Thank you all for my first pond

[j.w]

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

I'm 100% w/your daughter and the rest of your family. You don't want to start off your pond life w/a funeral for cute little gotten attached to goldies

 

[Hound Heaven]

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

So sweet that you designed the waterfall with the dog in mind What a great effort - it's wonderful.

 

[Pablo]

So sweet that you designed the waterfall with the dog in mind What a great effort - it's wonderful.

Lol, thanks. Yes, Charlie has been very curious since the pond was filled, he loves that spot at the top of the waterfall, acting like the Lion King.

 

[Laaf]

Amazing pond!

As you add pond plants they will all come with some bacteria and help get the cycle going. You can also add pond beneficial bacteria, though some posters here do not agree that it helps. I did it since I did not think it would hurt.

Goldfish are incredibly tough and can live in a wide range of conditions. If you get feeder goldfish, the majority are sold as food for other fish, snakes, turtles. you are saving them from sure death for a chance to live in a fish paradise. Feeder goldfish come from awful overcrowded conditions at pet stores. You will feel like you are freeing prisoners on death row. At some point, the first fish added are a test (when will you know it is time?). Fish are needed to get the cycle going and help fertilize the plants and feed the bacteria.

I did buy feeder goldfish to add to my new pond. I did not wait a month as some recommend. I filled the pond, and in the first days I added a bunch of plants in pots and plants directly into the bog. I had an existing bog and was able to dig up transplant a number of plants to the brand new bog. Then within the first week of the plants I added the feeder goldfish. All seemed fine so I transferred my little pond's goldfish a couple of days later. (Some of the feeder goldfish have grown as big as the 2-3 year old goldfish I had in the little pond in just the year I have had them)

I would get busy adding in pond and bog plants and get some fish in before it gets cold. It will be much easier for them to wake up from their winter rest in a familiar place, then get added to a cold pond in the spring from wherever they are coming from.

All of the plants died back over the winter and I cut back the dead parts. But they had a chance to get a good start and came up rigorously in the spring.

It is normal to get a string algae bloom as your pond is getting established and in the spring every year.

Your weather will get colder faster than mine. My pond is full and up and running about exactly a year now. And the fish and plants really did have a chance to get established before winter. I missed the fish when they disappeared for the winter. But it was gradual........they slowed down and stopped coming to the surface for food before they disappeared into their full winter mode.

I made a mistake of not planting around my pond until after winter. I wish I had planted more before it was too cold since I think it would be a lot more filled in by now. And it sounds like you are already working on that.

Have fun and keep enjoying your space!

 

[Pablo]

Amazing pond!

As you add pond plants they will all come with some bacteria and help get the cycle going. You can also add pond beneficial bacteria, though some posters here do not agree that it helps. I did it since I did not think it would hurt.

Goldfish are incredibly tough and can live in a wide range of conditions. If you get feeder goldfish, the majority are sold as food for other fish, snakes, turtles. you are saving them from sure death for a chance to live in a fish paradise. Feeder goldfish come from awful overcrowded conditions at pet stores. You will feel like you are freeing prisoners on death row. At some point, the first fish added are a test (when will you know it is time?). Fish are needed to get the cycle going and help fertilize the plants and feed the bacteria.

I did buy feeder goldfish to add to my new pond. I did not wait a month as some recommend. I filled the pond, and in the first days I added a bunch of plants in pots and plants directly into the bog. I had an existing bog and was able to dig up transplant a number of plants to the brand new bog. Then within the first week of the plants I added the feeder goldfish. All seemed fine so I transferred my little pond's goldfish a couple of days later. (Some of the feeder goldfish have grown as big as the 2-3 year old goldfish I had in the little pond in just the year I have had them)

I would get busy adding in pond and bog plants and get some fish in before it gets cold. It will be much easier for them to wake up from their winter rest in a familiar place, then get added to a cold pond in the spring from wherever they are coming from.

All of the plants died back over the winter and I cut back the dead parts. But they had a chance to get a good start and came up rigorously in the spring.

It is normal to get a string algae bloom as your pond is getting established and in the spring every year.

Your weather will get colder faster than mine. My pond is full and up and running about exactly a year now. And the fish and plants really did have a chance to get established before winter. I missed the fish when they disappeared for the winter. But it was gradual........they slowed down and stopped coming to the surface for food before they disappeared into their full winter mode.

I made a mistake of not planting around my pond until after winter. I wish I had planted more before it was too cold since I think it would be a lot more filled in by now. And it sounds like you are already working on that.

Have fun and keep enjoying your space!

Thank you so much. Great tips. I do want to get to the planting asap. Funny thing, I ordered plants back in the Spring from Bluestone Perrenials, so naively thinking I would not take that long to finish the pond. Most of them have survived the waiting, it helped with all the rain, so I can finally plant them. Have the daylillies and irises coming this weekend, picking them up at a nearby daylilly nursery. Planning on going to a nearby Hosta farm this weekend also as a lot of my pond area is shade so they should do well there other than the deer love them. September and October are good planting times in this area, like you say it gives them to get established for next year. The frosts can come any time in October but they can still do ok.

Good to know about the fish, I go back and forth on adding them now. The last couple of winters have not been too bad, which usually means we are due for some major nor'eastahs lol.

 

[GBBUDD]

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 step1

In all honesty @Pablo NICE WORK .

i will say you have to be careful you have some edges that are in the 2" range or less by the l ooks of it and that's the wicking zone. where the water can be pulled up over the edge with nothing more than a fold in the liner. i can also see those areas with the large amount of liner as planting areas for forget me nots a field of them or monkey fist dwarf cat tails mass plantings even. i'd SIMPLY bury the liner even if just under a couple inches of soil. a pitcher plant bog would be amazing or just an area for moss to grow

 

[Pablo]

In all honesty @Pablo NICE WORK .

i will say you have to be careful you have some edges that are in the 2" range or less by the l ooks of it and that's the wicking zone. where the water can be pulled up over the edge with nothing more than a fold in the liner. i can also see those areas with the large amount of liner as planting areas for forget me nots a field of them or monkey fist dwarf cat tails mass plantings even. i'd SIMPLY bury the liner even if just under a couple inches of soil. a pitcher plant bog would be amazing or just an area for moss to grow

Thanks, agreed. The edges are low along one side and near the skimmer. Its been a problem area from the get go. The land had sloped down that way. Did not seem like much at the beginning of the project but then when the level was put to it you could tell there was a difference of several inches. Did my best to get it level from the beginning and then when the digging started I tried to build up that area. Once the work started inside the pond there was a lot of walking around that area, tractor going over it in some places so it got compacted quite a bit. I knew I would have to go back and get it straightened out. It probably is good that we had all this rain since turning on the pump so I could really see the problem areas. You can tell by how full the skimmer is, the water level was set to the recommended 2inches below, and that is what we used as the reference all the way around, and trying to keep 4 to 6 inches above that level as best we could with the stone work. I do have plenty of liner in those areas so I should be able to fix it. There are some areas around the stream and waterfall that need to be fixed to, its fine at the moment because the water is going into the pond behind the framing stones, but once I get some more foam around those areas the flow will go all to the waterfall. I knew the stream would need some fiddling with, but until the water gets going you dont know exactly the spots that need attention.

And thank you for the idea of just burying the liner, I was thinking of that idea because folding up that much would be difficult. And I have to keep my wife at bay because she is constantly wanting to take a machete to the liner, lol. I have to keep reminding her dont cut it!

 

[j.w]

Thanks, agreed. The edges are low along one side and near the skimmer. Its been a problem area from the get go. The land had sloped down that way. Did not seem like much at the beginning of the project but then when the level was put to it you could tell there was a difference of several inches. Did my best to get it level from the beginning and then when the digging started I tried to build up that area. Once the work started inside the pond there was a lot of walking around that area, tractor going over it in some places so it got compacted quite a bit. I knew I would have to go back and get it straightened out. It probably is good that we had all this rain since turning on the pump so I could really see the problem areas. You can tell by how full the skimmer is, the water level was set to the recommended 2inches below, and that is what we used as the reference all the way around, and trying to keep 4 to 6 inches above that level as best we could with the stone work. I do have plenty of liner in those areas so I should be able to fix it. There are some areas around the stream and waterfall that need to be fixed to, its fine at the moment because the water is going into the pond behind the framing stones, but once I get some more foam around those areas the flow will go all to the waterfall. I knew the stream would need some fiddling with, but until the water gets going you dont know exactly the spots that need attention.

And thank you for the idea of just burying the liner, I was thinking of that idea because folding up that much would be difficult. And I have to keep my wife at bay because she is constantly wanting to take a machete to the liner, lol. I have to keep reminding her dont cut it!

Hide all sharp tools from wifey

 

[Pablo]

Hide all sharp tools from wifey

Lol, that is generally good advice in all circumstances, not just pond related It has been funny, she is always saying "lets cut back the liner here..." couple of spots I did let her because it really was excess amount because I had overlap from the bog to cover the stream area but did not need nearly that much overlap in other areas next to the bog. I think its the picture framer in her that she likes nice clean lines.

 

[Pablo]

In all honesty @Pablo NICE WORK .

i will say you have to be careful you have some edges that are in the 2" range or less by the l ooks of it and that's the wicking zone. where the water can be pulled up over the edge with nothing more than a fold in the liner. i can also see those areas with the large amount of liner as planting areas for forget me nots a field of them or monkey fist dwarf cat tails mass plantings even. i'd SIMPLY bury the liner even if just under a couple inches of soil. a pitcher plant bog would be amazing or just an area for moss to grow

I really have appreciated all your help. I tried not to single out too many people because so many have contributed. I think you know I follow your advice pretty closely and enjoy reading your comments on other threads that may have nothing to do with what I am doing but I still learn a lot. I think the best advice you gave is to make it your own pond. We all look for ideas but in the end you make it into something you want that works for you. Even if I have to put up with a few lawyer jokes (I never take myself seriously anyway) it is definitely worth getting your advice.

 

[GBBUDD]

I really have appreciated all your help. I tried not to single out too many people because so many have contributed. I think you know I follow your advice pretty closely and enjoy reading your comments on other threads that may have nothing to do with what I am doing but I still learn a lot. I think the best advice you gave is to make it your own pond. We all look for ideas but in the end you make it into something you want that works for you. Even if I have to put up with a few lawyer jokes (I never take myself seriously anyway) it is definitely worth getting your advice.

You rolled with it if I'm not mistaken even more than I besides your the one laughing all the way to the bank

Sorry you spent so much time trying to decipher my typing. And your got a look inside the old noodle! You are a daring soul.

 

[GBBUDD]

Hide all sharp tools from wifey

Spend the money and get a truck load of three and four man boulders some long and flat stuff a few that are completely different you have the Kubota you can easily sling them into place and you'll love your pond even more for a couple grand. But the impact will be well worth the money.

 

[Pablo]

You rolled with it if I'm not mistaken even more than I besides your the one laughing all the way to the bank

Sorry you spent so much time trying to decipher my typing. And your got a look inside the old noodle! You are a daring soul.

When I first started reading posts on here I was like "Why is this guy yelling at everyone with all caps" I just settled on that you had a special keyboard, rather than one caps lock key you have ten

 

[GBBUDD]

When I first started reading posts on here I was like "Why is this guy yelling at everyone with all caps" I just settled on that you had a special keyboard, rather than one caps lock key you have ten

Not that I am the worst types in the world but I do have to look at what letters I'm hitting and when I look up after a sentence or two and it's all caps I get a but peaved. Sometimes I fix some times I want to take an are to the computer screeen

 

[Pablo]

And another flood watch issued for this afternoon. Torrential rain again happening. Really picked a great time to start the pond, lol.