How deep should my pond be? How do I join my liners?
Comments (18)
frankielynnsie
3 years agoRelated Discussions
How deep should my Bog [Marsh] Garden Be?
Comments (24)I think that Kwoods is pointing out that it seems difficult to convince the OP one way or the other on the depth. This is a huge project to tackle if you don't have any previous experience. I think that njb had a good idea to start with plants in a kiddy pool. If I were going to do this I know I would want to know everything I could before I started. I went through all kinds of angst when I was building my little bog. I can't imagine what it would be like if I were trying to build a complicated pond and marsh that required $700 worth of liner and the removal of 40 tons of soil. I'd probably ask local professional pond builders for opinions. Yikes....See MoreHow should I clean my pond? When should I clean my pond?
Comments (0)Some ponds are never cleaned and the ponds and its occupants survive very well. However, a large number of ponds are created with high fish densities or are built in locations were the pond receives a great deal of debris over the year. Even if you start out with just a few fish initially, in a healthy pond they will breed to the point that the number of fish will push the environmental limits of your pond and biofilter. The debris may be the result of leaves blowing into the pond, the die-back of vegetative pond plants as well as fish wastes. It is these latter types of conditions that will necessitate you cleaning the pond eventually. The two most likely time points for cleaning are in the fall, to reduce the amount of accumulated muck on the bottom of the pond as you head into winter, or in the spring to remove material accumulated over the winter from leaves blowing into the pond, accumulated fish waste or catkins and similar materials shed by trees as they leaf out. Cleaning in the fall reduces wastes in the bottom of the pond which may turn anaerobic if sufficient oxygen is not available, creating a breeding ground for harmful bacteria, or which may decompose, releasing ammonia and other dangerous chemicals that can be trapped under the ice. The build-up of these pollutants can lead to fish kills over the winter months. While keeping a hole in the ice over winter will help alleviate the accumulation of gases, cleaning the pond before winter sets in will reduce the overall potential for problems. Cleaning the pond in the spring may help reduce diseases and parasites that often occur as the pond and its biology warms up for the summer, as well as reduce the overall availability of nutrients that stimulate algae growth. The following are a few approaches that have been successfully used to clean the pond. 1. If the pond has a bottom drain periodic changes of water (typically 10% per week) have been used to evacuate the accumulated debris from the bottom of the pond. This simple approach minimizes the amount of material that is removed at any one time as well as adds water to the pond on a periodic basis. Care must be taken when adding water to be sure that you have minimized the addition of chlorine and chloramines typically present in many municipal water supplies. This can be done either by pre-treating the water with dechlorination agents or by using a whole-house water filter with an activated carbon cartridge. 2. Using a net such as used in swimming pools is helpful for cleaning out large materials that have settled to the bottom of the pond. However, if there is a very large amount of debris in the pond you should be careful to either remove the fish or use supplemental aeration to avoid creating significant oxygen deprivation due to stirring up anaerobic or large amounts of oxygen-consuming muck. If you notice a rotten egg smell this indicates the presence of hydrogen sulfide. You should immediately stop stirring up the bottom and get the fish out of the water as soon as possible before continuing with the cleaning. 3. You can use a variety of devices for vacuuming the bottom of the pond. Some of these use a garden hose to create a suction through a venturi device. The potential problem with these devices is that the pond may fill up with too much water during a prolonged vacuuming and you may have a potential problem of adding chlorine and chloramines to your pond if you do not pretreat the water. Wet/dry shop vacs, specially those with an attachment for a garden hose to provide a continuous drain, have also been used. These devices may drain a large amount of water from the pond in a short time and therefore it is necessary to either replace the water or use the garden hose to add the water back into the pond through the biofilter. Care must be exercised in reintroducing water taken from the bottom of the pond in that it may be depleted of oxygen as well as have very high suspended sediment levels that may create problems for the fish. A third approach is to use a pump capable of handling a moderate level of solids (such as a sump pump) to pull water from the bottom of the pond and pass it through a device to strain out the majority of the solids and then recirculate the water back into the pond. Filtering materials such as old sweaters, panty hose, etc. have all been used with some success in this approach. In any of these approaches, if using an electrically powered device running on house voltage make sure that you have it plugged into a GFI protected circuit for your own safety. Ronaye, Steve and David...See MoreHow Deep Do I Sow My Seeds?
Comments (0)"I trade for many of my seeds and sometimes the sowing depth information is not always included on the packet. What is the correct depth that I should sow my seeds?" I sow my seeds twice as deep as the seed's smallest dimension. ===================================================== As examples: Foxglove seeds are the size of dust so just pat them into the soil surface. Columbine seeds are the size of fleas so just pat them into the soil surface. Grass is small and narrow too so just pat those seeds into the soil surface. Marigolds may be a 1/2 inch long but they're quite narrow and flat so sow them just under the soil surface. A bachelor button seed is maybe a 1/16 of an inch wide so sow them an 1/8th inch under the soil surface. Next size up would be a coneflower seed....sow that about a 1/4 inch under the soil. A pea or a corn seed is getting bigger. That's about a 1/4 inch across so sow that about a half inch down. A navy-bean seed is bigger....maybe 3/4 of an inch down. And a scarlet runner bean is quite fat....that should be a full inch down. An acorn....well, hmm. How deep is "squirrel depth"? ============================================== I hope this info was not too much "in depth", LOL! Trudi...See MoreHow deep should I keep my pygmy water lily?
Comments (2)Thanks gary. It's a tropical purple pygmy from Trickers. I decided to just lower it. The actual top of the container is now still just about 10" under the surface, so I think it will be okay. I had another small hardy lily that was probably still too close to the surface and had lots of floating leaves. I sank it yesterday and now the leaves are floating on the surface........which was really fast.........so I think they will all be okay. These are just 100 and 300 gallon stocktanks, so when they're even on the bottom, they are still relatively close to the surface.......as compared to a deeper pond. I've just been amazed in the past, with regular sized waterlilies in these ponds, how many more blossoms they had when they are on the bottoms and not just below the surface. Thanks again Gary....See More
emmarene9
3 years agoAustin Rikley
3 years agobtydrvn
3 years agoDont know how much info you have about ponds...but....Goldfish are poop machines....what a stinky mess....same with waterlilies and other plants not in pots....we built a pond about 20 years ago very much like the one you are proposing...pond liner has lasted with no problems and only one caveat ...you dont want to leave it empty too long (while cleaning or otherwise)as the liner deteriorates from exposure to air and sun ...plus you need a couple fountains to keep the water moving to avoid moss and algae...still you do need to add algaecide to avoid floating algae....lastly the pond water is not very pretty...if you want pretty clear water there is a blue product that will change the brownish water to clear bluish green...as well as curb other undesired growths.....these things will need to be applied every few weeks in the summer ...we are gone for the winter so after we return we empty ,clean , refill every year...
btydrvn
3 years agobtydrvn
3 years ago
2ManyDiversions
3 years agoAustin, we've got a smaller goldfish pond : ) About 9 ft. x 8 ft., and 2-1/2 ft. deep. We get freezing temps in the winter, but not often below 5 F and typically around 32 F most of the time.
I agree with the others, a single liner is best if you're doing it yourself as if your seal fails, it's hard to repair.
Yes, goldfish, like any fish, can be 'poop machines', but that is part of having a pond. We have shubunkins (9 of them), which are quite hardy but exotic looking, and will take your temps if given 3 ft. at some area in your pond. The goldfish do not eat the pond plants like koi will, and in the winter you just let them hibernate.
An easy to care for pond should have a bottom drain, if possible, 1-2 skimmers, a couple water inlets, and of course movement to create air. Falls, and air bubblers/stones help tremendously. We've a small fall, plus a couple air stones going in the summer. A strong pump, and a biofilter help keep it pretty clean. We also use a small UV light, under-rated for our pond so it won't remove all the "good stuff" but keeps the pond clear. 1/3 of our pond water goes through the UV light. Plants are very necessary, and water lilies help keep your pond healthy. If you can add some underwater plants, that's also a good option. Don't overfeed the fish, give them only as much as they will eat, and skim leftovers. I feed ours every other day. Some feed daily, others once a week - goldfish are hardy! The best way to get started is to Google DIY ponds, and take into consideration where your piping, pump, filters, skimmers need to go.
I did have a smaller koi pond, with a basic pump, basic filter. It was a pain to keep clean and took time. It was always a mess, and never clear. Ours now is easy. I clean the skimmer net and brushes once a week (water hose on them) and run the rinse cycle on the biofiter a couple minutes, and that's it. We occasionally get string algae, but that is taken care of with lots of water lilies shading the pond and fish. Our pond is clear, except after a rain or when I clean it, and it clears quickly after. Yes, we have some debris on the bottom. It's a fish pond.
Your pond will have a nice coating of green algae on your liner - and the fish enjoy munching on that. Moss will grow on any shaded rocks and is quite pretty, unless you prefer a more formal look. You can have a pristine, clear pond with no goldfish (in which case, that would be a water feature), or you can go with a more natural pond and fish. Either way, debris will get into you pond and need to be netted out. And both are beautiful, as btydrvn demonstrates with photos of their pond : )
Birds, frogs, dragonflies, and other wildlife will be drawn to your fish pond. And so will you : )
I'm sure I've left things out.
Flowers in our Gardens · More Info
Flowers in our Gardens · More Info
Flowers in our Gardens · More Infobtydrvn
3 years agobtydrvn
3 years agobtydrvn
3 years agobtydrvn
3 years agoAustin Rikley
3 years agojrb451
3 years agobtydrvn
3 years agobtydrvn
3 years ago2ManyDiversions
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago2ManyDiversions
3 years ago
jrb451