floating planter rings

[HTH]

Adding to stuff you can make with PVC.

Lilies like fairly calm water. The PVC rectangles in the background are aireators that reduce the turbulence in the rest of the pond.

They are easy to make too.

Do a single rectangle using 3 90's and one T for the corners. (this is the part you see on the water surface)
Slip a PVC to female hose thread fitting to the T.
Cut the short sides in 2 and join back using T's with the extra leg pointing down.
Add down sections of pipe as deep as you want to inject the air.
Add 90s to the bottom of each down section facing each other.
Cut an additional section of pipe to go join the 90s.
Drill air holes in this section.

A short length of garden hose is connected between the air supply and the female hose adapter in the 2nd step. The air pressure is not enough to blow the PVC apart so I left them unglued. That way you can break them down and store them.

 

[ellisr63]

This is what I made... I went to BigLots and got a clothes hamper ($5.99) about 2' tall and some plastic hose which I connected with a barb. I then zip tied it to the basket. I am using it for a water lily... to keep the Koi from destroying it.

 

[sissy]

that would be great for my lotus .

This is what I made... I went to BigLots and got a clothes hamper ($5.99) about 2' tall and some plastic hose which I connected with a barb. I then zip tied it to the basket. I am using it for a water lily... to keep the Koi from destroying it.

 

[ellisr63]

It has only been a couple of days now and the first leaf has made it to the top of the laundry basket, with another leaf almost there too. The only fish that have went in have been the mosquito fish.

 

[sissy]

my lotus are in the stock tank for now with fertilizer .I have koi and they destroy everything .So this may work since lotus leaves like to be up and out of the water .The koi root in the pots and destroy new growth

 

[ellisr63]

my lotus are in the stock tank for now with fertilizer .I have koi and they destroy everything .So this may work since lotus leaves like to be up and out of the water .The koi root in the pots and destroy new growth

I would go with maybe 1/2" ID or a little bit larger to give it good stability from your Koi. You might even try some shade screen around the outside to make it more durable too.

 

[jhenkel]

Shalom - latest floating pond project: bought a preformed small unit used to connect 2 ponds and cut off the spout end and drilled holes in the body for the water and used great stuff under the edge and on the bottom for floatation. in the holes I drilled on the underside, I put in a couple of wire ties for future use to anchor the island. On the top edge I used great stuff again, partly for floation and also to form island edge by adding a mixture of sand, ome dirt, and pea gravel and pressed that into the great stuff as it begins to expand (wearing latex gloves) and it gives a nice edge - a bit light cream color for awhile, depending on the color of he mix and how much of the mix sticks, but the sunlight will darken it. The first floating island made a coule years ago has darkened well.

I did nto get an evn or balanced coating of great stuff on the bottom so balnce was/is a concern, I ended up peeling off some of it and have used a couple of small rocks for balance - time will tell as the plants grow. Hopefully the couple of wire times hanging loose on the bottom can be used to add floation materal if needed.

The problem that may be forth coming is did I use enough floation for when the plants get big ( I have some iris in the island) and balance - I had to use a couple of small rocks to help balance and they look okay.

in the island, I have, a dusty miller, verigated chameleon, Iris, Pickerl rush, horse tail rush, dragon tail, a ground cover that has very samll round leves, (doing quite well), impatiens, marigolds. New plants added, not sue how they will do are aquatic forget me not, fain Lilly, Water willow, coleus, Lucerne Blue Eyed Grass( doing well so far), Moonstruck mountain lilly, hosta - we'll see how these fair in the hot summer sun. I'm going to get some shrimp grass, con tail, water nympth and maybe 4-leaf clover to added.

Plan is for the island to be all perennial.

when I plant, I shake off the soil, leaving some soil, then wrap the plant in batting with a miracle grow plant spike, remove about a 1/3 or so of foilage and into the batting of the island - this also keeps the weight down requiring less floatation

Tip - be sure to keep the crowns of the plants above the water level, some may require more height than other plants. This is why I conveted my pond's iland to floating wa so that when it rained and the water rose some I won't have to go pump it down to save the flowers and it also allows about another inch of water level, which in a Koi crowded pond should also help as well.

Tired typing, hope this helps - if it can float or be made to float it may be an island in the making.

 

[ellisr63]

Shalom - latest floating pond project: bought a preformed small unit used to connect 2 ponds and cut off the spout end and drilled holes in the body for the water and used great stuff under the edge and on the bottom for floatation. in the holes I drilled on the underside, I put in a couple of wire ties for future use to anchor the island. On the top edge I used great stuff again, partly for floation and also to form island edge by adding a mixture of sand, ome dirt, and pea gravel and pressed that into the great stuff as it begins to expand (wearing latex gloves) and it gives a nice edge - a bit light cream color for awhile, depending on the color of he mix and how much of the mix sticks, but the sunlight will darken it. The first floating island made a coule years ago has darkened well.

I did nto get an evn or balanced coating of great stuff on the bottom so balnce was/is a concern, I ended up peeling off some of it and have used a couple of small rocks for balance - time will tell as the plants grow. Hopefully the couple of wire times hanging loose on the bottom can be used to add floation materal if needed.

The problem that may be forth coming is did I use enough floation for when the plants get big ( I have some iris in the island) and balance - I had to use a couple of small rocks to help balance and they look okay.

in the island, I have, a dusty miller, verigated chameleon, Iris, Pickerl rush, horse tail rush, dragon tail, a ground cover that has very samll round leves, (doing quite well), impatiens, marigolds. New plants added, not sue how they will do are aquatic forget me not, fain Lilly, Water willow, coleus, Lucerne Blue Eyed Grass( doing well so far), Moonstruck mountain lilly, hosta - we'll see how these fair in the hot summer sun. I'm going to get some shrimp grass, con tail, water nympth and maybe 4-leaf clover to added.

Plan is for the island to be all perennial.

when I plant, I shake off the soil, leaving some soil, then wrap the plant in batting with a miracle grow plant spike, remove about a 1/3 or so of foilage and into the batting of the island - this also keeps the weight down requiring less floatation

Tip - be sure to keep the crowns of the plants above the water level, some may require more height than other plants. This is why I conveted my pond's iland to floating wa so that when it rained and the water rose some I won't have to go pump it down to save the flowers and it also allows about another inch of water level, which in a Koi crowded pond should also help as well.

Tired typing, hope this helps - if it can float or be made to float it may be an island in the making.

Any pics to share of this?

 

[jhenkel]

Here's a couple - cell phone tries

 

[jhenkel]

sorry they are out of focus - may try again later with a camera - when I get done, I'll try to do a video that includes the water wheel and pump house - that may be mid summer, though

 

[xAbD]

How 'bout some sources for this 'deer fencing'. I see some sold by Lowes with 1" x 3/4" mesh. However, I don't think I'd use the 100' x 7' roll before I leave this earth! My whole pond is barely 6 feet at the widest and about 12' long. I guess I could start a business making these floating planters... LOL!

Would it be possible for anyone here to have maybe 5 to 10 square feet of the fencing available? Don't even need the 7' height! Even half that would/could still make a 3' diameter ring. A full roll from Lowes would probably make 40+ rings! I've got several feet of garden hose that I could make the rings from, I really don't have room for more than a couple!

My other thought (two a day is about my max!) is to use some 1/2" bird netting. But it is so flexible I think the fish could push the plants out of the ring from the bottom. Of course, that would probably require some co-ordinated swimming by all six of the Shubunkin... :boldblue: :surprised:

 

[koiguy1969]

Hi, i'm the originater of this thread its my design. Tenax hardware netting is what i used...LOWES about $11..00 3'X 15'. ITS PERFECT.

 

[xAbD]

Thanks! I didn't find that (furst missteak thiz yeer!) but found probably the same thing at Ace (1/2" mesh). I'll double-check Lowe's as well as HD. Found it at HD, had to order it, free shipping but the price has gone up since you first posted the tip. What's new?! LOL!

I'll let you know when it comes in and you can come build a couple of planters for me! Thanks!!

 

[xAbD]

The Tenax hardware cloth (completely plastic, of course) is great! Very easy to cut.

Have four planter rings (~2' diameter) in the pond! Didn't have any "tubing" so I used some discarded water hose. CHILDREN! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! LOL! As most would know, water hose usually has some strong woven in thread to add strength to the plain poly tubing. It works well to keep the hose from exploding when you leave the faucet ON but close the nozzle. However, even using the natural gas grill won't let that string/thread loosen much and it makes inserting anything into the hose reely, reely difficult! :grumble: Next time, I'll visit some stores and see if they have any tubing unattended...

On the bright side, the hose I used is nearly the same color as the hyacinths so it doesn't show much! Of course, it will hopefully completely disappear as the plants grow to fill the ring. :fingersx:

 

[ChloeandClara]

I spent my day making the design with the mesh as originally posted and then a few with just the tube so the fish can tear those up. I love them! Thank you for the idea!!!

My water hyacinth and water lettuce were covering about 3/4 of the pond and keeping debris from getting to the skimmer. Plus, my fish were happily hiding under all those plants. Now, the skimmer can do its job and I can finally see my fish again as they move from one to the other. I may have went overboard by making 9 rings. I had a hard time throwing out plants, and I don't want the algae to come back. I still have a kiddie pool (actually puppy pool) filled with plants and no takers on craigslist. Off to make a compost... I was tempted to buy the turning one at Lowes for 100.00. Surely, there is a cheaper yet effective compost that does not require many tools. I have googled a few options, but are there any ideas or tips from you geniuses out there?