Spring fed pond - Step 6: Landscaping and Lighting
81 - 98 of 98 Posts
Joined
·
199 Posts
All the fish made it through the winter, as did many a frog. However I haven't seen any sign of the turtle. I still have loads of work to do on the pond in June. I need to stop being lazy and using the hose to top it off and instead get that trench dug so that the spring can give it fresh water daily. I just know that won't happen without earning some blisters.
I also plan to get some volcanic stone down as mulch soon, but eh, more blisters on the way...
I also plan to get some volcanic stone down as mulch soon, but eh, more blisters on the way...
Joined
·
74 Posts
I have serious pond envy now...
Joined
·
199 Posts
I have been battling green water this spring and finally broke down and put a small uv filter in last Wed. I didn't expect miracles, but thought that I did start to see some improvement by Saturday morning. I was going out of town overnight so I cleaned out the filter and bio balls in the waterfall weir and the prefilter on the uv system before I left. When I got home Sunday night the water level had dropped by about 5-6 inches so I shut down the waterfall all week assuming a major leak had started in the plumbing or rockwork. Today was the first sunny day all week so tonight I turned on the falls just long enough to give the plants in it a soaking. To my surprise, water was spilling over the top of the weir! Turns out that the weir filter completely plugged up with dead algae in just 24 hours. I am very relieved that I won't need to tear apart the falls
. The uv filter kept running since Sunday and it has almost completely cleared the water now. My skepticism about the abilities of uv filters is gone, but I am going to carefully check my weir filter morning and night until I am sure there won't be anymore near catastrophes emptying the pond from plugged filters...
. The uv filter kept running since Sunday and it has almost completely cleared the water now. My skepticism about the abilities of uv filters is gone, but I am going to carefully check my weir filter morning and night until I am sure there won't be anymore near catastrophes emptying the pond from plugged filters...
Joined
·
38 Posts
What a wonderful journal! Your pond is inspirational, and I dearly wish we had the room, know-how, equipment, and money to make something like this for our house. But with a 5000 sq. foot lot WITH a house sitting on it, I've had to settle for an oblong stock tank pond. I love yours--it makes me dream of having something like that, some year. Living a block from the beach, though, our lots are small, and I'm not about to leave the great blue "pond" a few steps from our house for a homemade one on a larger lot 
.
I've really enjoyed this thread, and I hope you'll keep adding to it over time. Ya done good!
.I've really enjoyed this thread, and I hope you'll keep adding to it over time. Ya done good!
Joined
·
199 Posts
The only plants that aren't expected to be hardy for this zone are the hyacinths. I tried to stay with natives in general. Everything I planted last year came back except the mare's tail. And I still don't know what happened to that since it is even native to this area. There are a few oxygenators I toss in from my fish tanks when they get overgrown, but I doubt many of them are winter hardy. I tried a non-native version of lobelia this year. If it doesn't make it, I will just have to get some local lobelia from the lake, though it doesn't have the deep burgundy leaves like the queen variant.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Joined
·
199 Posts
Great sadness and a call for more pond safety planning
Although I love my pond, I always knew that there are dangers involved around water. When I designed it, I made sure there was no edge of the pond that was deep water and there were several sturdy pots that even a dog could use as stepping stones in case any animals went swimming. The weather this year has been rather crazy and we had a mid-winter thaw over the weekend. My cat has always had a love of running water and makes a visit to the pond part of his daily routine during warmer weather. With a small patch of open water, he was apparently drawn to it and fell through the ice to his death when he couldn't get back out. To those of you with ponds in areas that freeze, we need to consider how to lessen the risk to our furry pets. I know I will never put a bubbler in the middle of the pond again and have moved it to be next to a ledge but I still don't know if that is doing enough to prevent something like this from happening.
Although I love my pond, I always knew that there are dangers involved around water. When I designed it, I made sure there was no edge of the pond that was deep water and there were several sturdy pots that even a dog could use as stepping stones in case any animals went swimming. The weather this year has been rather crazy and we had a mid-winter thaw over the weekend. My cat has always had a love of running water and makes a visit to the pond part of his daily routine during warmer weather. With a small patch of open water, he was apparently drawn to it and fell through the ice to his death when he couldn't get back out. To those of you with ponds in areas that freeze, we need to consider how to lessen the risk to our furry pets. I know I will never put a bubbler in the middle of the pond again and have moved it to be next to a ledge but I still don't know if that is doing enough to prevent something like this from happening.
Joined
·
3,011 Posts
That's rough. A shame really. I was planning a pond and plan on having a raised edge to hopefully deter animals and children from falling in it. Cats are so nimble, it would be nearly impossible to keep them out with a simple temporary fence or anything like that.
Joined
·
115 Posts
Wow very nice how time flu by it been 8 years since the kids started. How old are they now lol
81 - 98 of 98 Posts
