Outside Mini Pond Garden Build Journal

[ChemBob]

19 minutes ago, Hobbit said:

Beautiful! I love the statue of Mary. What fish are you keeping in the pond?

Rainbow Shiners. I put 6 in about a month ago. I am debating adding some form of fish that will eat algae. Right now I'm between cherry shrimp and hillstream loaches if I add anything. 

[ChemBob]

Updated pictures. The carex I tried in the planter died. I found sweet flag earlier this week, so its been added. I also got dwarf papyrus plant (no poc) and some fiber optic grass for either in the pond or in the garden bed. Playing with placement at the moment. The lilies are also throwing out a lot of pads. Waiting on the flowers!

[ChemBob]

Quick update. Life has kept me from doing this more and in more detail, but the lilies are doing great, and the sweet flag is doing much better than the carex. Don't mind the toys added by an incorrigible 1 year old....

[Griznatch]

Very nice work, I really like the the pond placement in the box!

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@ChemBobanother idea for algae control would be a livebearer - black mollys are amazing at algae control. 

[ChemBob]

The lilies are doing great, overtaking the surface. I've gotten a handful of blooms, first from the white lily and then from the "pink" lily. I haven't been able to see the shiners in a while, but I haven't dug in in a while either, so I assume they are still doing well.

[ChemBob]

A few items today. I dropped my lily planters down about 4 inches to the bottom of the pond. They were on top of inverted basket planters. Here is before (upside-down....)

Here is after;

I have been getting blooms out of at least one lily almost daily. I am doing the method outlined in The Tub Pond Handbook by Ted Coletti, with dirt under a sand cap and monthly pond fert tabs. Here are some examples. 

[ChemBob]

Also got several new terrestrial plants i haven't mentioned, and ran irrigation.

In the back is dwarf papyrus. 

On the left is fiber optic grass. I'm hoping it comes back. First picture is a couple of months ago. Second is now. 

Finally is one we got today, hoping to get some creeping flowers. 

[PineSong]

Your pond has made a lot of progress. Those lilies are so pretty. Is that a solar powered bubbler/fountain in there, and if so, are you happy with it?

[ChemBob]

On 7/14/2021 at 4:21 PM, PineSong said:

Your pond has made a lot of progress. Those lilies are so pretty. Is that a solar powered bubbler/fountain in there, and if so, are you happy with it?

Thank you! Yes, it is a floating solar fountain. I bought it off if Amazon. It is ok. I got this one because it has a small battery pack and us supposed to run a few hours after the sun goes down. Never seen that happen. It won't even always run on a cloudy day. It pretty much requires direct sun. Also, the lilies are now starting to cover the solar panel which also stops the pump. I guess this is a case of you get what you pay for. If I go solar again, I'll get one that has the solar panel outside the pond rather than integrated into one piece. 

[smoore]

@ChemBob I love the project!  The whole family will find joy here!  I agree on the book choice, it's the one I am using for my summer guppy pond.  Next year I will put the pvc tube for draining and air stone like Cory showed in his youtube video.  My tank is a 50 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank.  Same foot print as your tank, but half as tall.   So much fun!  I also agree with your review of the solar fountain.  I bought a similar one and it's ok, but wouldn't choose it again.  🙂

[Griznatch]

 Pond is looking good, thanks for the updates! I was surprised at how fast my lily took over as well. They sure do provide good surface cover!

[smoore]

Yes, the lily plants are very helpful for covering the surface and are also beautiful when they bloom.

 

[ChemBob]

Decided it was a good day for pulled pork on one of the hottest days we've had so far in Louisiana. Also had one of the best blooms in the outdoor mini pond that I've seen. The pond is doing well. The water is starting relatively cool deeper in the pond, so the raised bed around the pond is doing its job to temper the temperature swings. Hoping the rainbow shiners are still doing well. I saw a few fish swim by earlier this week, so at least a couple still hanging out. I plan to get in and see how they did in the fall. I don't want to mess with them too much until it cold off.