I got my pond up and running early in the summer. It is approx. 21X15' and 3' at the deepest part with 1' deep shelves around the perimeter. I followed Addy's instructions for building a gravel bog to filter the pond. The bog is completely above ground and about a foot deep with a waterfall into the pond. Although we live on wooded property and get a lot of shade the pond does get at least 6 hours of sun in the summer. I keep two airstones going all the time. After having green murky water for most of the summer the water became very clear about a month ago. I have had 9 minnows in the pond all summer (collected from a nearby stream) and they seem to be thriving. My daughter just added about 10 store bought bait minnows left over from a fishing trip. I have a lot of leopard frogs which are one of my main interests for the pond. I am hoping to see more dragonflies and other insects next summer. I live in zone 6 (Shenandoah Valley of VA). Here are some of the questions I have for all you experienced members:
1) My bog is not fully stocked with plants. The plants I do have do not look all that healthy. They have shown very little growth all summer. I just added some blue flag iris and a second marsh marigold. I have some grass taken out of the nearby stream, some ferns, jewelweed, a water hyacinth, bog bean and a few others. A couple of plants have completely died and the others look pale colored with no new growth. What do I need to do to improve the health of my plants? Since the pond had algae can I assume there are nutrients available? Do I need more fish to fertilize the plants? The water hyacinth in the bog did bloom one time. I'm thinking I will wait till spring to add more plants. Will my plants survive the winter in the completely above ground bog?
2) The plants in my pond have fared no better. Some watercress and duck weed added very early on died. The parrots feather is long and spindly looking (it is in a pot of clay). Water lettuce and hyacinth plants are yellowish with no growth at all over the summer. Even the potted anacharis has looked brownish and unhealthy. Pieces of anacharis constantly break off and are floating all over my pond with long dangling roots. The horsetail is brown, not green. I recently added two water lillies which are looking good, putting out new leaves and even had 1 bloom the first week after I got them. They were potted and had been fertilized by the local seller. I did not add fertilizer tablets since it is so close to fall. I will repot these in the spring using osmocote at Addy suggests.
3) I just bough a potted cardinal flower to plant at the perimeter of the pond. What is the best way to do this? Can I isolate a little area with rocks and fill that with soil inside the liner area to plant in? Should I keep it in a pot and place that in the water near the pond edge? If I plant this at the surface of the pond will it survive the winter?
4) I do not have a skimmer on my pond. The pump is in a 5 gallon bucket lined with filter material as recommended by my local pond store. I am not happy with this arrangement. The bucket is unsightly in the pond. I need to remove it regularly to rinse everything off and the lid is difficult to remove. Tadpoles get sucked into the bucket. Can someone recommend a better setup for my pump without a skimmer? I may add a skimmer in the future, but for now I am happy to net the pond regularly.
5) As the water cleared a light green algae has built up on most of the surfaces of the pond. It is becoming thicker and clumps frequently float to the surface where I net them out. The fish eat this algae and hide in it. Is this normal and desired or should I be trying to remove this?
6) When I remove the pump for the winter how should I store it? Can I leave the black corrugated pipe in the pond? I don't see any other choice since the pipe goes behind the waterfall into the bog and is covered with pea gravel. The check valve does not seem to be working as the bog drains every time I turn off the pump. This will have to be fixed before removing the pump or I will have a dry bog all winter. I'm not sure what the issue is there.
Thank you so much for your help with all my questions. I have already gleaned a wealth of helpful information from this forum and look forward to your responses.
1) My bog is not fully stocked with plants. The plants I do have do not look all that healthy. They have shown very little growth all summer. I just added some blue flag iris and a second marsh marigold. I have some grass taken out of the nearby stream, some ferns, jewelweed, a water hyacinth, bog bean and a few others. A couple of plants have completely died and the others look pale colored with no new growth. What do I need to do to improve the health of my plants? Since the pond had algae can I assume there are nutrients available? Do I need more fish to fertilize the plants? The water hyacinth in the bog did bloom one time. I'm thinking I will wait till spring to add more plants. Will my plants survive the winter in the completely above ground bog?
2) The plants in my pond have fared no better. Some watercress and duck weed added very early on died. The parrots feather is long and spindly looking (it is in a pot of clay). Water lettuce and hyacinth plants are yellowish with no growth at all over the summer. Even the potted anacharis has looked brownish and unhealthy. Pieces of anacharis constantly break off and are floating all over my pond with long dangling roots. The horsetail is brown, not green. I recently added two water lillies which are looking good, putting out new leaves and even had 1 bloom the first week after I got them. They were potted and had been fertilized by the local seller. I did not add fertilizer tablets since it is so close to fall. I will repot these in the spring using osmocote at Addy suggests.
3) I just bough a potted cardinal flower to plant at the perimeter of the pond. What is the best way to do this? Can I isolate a little area with rocks and fill that with soil inside the liner area to plant in? Should I keep it in a pot and place that in the water near the pond edge? If I plant this at the surface of the pond will it survive the winter?
4) I do not have a skimmer on my pond. The pump is in a 5 gallon bucket lined with filter material as recommended by my local pond store. I am not happy with this arrangement. The bucket is unsightly in the pond. I need to remove it regularly to rinse everything off and the lid is difficult to remove. Tadpoles get sucked into the bucket. Can someone recommend a better setup for my pump without a skimmer? I may add a skimmer in the future, but for now I am happy to net the pond regularly.
5) As the water cleared a light green algae has built up on most of the surfaces of the pond. It is becoming thicker and clumps frequently float to the surface where I net them out. The fish eat this algae and hide in it. Is this normal and desired or should I be trying to remove this?
6) When I remove the pump for the winter how should I store it? Can I leave the black corrugated pipe in the pond? I don't see any other choice since the pipe goes behind the waterfall into the bog and is covered with pea gravel. The check valve does not seem to be working as the bog drains every time I turn off the pump. This will have to be fixed before removing the pump or I will have a dry bog all winter. I'm not sure what the issue is there.
Thank you so much for your help with all my questions. I have already gleaned a wealth of helpful information from this forum and look forward to your responses.
