Hola from Mexico!

[LaSelva]

Hi everyone,

I just discovered this forum today and signed up. I live in the jungle in Tulum, Mexico. A while back I put a small washtub pond in one of my gardens with some guppies and a couple of goldfish. I enjoyed it so much I wanted something bigger. A few weeks ago I dug a hole and installed a much larger pond made from the bottom half of a tinaco (a large, vinyl water tank the we use here to store water). The new pond is 2 meters across and about a meter deep. I've created a layered substrate of soil, gravel and sand with a rock island in the middle. I have a couple of types of water hyacinth, papyrus, irises, elodea, sword plants, and moneywort growing in there and several types of tropical fish and a few goldfish. And a few little turtles. I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello. I've got lots of reading to do to learn from the folks on this forum and may have some questions of my own to ask later.

 

[sissy]

welcome and sounds like you have a nice pond but don't tease us we like to snoop

 

[LaSelva]

Sissy, here are a few photos to familiarize the forum with my pond. It's new so it's still pretty barren but in this jungle climate and the tropical sun the plants are really taking off. And the fish are making more babies than I expected so soon. I'm going to have more guppies and platys than I know what to do with if the other fish don't start eating more of them.

 

[sissy]

really nice pond for your hot temps and really clear water .Is that an old water retention tank next to it .Love your wooden and stone bench .Nice idea there

 

[Dave 54]

Hi everyone,

I just discovered this forum today and signed up. I live in the jungle in Tulum, Mexico. A while back I put a small washtub pond in one of my gardens with some guppies and a couple of goldfish. I enjoyed it so much I wanted something bigger. A few weeks ago I dug a hole and installed a much larger pond made from the bottom half of a tinaco (a large, vinyl water tank the we use here to store water). The new pond is 2 meters across and about a meter deep. I've created a layered substrate of soil, gravel and sand with a rock island in the middle. I have a couple of types of water hyacinth, papyrus, irises, elodea, sword plants, and moneywort growing in there and several types of tropical fish and a few goldfish. And a few little turtles. I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello. I've got lots of reading to do to learn from the folks on this forum and may have some questions of my own to ask later.

Hola oh dear sound like we have yet another terminal case here j.w. have you got any gifs to cover this ?
Dont worry I jest a little but that how we all start out a puddle first then a larger pond then another

Dave

 

[LaSelva]

really nice pond for your hot temps and really clear water .Is that an old water retention tank next to it .Love your wooden and stone bench .Nice idea there

That is part of my humedal to the right of the pond. I live completely off grid out in the jungle. I have solar power for all of my electrical needs, rainwater collection in a 6000 gallon stone cistern for all of my water, and a planted wetland (humedal) and composting system for all of my sewage and gray water treatment. All of my wastewater flows through that serpentine trough you see in the photo. I grow 10 foot tall elephant ear plants, all kinds of beautiful heliconia and bananas in there. It produces no effluent to make it's way into the groundwater. It's all used by the plants. And the solid waste is composted into nutrient rich, black dirt to use in my gardens. Here are some better photos of the humedal that you see next to the pond:

 

[LaSelva]

Hola oh dear sound like we have yet another terminal case here j.w. have you got any gifs to cover this ?
Dont worry I jest a little but that how we all start out a puddle first then a larger pond then another

Dave

I'm already scoping out a sunny spot behind my house for an even larger pond. It's an addiction!

 

[sissy]

WOW is all I can say .my elephant ears last year got 6 ft tall and hoping they did not freeze with the polar vortex .I love elephant ears and canna's

 

[LaSelva]

WOW is all I can say .my elephant ears last year got 6 ft tall and hoping they did not freeze with the polar vortex .I love elephant ears and canna's

I have canna lilies on my bedroom deck Sissy. And lots of calla lilies in the gardens in the shady parts of my yard. In addition to the giant elephant ears in the humedal I have so many other varities of colorful caladiums growing all around my yard. Plants grow like crazy here with our year round warm temperatures and the humedal plants just go nuts with all of the nutrients they get from the wastewater.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Really cool pond! Welcome to the forums!!

 

[RobAmy]

Nice pond and welcome

 

[taherrmann4]

Nice pond and welcome to the forum.

 

[Priscilla]

Welcome! I love your pond! I also have red platys in my pond, mixed with koi and goldfish.

You're basically living my dream, off the grid in a rain forest! Awesome!!!!

 

[haver79]

Neat pond and the water is crystal clear! Welcome

 

[Chinjuspond]

I officially need to move. My parrot would love your climate!!!
I can't even grow elephant ear here. Unless it's indoors.
Beautiful