Pond pics

[capewind]

Didnt want to hi-jack another conversation. One of these days I'll figure out how to make a construction thread that is linked to my signature. Not much has changed in the last couple of months. Still on the desperate hunt for more rocks.

This is the view from the patio (slider to my right). The familyroom is front to back inside, so have views of the pond from the slider, a normal window, and 2 bay windows Fish already know I am there LOL. You can just make out a bit of extra liner in the lower left corner of the pond. That is where it will feed to a river to the "big" pond next year

Standing at the long side of the bigger pond (6400 or so gallons).

Looking across to the upper pond (about 2500 gallons, but is SUPPOSED to be a bog - now called the comet/shubunkin pond LOL). There is also a mini bog on the left end of the main pond (can make out some of the gravel). Next year, that area will be a large skippy type filter hidden in rocks/larger waterfall...

Closeup of the waterfall to the upper pond. Note the little rock wall that stops the comets/shubunkins from going back to the main pond LOL. You can also see my little watercress plant that I am a sap and so proud of LOL. IF the fish know I am at the upper pond, they rip it apart.

As I said in another conversation, I started that watercress from cut sprigs from the produce dept of the grocery store!

 

[icerabbit]

Looks great!

How deep is your pond?

Are you able to keep the floating aquatic plants like water hyacinth over winter?

 

[capewind]

Thank you The main pond is 4' at the shallow end, and goes to 5'.... The upper pond ranges from 2 - 3'... Will start losing the water hyacinths soon... they are just now starting to brown out:-(

 

[addy1]

Looking good, don't be surprised if you find goldies in the other pond, I found them in my deck pond last year. Sucked up by the clear water pump, traveled through a lot of pipe dumped into the deck pond and grew! Those little eggs and fry can get through the tiniest spots.

 

[capewind]

Looking good, don't be surprised if you find goldies in the other pond, I found them in my deck pond last year. Sucked up by the clear water pump, traveled through a lot of pipe dumped into the deck pond and grew! Those little eggs and fry can get through the tiniest spots.

We better not find goldies in the main pond LOL. The INTAKE is in the main pond, and it discharges into the comet pond... so maybe we'll have koi in the comet pond LOL. The upper pond returns water to the main pond via the waterfall... we used to just have a bed of gravel next to the falls on the upper side, and the dang comets would get across it, and ride the falls into the main pond... NOW there is a wall of rocks just before the falls LOL.

 

[j.w]

Looks very nice and man that is a heck of a lot of Water Hyacinth. Did it bloom for you? If so next Summer if you have it like that and it blooms you must take a photo of it! Love your bog area and how it comes down the falls..............so pretty!

 

[capewind]

Looks very nice and man that is a heck of a lot of Water Hyacinth. Did it bloom for you? If so next Summer if you have it like that and it blooms you must take a photo of it! Love your bog area and how it comes down the falls..............so pretty!

Thank you. I am hoping next year we can get the big pond, and at least one more small pond in so the bog can BE the bog it was supposed to be. Hubby already has half the grid/pvc in there, just needs a new spot for the comets/shubunkins and another 4-5 tons of gravel to finish it.

I am HOPING to succeed in over wintering some of the water hyacinths, so we dont have to buy so many next spring (great deal via ebay)... Started with 250 of them this spring. The pond was NAKED with 250 of them. Actually, I think I still have a pic, if I do, will post it. Need lots of them. FULL South/southwest exposure, no shade:-( The pond was really pretty when it was full of the purple blooms. Had 3 surprise blooms just a few days ago. Will see if I still have that pic too. We shouldnt be having ANY water hyacinth blooms here this time of year LOL.

 

[capewind]

Only got 2 of the blooms in this shot... took it 9/25 LOL.

 

[CountryEscape]

Your ponds are gorgeous, and at 6400 gallons that's not going to be the biggest? Wow, you're my kind of ponder! My big pond is only about 4200 gallons, so I can sure appreciate the amount of work to create one as large as you have, and larger!
My water hyacinths did well at first, then all died or were heading that direction. I'm wondering if it was the extreme heat we had so early. Maybe your more temperate climate in Massachusetts is easier on them. Anyhow, saved a few, put them in very large pots intended for lotus (which had died), and voila, they all grew and bloomed. I also had blooms yesterday, but of course we are much warmer I would guess than you this time of year.
Thanks for sharing your pond pics! Loved them!!!

 

[Fishylove]

Yes very pretty! Beautiful butterfly in that second pic just love them lol
Btw, HOW do you keep your fingernails so pretty playing in pond water?!?!? Had to stop getting mine done after 10 years, I was having to get them done every week! . Just can't keep my hands out of the dirt lol

 

[CountryEscape]

Oh, and if your comets reproduce in the upper pond, you can bet the fry will go floating right around those rocks to the lower pond. I don't think even a fine netting would hold back any eggs and/or fry. I hope I'm wrong if you're trying to keep them separate! I have 2 ponds, and there is a stream between them, but they don't flow one into the other. It's an optical illusion. I didn't want the water to flow from one to the other because of the attempt to keep koi and goldfish separated. Now, if I can just catch the remaining goldfish in the koi pond ...

 

[CometKeith]

Great pics capewind. Thanks for sharing. I'm sure I could look at them for hours and keep getting ideas. It's interesting how close you built everything to the house. To me that is the ideal situation so you have a nice view from inside as well as outside. By the time I walk out to my pond a lot of the other critters are gone or hiding.

 

[Fishylove]

having a window to sit at an watch is great, especially with the frogs lol. Although the frogs are getting used to me I think

 

[Mmathis]

Nice pond pics! Very inspiring.

 

[capewind]

Your ponds are gorgeous, and at 6400 gallons that's not going to be the biggest? Wow, you're my kind of ponder! My big pond is only about 4200 gallons, so I can sure appreciate the amount of work to create one as large as you have, and larger!

Thank you The truth of the matter is we rebuilt the house two years ago, and wanted a bigger pond (old pond was a bit over 2000 gallons), but the backyard still isnt done yet (the normal landscape, patios, etc), and to be honest, what we want for a main pond, we just cant afford yet... Hubby also installs ponds professionally, so you can imagine how it would be getting to him that he can install them for others to enjoy, but he couldnt have his bigger pond (minimum of a 40x50 liner), yet have lots of spare parts... So we said the hell with it, we could swing a small liner (20x30) and the bit extra we would need to go with the spare parts to get "something" up and running... thus the 6400 gallon pond. Almost as soon as it was functional, he started with the how much he wanted to put a bog in... bought another small liner (15x25)... He started it as a bog, but again short on funds, so only got a couple tons of gravel in... So he stuck his lilies in there too for this year... THEN the comets LOL... and now the shubbies are up there too.

Attaching some other pics taken earlier this year ... everything needs to be done more or less at once to make the grades meet as they need to. The "river" will come off the 6400 gallon pond via a falls, wrap around the upper patio (boulders to left in pic), and about where you can see the pallet of blocks, is about where the big pond will start... From the wall that runs the back of the house, will be about 12-15' patio/walkway area... the pavers used will be bullnosed, to meet the edge of the pond the way you would meet an inground swimming pool. Back to the other side of the yard, on the other side of the river, more or less under the 6400 gallon pond, is to be another small pond (liklely a 20x20 liner) primarily for plants. Eventually, the present 6400 gallon pond will be MY pond for MY comets and shubunkins. He could care less about anything other than koi, and me on the other hand likes everything LOL.