Thank you all for my first pond

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And here is how it looks now. Of course now all the edging and finish work has to be done. But have to say I am pretty happy. the bricks were made by daughters and wife from all the pieces of porcelain and glass we found during the dig, just a tiny fraction of what we found
 

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24 HOURS running through the bog and the WATER IS CLEAR !!!!!!!!!
 
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i WOULD TRY TO MAKE YOU RETHINK THAT A LITTLE IF THERE IS NO WASTE THERE IS NO BACTERIAL GROWTH. if you going to go with gold fish or what ever you may want to add a couple. even something like some native sun fish. The advantage to sun fish is you can generaly tell male from female . and you can avoid getting a spawn.

The biggest advantage to a few sunnies is one they will help cycle the pond and give you a boost for the spring. bacteria does not end in the winter it just slows down. does some die sure while others will come to life.

A ND THE BIGEST PLUS IS THE GOOD OLD FISHING HOOK IF YOU WANT TO REMOVE THEM THE GOOD OLD WORM ON A HOOK WILL TAKE THE PROBLEM AWAY

I LIKE HOW NOT ALL THE SHELVES ARE NOT THE SAME WIDTH. A bit of a pet peeve of mine with the pro's seeing the shelves all the same width and at the same heights going around the pond. Its realy hard to find in nature such a layout so why would we do so for money? for the easy way out?

extra wide shelves also give you an area for lilies and other plants.

Getting a bit off topic here congrats to you and your family getting the pond up and running. Now it's time for your words to be lived , Patience. Green water and string algae are not a matter of if but when. String algae can last a lot longer, then one day will just disappear.

what can i say I'm visual , surprise surprise typing sure isn't my strong point
View attachment 160366
Thanks appreciate that. Yes it is satisfying to have the family happy with it, to have two teenage girls impressed is not easy to do lol. My wife was a huge help with all this, she is a picture framer (has the shop in the barn) and she is much better with visuals and figuring things out than I am.

I will take you up on the fish idea. Once I got late in the season I was thinking of just forgoing the fish but I did see some posts where people have bought sacrificial goldies to get the pond going. I was wondering about the bacterial growth and how that would start without the fish.

As I type this of course it is raining again, ugh.
 
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24 HOURS running through the bog and the WATER IS CLEAR !!!!!!!!!
Nope. that was before turning the pump on. One bright side of all the rain was that it washed the stones and I pumped that out. The bog unfortunately was dirtier I did not pump that out as much because I was not working in there as much so I just pumped out to take of mosquitoes. Once the pump turned on all the dirt from the bog came into the pond. But I am patient and I know all about new pond syndrome and no problem having algae, I have prepared my wife for that
 

j.w

I Love my Goldies
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Wow I feel like I just read a great 500 page book in 30 minutes! You did a wonderful job on the pond and explaining all that you have done step by step. If it were me I would wait till next Spring or so to add some fish. By then your pond will be all settled down and good bacteria will have collected from wherever it comes from. Lots more to see when you get all the plants and things all set up and growing. A lot of tweaking w/things to come by all the family members and their own idea's of where things should go. What a nice place you have made to come to and rest after a long day of lawyering,lol!
I think any judge will agree w/me that you have done well in this venture.
judge-1.GIF
 
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Wow I feel like I just read a great 500 page book in 30 minutes! You did a wonderful job on the pond and explaining all that you have done step by step. If it were me I would wait till next Spring or so to add some fish. By then your pond will be all settled down and good bacteria will have collected from wherever it comes from. Lots more to see when you get all the plants and things all set up and growing. A lot of tweaking w/things to come by all the family members and their own idea's of where things should go. What a nice place you have made to come to and rest after a long day of lawyering,lol!
I think any judge will agree w/me that you have done well in this venture.View attachment 160389
Lol thanks. Yes the fun part is to come with the planting. I already have an order to pick up next Saturday at a nearby nursery that specializes in daylillies and irises. They do ship so if anyone is looking for unique daylillies look up Tranquil Lake nursery in Rehoboth, Ma.

Luckily I avoid the courtroom like the plague. I do happy law, real estate;)
 
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Wow I feel like I just read a great 500 page book in 30 minutes! You did a wonderful job on the pond and explaining all that you have done step by step. If it were me I would wait till next Spring or so to add some fish. By then your pond will be all settled down and good bacteria will have collected from wherever it comes from. Lots more to see when you get all the plants and things all set up and growing. A lot of tweaking w/things to come by all the family members and their own idea's of where things should go. What a nice place you have made to come to and rest after a long day of lawyering,lol!
I think any judge will agree w/me that you have done well in this venture.View attachment 160389
The thought of sacrificial goldfish did not go over well with the family lol. When I mentioned some people do that Daughter said "have they no soul?" haha
 
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What a lovely and tranquil spot for your pond ! I love that your family was involved, great memories.

Take your time and continue to read and learn about fish and plantings so you'll know what's best for your pond. I bet this winter will be beautiful with wildlife gathering at your ponds edge for a cool drink.
 
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What a lovely and tranquil spot for your pond ! I love that your family was involved, great memories.

Take your time and continue to read and learn about fish and plantings so you'll know what's best for your pond. I bet this winter will be beautiful with wildlife gathering at your ponds edge for a cool drink.
It has been cool to see how quick the wildlife check it out. We have a lot of birds in our yard all the time so they love this. Yesterday morning had a flock of 20 wild turkeys back there, not that I am crazy about them of course but funny to see. I feel bad the barn swallows did not get to see it, we have dozens of swallows every year in the barn, but they leave last week of August they will be surprised to see it when they come back last week of April. The deer are here almost every night (have a trailcam) I am sure they will be checking it out (yes, I know about the plants and deer). Frogs found the pond already. Fun stuff.
 
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Very nice! It's great you have a bog to do some natural detoxing.

We have herons, crabs, frogs, toads regularly. But last few weeks I have had half a dozen frog killed in the pond. I think it's raccoons going into the pond to catch frogs. they don't eat them just killed them and dismembered them. We were going to add a few goldfish but now am concerned if they can survive raccoons.
 
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Very nice! It's great you have a bog to do some natural detoxing.

We have herons, crabs, frogs, toads regularly. But last few weeks I have had half a dozen frog killed in the pond. I think it's raccoons going into the pond to catch frogs. they don't eat them just killed them and dismembered them. We were going to add a few goldfish but now am concerned if they can survive raccoons.
Thanks, yes raccoons are a concern. Herons, foxes, coyotes, fisher cats all are around here. I am not going to stress about it. Its nature, there is only so much you can do. Its why I am looking forward to the gardening aspect rather than the fish. the fish will be nice but I look at it as an extra.
 

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