Perhaps, but:
- At some point, a pond owner may have to very quickly understand the chemistry of the water, in order to solve a problem that's going to kill the fish beginning tomorrow, or later today. It's good to have the knowledge and resources instantly at hand.
- Regurgitated info: Newsgroups are as likely to exhibit this as any book you might find.
re; rec.ponds Hi Ingrid, that's very good news. I may resume browsing there from time to time. Glad to hear the group is not dead.
KyDan
??? I just dropped by rec.ponds
4 of the 1st 6 new posts are crap. It looks the same to me..... what a shame.There are still good people there but many are lurking in the background. And you can use google groups search feature to find lots of good info.
Make the edges of your pond not vertical 180 to say 120 degrees. This way Ice can rise up and down instead of side ways. Very important with concrete ponds. I use a horse water heater so the issue is mute here in zone five. Comes on at 35 degrees and is really meant for horse water buckets but it does the job and my Koi winter over with no problems.
Bill
ahhh... guess I have built up good killfile s cause I dont get that many anymore. anyway.. ask a question and there will be plenty of answers... then find that thread.
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down in the south there is no problem with ice. and for koi a straight drop is preferable keeps the raccoons etc out of the pond.
William Wagner wrote:
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there are excellent up to date pond chemistry sites online. the rec.ponds people know where to find them. and rec.ponds does not regurgitate the same old stuff found in the typical books written by somebody looking to make a buck. people on rec.ponds arent making any money with their advice. I remember back when I started thinking about a pond and the books advice would have cost me somewhere in the area of
5-10K what with all the bottom drains and settling ponds and extra ponds for filtration. right off the bat they will tell new ponders to NOT put in any fish until the pond has gone thru is green stage and stabilized. there are many kind of HOMEMADE and cheap filters, including veggie filters that require ALMOST NO work at all. as for those "gardening" magazines, they are full of incorrect or downright silly information too. rec.ponds is the place to get the BEST information Ingrid
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Are you saying that information which is not free is worthless?
thanx
This I know from my aquarium days. Get the water conditions right, get the plants growing, then add the fish. And when you first add fish only put in a couple. Once you can get a couple to survive then slowly add others a couple at a time until you get the correct amount. The "correct amount" being determined by the amount of gallons, surface area of the water, strength of the filteration, and size of the fish, keeping in mind that it's much better to add fewer fish than too many.
there are many kind of HOMEMADE and
What is a veggie filter"?
Thanks to all those who have reponded to my post!
Patrick
Cichlids can be quite colorful. Well... at least the dominate ones in the tank. The problem I see with them is their aggressiveness. If they have room to develop territories, once they get to breeding size, the dominate mating pair will kill every other fish in the tank, and then after laying her eggs she'll chase the male until he is battered/bruised/in a deathly state. I found this true after adding with three to a tankful (100 gallon) of tropical fish. They are one mean species of fish!
Patrick
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I have a Starkrimson sweet cherry from Stark Brothers (starkbros.com.)
Alan (also in central Maryland)
Here are some ideas I have since I used to have a pond and I am from central Florida.
There you go!! Good luck!
Not sure why you are recommending the Starkrimson cherry as being resistant to Japanese beatles and fungal infections? I had one in my yard here in zone 5 and it grew to a huge size (supposed to be a semi-dwarf) and never produced much more than a few dozen cherries. After about 10 years, we pulled it out.
Sherw> >
Be careful with the turtle. Some varieties might find your minnows, frogs, and tadpoles tasty.
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com:
OTOH, we're building a pond specificly for my almost 2 year old snapping turtle... Gamera has no problem noshing down about two dozen 1.5" minnows in less than 24 hours. sliders, red ears, & map turtles grow much faster than snappers, so will eat more. if you want fish & pollywogs, you don't really want a turtle. you also need to consider hibernation if you have a turtle. unless you're pond has a deep muck bottom, your turtle will have to be hibernated inside in a refrigerator (or a spot that stays at 38-40 degrees F) or it will freeze to death. it is unhealthy to keep a hibernating species of turtle up all winter. i hibernate Gamera for at least 6 weeks, but 3-4 months is better... i had a storage issue & his hibernation tank iced over, so i had to pull him out early this past winter. if he's awake & can't get to air through ice, he'd drown. lee
If you like being outdoors with the sound of a waterfall and wildlife then you will enjoy your pond after the hard work is over. (Digging the hole is the hardest). Seasonal problems not bad for you in Florida. Here is a hint....no matter what size people built, they usually wish they had made it bigger, me included. Mine is a 1200 gal with the main waterfall which falls into another level then the pond. By the time you add plants and fish,etc. you run out of room quickly. I put it in last Spring and really loved it all summer.
Keep your pump running 24/7. Here in Georgia it runs another $20 on the electric bill per month but the fish need the oxygen and the filter will kick in with the good bacteria after a few weeks.
Get a test kit to keep the ammonia,nitrates and ph in check and test it once a week. There are allot of good advice from websites. You can built your own filter system and save money. Do a google for a Skippy and read up on it. It's made from a Rubbermaid container. It's good but cheap.
Don't make the mistake I did and put pea gravel and small rocks on the bottom to make it look nice. I just had to get them all out due to not being able to clean out the bottom properly. (Put in a bottom drain.) Got lots of muck from leafs and pine needles even through I kept a net over it.
More sun more algae. I have Spring algae bloom until the trees put out their leaves. It goes away and the pond gets clear. I get about 2-3 hrs sun then dappled shade.
Treat the hole with fire ant spray several days before you lay the liner. We have fire ants here too. Don't think they will/can eat through the liner.
Good luck and have fun with it.
about the ONLY fruit trees i've planted which are NOT bothered by japanese beetles (nasty little buggers) is not truly a TREE, but one IS a glorious vine called Akebia quintata {
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