk for a year now, I really don't expect much more settling issues. And of course, we don't get ground freezes here in Central Florida.
I also need to finish up the filtration. Well, what is going to pass for filtration until we can buy a real pump! I have a 350 gph statuary pump being repurposed to help. It is tee'd to go to the green urn and to a the baby blue bowl. That blue bowl is the spot for a rock tower trickle. Just need to find the rock. Hopefully will find a nice specimen while we are down in the keys.
Provided we don't come home from the keys and find half the pond drained, I expect to finish up at the sidewalk connection area than let the pond run for a week or so. Then move the baby fish in and let that run for 2 weeks or so. If there continue to be no issues, then I'll take the cap off the pipe on the original side. And take bets on which of the old fish are the first through the pipe.
And find out just how much off my novice level measurements where, and adjust accordingly (as the two sides of the pond find their jointly natural level).
Then the next fun part of this project will be getting the pond water on each side to intermingle. I suspect there won't be a lot of natural exchange since we have a submerged 4" pipe. I suspect I'm going to need to be helping it along.
Using a toilet flange and spacer was a lot easier to get water tight (for me) than a pipe boot with a hose clamp on a 4" pipe. That said, it wasn't particularly easy for us either. I think if I was making recommendations to people who are building their first ponds, ummm ... connecting pipe under the sidewalk not exactly a cake walk. Oh, and do not let spouses talk you into doing one part one winter and the other part the next. Dealing with water in one side of the pond just made it all the more difficult.
Also, using the 4"x4"x36" strip cobble as a lintel over the drain pipe is working out really nice. I think I will have a lot less issues with settling. The ends of the lintel are sitting on concrete block that is rebar'ed and packed with sandy clay.
The extension is not as completed as I was hoping by Christmas, but it is close. I still need to seal the hose clamp on the top side of the pipe connection and make sure every thing is watertight before filling in the sand on top the pipe. Then I can close it up and get the liner in final place and plant some mondo grass along the sidewalk edge. And of course, we need more rock. Go figure.
The final pipe connection went like so: 4" sch 80 pipe .... 4" x 4" rubber connector ..... 4" toilet flange ..... liner ...... 4" toilet spacer. I think using the rubber connector will help a lot. Really wish I had used one on the other side. Of course, I didn't really know they existed then. The rubber connector will act like an expansion joint, it will allow a bit of flex to the liner. Also, I left a bit of extra liner above and below the joint. Since the pipe has been under the sidewalk for a year now, I really don't expect much more settling issues. And of course, we don't get ground freezes here in Central Florida.
I also need to finish up the filtration. Well, what is going to pass for filtration until we can buy a real pump! I have a 350 gph statuary pump being repurposed to help. It is tee'd to go to the green urn and to a the baby blue bowl. That blue bowl is the spot for a rock tower trickle. Just need to find the rock. Hopefully will find a nice specimen while we are down in the keys.
Provided we don't come home from the keys and find half the pond drained, I expect to finish up at the sidewalk connection area than let the pond run for a week or so. Then move the baby fish in and let that run for 2 weeks or so. If there continue to be no issues, then I'll take the cap off the pipe on the original side. And take bets on which of the old fish are the first through the pipe.
And find out just how much off my novice level measurements where, and adjust accordingly (as the two sides of the pond find their jointly natural level).
Then the next fun part of this project will be getting the pond water on each side to intermingle. I suspect there won't be a lot of natural exchange since we have a submerged 4" pipe. I suspect I'm going to need to be helping it along.
Before:
After:
Pretty soon now I can start planning next winter's project!
After:
Pretty soon now I can start planning next winter's project!
Ruben Miranda
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Hello
That is beautiful work.
Ruben
That is beautiful work.
Ruben
j.w
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Looks great
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beautiful great job
Sealed up the hose clamp on the rubber fitting on the connecting pipe yesterday. Put it all back together today and filled her up. Is this the home stretch? Oh, and added the neato piece of driftwood hubby found and some of the rock we brought home from the keys. Got my rock trickle going. All of the babies in the tub continue to do fine. I'll start water testing tomorrow. The last 100 gallons came from the existing pond side today. Wonder if that plus the frogs living in the new side are enough to start a cycle?
Oh, and .....
On the First Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ....
12 cobbles stoning
Eleven Boulders sunning
Ten feet of linering
Nine rushes rounding
Eight iris blooming
Seven brooks a babbling
Six cories flutter butting
Five beautiful watonai
Four sedges with edges
Three trap door snails
Two tropical lilies
And a golden lotus in a fish pond
Oh, and .....
On the First Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ....
12 cobbles stoning
Eleven Boulders sunning
Ten feet of linering
Nine rushes rounding
Eight iris blooming
Seven brooks a babbling
Six cories flutter butting
Five beautiful watonai
Four sedges with edges
Three trap door snails
Two tropical lilies
And a golden lotus in a fish pond
callingcolleen1
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Hello! This is Fish WELFARE!! Is there something FiShY going on??? The fish have contacted us and said they have not been fed for at least one hour and they would now like you to get working on another pond for all the babies to come in the spring!!
Nice thread, no thanks to you! Fish said they had to do all the talking and the "contractors" delayed the opening of their new home cause they sat around the pond dreaming.....
Nice thread, no thanks to you! Fish said they had to do all the talking and the "contractors" delayed the opening of their new home cause they sat around the pond dreaming.....
callingcolleen1
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And Singing nice songs and having way too much fun!! :-D
j.w
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Looks really nice now GG and fun poem too.............have you been sipping the eggnog again
sissy
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garden I think your Santa is over dressed he needs a straw Santa hat and sunscreen :razz: