Larry, that is about the way I did it back then. I let the fertiliser drop right onto the rocks of the waterfall, so as it would mix in with the turbulence. As I said I did not notice any harmful effect to fish or flora in the pond. The waterfall rocks looked like brand new with the algae cover gone and that was the only noticeable change that occurred. Like your situation, the plants were growing well, lots of Water Hyacinths and Watercress to suck up the nutrients. The only two things I add now, are Muriate of Potash and some Chelated Iron, but I don't go overboard with those. The lilies get a few chunks of broken up shrub spikes once a month. That's it for fertilising. A side note about cleaning off waterfall rocks, is about the experiment our old friend David [DRH] did with Hydrogen Peroxide. He turned the water off to the waterfall and poured the HP over the rocks while they were still wet. The HP foamed up upon hitting the algae covered rocks, he then let it sit for a few minutes, then sprayed it with water from the hose. All trace of the algae was removed completely. Buyorsell888, your are so correct. That's why I would be reluctant to suggest to anyone that they arbitrarily go around pouring any old fertiliser into the pond. You don't know what you maybe adding that could cause harm to the fish etc. I remember at the time, all this discussion was going on, someone contacted the manufacturer of Miracle-Gro, about using their product in a pond. The answer back, was that they would NOT advise that it be used that way. Sandy, great explanation once again! "Horton"

Cindy, I like your home made grates for the end of your return pipes. I will have to remember that those in case I ever need something like that. I would do away with those but they do add friction to the flow of the system. Since these are DYI there are no exact measurements on these but I would guess that they are the same as 6 ft of pipe. So let's calculate the friction on your return lines. First we have water going from the drum into the 4" pipe. So we have 4 ft of the diameter of the drum and 2 ft of the 4" pipe for water to move from a larger pipe to a smaller pipe. The drum is large enough that four ft of it won't amount to any friction to worry about. But the 2 ft of 4" we will look at. Then we have a 45 elbow which is the same as 5 ft of 4" pipe. Then we also have 90 elbow which is the same as 12 ft of 4" pipe. Then we have the Ferco fitting. I am going to assume that the pipes inside the Ferco fitting are tight against each other and are in a straight line and this is the same as 4 ft of 4" pipe. Then we have the pipe expanding in the pond and this is 4 ft. of the 4" pipe and 2 ft of the diameter of the pond which will be about nothing. Then we have a 4 ft of pipe and a 3 ft of pipe. So each of the return lines are as follows: 6+2+5+12+4+4+4+3=40 ft of 4" pipe. So that short length of 7 ft of pipe is actually with fittings and changes in pipe sizes equals the same as 40 ft pipe. So the question is how much flow do we get by gravity through 40 ft of a 4" pipe with 1" of head? We actually get 3146 gph per return and we have 2 returns so the actual flow back to the pond would be 6292 gph. But I would guess that the head pressure is less than 1" so if I look at .5" head pressure we have flow for each return of 2156 or a total flow 4312 gph. So I would guess that when you actually take a good measurement of the head pressure you are going to find that it is a little more then .75 inch. .75 inch would have a flow of 5302 gph. Mike

Carving foam is really very easy, and you can get the look, size, shape, etc. you want without worrying about wood rotting or rocks shifting or falling as your FBTs hop around. You can either use Great Stuff, the foam in a can that gary wrote about, or buy a sheet of that smooth pink foam for insulating houses. The reason you want this kind of foam is that it is perfectly smooth, not made up of little balls that will fall off and make a huge mess as you're trying to carve your waterfeature. The individual sheets are not thick enough to make a pond with any real depth, so just cut the sheet up into pieces and stack them on top of each other until you reach the desired height. Use silicone to 'glue' them together. I used an Olfa knife to carve my waterfeatures, and it works great. When you're satisfied with the shape, just gob on black silicone and stick rocks or whatever else you want to it. You'll need a good, thick layer of silicone for this (make sure you smear it into any cracks so that you're sure of water-tightness, or your pond won't hold water), and black is MUCH less obtrusive than 'clear' (white) silicone after it's dry. However, if that's all too much work for you, just buy the Hagen one or some other brand that looks just as natural. Either way, if you want a natural-looking waterfeature, you will need a false bottom. Not only can you hide pumps, etc. in the false bottom, but it provides a greater amount of water, and thus the water will stay cleaner longer. You don't NEED a filter for your waterfeature as long as you do regular water changes to remove all the poop and stuff that the frogs will do. And there is no EXACT PERFECT set-up for any animal. Everyone's tastes are different (some prefer a very sterile, easy to clean set-up), everyone's tank conditions will be a bit different, and even the frog's personalities are different. Some like water more, some like land more, etc. A pump to circulate the water is a very good idea, and will help discourage algae growth. Just get the smallest one you can find. I use a Rio 50. It comes with an adjustable flow attachment (ball valve), which is very good. Oh, and BTW, pothos is a bad plant choice for a 10 gal. That thing will completely take over all land area (and probably the water area, too) in a month or two, and when you go to rip it out, you will take all the substrate with it, because it's roots will be everywhere. Not to mention that the large leaves aren't really to scale in a small tank. Try something like ficus pumila. It's invasive too, but with tiny leaves, still attractive, and easy to pull out and trim back. Even wandering jew would be better than pothos. English ivy is also bad. Here's a pic of my waterfeature (dismantled now, since I sold my tank). and another view: And this is a pic of when my tank was first set up. I had a little pond on the left. Kept the pond structure, and will use it when I re-vamp my current 20 gal. terr.

The tadpoles must be going somewhere. Either something is eating them or they are metamorphosing. Maybe they are being sucked into a filter? It could be that the fish are eating them or maybe there are some local gartersnakes feasting at your pond. Maybe you don't notice the gradual decline because there are so many that you don't realize they are being eaten until they are almost gone maybe? As for your dogs, toads produce toxins in their skin which make them unpalatable to most predators. Dogs only have to pick one up in their mouths once to figure this out and they will leave them alone thereafter. Some species of toad, particularly the Cane Toad (Rhinella marina) can produce particularly powerful toxins in their skin which can sicken or even kill dogs if the dog was foolish enough to eat one.