Beginners Articles

[Mykee]

I came here looking for help and I'm a total newbie when it comes to ponds. How about adding beginners articles too, where people like me can find out how to get started. Here are my ideas that I would find very helpful. Sorry if they seem too basic, but I found it very helpful to search online for the answers

• How often should I feed fish?
• Do I feed fish in winter?
• How do I find a pond leak?
• How often should I clean a pond pump?
• Can I use tap-water in a pond? (I found the answer to this here thanks to your help).
• How many fish can I add to a pond?

Newbies like me would find this really helpful if someone was able to write them.

 

[Tula]

Welcome! Some of the answers depend on what type of fish you're keeping.
*Most of us do not feed until the water temperature is reliable above 50-55 degrees.
*I clean my pumps regularly...they have pre-filters on them and I can visually se when there is debris build up on them.
* I use tap water, but add a dechlorinator.
* I have koi, so provide 500 gallons per koi.
* When I begin feeding my koi, I feed once in the evening. It is recommended to feed them lightly several times a day, but I don't.

I haven't had a pond leak, but would look for wet / damp spots in the ground around the pond. Waterfalls are a common place for leaks, as are plumbing joints / seals.

Hope this helps - and again, welcome !!!

 

[tbendl]

Mykee, the reason there aren't clear cut answers is there are so many variables. Size of the pond and depth will determine how many and what kind of fish you can keep. What kind of fish you have determines how often you feed them. Where you live determines your winter regime and what type of pump determines how often it will need to be maintained.
If you post your specific wants, everyone here will pitch in to answer your questions but there really isn't a clear cut "one way to do things". Hence the joy of ponding!! Hope this helps!!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Utilize the Forums 'Search' feature and check the 'Articles'.

 

[sissy]

With koi ponddigger prefers you feed them during the day so they have time to process the food .I feed 3 times a week and sometimes 4 .I have koi so my staples for pond supplies are good food fall and summer, Garlic for spring feeding to help them ward of diseases ,Lava rock , peroxide ,bacteria ,water test kit ,Quilt batting for fine algae ,2 good energy savings pumps ,Koi clay for minerals .I have learned koi eat trapdoor snails and destroy plants and get very big but can be very friendly .I also keep zeolite handy and have activated carbon in my filters.4 lbs of activated charcoal in each filter .This is my first year with a uv as the pond was rebuilt last March .Uv bulbs and uv's I got on ebay cll pets and topdog seller .Do it your self is my motto .I have no bottom drain and no skimmer ,just a swimming pool net.Thought of something else always keep new fish in a separate tank until your sure of there health and wash all plants and roots before adding them to your pond

 

[addy1]

Nice idea Mykee, but like they say there are so many variables.

If I wrote an article on starting a pond, it would be goldfish based, bog filtered, well water. Very different for someone doing koi, city water, pressure filters.
I am in cold weather, different than a pond in warm weather.

Hard to write a article to answer all the variables.

 

[CometKeith]

Hi Mykee, Good luck with your pond and welcome to GPF. Start with a lot fewer fish than you want to have eventually. The biggest problem for most newbies here is having too many fish in their pond and then the fish get sick from ammonia and other by products. If it hasn't cycled you should only have a couple fish because the pond can't handle the waste yet. If you don't know what cycling a pond is I recommend you do a search on it. Also algae is not a big deal in the beginning and don't worry if your water isn't clear. Good luck!

 

[Lisak1]

As others have said, there are so many variables in pond keeping that it would be impossible to write a definitive collection of articles to guide the newbie.

The internet has made finding information easier AND harder - easier to find, harder to separate fact from opinion. I'll tell you what we did before we put the shovel in the dirt even one single time - we read. And read. And read. Anything and everything we could find on ponds. We talked to other pond owners, visited their ponds, picked their brains. We talked to people who build ponds for a living. And we read some more. Through that process we learned to search for not only "what" but "why" and "how". Understanding why and how things work helped us immensely in our DIY pond build.

It may be more practical to create a flow chart: start with "garden pond" or "koi pond" and work from there. Garden pond - go this way. Fish - follow this line. Koi pond - head that way. You could even start with pond size - small, medium, large or super-sized? Or climate - hot? Cold? Moderate? Plants - lily pond? No plants? Naturalized pond? There are as many types of ponds as there are pond owners.

Each element you include (or don't) will take you along a bit of a different path. And that's half the fun - doing your pond, your way!

 

[Mykee]

This makes sense, I understand now. I'll be back with lots of questions then .

Thank you all for the responses, you have been very helpful with your replies!

 

[addy1]

This makes sense, I understand now. I'll be back with lots of questions then .

Thank you all for the responses, you have been very helpful with your replies!

When you start digging start a thread in the construction forum, it will be your build thread. You can post your progress and ask away if you run into any issues. It helps you find your ??'s and answers and it helps us follow along on what you are doing.

Enjoy the build it can be a lot of fun.

 

[sissy]

this is great info and you can see that it helps all ponders

 

[bettasngoldfish]

The article section of the forum is still fairly new so I'm sure there will be more articles added as members write them.

It's nice to get some feedback as to what people want or will find helpful