Tree trunk in pond?

[KangarooPoo]

Hi, i've just finished filling my pond and now need to get some plants in. I've bought a Lily and want to put it about 400mm under the surface so it can get plenty of sunlight before I put it on the bottom later.

I don't want to put a milkcrate or rocks in the pool but I have a sawn-off treetrunk in the garden which would be the right height (photo below).

I need to know if this would adversely affect the water in the pond and if so what else I could use instead?

Thanks in advance.....

 

[RSFish1]

I had a long discussion about tree logs and stumps in a pond last year with another group. How long had the tree been cut and how seasoned is it? It looks like your pond is pretty small. Here is something to think about.

The tree could still leach some sap in to the water. One gentleman made part of his waterfall out of a cut up tree. The water constantly running over the wood poured the sap in to the pond and killed his fish. I think his cut up tree was fairly new. You are dealing with a small environment that could be easily affected by introducing this.

I am not saying you could not use it. If it has been cut for many years then it could be dried out enough to use. You might try this. Do you have anything big enough to put it in to hold water? If you could submerse it in a barrel with a pump moving the water, you would be able to see if anything is leaching from it.

I always side on being cautious. Hopefully someone else who has used a stump before will come along with some suggestions.

 

[Pond Boy]

One of the problems I have encountered with wood in a pond it leaches tannins into the water turning it a murky yellow color. How do you plan to sink it? I was thinking it will just bob around like a cork ..LOL

 

[addy1]

Some wood will also change the ph of the water

 

[j.w]

Yep Pondboy most wood will float:

If the density of any material is larger then that of water, the buoyancy force of water will not support that object. ie the object will not float.
Also, if small/large holes are present in the object, they may fill with water to increasing the mass, but not the volume, causing the density to increase. Generally, wood, unless saturated with water, will float. Ebony could be one that doesn't float.

 

[fishin4cars]

I had a long discussion about tree logs and stumps in a pond last year with another group. How long had the tree been cut and how seasoned is it? It looks like your pond is pretty small. Here is something to think about.

The tree could still leach some sap in to the water. One gentleman made part of his waterfall out of a cut up tree. The water constantly running over the wood poured the sap in to the pond and killed his fish. I think his cut up tree was fairly new. You are dealing with a small environment that could be easily affected by introducing this.

I am not saying you could not use it. If it has been cut for many years then it could be dried out enough to use. You might try this. Do you have anything big enough to put it in to hold water? If you could submerse it in a barrel with a pump moving the water, you would be able to see if anything is leaching from it.

I always side on being cautious. Hopefully someone else who has used a stump before will come along with some suggestions.

I've seen it done and gotten away with but I would take every precaution as advised above. So many things can happen when adding wood, are you sure no chemicals, weed killer, fertilizers, etc have been used near it? If you even think it MIGHT have been, DON"T USE IT! If you decide to try, PLEASE SOAK IT FIRST! I did this with a piece of wood I bought from a pet store. I figured it would be fine since I bought it for a fish tank. LUCKY for me I used it on a tank that was only plants and no fish had been added yet. the whole piece of wood grew white fungus after about two days in the tank, I took the wood out and oh the smell was horrible. the water turned a yellow brown and it threw the PH way down. It took a while to get that tank settled back down, I finally decided not to use it and have it as decoration along the edge but not in the water of the pond. Some wood will work some won't, Don't use it if it comes from, pine, cedar, spuce, and most evergreen trees as these are high in sap and will retain the sap for many years after being cut.

 

[KangarooPoo]

Well it's only been cut down about a year so I think i'm going to leave that idea, besides, the missus said NO!

I've now put a hook into the side of the decking and suspended the pot halfway down using fishing line, almost invisible and it looks like the pot is sitting on a shelf now.

Thanks for the continued good advice everyone.

 

[addy1]

neat idea kangaroopoo.........for the pot.