How did everyone get started with ponds?

[Angie1966]

For me it all started last April 2017
My partner wanted to hear water in the garden so we got a Chinese water pond, it holds around 50 litres (it’s now a snail pond)
He got 4 very small ghosts Carp and 1 goldfish .
1 months later we got a small pond 250 litres.
4 months later we got a bigger pond 750 litres a few more fish along the way it was a moulded pond and had lots of ledges for plants!.
They did there first winter in it and did ok.
This August we decided on a bigger pond as the fish have grown nicely this summer.
On August bank holiday we changed the pond to the one we have now around 2,000 litres .
The fish now look small and are enjoying the water space.
We have koi
Rudd
Sturgeon
Goldfish
Miners
Orf
A few other types that I can not remember, my partner knows them all but we both want to learn about the different koi that we have.
Thanks for reading our story.

I would love to here yours

 

[sissy]

built my house and built a pond ,I must have been nuts .A house and dirt and nothing but a pond .No driveway no trees and no furniture ,but I had a pond

 

[Angie1966]

built my house and built a pond ,I must have been nuts .A house and dirt and nothing but a pond .No driveway no trees and no furniture ,but I had a pond

How big is your pond?

 

[Mmathis]

@Angie1966 I’ve noticed that in most of your posts you are continuing to express curiosity over what type of koi you have (I don’t have koi, but I’d I did, I too, would be curious — to me, they are all special and lovely). I think several members have answered already with their opinions. We are a great group here for pondkeeping and learning about pond and fish care, but if you want to know more specifically about your koi (like getting an ID), and you aren’t finding what you want here, there are other forums that are more dedicated to koi than we are. KOIPHEN is good for that. There are so many beautiful koi types, and it seems there are types within types, and it can be very confusing for a beginner. You might want to check in with them.

 

[Mmathis]

How did I get started with my pond....? Box turtles. Yep! I have pet box turtles. They are non-aquatic turtles (they need water to soak in, but they don’t live in or spend a lot of time in water.). Mine are kept in an outdoor habitat. It was a total pain trying to keep their water (watering hole) fresh and clean (turtles are messy), so I got the idea to incorporate a fish pond where the water would be filtered and monitored, but a part of the pond water would be shared by the turtles. Right now my pond feeds into a small bog where the turtles have a few inches of water to soak in, and plants to hide in. It is escape proof.

 

[Angie1966]

@Angie1966 I’ve noticed that in most of your posts you are continuing to express curiosity over what type of koi you have (I don’t have koi, but I’d I did, I too, would be curious — to me, they are all special and lovely). I think several members have answered already with their opinions. We are a great group here for pondkeeping and learning about pond and fish care, but if you want to know more specifically about your koi (like getting an ID), and you aren’t finding what you want here, there are other forums that are more dedicated to koi than we are. KOIPHEN is good for that. There are so many beautiful koi types, and it seems there are types within types, and it can be very confusing for a beginner. You might want to check in with them.

I’m so sorry if I have offended you or anybody else it’s not my intention!.
I’m very new to ponds and was just curious, a couple of people asked for a better picture so I tried getting one that’s all, I don’t mind what she is I fell in love with her the moment I saw her, I’m just trying to gain knowledge!.
So so sorry again if I’v offended anyone

 

[Angie1966]

How did I get started with my pond....? Box turtles. Yep! I have pet box turtles. They are non-aquatic turtles (they need water to soak in, but they don’t live in or spend a lot of time in water.). Mine are kept in an outdoor habitat. It was a total pain trying to keep their water (watering hole) fresh and clean (turtles are messy), so I got the idea to incorporate a fish pond where the water would be filtered and monitored, but a part of the pond water would be shared by the turtles. Right now my pond feeds into a small bog where the turtles have a few inches of water to soak in, and plants to hide in. It is escape proof.

Hi
Wow that sounds a great idea!.
My partner has a frog in a vavarium and the water gets changed daily, they too only go into the water for a soak otherwise it’s under the soil.

 

[Mmathis]

Hi
Wow that sounds a great idea!.
My partner has a frog in a vavarium and the water gets changed daily, they too only go into the water for a soak otherwise it’s under the soil.

Yes, and daily water changes in an outdoor habitat got old REAL fast! I have 7 turtles.

 

[Mmathis]

I’m so sorry if I have offended you or anybody else it’s not my intention!.
I’m very new to ponds and was just curious, a couple of people asked for a better picture so I tried getting one that’s all, I don’t mind what she is I fell in love with her the moment I saw her, I’m just trying to gain knowledge!.
So so sorry again if I’v offended anyone

No, no, no, you haven’t offended anyone! We are just curious and sometimes if we don’t understand where you are coming from (mindset, not physical location), we ask a lot of questions to get more information.

 

[Lisak1]

No, no, no, you haven’t offended anyone! We are just curious and sometimes if we don’t understand where you are coming from (mindset, not physical location), we ask a lot of questions to get more information.

Exactly! For instance, I noted you had several other koi in your pond, but you were interested in knowing what "kind" of koi this one was. Sometimes the answer is just, well, a koi! It's like dogs - they are all dogs, but some are purebreds, if that makes sense!

 

[Stephen T.]

My first pond... well, I've always loved water, mud, frogs, fish, salamanders, etc. An old couple (late 80s) across the street, had a concrete goldfish pond that I visited, with permission, and helped around it. When they moved to a simpler living style, they offered the goldfish, just 3 or 4 to me. I must have been about 10 at the time. Mom was a biology major, so encouraged my plan. We got a concrete double washtub and with dad's help, sunk it in the ground, after a really careful cleaning. Filled, with a few plants from their pond, we let it sit for a week, then moved the fish in. They did fine for a year, then some local teenage trouble makers decided to come in while we were gone and pour oil on the pond. We came home to very dead fish. The to boys were caught and slapped on the wrist. Oh well.

I moved to aquariums for a few years, then back to ponds.

 

[Gemma]

Exactly! For instance, I noted you had several other koi in your pond, but you were interested in knowing what "kind" of koi this one was. Sometimes the answer is just, well, a koi! It's like dogs - they are all dogs, but some are purebreds, if that makes sense!

Could be the fact that it's the only GinRin (sparkly) koi to have triggered her curiosity

 

[Gemma]

When I lived in the city I had several aquariums of tropical fish, then started a 90gls fancy goldfish The pond was my husband's idea, I took over cause I'm picky and want to choose my fish and plants

 

[Somethin' Fishy]

As a child my parents decided to open a "pet" shop which was connected to our home... Mostly fresh water aquarium fish, small birds, a rare gerbil or hamster, dog food, and sled dog harnesses. My dad put in a concrete pond to spruce up the entry way to the shop (our back yard). We had comet goldfish in it for a season or two, and then one year someone got the idea to get a couple mallard ducklings! I'll never forget constantly cleaning up after ducks!!! I also worked in the pet trade in my adult life, so naturally I kept aquariums on and off, and water features wherever opportunity presented itself. Now that we've built what we think will be our retirement home, we put in a small pond, and then went bigger with a 2,000+ gallon pond that we love!

Thank you for sharing your story and creating an interesting thread! Love reading people's stories.

 

[RobAmy]

Funny it all started for a Bullfrog. We had a small preformed plastic pond in the yard in a garden area that was already when we bought the house. Some time went bye and we noticed a bullfrog in this green nasty pit of water on a few different occasions. So we said lets give the frog a little better place to live. I took that out and built a 7x9 ft pond and yes the frog moved in. We loved it so much I took that out a year later and built the 18ft x 26ft pond we have now. It is the best thing we have done for the wildlife.

This is the first one I built.