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| I swear. I could write a book on all of the pond stuff I learned the hard way AFTER reading all the books on the subject AND building one based on what the books said.
For example-
The bad thing is, all the books and all of the forums said to go bigger. So my learning curve is based on a pond with over 11,000 gallons of water! Oh well. One day I'll use this knowledge somewhere... Maybe a bigger and better pond in a different part of the yard.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by pondbucket 5 - 6 KS (My Page) on Thu, May 20, 10 at 17:16
| When people ask me, "whatever possessed me to install this near 2000 gal pond?" I answer CHANGE. I cannot live without it. And the pond is an extension of that; it will never stay as it is. The rock will be moved. The plants. Everything. I'll probably redesign it all again. So nothing is set in to be too permanent. I want to be able to move it around so everything is installed loose. Brick, no mortar. Few glued/permanent connections. The fewer tools required, the better. Look at it this way, if you do have an 11,000 gal pond you also have the foundation dug for your new house! |
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- Posted by goodkarma_ 5b (My Page) on Thu, May 20, 10 at 21:55
| Keep the pond water at least at ground level (liner bubble before rebuilt pond). Use a check valve between the filter and the pump. NO rocks in the pond- did I ever tell you about the man made ones I had on a shelf that degraded, were sharp and almost cut my hand to ribbons? No plant shelves. Do not believe the pond is a big natural ecosystem that will balance itself. See the 5 cute little fish.........next year see the 500 cute little fish. You do not need to do 10% water changes every week. Commercial pressure filters are not better then DIY. And so much more.................. |
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| Hi my experience has been just the opposite .lol I'm an aquarium freak so built a pond not as a water garden but a place to store rainwater for my fish tanks . You can build an entire pond for half a collection of rain barrels. But followed this path Have mosquitoes get a few fish. herons ate the fish. Get a few plants for fish to hide . Plants consumed the entire storage area lol. Obviously if you have fish and plants in it you can't draw all the water. so end up filling with the garden hose anyway. Built this in 1982 still have no filtraation or pumps except for a portable to remove water for irrigation. Got another "lesson this winter. "florida is not necessarily warm enough to maintain tropical fish."lol Wiped out the whole stock lol First time in all those years !!! BTW still had to add a couple of "rainbarrels " because the water is not clean enough for aquariums. Which was the original purpose lol One thing that has proved invaluable . Don't have to hide this rain barrel as it's far better looking than the rest of my garden lol. The down spout connection does make it self cleaning UNLESS you get a 30 inch rain .Then the fish move to better neighborhoods !! At the opposite what is REALLy needed is a way to make it rain on order . Oh well Has been a lot of fun over the years but still nowhere near the "Perfect" setup. gary |
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