Hamstermann's pond build
- Thread starter hamstermann
- Start date
YShahar
Enthusiastic duct-tape engineer
That's a low-growing juniper. Look for Juniper horizontalis or other varieties that stay low to the ground.
It looks like green mound juniper. It is a very hardy bush and can take a lot of trimming and sculpting.
I have it on the back side of my pond.
First picture is in 2022 where it had just been trimmed each year to make room for flowers. It is planted a good 3 feet from the pond and had spread to the pond and over the edge. In 2022 I was looking for a leak and cut the bush back drastically so I could work on the pond edge. The shrub handled the drastic cutting well.
I have it on the back side of my pond.
First picture is in 2022 where it had just been trimmed each year to make room for flowers. It is planted a good 3 feet from the pond and had spread to the pond and over the edge. In 2022 I was looking for a leak and cut the bush back drastically so I could work on the pond edge. The shrub handled the drastic cutting well.
Juniper are probably the most indestructible landscape plants there is . However some of them bite back and require gloves to keep from getting poked and getting itchy
You'll know the minute you touch the plant if it is or is not .
You'll know the minute you touch the plant if it is or is not .
These are pretty soft, which is why I like them.
It's been a while so here's an update: I The flagstone has been moved to a path in the front yard that I will be working on installing correctly for probably weeks while temperatures are high. I planted some Euonymus plants which are evergreen and broadleaved to contrast with the juniper.
I also noticed a rhythmic humming/whirring noise from the pumps and the large rocks sitting in the intake bay were actually sitting on the pump vault lid so my son and I pulled all the rock out, removed the milk crates that were in there, moved the vault forward, refilled the intake bay with graduated rock sizes around the pump vault, and tried to reinstall things. The edging looks worse - the liner may have to be seamed but as long as I keep the water level where it's supposed to be and don't forget about the hose when filling, I should be fine. I'll have to fold and tuck the liner better when it cools off in a few weeks. It's just so hot.
Also, after putting everything back together, the pump for the bog stopped. I unhooked it and pulled it out, took it apart as best I could and actually broke the impeller trying to get it out to fix whatever had stopped it. So now the waterfall pump has been switched to be the bog pump while I wait for a new (different brand) of pump to come in the mail.
The hair algae is finally taking off. Probably has something to do with the approximate 50% water change I had to do while working on the intake bay. I know it'll level off and die back as the plants take hold, but I'm wondering if I should get more than just the 5 fish that I have to help keep the algae in line.
I'm also telling myself that the leak from when my glue job went wrong connecting the flex PVC to the rigid PVC at the bog isn't a big deal and the bog still works. I'm torn beween "I really don't want to take everything apart, the water is staying in the system fine, and the bog seems to work okay" and "What if ice forces the opening larger and things break this winter? Maybe better flow into the bog could help the waterfall out of it be better too...". I calculated total dynamic head at a little less than 5 feet, so the pump should be kicking 4000 gph into the bog, so I'm already a little on the fast side, in theory.
But on the good side of things, I got my first blooms in the pond! Yay!!!
I also started adding more 1" minus rock to the bog to cut down on algae and give me more room for shallow planting. I can always kick the rocks out of the way to plant something deep if I want. Not sure I love the dry rock look though. I like seeing the wet rocks better.
I also noticed a rhythmic humming/whirring noise from the pumps and the large rocks sitting in the intake bay were actually sitting on the pump vault lid so my son and I pulled all the rock out, removed the milk crates that were in there, moved the vault forward, refilled the intake bay with graduated rock sizes around the pump vault, and tried to reinstall things. The edging looks worse - the liner may have to be seamed but as long as I keep the water level where it's supposed to be and don't forget about the hose when filling, I should be fine. I'll have to fold and tuck the liner better when it cools off in a few weeks. It's just so hot.
Also, after putting everything back together, the pump for the bog stopped. I unhooked it and pulled it out, took it apart as best I could and actually broke the impeller trying to get it out to fix whatever had stopped it. So now the waterfall pump has been switched to be the bog pump while I wait for a new (different brand) of pump to come in the mail.
The hair algae is finally taking off. Probably has something to do with the approximate 50% water change I had to do while working on the intake bay. I know it'll level off and die back as the plants take hold, but I'm wondering if I should get more than just the 5 fish that I have to help keep the algae in line.
I'm also telling myself that the leak from when my glue job went wrong connecting the flex PVC to the rigid PVC at the bog isn't a big deal and the bog still works. I'm torn beween "I really don't want to take everything apart, the water is staying in the system fine, and the bog seems to work okay" and "What if ice forces the opening larger and things break this winter? Maybe better flow into the bog could help the waterfall out of it be better too...". I calculated total dynamic head at a little less than 5 feet, so the pump should be kicking 4000 gph into the bog, so I'm already a little on the fast side, in theory.
But on the good side of things, I got my first blooms in the pond! Yay!!!
I also started adding more 1" minus rock to the bog to cut down on algae and give me more room for shallow planting. I can always kick the rocks out of the way to plant something deep if I want. Not sure I love the dry rock look though. I like seeing the wet rocks better.
Hair algae gets many very discouraged. It has be trying to say the least and it's not a question of if it will go away but when.providing you are not way over stocked and way under filtered. Though admittedly.many many are exactly that.
It takes time for a POND to cycle and ballance it's self out. Expecialy if you jump right into keeping koi. They are Hangry large fish. And they poop alot if you keep feeding them through out the day the percentage of the food that gets pushed out that is not digested goes way up and that is the worst for our ponds.
But this is where the cheaper foods have an advantage as the are corn or wheat based as a main ingredient and that's far less troublesome as unbeaten as would be fish meal based.
So long story short gold fish can thrive in a pond and not given any food they find all they need from algae and bugs.
Koi on the other hand root as well but your pond generally is way to small to provide them with enough food.
Thanks. I'm not going to keep Koi. Too expensive to replace if a predator comes by and too much trouble in the long run.
We bought food when we bought our goldfish - they ignore it so we just don't feed them. They're eating algae but they're not keeping up. there are only 6 in there and they're all about 4 inches long. I'm tempted to get more to take the algae down faster but then when they get big there will be too much bio-load.
Too bad I can't just rent some fish for a few months to get the algae down until my fish are big enough to keep up with the hair algae, then send the rentals back. Then again, more fish to eat the algae is more bio-load to fuel the algae, so I guess we'll just be patient and keep picking at it when we're in the pond.
Actualy you kinda can people are always looking to rehome fish that have gotten too big for their pond just make sure you go through the process of quarantining them and putting them in your pond. Call me Debbie downer I don't trust 9 out of 10 pond keepers
Debbie downer. 
just because you told me to. 
just because you told me to.
And your off a d running
apparently prostrate spurge works as a marginal. i wonder if I'll regret this bit at this point the more plants I can get in the pond the better and this one was free from my garden.
