MMAX

It's been a while since an update....After a major life change, company selling off its Red Deer area assets and a job transfer to Rainbow Lake, we've had to leave our pond behind. I still own the property and manage it as a rental. The renters enjoyed having the pond but there have been a couple of issues that have been hard to rectify living a 12 hour drive away. Came back in the spring to give the renters a brief tutorial and do a minor clean up and water change. Everything was in order until the liner sprung a leak. We think it's narrowed down to the final stream section before it empties into the pond. This winter being as long and cold as it was, totally nuked the pond. 100% winterkill of all my fish. It was sad to hear, my big koi were almost like dogs when I worked around the pond, following me around and sticking their heads out of the water. These things survived for me 8 years through some nasty winters as well. I'm pretty sure it wasn't watched closely, the hose wasn't disconnected and the pump's outlets not directed upwards to keep a hole open. Depressing to say the least. I'll be back next week to take stock and see if the stream can be repaired. In the future, when it comes time to sell, I've been entertaining the idea of filling in the pond and doing a pondless waterfall.

Didn't lose a single one last winter. Even my babies survived.

After 5 years of running, decided to do a complete clean out. After catching the fish, I drained the water. Must have netted 50 pounds of crud out. Gave the liner a good cleaning with a pressure washer and refilled. Fish look good, didn't lose a single one over the winter. Had to repair the second last waterfall ledge due to a heave. This is a 2 piece slab, so chiseled it down to fit flat, re-leveled and re-siliconed. Everything up and running as of yesterday.

Thought I'd use my flood lights from my Halloween display. Get some more use from them than the one month I run them in October.

Totally normal. First year I ran mine, it was green until July. Right now, I net out the algae every couple of days. Put as many plants in as you can. They compete with the algae for nutrients and will eventually win. I usually stay away from chemicals myself although this year I started dosing Microblift. It contains beneficial bacteria that seeds the bio filter. Everything was late this year. My lilies only started growing about a week ago and the Marsh Marigold which usually blooms in early May still has flowers.

Yep, although it doesn't help much.

Hungry as always....

Threw in 3 large goldfish yesterday I got for free. Looking to maybe add 1 more koi this year and that's it. Stay tuned for some pics of the gang during feeding time.

Sorry, double shot on the first pic.... The crap I netted out of the pond

Ok, here's some pics... Pond just didn't want to clear up - found out why. One of my lily tubs slid down into the depths spilling dirt everywhere. Thought it was time, so I put on the waders and jumped in for a good clean up. This is what I found. Some waterfall pics. I hit all the stream rocks with hydrogen peroxide and a wire brush to clean all the old algae off. Decided to clean the filter this year also. The company I got the design from said you never have to clean it but it needed it. The bacteria die every winter anyway. Random shot of cow skull beside the bog.

Just completed a 500 gallon water change today, pulled,cleaned and set all my potted plants and netted a pile of crud and algae out. Filter bin still had an iceberg inside it. Filled it with water, set an old aquarium heater in and covered with a black tarp. Should be free in a couple of days. Won't be long before the whole thing runs again. This year I'll update with pics FOR SURE.

Saw my fish today and looks like they all wintered well.

When it comes to saltwater the initial start-up just might break the bank. My first SW tank was a 20 gallon and tipped the scales at $500.

Bearberry Creek Water Gardens

Exactly the reason I didn't put trout in my pond like I had planned, you just wouldn't see them. I keep thinking about it more and more now that I've seen the trout pond at the Bass Pro Shop at Crossiron Mills. Now that's spectacular.