Hello from Shenandoah Valley :)

[rebelangel_3733]

I forgot to add with my pictures that I use lava rock on the bottom then a grate, which is just an old clothes basket sides cut and twist tied together then my chair padding basically from walmart cut to size of my tub which is 2" thick ( two of them on top of each other) which fits just under my 2" pvc pipe outlet that I siliconed into the side of the tub.
My pond is only 270 gallons but this works great for it as I clean out my filtered materials once a month ( I just use my garden hose and I live in the city it doesn't seem to bother my fish at all). My DIY filter flows into my homemade wier (which is just a hard plastic bin). Here's a pic of how I hid the whole thing with plants in my "fake" bog ) and my grate.

 

[sissy]

darn it why did you not post that earlier , :razz: a laundry basket huh ,well duh I have 2 broken ones ready for the dump and was thinking of what i could use them for .

 

[CountryEscape]

Haha, I loved the laundry basket to hold the filter media in place, too, Sissy!!! Great idea, Rebel! And, Rebel, what do you do with your banana trees in the winter? How do you over-winter them? I'm curious, because I bought one of the red/green ones and a lime green one, and this is my first year over-wintering them, want to do it right. One way I know is to simply bring them in, but wondering if east window will be good enough light. Or, can I let them die back, dry out the roots, or maybe keep roots moist, or florescent lighting maybe? Thanks!

 

[addy1]

Neat idea! Colleen, good use for an old laundry basket. Two of my previous ponds where filtered with lava rock, it worked fine. I had bottom drains so I could back flush the rocks.

 

[CountryEscape]

Hummingbirdlover, check out the video I posted on my thread, "The Pond Dig Has Begun" under Pond Construction. It's a Praying Mantis that was going to take on the hummingbirds on my feeder! Quite cute!

 

[rebelangel_3733]

lol glad you all liked my recycling idea...it's cheap and works! The only thing I didnt do was put a flush valve out of my tub...clean it the ol fashion way...take out the filters (padding) lift up my clothes basket screening and lava rock and scoop out the crap at the bottom with a square plastic bowl...then wipe up with paper towels lol...it works for now, but only do that about once a summer for that matter.

Country- we just dig up our banana trees, repot them in a bigger pot and bring'em inside. Usually sit in the laundry room (big window) on a table we have in there for other plants we bring in (we have tall ceilings)...just as we do for our elephant ears and black taro. If a leaf dies heck just cut it off it grows a new one anyway lol. The room is on the south side of the house. I have to line the top of these pots with pie tins or the cats...well u know the rest of that story! (if not imagine ) I also bring in my lillies in the "bog" I have in pots, and let them die down to nothing and cut back, and bring in my water lillies (in the pond) and put them in a tub of water on the back porch for the winter. Needless to say we bring in ALOT of plants during our winters here.

 

[CountryEscape]

Wow, Rebel, you sure do bring in a lot. I leave all hardy plants in the bog and ponds. There were a few that were not hardy that I brought in. This year, I'll probably bring in a start of the umbrella palm, not the whole thing! It creates a huge root system, which I know is great for the water and filtration, but too much to bring it all inside. Will chop off the side of it and just bring that in. My banana plants are already in too large of pots. LOL Will be a chore getting them inside, but have roller bases under them, so can roll them across the carpet, or at least that's the plan at this point! Thanks for your info.