New to ponds in Southeastern Ohio

[Becky]

Hello and welcome to the forums! That's a nice looking pond you've got, and it sounds like you have made a big improvement to it already. There is a great bunch of people here and there is lots to learn - nice to have you here!

 

[natbla]

Last night got down to 14 degrees and the bubbler hole shrunk to its original size. I think I will add the second bubbler as its cheap and the pump is built to run two of them.

If I get some bamboo it will definitely be the clumping type. I've done a little research on them to the point I know I need to go slow and make sure I get the right kind. I was surprised to find out that there is a species of bamboo that is native to southern OH. Unfortunately, its not a clumping kind and it gets rather large as well.

 

[sissy]

yeh the bamboo that grows wild here gets to be 30 or 40 feet high and the kind I see ,mostly is yellow but there is some black .They seem to grow a lot of pampas grass here and zebra grass around ponds ,but they are agressive growers too .I have elephant ears and cannas and black elephant ears .Elephant ears may work for you but you would have to protect the bulbs in the winter or take them up 'I also had elephant ears in NJ and they would get 5 or 6 ft high and down here they get to be 8 to 10 feet high

 

[digginponds]

cool pond welcome Daisy!! :goldfish: I know the feeling of cold,just wait till wintertime,adding another pump is a +

 

[natbla]

Here are a few pictures I took last night before the camera battery died

The new bubbler

A close up of the falls

And some of my nine fish under the ice

 

[addy1]

See the ice forming on the falls? That is a potential disaster, the ice will form a dam slowly, next thing you know the water is flowing out of your pond. So just keep an good eye on your falls.
The bubbler is doing it job! great

 

[natbla]

See the ice forming on the falls? That is a potential disaster, the ice will form a dam slowly, next thing you know the water is flowing out of your pond. So just keep an good eye on your falls.
The bubbler is doing it job! great

I'm concerned about the ice too. So the falls go off by Christmas. We'll be above freezing for the next 4 days so that will help.

 

[j.w]

Neat pix natbla and yep better get those falls turned off soon. Good you have the bubbler going to keep the hole open.

 

[taherrmann4]

You can plant regular bamboo and keep it from spreading if you take some basic precautions.. Put a 2' diameter plastic pot in the ground and only bury it up to the last 2" this will keep the rhizomes from jumping over the pot and into the free land where it will spread like crazy. This acts like a fence, but you have to be careful when you mulch that you don't cover this "fence". Also take several layers of a good weed fabric and put it in the hole before the pot this will keep it from growing out the holes in the bottom of the pot. Even with this method you still have to keep your eye on it and if you see any travelers you have to take action right away.

I had ice on one of my creeks and it starting an ice damn so I shut mine down last week.

 

[natbla]

Neat pix natbla and yep better get those falls turned off soon. Good you have the bubbler going to keep the hole open.

I'm torn about turning off the falls as I love the look of ice on water falls and streams. But I don't want to have issues with damming so I'll turn it off once it gets cold again.

 

[natbla]

Well I stopped at Wally World and picked up a second 5" bubbler and rubber banded it to the first one. So now I have a much stronger column of bubbles going to the surface from 18" down. That shoud be enough aeration force to keep a hole open for the winter as long as the pump holds out.

 

[j.w]

Sounds good to me!

 

[natbla]

So it looks like the oxygen levels were down in my pond. As the fish are now all hanging out near the bubbler. That and they are swimming around a bunch due to the 60 degree weather with warm rain today. What's a cheap option for testing O2 levels in a pond, and what is the level it should be for healthy gold fish?

 

[addy1]

They seem to like the water movement bubblers make, if they are not at the top of the water sucking air your pond is most likely ok.

Mine go and hang out off and on at the bubbler, but I never see them sucking air at the surface of the water.

 

[natbla]

They seem to like the water movement bubblers make, if they are not at the top of the water sucking air your pond is most likely ok.

Mine go and hang out off and on at the bubbler, but I never see them sucking air at the surface of the water.

That's good to know. The biggest difference I seen with my fish right now is that they are much more active since the temps went up the last few days. Also, between the bubbler in one corner pushing water up, and the pump pulling water in from 2 ft down on the other corner, I have a significant circular current on the surface of the pond. I don't see it as a problem, though I'm trying to figure out how I can use it to auto collect surface debris without doing a major project that changes the aesthetics of the pond.