I'm Finally Doing It!!!
- Thread starter ROW FISH
- Start date
All the toads have been hanging out in the front yard by the new pond. Thus, no listening to frogs outside the bedroom window all night in the big pond. This is now my wife's favorite part about the new pond. Lol
Babies have arrived!!!!
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I am falling in love with this pond. I've never sat out in my front yard before. But now it is so inviting. Especially with the shade.
sissy
sissy
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Nice is you get cooling effect from the pond also besides the joy of it .
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Nothing better than the sound of water.
Update on the pond.....
I have fry galore in the pond. We have well over 3-4 dozen platy fry, a new batch of what I believe is sword tail fry based on the elongated length of the fish, and around a dozen goldfish fry. I am amazed by how many goldfish fry are in the pond. I seem to find a new one each week and the sizes range from a quarter inch to a full inch long. It baffles me as I placed no goldfish in the pond. They had to of all came in as eggs off of 3 rocks that I took from my large pond to help kick start the new ponds bacteria growth.
I am pleased to announce that I never had any pea green water to deal with. It seems that introducing the rocks from my other pond, the ample shade around the pond, and waiting 2 weeks before fish introduction has helped to slowly cycle the pond and keep algae growth under control.
I also have not lost any fish that have been introduced and the lilies are performing wonderfully. Again I failed to take pictures and will have to make a conscious effort to take some when I get home this evening.
I have fry galore in the pond. We have well over 3-4 dozen platy fry, a new batch of what I believe is sword tail fry based on the elongated length of the fish, and around a dozen goldfish fry. I am amazed by how many goldfish fry are in the pond. I seem to find a new one each week and the sizes range from a quarter inch to a full inch long. It baffles me as I placed no goldfish in the pond. They had to of all came in as eggs off of 3 rocks that I took from my large pond to help kick start the new ponds bacteria growth.
I am pleased to announce that I never had any pea green water to deal with. It seems that introducing the rocks from my other pond, the ample shade around the pond, and waiting 2 weeks before fish introduction has helped to slowly cycle the pond and keep algae growth under control.
I also have not lost any fish that have been introduced and the lilies are performing wonderfully. Again I failed to take pictures and will have to make a conscious effort to take some when I get home this evening.
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It's a beautiful job you did on that pond. I have 2 questions: 1. I notice from the pics that you have s gravel bottom. Does your other pond have that as well? I'm thinking about doing that with my pond but keep reading all the stuff about how hard it can be to keep the pond clean and how to get the excess organic matter that builds up in the gravel out.
2. Your lily's look perfect..I can't tell from the pics how they are planted they actually look bare rooted, I don't see any pots or anything.. are they just bare root in the gravel? If so that is sure a plus for graveling the bottom.
2. Your lily's look perfect..I can't tell from the pics how they are planted they actually look bare rooted, I don't see any pots or anything.. are they just bare root in the gravel? If so that is sure a plus for graveling the bottom.
I am a huge proponent of gravel bottom ponds. The mini pond has a fully graveled bottom. and my large pond has all of its shelves with gravel and the deeper 3 foot area is bear liner. However, after seeing how well the shelves have done with gravel the past 3 years I am planning on getting in and placing gravel on deep area of my pond as well. that way plants can be better established at the deeper levels and have rocks to root into.
From what I have seen gravel does great in that it gives additional surface for algae and beneficial bacteria growth. It gives hiding places for small organisms that the fish in turn enjoy hunting and searching for. And most importantly it gives a good substrate for plant roots. I have my pond just about fully planted. I love the natural look of the plants rather than rocks everywhere. On 2 of my 3 shelves you cannot even see the gravel bottom as it is completely grown in by versalles grass which the fish hunt in constantly for bugs and tadpoles. They also much on the grass in the afternoon.
However, please keep in mind that I do not over feed my fish, i don't have 2-3 foot long koi and my pond is a sustainable ecosystem pond with no chemicals and no mechanical filtration. This is how I wanted it and was my choice. If you are wanting a pond to house large koi that you wish to see at all hours of the day and keep nice clean rock ledges and sides and maintain water quality with a UV light or chemicals that will result in large wastes from algae kill offs than it may not be the right choice for you.
I love it and would whole heartily suggest it for anyone with an ecosystem pond.
Hope this helps....
Forgot to answer your 2nd question....
They are planted in small 1/2 gallon pots and are in a clay/top soil mixture with about 1/2" of gravel on top. They get a fertilizer tab every other week.
However, my large backyard pond has several lilies that are planted bare root in my gravel bottom. Granted, they do not get nearly as large of flower as often as their potted brothers and sisters. But, I like having them in the gravel as they are eating up nutrients that has settled down and helps to balance out everything, in my opinion. We are getting a small tropical system over the next 3 days but if I get a chance and remember I will take a picture of one of my bare root lilies after work. It actually just put up its first flower for the season.