approx 900g pond build in RI (pics of course)

[Cilyjr]

by the way my next topic will be substrate....i know many are against it as so many are in the reefing hobby but i have some thoughts on it.....

i believe that the goal is to create a space that you are completely satisfied with for me and many that means pebbles or whatever over the lining. however i also believe that if you make this choice you have extra responsibilities to keep the environment healthy ( i am prepared to vacuum the pond to the point where i am thinking of ideas of how to do it with a syphon or maybe buy a vacuum for pools ... i know people who both place a net over their pond in the fall and drain it in the spring.
so i would like people to discuss the hows and whys of keeping a pond with substrate and those who do not... bear in mind i get how much easier it would be to keep a BB (bear bottom...reef term) pond to keep clean. i also understand whop a larger eco system can more easily adapt to potential issues

 

[addy1]

Cilyjr, I lived in the phoenix, glendale area for 40 years. Moved back to where I was raised to marry my honey.

My pond in arizona was 14k gallons, had one area with rocks, where the stream came into the pond, the bottom of the pond was bare.
The rocks in the stream disappeared under muck even with sweeping, trying to vac etc. Algae loved to grow off those rocks.

I had a bottom drain in that pond, a retro fit one, still could not keep it clean, maybe I didn't spend enough time on it lol

My pond here no rocks except what has fallen in lol, to me, so easy to walk in to work on the lilies (non slippery liner), clean ie sweep, net etc. The few rocks that hit the bottom, I pull cause stepped on one almost went down.............ie under water lol

So even though I love rocks, my liner is bare it looks like rocks, dirt bottom, the black disappears as time goes by. Don't want the work of cleaning it if there where rocks.

 

[taherrmann4]

Cilyjr I do not have any substrate on the bottom of my pond, but I do have about a dozen strategically placed rocks about 12" in diameter around the bottom of the pond, these are not for looks but rather because I get the ballooning effect if we get several inches of rain in a short amount of time. I clean my pond with an oasis pond o vac twice a year spring and fall, and this takes care of getting any leaves and muck out of the pond and around the rocks I do have. I do not cover the pond in the fall as I have a skimmer which helps capture the leaves and the ones that do sink to the bottom I vac out in November, and I don't care for the way it looks so I choose to take more time to get them out than to keep them out.

 

[Cilyjr]

right. i have a skimmer as well but i do think i will put a net over in the fall to get as many leaves as i can. my neighbors rather large maple tree has several branches that extend over my pond

 

[Cilyjr]

It's been a long time since I've posted. But I've been popping in more often as I'm thinking of expanding. I decided to reread this thread and again thank all for their advice when I was getting started.

The pond has been running since 2011 and I now have about 19 fish all goldfish of different types. My shubunkin breed. 3 survived from last year and are now about 2 inches. I have divided my lilies a few times now and have started giving them away to friends who started their own pond. The catfish I bought at 4 inches was almost 2 and a half feet long when I finally decided ge was too big for my 6 foot by 9 foot pond. He is happily living at my wife's uncles pond.

 

[cas]

Nice pond @Cilyjr . So how much are you thinking of 'expanding'?

 

[Cilyjr]

About double with a small river between the 2. I'd make the new pond about a foot higher then the existing to allow a small drop into it. That way I wouldn't have to try to join the pond liners. Although I've done the joint on flat roof I imagine it's more difficult on 6 year old submerged epdm then new stuff on a flat roof....