pond in progress started 4/21/10

[CountryEscape]

Great news, Addy. When my ponds were frozen except for bubbler holes, the birds scared me watching them try to get a sip from the bubbler hole! The stream usually provided them with water, but even it was frozen and water running under the ice. You are my inspiration for building larger bog for my koi pond. I'm sure hoping it will clear my koi pond problems in the spring. I do realize that koi are dirtier to take care of than goldfish, but I'm still hopeful .... bigger bog will be easy to do. Almost nothing on the bottom of the koi pond, too, far more stuff in the goldfish pond, so it's not debris that is causing the murkiness. Time will tell.

 

[callingcolleen1]

My fish are starting to move all over the pond again, good to see them out from under the big yellow flag, I need to clean one more filter that has been running non stop since last fall. Water nice and clear and some small shoots of plants starting to green up a little.
Not to sure why you have murky water, but koi really are messy things, I am pretty sure you will get to the "bottom" of it soon CE.

 

[CountryEscape]

I know there is very little on the bottom of the koi pond, only some muck from the koi. Goldfish pond had leaves and corn shucks blown in there, but none of that in the koi pond. My guess is since bog (it's too small to do a good job, I'm convinced of now ...) and waterfall (Skippy filter at head of that) were not running since first of year, that has not helped to clear stuff up either. But, Addy's pond cleared up right away, so thinking I just need bigger bog to help keep it clear. Going to enjoy the new build this summer, giving me something to really look forward to, too.

 

[j.w]

Big Bog Build time for you CE as soon as the weather permits. You are gonna beat the murky, messy koi kids and show them who's boss

 

[addy1]

It has cleared it that fast every spring, water murky unable to see through, algae starting to grow, turn the pump on............clear! Just love it! And it stays clear all summer.

Have fun building CE!

 

[CountryEscape]

I'm also wondering if the goldfish pond is clearer because I allow that bog to "go wild", it got 100% covered in plants last year, water closer water parsley, penny wart were solid. The koi bog is more "planned", not allowing the very invasive plants to invade that bog last summer. But, I think I can have the best of both worlds, if I let the plants multiply that I want in the koi bog to fill it nicely, too.

 

[addy1]

I let my bog do what it wants. The plants grow like crazy. I go into it a few times during the summer to yank excess growth so the water flow does not get obstructed on its way out of the bog back to the pond.

This year I am going to let the mint grow better, (good nectar for the bees lol) I do have a huge patch growing in the ground near the fence line.

 

[addy1]

My dear sweet honey bought me two preforms, one has been a pita since put in. It cracked, fixed it, it settled, fixed it, it overflows with the slightest amount of anything, done with the sucker. Yanked it out. The preform yanked is the one right in the mid of the picture.

Stuck in a liner, dug some rocks ledges, cleaned it up a bit, but no room to really make it lots bigger. Had to save over 100 tads (morphing this year into green frogs), plants, dragon fly larvae, snails.
added a lot of crawl out rocks,( lost a wild land turtle in the pond, it drowned) so making the edge so critters can get out.

test water fill

filled it and kept going, rocking the edges

hauling the rocks we brought down from pa out of the yard and placed, put back the lilies, put back the small lotus pot, put back the tads, put back the aracharnis. Turned on the water flow, in a loop with the big pond.
4 hours total time...............DONE!

 

[michey1st]

Good lawd, you have this down to a science! It's amazing how a shapeless blob of a liner can turn into something so pretty and natural looking! Beautiful!

 

[j.w]

You make it look so easy addy. I know it is hard back breaking work and you did a wonderful job transforming it into a nice pond that connects to the others. I like how you did the rocks on the sides to hide the liner and how you saved the tads,dragon fly larvae, snails and all. Like too that the turtles and critters can visit safely now

 

[addy1]

I bought the liner last fall, it was still sitting in the box, told myself I could not turn on the loop water flow for the little ponds until I pulled that preform. So made it a priority job lol

Now have a preform sitting in the back yard, it is one of those 6 foot long ones, no clue on gallons. No clue on what to do with it...........no more ponds, maybe a dug in carnivorous bog.............maybe............maybe not lol. The tads were happy to get out of those buckets and back into a pond.

 

[CountryEscape]

Anyone that would look at those pics of your rebuild/tear out would think it's an easy job. We that have done the building know it was NOT, but you sure made it look quick and easy. And, 4 hours? Wow, you ARE an amazing woman.

 

[CountryEscape]

Anyone that would look at those pics of your rebuild/tear out would think it's an easy job. We that have done the building know it was NOT, but you sure made it look quick and easy. And, 4 hours? Wow, you ARE an amazing woman.

 

[CountryEscape]

Darn it, I hate it when that happens .... it acts like it has not posted, and you try again and again, and then it posts twice.

 

[addy1]

It warmed up and everything exploded! Like the plants were just waiting. The lotus are sending up leaves, the bog growing so darn fast.

I went into our veg garden just to dig it up a little stick in the tomato plants that are blooming and getting tall in the house. Of course got side tracked, left the gate open. I went out to shut it and ................. in the two hours it was open a rabbit made a nest and dropped around 6 babies. Hard to see, mom was sitting on the nest when I went out, saw around 6 babies. They go to the back of the hole to hide, all you can see is the butts of two of them.

So now the garden needs to wait until she moves and babies move out. Well we might put a fence around the babies, with an exit, I can't really wait for three weeks for them to leave their nest, darn plants will be huge.

When my dad passed I brought his christmas cactus to our house. Five years later it bloomed, totally covered with flowers.