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- Apr 14, 2017
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Hello Everyone,
I've been a longtime member and have spent many years reading posts, articles and watching YouTube videos. I finally plan to dig a pond this year after using a stock tank pond for a few years.
I'm hoping you can help with a few questions:
-How do I build a "beach" area that will slope into the pond? I plan to use pea gravel. Do I build several shorter shelves (like 6"), or, do I build a gradual ramp?
-If I want to include fish (I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota -- zone 4B), will they survive in a 4-feet deep pond over winter if I allow the top to completely ice over, or, would I need to take them indoors or keep a heater/bubbler in the pond to keep them alive?
-I plan to dig the first shelf all around the perimeter at 12" deep (with a shelf of 2 to 3 feet wide in places), and then a second shelf in a few spots 24" down from the surface (12" down from the first shelf) with a shelf width of 2 feet. And then dig to the bottom -- 3 feet deep. Is that sufficient? Or, is a third, deeper shelf a good idea? I want to keep lilies, lotus, cattails, marsh marigold, horsetail, irises, sedges, cardinal flowers and some submersed plants like val and anacharis. Lilies are the main attraction, of course.
-Is building in a fish cave a good idea? I saw a video that did not recommend them because fish often go die inside and can be hard to retrieve.
Thank you.
I've been a longtime member and have spent many years reading posts, articles and watching YouTube videos. I finally plan to dig a pond this year after using a stock tank pond for a few years.
I'm hoping you can help with a few questions:
-How do I build a "beach" area that will slope into the pond? I plan to use pea gravel. Do I build several shorter shelves (like 6"), or, do I build a gradual ramp?
-If I want to include fish (I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota -- zone 4B), will they survive in a 4-feet deep pond over winter if I allow the top to completely ice over, or, would I need to take them indoors or keep a heater/bubbler in the pond to keep them alive?
-I plan to dig the first shelf all around the perimeter at 12" deep (with a shelf of 2 to 3 feet wide in places), and then a second shelf in a few spots 24" down from the surface (12" down from the first shelf) with a shelf width of 2 feet. And then dig to the bottom -- 3 feet deep. Is that sufficient? Or, is a third, deeper shelf a good idea? I want to keep lilies, lotus, cattails, marsh marigold, horsetail, irises, sedges, cardinal flowers and some submersed plants like val and anacharis. Lilies are the main attraction, of course.
-Is building in a fish cave a good idea? I saw a video that did not recommend them because fish often go die inside and can be hard to retrieve.
Thank you.
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