Hi from Hudson Valley N.Y.

[Jason Goldstein]

Hi fellow pond enthusiasts. I just bought a house on four aces with a .85 acre pond, and I'm both curious and enthusiastic about the pond possibilities. I'm hoping to pick the collective brains of this lovely little community and perhaps even find a way to add to it, eventually.

About the pond:

There's not a fish in sight, which is slightly dismaying however, every night my ears tell me there are approximately five thousand frogs, I have yet to see a single one. There are mature trees everywhere and the pond is filled with their leaves. There seem to be quite a few small turtles living in there has well. The pond is fed by a small stream and runs off into a small waterfall.

My interests:

Mosquito deterrence. Mostly interested in stocking the pond with fish, and perhaps adding a few ducks as well - I know exactly zero about fish, ducks, and ponds, but I'm a quick study add my interest level is quite high. I just bought twenty five goldfish which I just put in the pond and they seem to be doing quite well. Koi prices were outrageously expensive, so it had to be goldfish to start.

I'd appreciate any input or advice you care to share asabo pond basics or Antoanyt I could do improve the pond, biologically, ecologically, it aesthetically.

Thanks!
Jason

 

[j.w]

@Jason Goldstein Wow what a beautiful spot to live in! I wonder if the reason there is no fish is that there are critters there that are hunting for them? Do you have Heron there? Is that water fed by a creek or connected to any other waterway?

 

[mrsclem]

Hi Jason! Is there a pump on your pond or is it a natural pond? Does it flow off your property. If it does, stocking with goldfish could be a problem as they could get out into local waterways. I would love to have a large natural pond but our property would only allow raised ponds.

 

[qclabrat]

Welcome Jason, first get a pond water test kit
Putting fish in without do so is like jumping into a tub without first dipping your finger to check the temp. It's good you didn't get koi right away. Goldfish are easier to start with. Do you have a row boat or kayak? You may want to check the depth and contour of the bottom. Also consider bass and sunfish for your pond.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome! Gorgeous setting! Where do you live? I assume this is a natural pond and not a lined pond....?

 

[addy1]

Where do you live?

He posted Hudson, new York.

Welcome to our group! I was wondering about putting in fish with the run off, probably back into a stream

 

[Gemma]

Jason,
Beautiful setting, your pond has so much potential!
If it was mine,before adding fish, I'd want to clean it, and than put in a skimmer (or 2 depending on size of pond), bio waterfall, and a good size aerator to get the water moving, and take care of mosquitoes (they prefer stagnant water)
Do you have any idea how deep it is? Can it be vacuumed, or drained for cleaning?

Welcome to the forum!
,

 

[Mmathis]

He posted Hudson, new York.

Welcome to our group! I was wondering about putting in fish with the run off, probably back into a stream

Duh! Didn’t pay attention to the title!

 

[Jason Goldstein]

Thanks for all the lovely responses, ill try to answer some of your questions:

1. Stream fed, there's a man made runoff which is basically a concrete ramp that drops at a very steep angle. Ill take a picture of that and post it today. I suppose fish could get out but it seems unlikely.

2. I dont think there are any natural predators aside from the occasional duck or blue Herron. I could be wrong about this.

3. I no idea what a skimmer is, in the context of a pond which is nearly an acre. Can you please elaborate? I do know what a pipo skimmer is but that doesn't help my understanding here, as the scale is so far off.

4. I'd love to know how to do go about cleaning the bottom as it's chock full of dead leaves, but this seems a herculean task currently.

5. I'm in Orange county N.Y., Judy over the N.J border. It's a rural/suburban/small mountain seeing which is really lovely.

The goldfish seem to be doing well thus far, but I'll go get a water test kit and report back.

Thanks for the warm welcome!
Jason

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Gemma]

3. I no idea what a skimmer is, in the context of a pond which is nearly an acre. Can you please elaborate? I do know what a pipo skimmer is but that doesn't help my understanding here, as the scale is so far off.

4. I'd love to know how to do go about cleaning the bottom as it's chock full of dead leaves, but this seems a herculean task currently.

Jason

@Jason Goldstein I apologize, I came back to reply 3 times and must've gotten confused cause I totally missed the size of the pond...

.

 

[Panzer13]

Welcome, you have a very nice pond and home

 

[Jason Goldstein]

Ok test results:

Ph: 9 (dark blue)
Ammonia: 0 (yellow)
Nitride 0 (light blue I think, i forget, but it was at the top of the scale)
Phosphorus/phosphate? : also 0

Somehow that doesn't sound good.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Welcome Jason from another new member. It sounds like you may actually have a small lake if natural water flows in and out. What a good deal! Given that, it might be advantegaous to manage it as a natural lake rather than a pond.
Stephen

 

[Jason Goldstein]

Welcome Jason from another new member. It sounds like you may actually have a small lake if natural water flows in and out. What a good deal! Given that, it might be advantegaous to manage it as a natural lake rather than a pond.
Stephen

Thanks Stephen. It's unclear to me what the differences between a large pond and small lake are, as well as how management strategies differ. Do you have any specific guidance to offer?

Based on my brief research, it would seem most of my water values are good, aside from the high ph. So I should think one immediate goal might be to figure out how to reduce the ph from 9+, down to 8. Of course I have no idea how to do this, and I suspect given the scale of the pond, it still will be challenging to do this.

I'm open to anyone's thoughts here.

Thanks!
Jason