Greetings from New Mexico

[BBQ Bill]

Total Noob here. First dealings with a pond. It came with the house and as far as we could tell it never had fish and is about 6 years old and holds just about 300 gallons..
I drained it, scrubbed it, rinsed it, fixed the pumps and added a mechanical filter to it and lowered the water fall to only 2 tiers, it was 3 tiers originally and we were loosing 150+ gallons of water a week due to evaporation ($$$$$$$), now it looses only 50 gallons a week or less.
The lilies are new and there is about 20 gold fish ( 2" to 3" long) in it.
These pictures were taken this summer and the pond gets full sun light most of the day, yes hair algae is a problem, so I tinted it dark blue at the recommendation of a local lily grower..
Next phase is to reconfigure it some and add another 14" to 18" to the height and have a nice wide 16" deep 16" wide shelf area all of the way around it for potted plants or lilies in the non-turbulent end. The water fall(s) will be rebuilt and maybe only visible before going under a stone bed before exiting into the pond to keep the turbulence and splashing down for the lilies and frog bit.
Looking forward to looking through this forum for ideas and to here from you all on your thoughts. These pictures were taken early in the morning as the pond is on the North side of the yard.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum! That is a nice looking pond you have.

 

[Tula]

Welcome, happy to have you join us

 

[j.w]

@BBQ Bill
Pond looks nice and wow there's a bbq

 

[Gemma]

Welcome to GPF!

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome!

So are you planning to raise the sides of the pond so it's partially above ground? A smaller waterfall is a great idea - you don't need much height to create water movement. Check out the Pond Digger on YouTube for some great DIY pond build videos!

When you're ready, we'll talk about ditching the blue dye for more natural ways to keep the string algae under control. Here's a hint - sunlight isn't your problem. It's the nutrients in your water... aka fish waste, organic waste, fish food. But you get busy with that rebuild and we'll hang out and watch you work!

 

[Tara]

Very pretty pond, welcome.

 

[BBQ Bill]

Thanks everyone! Thank for the advice and compliments!
@ Lisak1 ; Currently the pond is level with the landscape it is in, I am wanting to raise the level/make it deeper and have a sitting place around it. The, plan is to pour concrete around where it currently is to stabilize the landscape and then to build it up with bricks and mortar then place in a new liner in it. We are also looking to get a big dog soon so this may help discourage the 'swimming' desire.
I'm looking forward to learning how to make my pond a better place.
Here's the BBQ. Competitive cooking for the last 20 years in the Southwest.

 

[sissy]

welcome and hope you know goldfish reproduce a l lot .20 goldfish may turn into 300 goldfish in a couple of months .You may need to get addicted to ponding fast and build a bigger pond

 

[BBQ Bill]

welcome and hope you know goldfish reproduce a l lot .20 goldfish may turn into 300 goldfish in a couple of months .You may need to get addicted to ponding fast and build a bigger pond

The pond has had fish in it for about a year now and I have not seen a population growth, i think the dragonfly larva may help with that.
Yes, am looking to make it bigger already. I tried a 125 gallon plastic stock pond on the patio this summer, learned a lot and want to do it again this year with mods. I've have big fish tanks for 40 years but this is the first outdoor pond I've had.

 

[j.w]

My goldfish don't reproduce a lot either. Well I think they try but something gets the eggs or the fry before they make it to be big enough to survive. That is I suppose a good thing!
Boy you are really in the BBQ business there @BBQ Bill ! I saw that little one next to your pond and thought oh that's cute but wow you go in big time w/that set up you have there!

 

[BBQ Bill]

My goldfish don't reproduce a lot either. Well I think they try but something gets the eggs or the fry before they make it to be big enough to survive. That is I suppose a good thing!
Boy you are really in the BBQ business there @BBQ Bill ! I saw that little one next to your pond and thought oh that's cute but wow you go in big time w/that set up you have there!

That's actually the small cooker, the big one had 50 square feet of cooking surface. It's a hobby.... I'm really in the global mining industry as a product support guy, I travel 100,000 miles a year visiting mines around the world.

 

[j.w]

@BBQ Bill I watch those gold mining shows on tv. Gold Rush and the new White Water one w/Fred the old guy and his kid. What kind of support do you do? Your job must be very interesting and you get to see a lot of the world as you work!

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Your pond is lovely, I really like the waterfall

 

[BBQ Bill]

This is what I do in my real life, play with the worlds largest Tonka trucks where they live. From the Arctic circle to Australia to Africa and Middle East and points in between.. We build the water tankers, I get to install them on the trucks and train operators.