Crystal Posted August 7, 2008 Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 Here are a few pictures of my makeshift pond. An 8 foot wide, 18" deep kiddie pool which sits on our deck. I will be making a permanant above ground pond late next year when we redo our garage. The fish are mostly rescued feeders who had awesome colors (50-60), a couple of shubunkin, as well as a few platies and a guppy who refuse to give up freedom. sorry for the fuzzy pictures, none of the fish were eager for pictures and refused to sit still. The plants are parrots feather (covers 1/4 of the pond), cattail, lillies, hornwart, water lettuce, water hyacinth, and some others. The filter is actually for a 400-500G aquarium and we just rigged it. The feeder ring is actually one of those water noodles, kept from drifting by being tied to the side with fishing line and a paperclip. Wish the pictures could do the fish justice, these are some of the prettiest goldfish I have ever seen in a store. Pool: $50. Plants: $75. Fish: $25. Filter: $120 (on sale for $80) = Awesome pond within a college student's budget Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazy_Karma Posted August 7, 2008 Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 Thats pretty awesome, congrats on your own little special retreat. The fish look awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottomdweller_fan Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Thats look great and the fish have beautiful colors. (Like the Mastercard commercials - Pool: $50. Plants: $75. Fish: $25. Filter: $120 (on sale for $80) - having a great pond - PRICELESS) I have thought about doing something like that with an old hot tub (one that I could get for free ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapeape Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 hmmmmmm........... my kids have that same swimming pool. :hey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybrid Posted August 27, 2008 Report Share Posted August 27, 2008 Is the pond still holding water?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
french fries Posted August 27, 2008 Report Share Posted August 27, 2008 Very nice pond I'am seeing more and more ponds like yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Posted August 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2008 The pond is still up, but I removed the water hycinth today, as the 1.4 temp had them slightly brown. Surprisingly, off the ground on the deck the plants are much less affected by the near freezing temps that have occurred recently - whereas my flower bed really needs help now. The pond will not be up much longer, 1-3 weeks tops. These ponds are very durable (for thin plastic) and leach no harmful chemicals, just remember an old blanket under it to avoid punctures. Cheap and temperary for those who are not certain they are up for pond care - or like me, not quite time for the permanent pond - next year I will get it. I have pulled the few platies, loaches, and the guppy - found numerous babies in the plants I cut back. My mom thinks the cutest thing is that when we put those fish in there, they were so scared - straight out of feeder tank (you saw how crowded they were...) and then there were no other fish in sight. They swam so hard, got to the other side of the 8 foot pool and had to stop to rest. Now, they never stop, my mom says she gets to watch as I wade in the cold water with a net to catch elusive goldfish and rosyreds.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobies et al Posted August 28, 2008 Report Share Posted August 28, 2008 Post a picture of it again, please, so we can see how it matured. :drool: Have you over wintered the lilies and reeds before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Posted August 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2008 Post a picture of it again, please, so we can see how it matured. :drool: Have you over wintered the lilies and reeds before? your timing is a little off... About 2 hours before you posted I cut most of the Parrots feather plant down to catch my warmer water fish - platies, guppies, and loaches. The pond at its best looked very similar to the original photos, just a few more lilly blooms and parrot feather plant had grown to cover 3/4 the pond (some of those stems were 6 feet long! :shock: ). But here are a few current photos... My first attempt at photobucket , this is a learning experience, please be patient... many photos were compressed pretty small by accident. If you have any advice about photobucket and linking pictures to here, please let me know... Overview of the pond http://s445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/c...ondoverview.jpg here is the very much trimmed parrots feather that once dominated my pond http://s445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/c...rotsfeather.jpg Water lilly, leaves are going yellow from frosty temperatures we had http://s445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/c...rrent=lilly.jpg My solar fountain! it's awesome, only works when direct sunlight hits 75%+ of it http://s445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/c...rrent=lilly.jpg My calla lilly, nice red blooms gone, but each time it finishes blooming, it sprouts another bud column... The cold killed the last one before it got big http://s445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/c...nt=callatop.jpg 'Guardian heron' keeps all herons, and other predatory birds away. Looks great too. http://s445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/c...ardianheron.jpg As for overwintering lillies, no, I am a bit unsure of how to do it, but was planning on trimming all greenery off, wrapping in damp papertowel and putting in the cool(18-20C) toolroom over winter, is this right? As for reeds, i have Cattails, I believe their roots freeze solid over winter in ditches anyhow. I was going to put one in the garage (no insulation/heater) and hope for the best, the other I was planning on giving the same treatment as the lily and see which lived in spring. Any advice would be useful and appreciated. *nudgenudge* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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