Hello Just Joined this forum

[Pwll Pant Gwyntog]

Hello to all

I've had garden ponds for most of the last 40 years and will post some photos soon.

I currently have a mixture of Goldfish, Golden Rudd and Golden Tench in a pond of approximately 2,000 gallons. The pond is filtered via a Hozelock pump to a TMC Pro 55Wat UV clarifier and a Cloverleaf 2 Filter with gravity return.

Living in a very windy part of Cardiff (Wales) I always have a surplus of pond plants and fish that I can donate to a good home(s).

Looking forward to learning from the many experienced pond guardians on the site.

PPG

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

 

[Big Lou]

Welcome Pwill!

 

[Dave 54]

Hello to all

I've had garden ponds for most of the last 40 years and will post some photos soon.

I currently have a mixture of Goldfish, Golden Rudd and Golden Tench in a pond of approximately 2,000 gallons. The pond is filtered via a Hozelock pump to a TMC Pro 55Wat UV clarifier and a Cloverleaf 2 Filter with gravity return.

Living in a very windy part of Cardiff (Wales) I always have a surplus of pond plants and fish that I can donate to a good home(s).

Looking forward to learning from the many experienced pond guardians on the site.

PPG

"Croeso Pwll" and welcome to the forum , we arent that far away from you as the crow flies living in Plymouth hows about taking a trip down when we have our next koi show July 2016 [ after 25 years this will be our retirement show ] your more than welcome .
We normally get folks down from the South Wales section BKKS, just as we visit them
With 40 years experiance under your belt Pwll shouldnt that be the other way around
The last time I was in Cardiff was in 1977 , I must say that they have done well to convert everything from the rundown broken port it used to be to its modern day guise.
May I ask why you dont also keep koi in your pond ?
We love photo's on GPF the more the better

Dave

 

[Pwll Pant Gwyntog]

"Croeso Pwll" and welcome to the forum , we arent that far away from you as the crow flies living in Plymouth hows about taking a trip down when we have our next koi show July 2016 [ after 25 years this will be our retirement show ] your more than welcome .
We normally get folks down from the South Wales section BKKS, just as we visit them
With 40 years experiance under your belt Pwll shouldnt that be the other way around
The last time I was in Cardiff was in 1977 , I must say that they have done well to convert everything from the rundown broken port it used to be to its modern day guise.
May I ask why you dont also keep koi in your pond ?
We love photo's on GPF the more the better

Dave

Thanks Dave, I should say Diolch Dave as you kindly welcomed me in my own language!

That's a very kind offer to visit the Koi show next July, I'll certainly be keen to hear more about it nearer the time and Plymouth is a very historic town, I've been there once to visit the sea life centre in 2011.

The 40 years started when I was 9 years old I'm afraid, so not really an expert, I've just remained an enthusiastic amateur all these years.
Cardiff was transformed in the late 1980s and through the 1990s. It's now beginning its second post-industrial transformation but sounds like it will be a few years before the changes are completed.
You should definitely visit again soon.

I used to keep some Ghost Koi and six enormous Golden Orfe. The Ghost Koi became so large and destructive towards all the plants that I ended up giving them away to a couple of people who were happy to have them despite the risk of carp pox (pretty sure they didn't have the pox at the time). I love koi and can't understand why the Japanese have not created a dwarf variety that say get no more than 4 - 6 inches long (they could be called "Bonsai Koi") They would be delightful to have.
The Golden Orfe all committed suicide by leaping out of the pond when I was at work one day while trying to spawn (not a bad way to go I suppose). I was upset and shocked when I got home, I'd only removed the covering net a few days earlier........another amateur mistake!!!

Please see a few snaps taken on the 15th May this year showing the pond and small parts of the 'back yard', I far better ones including the fish from previous years and will post before long:

 

[Dave 54]

Very nice indeed Pwll and I will most certainly give you the heads up for our last show next year , we are the only couple to have shown at all the shows so far and us both having physical disabilities weve decided to quit on our 25th ever show simply because it takes us a week or so to recover from them [had we been able wed continue on].
Val and I are concidered founding Fathers of the Plymouth Koi Keepers Society which came about after a meeting with our first ever chairman Steve Turner myself and Val my Partner .
Fast fowards 24 years and we are still a growing club with over 50 members .
We ourselves have been keeping koi for 28 years in total .
I must say I really love your pond you can tell theres alot of love gone into things , strangely weve only been keeping koi outside for the last 6 years we spent the first 22 indoors with our koi behind glass in a huge 200 gallon 6 x 2 x 2.5 fish tank it was only when I started to struggle cleaning it that we moved outdoors to a 1,000 gallon pond and a 550 gallon QT fasility .
We too had a suicidal Orfe jumped clear out of the pond one day whilst we were out the other became a monster fish which now resides in a Garden centre lake .
Koi though are our first love and I hope and pray we can continue on another 20-25 years before they ship us off to a granny farm somewhere
We decided early on Fish Health was important and as such have been both self schooled and mentored in fish health issues though we are not experts .
This year is the first year weve really had the guts to take the net off our pond but so far so good no more jumpers

Dave

 

[sissy]

welcome and love your wisteria .I had to take mine out it got to aggressive ,i had it planted next to my garden bridge and it actually lifted the bridge 4 inch's off the ground.Bridge was happier after and a lot safer to cross

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group! Beautiful pond you have there.

 

[CountryEscape]

Welcome, welcome! Love your pond, and that wisteria ... WOW! Looks like it is stair stepped down ... or maybe up! Is that one large plant or several smaller ones?

 

[haver79]

Welcome and your pond is beautiful.

 

[Pwll Pant Gwyntog]

Thank you Haver79!

 

[Pwll Pant Gwyntog]

Welcome, welcome! Love your pond, and that wisteria ... WOW! Looks like it is stair stepped down ... or maybe up! Is that one large plant or several smaller ones?

Thank you Country Escape. Yes it's one plant that I trained up and above the retaining wall of the pond behind the deck.

 

[Pwll Pant Gwyntog]

Welcome to our group! Beautiful pond you have there.

Thank you Addy1. I'll post some better photos soon.

 

[Pwll Pant Gwyntog]

Thank you Sissy. Wisteria is certainly one tough plant, a bit like Cherry Laurels in that regard. Wish my water lilies were that prolific, I'm doing something wrong I think!!!

 

[Pwll Pant Gwyntog]

Thanks Dave

That's interesting to hear how you founded the society with a play-on-words too - and why not!
I've never considered keeping Koi in an aquarium, bet you had to make sure it was sitting on an immovable surface and earth-quake proof to, for when they start getting excited!

I will have a few questions for you in the coming days and weeks about fish-health I'm sure. My pond is currently very overstocked with Golden Rudd and this is causing the goldfish some stress that needs to be addressed.
The only answer is to fish out about 30 Golden Rudd sized between 5 - 6 inches. Trouble is I can't find a home for them. If you lived nearer and had capacity you'd be welcome to six of them.

PPG