Outdoor ponds

[Grubhead]

Added a 100 gallon pond this summer with some new Ricefish fry and cherry shrimp. They are growing fast and look happy. The smaller ponds have white clouds and gold white clouds.

 

[Guppysnail]

Your tubs are so beautiful. You most definitely have a green thumb. 

[Grubhead]

On 7/25/2023 at 5:30 PM, Guppysnail said:

Your tubs are so beautiful. You most definitely have a green thumb. 

Thanks! I find it much easier to grow plants when I don't have to water them. 😉  Some easy green helps too and the sunlight is much better than aquarium lights.

I had to learn a bit more about pond plants this year. Last year I found out that Venus fly traps are native in the U.S. and that they will come back after dying off here in the Pacific Northwest. I had pitcher plants, some grasses, a lily, and water clover come back this year in the small pond. In the larger pond I should be able to sink down some of the new plants and have them come back too. 

[Guppysnail]

On 7/25/2023 at 9:10 PM, Grubhead said:

I find it much easier to grow plants when I don't have to water them.

I know this is so true. I even forget to water the houseplants I have in pots in my fishroom 🤣

[Twood]

Great looking ponds! I am sure they are very productive 😄

[CJhilljack]

Your ponds all look amazing! Your plants are even blooming. I have one water plantain that has a shoot growing up from it, but no sign of flowers yet. The fish look amazing too, yay!

[Grubhead]

On 7/25/2023 at 7:46 PM, CJhilljack said:

Your ponds all look amazing! Your plants are even blooming. I have one water plantain that has a shoot growing up from it, but no sign of flowers yet. The fish look amazing too, yay!

Thanks! I had the water hyacinth bloom earlier too, which was neat. I do wish it would overwinter. I think the giant sensitive plant may die off too, but maybe I'll bring some indoors to see if it survives. It's neat because it closes up when touched and when the sun goes down.

I hadn't heard of the water plantain! Looks like an interesting one to grow!  I may try to get some mosaic plant next year.

[CJhilljack]

On 7/25/2023 at 8:07 PM, Grubhead said:

I had the water hyacinth bloom earlier too, which was neat. I do wish it would overwinter.

I'm pretty sure Ryo Watanabe mentioned on his channel they just leave the water hyacinth in their ponds over the winter & they come back in the spring. You might need to cover them. You might also consider moving the ponds into a garage or something if you're at a higher elevation like I am (actually just 1200 ft, but we seem to get cold from the river nearby).

 

[Grubhead]

On 7/25/2023 at 8:31 PM, CJhilljack said:

I'm pretty sure Ryo Watanabe mentioned on his channel they just leave the water hyacinth in their ponds over the winter & they come back in the spring. You might need to cover them. You might also consider moving the ponds into a garage or something if you're at a higher elevation like I am (actually just 1200 ft, but we seem to get cold from the river nearby).

 

Yeah, I think I’d have to heat the garage or water and give them some light. At least they are readily available each year and grow quickly. 🙂

[Grubhead]

I ended up having to prune back plants and put a screen on top after a few raccoon parties. The last one they really had fun, trampled all plants, knocked them over, un-potted some, ate sponges, took off the outlet sponge, etc.

 

I’ll try to add a picture later. Found a fence panel that I cut in half so it opens half way. It kept them out once so far (they still ate some sponge mops).

[Grubhead]

Here are some pics of the new top. Not sure if my plants will die off or come back next year with so much pruning but the grass and cattails were pretty much stomped flat from the raccoons and I had to prune to fit the other plants through the new lid. 

My thought was that the rear half would stay in place with the plants…but we’ll see how it goes.

I used the “No Dig Multi-Purpose Fence 4-ft H x 3-ft W Black Steel Flat-top Garden Fence Panel” from Lowe’s and one rod used to connect the panels, cutting one panel in half, filing and painting the ends with black enamel spray, flipping one end around to connect both with the rod, then zip tied the rod in place. Works really well so far!

Might add some plexiglass and plastic if it might help with icing over and keeping leaves out this fall.

 

[nabokovfan87]

Have you ever kept mosaic plant?

[Grubhead]

On 9/6/2023 at 7:10 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Have you ever kept mosaic plant?

It’s something I hope to try next year outdoors. Does it overwinter? Does it grow well indoors? 

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/6/2023 at 10:51 AM, Grubhead said:

Does it overwinter? Does it grow well indoors? 

Not sure.  Info I can see says it needs 70 degrees or higher.

[Grubhead]

On 9/6/2023 at 11:47 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Not sure.  Info I can see says it needs 70 degrees or higher.

Yeah, looks like it's like hyacinth where it will die off and it's easier to just buy it each year for pond season rather than trying to grow it indoors. I'll have to try it next year! 🙂

[jtb5150]

New to the forums. Here is my 12x6 pond I recently built

 

[Grubhead]

On 9/7/2023 at 3:55 PM, jtb5150 said:

New to the forums. Here is my 12x6 pond I recently built

 

That looks amazing! Did you document any of the design process? Might be cool to share. 
 

What fish have you added?

[jtb5150]

My wife keeps telling me to document my projects because I always get a lot of questions afterwards but it is hard to think about in the middle of everything. The pond is stocked with Koi that I rescued from two separate backyard ponds. One was neglected and the other the owner had passed and they were selling the house and the new owner didn't want them. Filtration is a 55-gallon bog barrel that was originally going to have two returns but settled on one. I have a Marineland canister filter with just sponges that pumps the water through a UV sterilizer and then back as well. I am more than willing to help anyone who is thinking of building a pond this way so just hit me up if you like.

[nabokovfan87]

Why don't they just have this as a thing in houses.... I am so excited to have a place, when I do, and to be able to have that!  Beautiful work and it's extremely well done.  I can only imagine how much you enjoy being out there and seeing those fish.

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 9/7/2023 at 6:55 PM, jtb5150 said:

New to the forums. Here is my 12x6 pond I recently built

 

The bench is a great idea! If you don't mind me asking, roughly where in the world are you located? I only ask because I'm curious about overwintering and what people have to do and can get away with at different latitudes, but if you're not comfortable answering I completely respect that, too.

[jtb5150]

On 9/8/2023 at 8:39 AM, Rube_Goldfish said:

The bench is a great idea! If you don't mind me asking, roughly where in the world are you located? I only ask because I'm curious about overwintering and what people have to do and can get away with at different latitudes, but if you're not comfortable answering I completely respect that, too.

Las Vegas 

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 9/8/2023 at 5:28 PM, jtb5150 said:

Las Vegas 

So I guess "overwintering" isn't really a concern for you, huh?! Is evaporation or overheating a problem? It looks pretty shaded.