CW's Back Yard Water Garden Begins!

[WetWilly]

SO what is the distance between the 4 you got there? They look like nice lights

 

[combatwombat]

Maybe 8’-10’?

 

[combatwombat]

Well, well, well. Just a little update. We enjoyed the heck out of the pond this summer. Lots of kid friends over to catch and release tadpoles this spring and early summer. Lots of afternoon swimming through the heat of summer. And lots of refilling the damn reservoir. So little rain this summer!

I'm still not convinced I don't have leaks, but I've been so busy on other projects around here—replaced all the windows, did a bunch more landscaping, and other little projects inside—that I didn't keep good track.

It was a great summer. The plants are coming in nicely, though not all of the ones @addy1 sent me, took off. The obiedents, water willow, and a few iris I put in the bog absolutely took off, but the rest of the plants around the pond have been a bit sleepy. Just finished dividing a bunch of plants from the bog to fill in elsewhere and hoping the ecosystem continues to stabilize in the coming season.

One struggle I did not plan for so well is string algae. I've been fighting it like crazy all summer. Spending hours on the weekends removing buckets and buckets of the stuff only for it to all grow back just as fast as I could remove it. We don't have fish, very little leaf fall/debris and the frogs have all been MIA since mid summer, so I don't know what is supplying the food source to the algae. But every time I test the water, it comes back 0 everything. Perhaps it was just all the swimming. Though that stopped weeks ago and the string algae did not!

Big news: the wife is finally on board with getting some fish. Every time she Googles how to solve one of the things she doesn't like about the pond—too many loud frogs, too many mayflies, too much algae—the #1 answer seems to be "get some fish."

So anyway, she'll be traveling for work soon, and I think there'll be some shubunkin in the pond when she gets back. Will let the kiddo give them all names and that will be that. No takesies backsies. That may backfire, of course, the first time an Eagle swoops in and carries off Lil Swimmy.

I know I can find all the resources I need here about introducing fish, but if ya'll have any tips you want to leave, feel free to share them here.

And any tips to reduce string algae are welcome, too. My plan to beat it next year is:

• Add some fish, and don't feed them. Let them eat the algae.
• Tons more plants.
• Add more gravel to the wetland filter. Nothing really took off where water was more than 2" deep and plants had a hard time rooting.
• Add a little dye to the water. This will be temporary to add shade until the plants are more established.
• Keep the aerators running. Will need to do this now, anyway, with the fish. I mostly leave the aerators off because their placement blocks debris from efficiently making its way to the negative edge. Will probably have to move one of them.

Anyway, back to my fall cleanup tasks. Here are some photos from the summer:

 

[GBBUDD]

Your not dealing with anything everyone doesn't go trough with hair algae i was lucky i was traveling so my son got that job to pull it out.
yes plants plants and more plants.
And yes swimming in the pond is the equivalent to having fish. you think those little ones are peeing in your pool? That the ducks held it until the were out of the pond?
I did think your bog was a bit bigger. But if you stay with shubunkins and gold fish you wetland will mature and the pond will balance out. If you haven't done so Beneficial bacteria and Nualgi can help but don't expect miracles @bagsmom did say she found something the almighty oz recommended that worked for her.
The other option is to go to a healthy looking pond in your area and get a handful of rocks , MUCK , AND EVEN TWIGS OR BRANCHES maybe a tree stump that's in the water they will have microbes bugs etc that you won't get for years and can get your pond established quicker .
lastly don't squish or roll up the hair algae it releases spores to seed more hair algae i liked to use a masons plastic tub and float that in the water and as i pulled the hair out i just pulled it into the tub

The other option if you like to swim in it so much you can always go salt or chlorine

I do like the bridge and the shallow area the little one was playing in

 

[Landman]

Looks good so far. My pond is now 1 year old I have some plants but I need to get lots more next year. My algae took off and it’s terrible but I found out it takes two to three years for the ecosystem to balance out. I have 7 goldfish and one koi I was feeding them to often now only feeding once a week so they can eat the algae. Lots more plants and beneficial bacteria should help.

 

[combatwombat]

Your not dealing with anything everyone doesn't go trough with hair algae i was lucky i was traveling so my son got that job to pull it out.

Funny. At first, the rest of the family thought the string algae was gross and wouldn't touch it. Then they got more comfortable with it and got really into pulling it out. Felt like Tom Sawyer recruiting fence painters. But then it really took over and the novelty wore off. I don't have any pictures of the worst of it because every spare second I had was spent pulling it.

If it happens again next summer, I'm going to figure out how to market it as a delicacy to fancy restaurants in Portland. "Today's special is deconstructed spirogyra soup harvested locally by an expert filamentous algae farmer."

And yes swimming in the pond is the equivalent to having fish. you think those little ones are peeing in your pool?

My daughter actually has a strange aversion to it. If she has to go, she frantically gets out. If that's a big contributing factor, it's probably me.

hat the ducks held it until the were out of the pond?

Unfortunately, the ducklings came in early June for only 2 days and haven't been seen again since. I'd happily take all the string algae in the world if they'd stuck around.

I did think your bog was a bit bigger. But if you stay with shubunkins and gold fish you wetland will mature and the pond will balance out.

It's 8x12 which comes out to about 20% of pond surface area, so not undersized, but not massive either. I also have the under-sand pressure filter at the bottom of the pond that contributes another 20% of surface area, but I think I have some adjustments to make on that.

Once the ecosystem is more stable, I think I'll have more than enough filtration, but I don't want to go the koi route because I fear I'd develop a strange addiction to it. I want cheap fish that I can enjoy watching a raccoon drag across the lawn. haha

The other option is to go to a healthy looking pond in your area and get a handful of rocks , MUCK , AND EVEN TWIGS OR BRANCHES maybe a tree stump that's in the water they will have microbes bugs etc that you won't get for years and can get your pond established quicker .

That's a good idea. I remember seeing some videos of Greg Wittstock doing that a some of the fancy builds his team worked on. I don't have any ponds nearby, but I'm right next to a very healthy stream system with a giant wetland where I watch egrets fish all day. I'm sure I could find some good stuff in there. A handful of muck from the wetland could be just what the pond doctor ordered.

astly don't squish or roll up the hair algae it releases spores to seed more hair algae

Sure, tell me now. Been wringing the water out of it back into the pond all summer long. Oh well. It kind of changed composition over the summer, too. It was very fibrous and rigid at the beginning of summer. You could pull out big clumps leaving nothing behind.

Now it's quite soft and delicate. Breaks up and floats off a lot as you try to pull it. I've switched to netting it as that seems to do the best job of collecting it in its current state. I also found a toilet brush bolted to an extension pole worked really well, but it was a pain in the ass to get it off of the brush.

The other option if you like to swim in it so much you can always go salt or chlorine

Well, the swimming does a pretty good job of releasing the stuff, too. Could just tell the kid to jump in and thrash around for a bit.

I do like the bridge and the shallow area the little one was playing in

Thanks. Those are a few of my favorite details, too. The shallow area is the perfect tadpole hunting ground.

 

[Hound Heaven]

You've got a lot of real estate there, it will take some time to establish adequate plantings. FWIW, I raised most of the gravel level in my bog this summer because the string algae liked it there WAY too much. Course I had to wait until the bazillions of tadpoles found their way out. It seems the shallow, moving water was very attractive to the algae. On the other hand, the hyacinths went nuts in the pond - I tossed buckets and buckets into the compost but hardly any string algae developed in the pond. If you're wanting a quick growing plant, toss in some watercress. It's ridiculous - any bit that breaks off will root.
Happy trails to "Lil Swimmy"

 

[Lisak1]

First two years of pond keeping was nothing but string. Then, year three, magically gone. They only thing that changed was the size of the fish and the size of the plants.

 

[bagsmom]

LOOKS INCREDIBLE!!!!!
I did really like using the little Splosht sachets. I got mine from Amazon but now I can't find it anywhere. I wonder if the company stopped production?

 

[Mgessert]

Such fun! As others have said, more plants! I would aim for 50% surface area coverage to help shade out the algae. This might not fit with swimming, but the kids will eventually grow up and the pond will remain. It’s so beautiful! And I like the surprise fish plan.

 

[j.w]

Plants need to all grow huge and fish in there will give them more fertilizer to grow bigger. You just need time and patience. I love Sedge plants that grow very large eventually and suck up nutrients so algae will be less.

 

[combatwombat]

FWIW, I raised most of the gravel level in my bog this summer because the string algae liked it there WAY too much.

Thinking I'll do the same now during my Fall maintenance.

On the other hand, the hyacinths went nuts in the pond - I tossed buckets and buckets into the compost but hardly any string algae developed in the pond.

I wish I liked the look of hyacinths. Seems like it would do the trick. I bet it does a good job of trapping floating particulate, too. Is it at least easier to pull and compost than the string algae?

If you're wanting a quick growing plant, toss in some watercress. It's ridiculous - any bit that breaks off will root.

This might be a good option!

 

[combatwombat]

First two years of pond keeping was nothing but string. Then, year three, magically gone. They only thing that changed was the size of the fish and the size of the plants.

Crossing my fingers!

LOOKS INCREDIBLE!!!!!

Thank you! I'm loving how it's turning out. Need a boatload more land plants, too.

I did really like using the little Splosht sachets. I got mine from Amazon but now I can't find it anywhere.

Same. Don't know anything about them, but when Iooked them up, they were showing "out of stock" everywhere, including their own website.

 

[combatwombat]

Plants need to all grow huge and fish in there will give them more fertilizer to grow bigger.

See, that's where I'm a little confused. I know I need more and bigger plants to outcompete the algae. And I know those plants need nutrients. But isn't excess nutrients the reason I have the algae? Is it that the algae is just better at absorbing the nutrients from the other plants?

 

[Hound Heaven]

Thinking I'll do the same now during my Fall maintenance.



I wish I liked the look of hyacinths. Seems like it would do the trick. I bet it does a good job of trapping floating particulate, too. Is it at least easier to pull and compost than the string algae?



This might be a good option!

Hyacinths are really good at filtering water and scooping them into a net is way more fun than having to use a toilet brush in the pond!