Hello!

[rubyduby]

Hello! I'm Chris, and I'm pond-curious. I learned about this community from a fellow member of a reef aquarium forum, who assured me that if I joined the garden pond forum, someone named JW would welcome me with a top notch animated gif. I was sold.

I would love to have a pond one day, but I do not currently have one. Instead I have lots of YouTube videos that I watch about how to construct ponds, and how to pick apart the patterns on baby koi to determined which will be the ones that I can actually afford, vs the ones I wish that I could afford.

Looking forward to learning about ponds here!

Welcome to the forum Chris...you are smart to join BEFORE you start your pond...I am new here but a lot of the members have years of experience that they will share with you which can help you to avoid future mistakes..

 

[brokensword]

Thank you all for the warm welcome, and thank you @j.w for the animated gif. It did not disappoint!

I'd love to learn more about your ponds. I have to admit that I'm probably 24-36 months out from my build. I need to change jobs, move to a new house, and buy a new shovel before I can really push launch.

In the meantime, I am here to learn!

I've been keeping fish in aquaria for 35 years this February, but I have very limited experience with ponds and koi. I live in Massachusetts, which I find to be far too cold.

that's why she gets paid the BIG BUCKS! And good that you have almost THREE years to come to your senses re pineapple on pizza; SOME around here are either blind (pineapple doesn't exist LOL) or are just plain sittin' on their widdle throne so long, a part of them has gone numb!

We'll take care of ya, we just need a total amount of $$ you want to spend and we'll get started doing that fer ya! Btw, have you filled out the 20 page new member recruitment package Queen JDub should have bestowed on ye? And hope you like camp dogs -- we gots TWO of 'em (just found out they're shape changers too!) by the name of Jack and Shelly. Mind where you step -- Jack is a bit new and well, like our Queen, isn't well trained -- yet!

Stroll through the hallowed halls of GPF and note pond designs you like as that's the best way to get exactly what you want, by culling from others all their best parts! Do head down Bog Aisle as it's our favorite part of the Castle. Mind if you get too near the garage; cars have been known to suddenly start sliding down atcha!

Okies, should about do it fer yer intro and sorry we had to slander all over your bright new thread, but well, some of us are part of the OTG and well? it's what we do!


let's ride!

 

[j.w]

that's why she gets paid the BIG BUCKS! And good that you have almost THREE years to come to your senses re pineapple on pizza; SOME around here are either blind (pineapple doesn't exist LOL) or are just plain sittin' on their widdle throne so long, a part of them has gone numb!

We'll take care of ya, we just need a total amount of $$ you want to spend and we'll get started doing that fer ya! Btw, have you filled out the 20 page new member recruitment package Queen JDub should have bestowed on ye? And hope you like camp dogs -- we gots TWO of 'em (just found out they're shape changers too!) by the name of Jack and Shelly. Mind where you step -- Jack is a bit new and well, like our Queen, isn't well trained -- yet!

Stroll through the hallowed halls of GPF and note pond designs you like as that's the best way to get exactly what you want, by culling from others all their best parts! Do head down Bog Aisle as it's our favorite part of the Castle. Mind if you get too near the garage; cars have been known to suddenly start sliding down atcha!

Okies, should about do it fer yer intro and sorry we had to slander all over your bright new thread, but well, some of us are part of the OTG and well? it's what we do!


let's ride!

OFF WITH YOUR HEAD................AGAIN KINGY!

 

[Chrisv]

that's why she gets paid the BIG BUCKS! And good that you have almost THREE years to come to your senses re pineapple on pizza; SOME around here are either blind (pineapple doesn't exist LOL) or are just plain sittin' on their widdle throne so long, a part of them has gone numb!

We'll take care of ya, we just need a total amount of $$ you want to spend and we'll get started doing that fer ya! Btw, have you filled out the 20 page new member recruitment package Queen JDub should have bestowed on ye? And hope you like camp dogs -- we gots TWO of 'em (just found out they're shape changers too!) by the name of Jack and Shelly. Mind where you step -- Jack is a bit new and well, like our Queen, isn't well trained -- yet!

Stroll through the hallowed halls of GPF and note pond designs you like as that's the best way to get exactly what you want, by culling from others all their best parts! Do head down Bog Aisle as it's our favorite part of the Castle. Mind if you get too near the garage; cars have been known to suddenly start sliding down atcha!

Okies, should about do it fer yer intro and sorry we had to slander all over your bright new thread, but well, some of us are part of the OTG and well? it's what we do!


let's ride!

Well this forum seems like the party bus of the fishkeeping world!

I figure it's best to never ever start a project with a budget. If I planned out a budget I would never launch anything, because actual costs always end up being 3-10x what is reasonable.

I'm thinking more about starting with a dream and then figuring out the rest as I go. I like the shubunkins that JW posted, but I don't have a guard dog and so I think I need some fish that are a bit more intimidating. So if I know that I want a group of big honkin' koi fish, I can start to work back from there. Maybe 6-10 fish. Clearly the pond will need to be massive by my standards or they will never grow. And if I still live in MA when I build this thing, I'm thinking it will need to be pretty deep to accommodate the cold winters.

There sure does seem to be some heated debate about making more naturalistic ponds vs bare bones ponds when the goal is to house koi. I hope to learn more about the thought process there. I have to admit that I like the idea of lots of cool plants... But I want to learn more about why people are so dedicated to koi only type setups.

 

[Chrisv]

Also, I can recognize a trap when I see one: I will make no comment about my pineapple preferences!

 

[Chrisv]

 

[Chrisv]

Ok, but why can't I post a gif??!

https://media1.giphy.com/media/VLuEi3ijz0wrC/giphy.webp

 

[brokensword]

Also, I can recognize a trap when I see one: I will make no comment about my pineapple preferences!

heh, smart, keeping mum about the pineapple trap! But if that envelope full of Benjamins finds it's way into yer pocket, just remember where it came from, capiche?

Oh, and party bus; yeah, we get that some times, that's why we make Dime drive cause you never know what the Queen of Anigifs has in her flask, ya know?



Now, here's some basic math re your pond prefs, as I just heard; the general rule of thumb is 1000 gallons for the first and 250-500 for each additional, bringing your totalt to...(hold on, got an old Texas Instruments calculater here...) 2200 gallons to 3200 gallons, give or take. Gives you a size to shoot for, but here's the kicker; ever hear of LPS? Got lots of acros for you to learn...Larger Pond Syndrome. And it's REAL, so don't show no disrespect! In essence, MOST if not ALL (and any that says otherwise is probably a pooler in ponder's clothing!) have enlarged our original pond, sometimes multiple times! (yeah, there's just not enough 'help' for some of us). So if you go twice as large as you initially want, you'll save years of 'what ifs' and 'I shoulda couldas'.

You'll get 'debate' of natural vs bare bones ponds ONLY if you're a koi purist. By that I mean, you can keep koi in either, successfully (despite what the 'purists' say) by adhering to some basic good pond stewardship. And you CAN have more than the 'rule of thumb' (seee MY showcase/bio; I like breaking rules!) but you should at least have some hands on experience and time under your belt before you go off on a bender. Bare bones ponds are ones without any plants, or even rocks in the pond. Many of us eschew that philosophy and so are called 'eco/natural' ponders. We don't care, we've got thick skin but not so wimpy arms, ya know? So, figure out which 'vision' you want and start with that. Post it up and we'll all be glad to rip it apart chime in and give your our biased opinions re what types of problems opportunities you're getting into and how to spend lots fixing circumnavigate them!

ah, shall we save you a seat on the bus? Somewhere close or far away from where the OTG sits? Remember, we don't let lil Queenie drive anymore, so you're safe!

 

[brokensword]

Ok, but why can't I post a gif??!

https://media1.giphy.com/media/VLuEi3ijz0wrC/giphy.webp

ah, just drag it into your post, but Ian (Supreme Lord and Master of the Realm here called GPF) looks askance if you do much of that, hence why most of us have them IN OUR SIGNATURE. Now, there IS a procedure for that and I'll let lil Queenie @j.w send you the instructions as I KNOW she so solemnly put it all down on paper for posterity!

 

[brokensword]

Ok, but why can't I post a gif??!

https://media1.giphy.com/media/VLuEi3ijz0wrC/giphy.webp

I tried yours (VERY VERY nice, btw; you'll get along just fine with the OTG!) but it shows as 'too large'. Per Supreme Overlord Ian; animated gifs should be UNDER 1M...yours is sitting at 25M, soooo, sending it through my shrinky dink machine...gives...

 

[j.w]

How to put images in you signature:

Highlight each image by scrolling upwards till it turns blue over the image. Rt click on it and choose copy. Go to siggy and click control V at the spot you want your gif. Use blank space (brokensword made for me) to add room between images. If images jump down move them back by holding and dragging back to where you want them. Click tab bar to move images where you want them also. Only choose images from forum and not pm's. If anybody wants to add info to this then go ahead. Any help will be appreciated by those who wish to add to their signature. Also putting them in a straight line across the page helps keep space being used on forum to a better minimum for those on mobile devices that have to scroll a long way up to get to the posts.

Hope this helps and not too confusing w/my chicken scratching's

 

[addy1]

Also, I can recognize a trap when I see one: I will make no comment about my pineapple preferences!

SMART!

 

[j.w]

@brokensword where to you find one of those shrinky dink machines? As I have a free https://www.gifgit.com/gif/resize one that only does certain sizes and not the bigger ones that say too large on this forum.

If it's not free than forget it as the queen is quite frugal ya know. I tried to resize this one using that free one above but said too large when I went to put on the forum. It's this one, hee hee but you might not like it!

https://66.media.tumblr.com/304c63a4ec95361ca36b5d5ef15a5f98/tumblr_pkhbkhmKif1toamj8o1_1280.gif

 

[j.w]

Never mind I figured it out @brokensword Found a free one to do it.

 

[GBBUDD]

that's why she gets paid the BIG BUCKS! And good that you have almost THREE years to come to your senses re pineapple on pizza; SOME around here are either blind (pineapple doesn't exist LOL) or are just plain sittin' on their widdle throne so long, a part of them has gone numb!

We'll take care of ya, we just need a total amount of $$ you want to spend and we'll get started doing that fer ya! Btw, have you filled out the 20 page new member recruitment package Queen JDub should have bestowed on ye? And hope you like camp dogs -- we gots TWO of 'em (just found out they're shape changers too!) by the name of Jack and Shelly. Mind where you step -- Jack is a bit new and well, like our Queen, isn't well trained -- yet!

Stroll through the hallowed halls of GPF and note pond designs you like as that's the best way to get exactly what you want, by culling from others all their best parts! Do head down Bog Aisle as it's our favorite part of the Castle. Mind if you get too near the garage; cars have been known to suddenly start sliding down atcha!

Okies, should about do it fer yer intro and sorry we had to slander all over your bright new thread, but well, some of us are part of the OTG and well? it's what we do!


let's ride!

i don't know what you have been smoking but damn it's powerful stuff