Newbie from Las Vegas

[Geofee]

Hi all,
I'm moving to a new house soon that has a small pond (performed?) in the backyard.
It's kinda like a 3-step pond (waterfall, a platform that slows the waterfall, then the pond) not very deep
Will get the measurement and pictures soon
I am really excited about it, but it's going to be my first time maintaining a pond
Any tips for ponds in desert weather like Vegas or in general is appreciated

some questions I currently have in mind are:
1. what kind of algae-eating fish is ideal for beginner and Las Vegas weather?
2. I know there really isn't any raccoons around the area, but anything I should pay attention to that will come to the pond?
3. does hardy water lily require a certain depth in order to plant it?

Thanks for reading

 

[Dave 54]

Hi and welcome to the forum from Plymouth UK , I cant answer your questions about ponds in the desert but most probably someone on the forum will have knowledge of this .
I take it water is plentyful looking at all those fountains in Las Vegas or is this just for show ?
If there are restrictions to your water i;e on how much you can use , I would say would have an effect on how often you do water changes plus the rate of evaportation would be a factor in this too.
Temperature variations are another thing , how hot is it at the hight of the day as to how cold it gets at night

Dave


Dave

 

[sissy]

welcome and congrats on new house and pond .Do you know if there is a filter or fish and if the pond has shade .May be a little hot for fish .

 

[sissy]

Dave out there water is in short supply and a lot of people even use fake grass because it is rock solid soil .My cousin lives out there .Those fountains are all show .Out there they use a lot of gravel and stones for landscaping and plants that can take heat and very water conserving .My cousin even puts a bucket in the shower with her so she can use that water for her plants because of the water bill .

 

[j.w]

Geofee
I know addy here lived in Arizona awhile back and had a nice pond there but hers was deep to keep it cool for the fish. Not sure about keeping the fish in such a shallow pond in such a hot place.

 

[Geofee]

Thanks all for the reply

Hi and welcome to the forum from Plymouth UK , I cant answer your questions about ponds in the desert but most probably someone on the forum will have knowledge of this .
I take it water is plentyful looking at all those fountains in Las Vegas or is this just for show ?
If there are restrictions to your water i;e on how much you can use , I would say would have an effect on how often you do water changes plus the rate of evaportation would be a factor in this too.
Temperature variations are another thing , how hot is it at the hight of the day as to how cold it gets at night

Dave


Dave

yea, water is like a limited source here. I think I should pay attention to the water level as the heat and the dryness will evaporate the water pretty quickly during summer.
I think the temperature here range from highest 110+ to lowest 30 Fahrenheit

welcome and congrats on new house and pond .Do you know if there is a filter or fish and if the pond has shade .May be a little hot for fish .

I haven't got a chance to take a close look at the whole set up yet, I will try to take some pictures this weekend
I might need help on where to locate the filter though, ha
but I did see the timer for the pond in the garage
And yea, not many like to real turf here, mine is exactly like you described, gravel and stones for the landscape
I like it though, simple, clean, and less water usage I assume

Geofee
I know addy here lived in Arizona awhile back and had a nice pond there but hers was deep to keep it cool for the fish. Not sure about keeping the fish in such a shallow pond in such a hot place.

One thing I noticed when I visit the backyard last time, it wasn't burning hot or crazy exposed to sun.
I guess one Mesquite tree on each side helps make some pretty good shade
but truth is, that's only at that time of the day, I still have to observe how long(if any) does the sun expose to the backyard during the day

 

[addy1]

to our group!

My phoenix pond was 5.5 feet deep around 14000 gallons. I did have a 40 foot stream with a 4 foot water fall / filter which helped cool the water. It did manage to stay around 85 all summer.

 

[Geofee]

to our group!

My phoenix pond was 5.5 feet deep around 14000 gallons. I did have a 40 foot stream with a 4 foot water fall / filter which helped cool the water. It did manage to stay around 85 all summer.

thanks addy, I think my pond is super tiny compare to yours
guess I will just have to experiment and play with it this summer
btw, I just moved from MD to Vegas

 

[addy1]

lol I moved from maryland to phoenix back to maryland..............with a good number of years inbetween the moves.

Keep your fish load small, maybe ever figure out some shade over the pond. That will help a lot. Stick with goldfish shubunkins. Not sure what algae eater would survive the winter.
Hardy lilies do fine from 6-36 inches, I have some pretty shallow some deep.

 

[pecan]

Welcome!

Post pictures as soon as you can. We love pictures

I live in the Salt Lake area but spent much of my childhood in Las Vegas. In the desert evaporation is a big factor. In the summer here we can hit 100 to 110 for the high in July and Aug. I loose about an inch of water a day on those days. In Las Vegas I suspect it will be even worse with average highs from June through Aug being 100-106.

I was down in the Virgin River Gorge a few July's ago (NW corner of AZ when heading to Las Vegas). The temp outside was 118 degrees and when I got down to the virgin river the water was about 6" deep and was hot to the touch with dead fish floating. Nothing living. With that said a shallow pond in Las Vegas in July may be a challenge if you add fish.

But I am sure you could have a lovely pond with no fish and then the hot water would not be a concern.

 

[Geofee]

lol I moved from maryland to phoenix back to maryland..............with a good number of years inbetween the moves.

Keep your fish load small, maybe ever figure out some shade over the pond. That will help a lot. Stick with goldfish shubunkins. Not sure what algae eater would survive the winter.
Hardy lilies do fine from 6-36 inches, I have some pretty shallow some deep.

MD is a gorgeous place, I missed the bike-dedicated trails after I came to Vegas
yea, I guess my pond would be too small for anything but guppies (if I remember correctly)
if 6+ inches is all hardy water lilies need, I am happy with lilies covering the surface to reduce algae

Welcome!

Post pictures as soon as you can. We love pictures

I live in the Salt Lake area but spent much of my childhood in Las Vegas. In the desert evaporation is a big factor. In the summer here we can hit 100 to 110 for the high in July and Aug. I loose about an inch of water a day on those days. In Las Vegas I suspect it will be even worse with average highs from June through Aug being 100-106.

I was down in the Virgin River Gorge a few July's ago (NW corner of AZ when heading to Las Vegas). The temp outside was 118 degrees and when I got down to the virgin river the water was about 6" deep and was hot to the touch with dead fish floating. Nothing living. With that said a shallow pond in Las Vegas in July may be a challenge if you add fish.

But I am sure you could have a lovely pond with no fish and then the hot water would not be a concern.

hey pecan, I will take some pictures this weekend when I go back there to take a look
but yea, like I mentioned earlier, I understand I have a small/shallow pond to work with in a desert, fish really isn't my option here (even though I would love to have a koi pond)
just thought to have fish as a back up plan if I end up having algae problem

by the way, is it true that if I just want a pond without any plant/fish, I can just add chlorine in there to keep the water algae free?

 

[addy1]

If you want get some of the mosquito fish or rosey red minnows, petsmart for 15 cents. They would do fine in a small hottish pond.

The hardy lilies I have one in a preform, it is sitting on the shelf, from the tuber to the surface is around 6 inches of water. It starts growth the fastest is the spring and blooms all summer. If you get a hardy lily, try to get one that is a smaller foot print, ie some spread out 6-8 feet some spread out to only 3-4 feet.

I have two smallish hardies in a 4 foot preform, and two in a 6 foot preform size pond, they do great. They are small foot print hardies and I groom back the leaves if they grow too much. My big pond has around 12 lilies, some of them spread out over a large surface area.

 

[Geofee]

If you want get some of the mosquito fish or rosey red minnows, petsmart for 15 cents. They would do fine in a small hottish pond.

The hardy lilies I have one in a preform, it is sitting on the shelf, from the tuber to the surface is around 6 inches of water. It starts growth the fastest is the spring and blooms all summer. If you get a hardy lily, try to get one that is a smaller foot print, ie some spread out 6-8 feet some spread out to only 3-4 feet.

I have two smallish hardies in a 4 foot preform, and two in a 6 foot preform size pond, they do great. They are small foot print hardies and I groom back the leaves if they grow too much. My big pond has around 12 lilies, some of them spread out over a large surface area.

hey addy, sorry but a newbie question, when saying "small foot print" hardies, does that mean the lily hasn't grow too big?

 

[addy1]

Some hardy lilies will spread out with a ton of leaves, some will have have less leaves. My small foot print lily covers maybe 3 feet with leaves, I have another hardy that can cover over 6 feet of pond surface with leaves.

I don't have any of these pygmy ones, but these work well for small ponds

http://www.tricker.com/Category/pygmy-waterlilies

 

[Geofee]

Some hardy lilies will spread out with a ton of leaves, some will have have less leaves. My small foot print lily covers maybe 3 feet with leaves, I have another hardy that can cover over 6 feet of pond surface with leaves.

I don't have any of these pygmy ones, but these work well for small ponds

http://www.tricker.com/Category/pygmy-waterlilies

I see what you mean now, thanks a lot for the tips addy
I will pay attention to that when I visit the nursery next time