The pond dig has begun!

[sissy]

yeh I have 3 lilies blooming in my pond and took pics and have to down load them.Got hot at least a little slower anyways and it did water everything ,rained here hard and then lighter for 3 hours

 

[CountryEscape]

I also only got .4" of rain, but it was welcomed no matter how much! Getting hot and humid, too. Did get Japanese Maple planted before sister and her kids got up. And, my second lily is blooming, a pink one this time, and one of the cheepos from Menards - $5! There are 2 other plants bought the same time that may bloom soon, too, and I think I got 3 different colors, or at least I hope I did.
View attachment 7458

And, since my sister was here, I had her take a few pics of me with my pond.

View attachment 7459

 

[addy1]

Very nice country! You notice all us ponders are in shape ...........lmao very nice picture of you and your pond.

 

[sissy]

your pond is looking great country

 

[CountryEscape]

Thanks, ladies! Yeah, Addy, you can't be out of shape and take care of a pond, all the fun work that goes into them to keep them looking nice! If you have any pride in a pond, you are out doing things all the time, pulling weeds, planting new things, just admiring the pond!

 

[digginponds]

Yes, Sissy, we also got some much needed rain yesterday, and a bit of relief from the high 90's heat wave! Could have used more rain, but I'm not complaining. Frogs loved it. My pond is so clear this morning, I am searching for my large pleco I put in earlier this year, thinking he could remain all winter, but then told he needs to come inside. Not sure how I'll locate him, as he is black, but will do it somehow! I have a baby albino I just bought so hopefully next year he will be large enough to go into the pond and I'll be able to locate him for capture before it gets too cold.
I didn't think of it before the pond, but most of my outside decorations have frogs on them! No wonder I enjoy the frogs almost as much as the koi and goldfish!

90's? we hit 115 up here [index]:bouncycig:

love those Japanese Maple

 

[j.w]

Nice pix of froggie and you and the pond country. We have rain today but no froggies to hear. Hoping for some soon :bouncycig:

 

[CountryEscape]

Diggin, yeah, it went from something like 97 or 98 actual temp yesterday, down to 70 in about 90 minutes total! Back up there today, humidity is awful, but once I'm out in it, not too bad, just drinking about half gallon of cold liquid an hour. The Japanese Maple I got is the type to only get about 3-4' tall and wide, but can get up to 6' tall and/or wide, so I put it 4' out from my deck. It looks great, although it has lost some of it's burgandy color, my sister says because it should have been planted sooner. I've had it well over a month, trying to decide where to put it.
Thanks, JW. I'm ever so proud of my pond, and it's getting better all the time. Now, if I can just remember to get more tubing for the waterfall, then I will jump in and get that filter moved. Probably will go ahead and try to find the black tubing and replace it now, rather than extending the clear stuff, since everyone says it is not the best stuff to use.
BTW, the clear is looking very full of algae, as everyone said it would, since the sun gets through to let it grow. Should I assume that the black stuff won't do that, or at least not as quickly? Do I have to remove the tubes and clean them out every so often? Year, 2 years, 5 years??? Since this is my first year, trying to figure out the maintenance issues ahead of time, rather than when things start to clog up.

 

[j.w]

Lol, country I mis-read that first line you just wrote........thought it said you were drinking half a gallon of cold liquor an hour :lol:
I think the clear tubing gets that way cuz the sun can get through it. Black stuff, sun can't penetrate and so no problem :bouncycig:

 

[fishin4cars]

Clear tubing getting growth in it? Will need to be cleaned out probably every two weeks or so. I have one I have been running and it needs cleaning about once a week. I bought the black flex hose this week that fits just need to go swap it out. My clear hose has just gotten to be to much to mess with every week or so, last week I went out and the water had slowed to a trickle, all because the hose was clogging.

 

[CountryEscape]

Yikes, JW, LOL, I wish I was drinking something alcoholic, but then my mowing might be quite funny. No, for now it's just lemonade watered down and with lots of ice.
Fishin, I have not yet cleaned out the tubing, but when I added to the bog, I noticed the gunk in the clear tubing. The waterfall does not seem to have slowed as all, but then you are in the deep south, warmer temps and so forth for longer periods of time .... although I bet we are having as much heat and humidity the last month or so as you! I have 1.5" ID tubing, so I guess it's still getting through just fine, but will be swapping it all out before the end of the year.
Do I need to get as large as possible to go to the waterfall? I think I read someone say 2" was best, or even bigger, but I think all I see locally is 1.5, so I may look on-line instead. Don't want to have to swap it out again next year!

 

[digginponds]

Lol, country I mis-read that first line you just wrote........thought it said you were drinking half a gallon of cold liquor an hour

roflmao

I clean least once a wk.I notice that the falls start to slow right bout mid-week.Thank God it's Monday ,though.


Like fishin' mentioned you'll kinda get a feel for the pond and fall,and know when to clean.



I use 2 inch flex hose from Menards ,but Home depot,Ace or lowes will prolly have it in the garden section.

Also you want to gear your pump w/ the right size hose,for max usage.

 

[fishin4cars]

If your pump outlet is 1.5" then might as well stay 1.5" tubing, Your pump will only pump what is allowed through the outlet size, so what ever size that is is what I would run the rest of the way out, biggest key factor is don't go smaller than the outlet neck or you will restrict the flow more.

 

[CountryEscape]

Yes, Fishin and Diggin, my pump outlet is 1.5", so I will stay with that. Now that I know for sure, I'll see if Menards has any of the 1.5" left that is on clearance. I saw 2 boxes of it, pushed under the shelf, so will hopefully still find it somewhat hidden under there. I've never noticed any lack of flow especially from my waterfall, which is easy to see, since I don't have it going over the rock yet, just flowing out of the DIY Skippy Filter. The bog is done with the same tubing, and I can see the water pushing up through the gravel, and over the edge back into the pond, and it doesn't seem to be impeded either. Hmm ... But I DID see lots of gunk in the hose to the bog. I suspect part of that is that I pull the basket and don't shut down the skimmer pump, and some stuff might get past the filter when I do that, not sure.

 

[CountryEscape]

Question: I see that my clear tubing is 1" ID, and I found some flexible tubing for septics, etc. in the plumbing department and wondering if I can use that. I got the 1 1/4" size, so I guess a little bigger is ok, and better than smaller, if I understand Fishin correctly. What I'm wondering is if this will be good stuff to use. The only stuff they have with the pond supplies is Sun Terra and it's kind of oval shaped! Maybe it got smashed while rolled up, but the whole roll looks that way. It's solid, not corrogated looking. I prefer to use the stuff I found in plumbing, assuming that to winterize it, I have to drain the lines anyhow, so shouldn't have any freezing/cracking problems, or would I? I asked specifically about using it in a pond, and the lady said she thought it would be fine. It's about 1/4 the price of the pond tubing, the main reason I want to try it. I guess at this price, I'm not out much if it cracks.
Has anyone else used it? It looks exactly like the flexible tubing I've seen others using, but maybe not the same material make-up. Opinions?