***The Pond Discussion Thread****

kindai said:
That just the accumulated crud and algae growth since taking the drum out, they havent been fed at all while ive been swapping.

Fortunately water quality is doing well due to the media being floated in the pond. Anyway now its recirculating 10000 litres per hour, taking the crud out then sterilizing (proper sterilization that kills everything) the water through the bio uv 30, which is capable of doing a pond 4x my size and flowing 3x the water, before dumping it through a clarity 10 protein skimmer.
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Just pulling your leg :D

Yup I noted the amalgam 80W has a recommended flow rate of 22Klph to get the recommended exposure level and currently I’m shoving 8Klph (2.75x exposure level) through it to really blast the water. Temps remain cool.

I should sort our a protien skimmer too at some point.
 
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kindai said:
I will be getting rid of my massive vertical one most likely on the usual Koi facebook pages as with the redesign dont really have anywhere to fit it anymore now.
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I’ll build one, and so it will operate with the waste going down the waste chute.
 
Update at dusk today. It's clearing- the UVC inlet filter had almost bunged itself up so the flow rate was quite low. Unblocked and back to normal.

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I wish smaller ponds didn't require netting over them, they spoil the look I think but with predators kicking about there isn't much you can do also saves the fish from jumping out as well I guess.

I have just read this thread from start to finish and there's some lovely ponds.

It's hard not to keep doing work on them but fish hate to be disturbed, if eco systems can be established without having to do much work that would be great but making that balance is hard. I know few people with ponds and some have been established for decades! I will get some photos of them when I'm next around these places.
 
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GaryTheSnail said:
I wish smaller ponds didn't require netting over them, they spoil the look I think but with predators kicking about there isn't much you can do also saves the fish from jumping out as well I guess.

I have just read this thread from start to finish and there's some lovely ponds.

It's hard not to keep doing work on them but fish hate to be disturbed, if eco systems can be established without having to do much work that would be great but making that balance is hard. I know few people with ponds and some have been established for decades! I will get some photos of them when I'm next around these places.
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A nice 100,000 gallon (378541 litre, or 378m^3) pond with natural bog filtering would be awesome.
 
Small wildlife pond question,

I’ve seen moulded ponds for about £80 which are about 2x1.5m and looking at liners they would come to about £60. I’m guessing liners are easier to dig for
Because your creating the shape and don’t have to match the mould shape but moulds seem to be easier to hide the edging as you don’t have to worry about folding over the liner and putting stones around the edge.

Any thoughts? Thanks
 
For a wildlife pond you need a nice shallow beach, a nice shallow section (for birds etc) and a deeper section for overwintering animals. Most preformed just don't have the right shape. Hiding the edges is not difficult if planned right; there are many videos on YouTube of natural ponds that will give you an idea. My recommendation is two layers of underlay, one below and one on top. The underlay stands out less (even though it is white) and allows soil and rocks etc to grip to it, making it easier to create a natural look and allowing a better medium for microbes the pond needs to survive in than liner.
 
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The main thing is to have a shallow way for animals to get in and out of the water. No point having a wildlife pond if there's dead hedgehogs floating in there. Also careful of where rain can wash off (ie bottom of lawns etc) as the rain water will wash fertiliser or nutrients into the pond and you'll get an algae bloom. Having the pond in the shade helps a lot.

I had a lined pond about 2m x 1x with varied depths down to 1.2m at the bottom, around 1500 litres. With a water fall with running water helps prevent getting a stagnant pond. I had water lilies which did a great job of removing nutrients in the water which prevented algae growth.

I would strongly advise against koi for ponds of this size, they will outgrow the pond and produce 2-4x the waste of normal fish. Perhaps some small fish, and if you want koi like colours then shubunkin would be a natural addition however most wildlife ponds do without and are probably better for it.
 
I would say no fish in a proper wildlife pond. Also, I would avoid a pump unless it is absolutely necessary, and if it is take precautions to prevent insects and young amphibians getting mushed in it.
 
*whistles*
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Last two I think for a while.

These two are Japanese bred, which carries a risk as they most likely have sleeping sickness that must new fish (under 6 years old) are immune to. This poses most risk to the large Chargoi but only because they've not encountered it. Either way - salt should help and then allow their immune systems to cope with it. So for now I'll keep a close eye on them. Chargoi are hardy but if they loose their appetite and start hanging around mid water.. then it's salt time.
 
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I have a tiny (maybe 90 x60cmish) pond at the bottom of my garden. Was there when we bought the house, normally full of frogs, birding catching bugs and cats trying to catch all of the above. I've done nothing too it the last few years other than pull out some of the dead plants.

Only thing that worries me now is my little one is very much walking/exploring. Wondering how I secure/cover it without stopping wildlife getting to it. Think if I put netting/mesh over it that'll limit frogs or birds eating spawn/tadpoles etc
 
johnw100 said:
Small wildlife pond question,

I’ve seen moulded ponds for about £80 which are about 2x1.5m and looking at liners they would come to about £60. I’m guessing liners are easier to dig for
Because your creating the shape and don’t have to match the mould shape but moulds seem to be easier to hide the edging as you don’t have to worry about folding over the liner and putting stones around the edge.

Any thoughts? Thanks
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I’m currently looking at creating a wildlife pond also, a good channel is this one, he does a three part guide to creating them https://youtu.be/lKrjMv6TMlU?si=0SutP42ZfBFVYML7

I’m still trying to figure out depths, some sites say 30cm is enough, others min 60cm for frogs, and some 90cm for toads. But then other sites say too deep for a wildlife pond can cause stagnant water at depth as not enough oxygen.

Oh I found this today, haven’t had a chance to look through properly but is well presented https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/w...3/09/Creating-Garden-Ponds-for-Wildlife-1.pdf
 
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Got the drain pipework plumbed in today, and gave the new bio chamber a test fill to leave overnight and check for any leaks.

Boring video of a box filling with water lol.

 
So I have three 25Kg bags of PDV salt on the way - this is a precaution if sleeping sickness turns up. This will get me to 0.6% with 2.5 bags. However I'll need to remove the plants about 0.3%. The virus can appear after about 6-16 days with treatment being salt and then allowing the fish immune system to overcome it.

I note my tancho has a little blushing so I'm going to get some dechlorinator and do a partial water change today as my pH is high. I'll also grab some anti bacterial in case the tancho gets worse (it can be stress related) plus some more FMC etc. I need to get the water stable before the temps cool too much.

The Sanke appeared last night saw me and freaked. So give it a couple of days and it should be fine.

I've also switched to a blend of wheatgerm and colour food as I have some DOCs causing foaming which is too much protein. So I have a design for a protein skimmer that I want to DIY too.
 
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Got a surprise when I did a test today - a little ammonia, high nitrite and nitrate with a pH on the 8+.. emergency water change.. dumped around 40% of the water and then refilled using a large dose of dechlorinator. I also picked up some anti bacterial in case I need to give it a bath.

That would explain the blushing on the tancho at the based of the fin.

So stats - ammonia basically gone, nitrite down to acceptable levels and nitrate down too. pH is 7.. the fish are wandering around - there's a train of the two large chargoi, followed by the Karjaku, then the Sanke, then one of the Doitsu followed up the Urutusi (black and orange).

I'll not feed them tonight and see how the levels change in the morning. There's probably some food knocking around and they'll rummage through the plants etc to find it.

I suspect that the ammonia buffer I used previously had been masking, reducing the ammonia which then lead to the bacteria reducing.. hence when that ran out I got a spike with all the food I've been feeding them.
 
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