Hi all, I am from Southern Ontario, Canada, and am the owner of a 2 year old pond, approx 1/4 acre, 7 feet deep.
We wanted a pond for the aesthetics, wildlife and for swimming.
Had it dug in an area of our farm property that was overgrown, and was at a low section, where we have water sitting during the springtime.
I had concerns as to whether it would hold water without a liner, but thankfully we had plenty of clay in our soil, so seems to not be leaking, although, I had no idea how much evaporation would occur, and for the first year, I thought I did have a leak. I have since buried a dedicated water line, and have it on a timer and every night will run for 6 hours, which seems to be maintaining the water level.
I have an aerator running on a timer during the night, as well I use powdered pond bacteria regularly, and alge has been much less an issue this year.
Aquatic plants have gone wild, and I am a bit worried they will become a real nuisance. It seems to be mainly milfoil, and sago pondweed, along with some generous clumps of muskweed alge . I have used a bladed weedcutter that drags on the bottom, but it is a bit laborious collecting all the cuttings.
As for wildlife, I have a single 10 inch small mouth bass, along with numerous sunfish, rockbass and minnows/chubs from local streams, and they all have bred and there are many fry this year, as well as year olds from last year.
I also put about 50 large snails and crayfish from another local pond, all thriving.
I just added a painted turtle, and am hoping to get a few more.
The water clarity is good at about 4-5 feet visibility, and i have added a bit of blue dye, mostly for aesthetics, so the water isn't so yellowish. It's more a light greenish/blue, but not unatural, which I don't want. I have never tested the water parameters, although I know our well water is moderately hard, and high in iron content.
We have gone swimming many times, and it's great to have this oasis on our own property.
Anyway, that's my long winded introduction. Looking forward to learning more theses forums, and contributing when I can.
Thanks,
Quinn O.
Pics for fun.
Empty field of potential
And so it begins
Same vantage point
Opposite vantage point, up on the berm
floating island for plants and turtles
We wanted a pond for the aesthetics, wildlife and for swimming.
Had it dug in an area of our farm property that was overgrown, and was at a low section, where we have water sitting during the springtime.
I had concerns as to whether it would hold water without a liner, but thankfully we had plenty of clay in our soil, so seems to not be leaking, although, I had no idea how much evaporation would occur, and for the first year, I thought I did have a leak. I have since buried a dedicated water line, and have it on a timer and every night will run for 6 hours, which seems to be maintaining the water level.
I have an aerator running on a timer during the night, as well I use powdered pond bacteria regularly, and alge has been much less an issue this year.
Aquatic plants have gone wild, and I am a bit worried they will become a real nuisance. It seems to be mainly milfoil, and sago pondweed, along with some generous clumps of muskweed alge . I have used a bladed weedcutter that drags on the bottom, but it is a bit laborious collecting all the cuttings.
As for wildlife, I have a single 10 inch small mouth bass, along with numerous sunfish, rockbass and minnows/chubs from local streams, and they all have bred and there are many fry this year, as well as year olds from last year.
I also put about 50 large snails and crayfish from another local pond, all thriving.
I just added a painted turtle, and am hoping to get a few more.
The water clarity is good at about 4-5 feet visibility, and i have added a bit of blue dye, mostly for aesthetics, so the water isn't so yellowish. It's more a light greenish/blue, but not unatural, which I don't want. I have never tested the water parameters, although I know our well water is moderately hard, and high in iron content.
We have gone swimming many times, and it's great to have this oasis on our own property.
Anyway, that's my long winded introduction. Looking forward to learning more theses forums, and contributing when I can.
Thanks,
Quinn O.
Pics for fun.
Empty field of potential
And so it begins
Same vantage point
Opposite vantage point, up on the berm
floating island for plants and turtles
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