Anyone Know About Ponds?????

[daj0424]

I just moved into a new home and their is a pond built into the deck outside. The previous owners did not set it up for me and I am not sure what I need to do to get this going again.
The pond looks to be about 100-150gallons. He left some equipment but I dont know where it goes. Left for me is a filter and a battery powered solar something that floats on the water. My questions are:
How do I install this filter. There is bio balls on the bottom then a couple filter pads with an opening on the top of the filter. Do I place this type of filter in the water, out of the water or what?
He has a ton of hoses that I am not sure about. Also, he had a spitting frog. I am not sure where that hooks up in all this.
Also, what is the point of that solar thing?
Anything else that I need to know before I get myself into somethig over my head would be appreciated. Thanks for your help!

 

[ryanhayes9]

do a google search"fish ponds" here is one link
http://www.watergarden.com/pages/build_wg.html

 

[sinner's girl]

my mom had one, everyone on the street I grew up on had one...when she moved, built a new one.
beware of ick (duh)...always, and I do mean always, have enough stuff to treat the water for when you get ick, and always have enough stuff to treat the water when you leave the hose on for too long and you put too much clorine in the water... (I do mean always! Walmart WILL be out or closed when you need it) figure out how many gallons, have the stuff on hand. You'll lose fish to ich in no time, but the stuff works.
Plants are good, very good. and pretty
My mom never did water changes or anything (enough water evaborates), but did clean it out each spring, cut back plants, and sadly, clean out some fish...I guess the babies tend to be ugly black ones....
Oh, and when you add water, if you leave the hose on too long and flood the pond, if you have babies, they can and will end up swimming in your yard.
having a kids swimming pool on hand is also a good idea. Like of it like a qt. if something goes screwy, or if you get a crack and need to fix it, the pool will hold the plants and fish (plastic hard ones, to the bigger ones you roll will work just fine).
There's another site, that has a pond forum, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post it...plus they really slow, hardly anyone is on, but it's there. Fish in the dot net .

 

[tnt]

I have a 450 gallon pond in my backyard and I love it just as much as my salt. I have koi that eat out of my hand. Not sure about your filter, can you post a pic? There should be a pump. I have a pool sand filter on mine. My mother-in-law has one that sounds like it could be like yours. She has a pump in the pond, and then the filter sits outside the pond and pours into it. It sits at the top of her waterfall. The solar floaty thing probably is just a floating light for decoration at night. You can get underwater lights. You probably have a hose from the pump to the filter, and another from the pump to the spitter.
-You need to do water changes just like in an aquarium.
-Get a bacterial additive, MicrobeLift or Pond Zyme to add weekly.
-Get lots of plants to compete with algae. I even put aquarium plants like swords in mine.
-If your pond is at least 2ft deep you can overwinter fish and hardy plants in there. Just get a trough heater.
-Aeration is extremely important. Your fish will be gasping for air at the surface alot if you don't have enough. A waterfall or even the spitter might be enough.
-If you don't put fish in it, put mosquito dunks in there to discourage mosquitos from breeding in there.
Keeping a pond is alot like keeping an aquarium. Keep on top of water quality, although you'll find that koi and goldfish are much more tolerant than saltwater fish. Since my pond is large, I do use my hose to fill it. I just add chlorine remover each time.
There is tons of info on the internet. You can email me if you want.
tntws6@mtco.com

 

[sinner's girl]

-You need to do water changes just like in an aquarium.
:thinking: really? no one on our street did...we had at least 6 ponds...my mom still doesn't...where are you located? I'm thinking maybe it's hot enough here that the water evaporates enough...it makes sense to do one though...
-Get a bacterial additive, MicrobeLift or Pond Zyme to add weekly.
Why? again, my mom never did, she had fish live for many years...never had ich expect once from adding fish from someone else's pond...her main problem was a big mean bird eating all her fish...stupid bird is protected and we can't kill it, even though it's on her land, eating her fish. So beware of evil fish eating birds.
when just adding top off, she doesn't add chemicals, just if she flooded it (which she tends to do).

 

[ifusayso]

Originally Posted by daj0424
I just moved into a new home and their is a pond built into the deck outside. The previous owners did not set it up for me and I am not sure what I need to do to get this going again.
The pond looks to be about 100-150gallons. He left some equipment but I dont know where it goes. Left for me is a filter and a battery powered solar something that floats on the water. My questions are:
How do I install this filter. There is bio balls on the bottom then a couple filter pads with an opening on the top of the filter. Do I place this type of filter in the water, out of the water or what?
He has a ton of hoses that I am not sure about. Also, he had a spitting frog. I am not sure where that hooks up in all this.
Also, what is the point of that solar thing?
Anything else that I need to know before I get myself into somethig over my head would be appreciated. Thanks for your help!
I'm not an expert but have built two of my own and helped with another one. Currently, I have had a 220 going for about 4 years, but have been doing this for several.
1) The solar powered things that floats-Is it round? Likely just a light.
2) Is the filter compartment low profile? Shaped like a rectangle about 4-6 inches thick, with slats on top? If so it should be placed on the bottom of the pond. It should be connected to a pump, from the output of the pump you can using the tubing you have to connect the spitting frog or attach pvc with any type of spray heads(bell shaped, 2 or 3 tier fountain). You would want some type of water movement(as with your tank).
3)The maintenance can be as little or as much as you like. I use double filtration(have in pond filter media like you have, and a homemade lava rock media in a container second). I clean out the pond once or twice a year(in the fall to winterize, and in the spring to get rid of dead plant matter). I use very few chemicals just dechlorinator and occasionally clarifier. Otherwise I just provide oxygenating plants and a good filtration system. Because of previous issues with herons eating fish and to reduce leaves collecting in my pond, I cover it with a leaf net. It does not deter from the appearance of the pond at all.
4) Feeding-it is pretty much optional(seriously), but I do feed mine once a day what they can eat in a few minutes. Only in the spring/summer months, they go dormant when it gets cold. I know a few people who never feed theirs as there is plenty of algae and bugs for them to eat.
There is plenty more to know about ponds and I would be happy to answer any other questions you might have. You can email me at cpanmind@aol.com
BTW here are some pics of a floating solar light and a low profile filter, is this what you are refering to?

 

[tnt]

Originally Posted by Sinner's Girl
:thinking: really? no one on our street did...we had at least 6 ponds...my mom still doesn't...where are you located? I'm thinking maybe it's hot enough here that the water evaporates enough...it makes sense to do one though...
Why? again, my mom never did, she had fish live for many years...never had ich expect once from adding fish from someone else's pond...her main problem was a big mean bird eating all her fish...stupid bird is protected and we can't kill it, even though it's on her land, eating her fish. So beware of evil fish eating birds.
when just adding top off, she doesn't add chemicals, just if she flooded it (which she tends to do).
Just like in an aquarium, toxins don't evaporate, just the water does. Also, you never know what toxins the rain will add to the water. I tried to get by without doing water changes as often last year, and my pond was green and cloudy all summer. I live in central IL.
I know lots of people that don't add bacteria, however, I've tried using it and not. I think my pond is clearer and healthier looking with it. We have heron's around here that can be a nuisance to ponds. Raccoon's are also a problem. However, if your pond is deep enough the fish are better protected. Our pond is about 3ft deep.
It depends on what's in your water. Fish can tolerate a small amount of chlorine, though I don't know what that level is. We have well water, but they add chlorine to it periodically. You never know when or how much they are adding. I lost my 2 favorite koi last year due to this. I learned it's better safe than sorry.

 

[ifusayso]

Originally Posted by tnt
It depends on what's in your water. Fish can tolerate a small amount of chlorine, though I don't know what that level is. We have well water, but they add chlorine to it periodically. You never know when or how much they are adding. I lost my 2 favorite koi last year due to this. I learned it's better safe than sorry.

I have never lost a fish to ICK in the pond. I also don't overstock and I have a very effective filtration system(part of which I designed). I use tap water and do have to use dechlorinator.
My only fish deaths were to herons who ate them...solution put a net over the pond.

 

[ifusayso]

Originally Posted by Sinner's Girl
:thinking: really? no one on our street did...we had at least 6 ponds...my mom still doesn't...where are you located? I'm thinking maybe it's hot enough here that the water evaporates enough...it makes sense to do one though...
Why? again, my mom never did, she had fish live for many years...never had ich expect once from adding fish from someone else's pond...her main problem was a big mean bird eating all her fish...stupid bird is protected and we can't kill it, even though it's on her land, eating her fish. So beware of evil fish eating birds.
when just adding top off, she doesn't add chemicals, just if she flooded it (which she tends to do).

Yep, I only do a water change at the beginning of the spring, sometimes at the end and really don't need to. I only add water if I must(when it doesn't rain enough). I do fill a bucket of pond water and dunk the filter pads in it to get rid of excess scum about once or twice in the spring/summer.
And the blue herons are very evil around here...killed just about all my fish two years ago. Had to employee the bird net. No more deaths!!

 

[tnt]

I've never had ich in the pond either, although it is only 3 years old now (knock on wood). Our water supplier said they only put a small amount of chlorine in the water once after working on the system. A month later, I assumed the water was back to no chlorine and topped off my pond. They had dosed it again without telling us. I lost the 2 koi and have used the dechlorinator ever since as a precaution.
I've heard of lots of people not feeding their fish. However, it's the part I enjoy the most. They love watermelon and eat it from my hand. I also feed them oranges, earthworms, pellets, and some fresh veggies.

 

[nflnutswif]

I too have a pond and the picture is in here somewhere. I have a prefabricated 150 gal, that we dug into the ground to install. If you simply go to your local Lowes or Home depot they have the type I have along with the filter systems. I suggest you go and look to see if it's like yours.
Filter: In the water, bottom center of the pond.
Mine is a black plastic box that houses the bio balls, filter pads and pump. The pump fits into the center of the box with the largest outflow nozzle facing the top of the water. This out flow connects to the spray fountain tube that sticks right out from the water. The bio balls fill the black box and the filter pads lay on top of those.
There is a flex tube that fits into the second outflow nozzel, that would be for the spittng frog. You can cap that off if you don't want it.
The filters need to be rinsed off, like another poster said. Bucket of water, I just use the hose and rinse them then put them back.
I do use a clarifier, pondzyme, to help declorinate. I do add water to evaporation and do a big change 2 times a year. I have plants that thrive and help filter.
I have 4 6-8inch koi that I've had for 4 years. Never had any diseases, but I did drape a cargo net over the pond with a PVC bridge (so to speak) so it doesn't interfer with the fountain. We have Raccoons!
Sorry for the long post. But hope this helps you.

 

[phixer]

Thats a nice looking Koi pond. When I lived in Japan they were very popular and always well maintained. Yours looks great.

 

[nflnutswif]

Originally Posted by tnt
I've never had ich in the pond either, although it is only 3 years old now (knock on wood). Our water supplier said they only put a small amount of chlorine in the water once after working on the system. A month later, I assumed the water was back to no chlorine and topped off my pond. They had dosed it again without telling us. I lost the 2 koi and have used the dechlorinator ever since as a precaution.
I've heard of lots of people not feeding their fish. However, it's the part I enjoy the most. They love watermelon and eat it from my hand. I also feed them oranges, earthworms, pellets, and some fresh veggies.
The feeding part is interesting, you just cut up pieces of fruits and veggies and they eat it? I feed pellets everyday in the summer months, but have never tried anything else.
Thanks for the suggestion

 

[tnt]

Yep! I like to cut big pieces and let them tear pieces off of it from my hand. It surprises me sometimes how strong they are. The vitamin C is really good for them. Some people tie big heads of kale or romaine and let it float in the water. My koi are probably 8-10 inches. We have 8 of them. They really go nuts if you throw a worm or cricket in there. I found that alot of the koi farms in Japan feed citrus fruits to their fish to help boost their immune system.
Since they are comfortable eating out of your hand, the little kids love to come over and put their toes in the water and watch the koi nibble on them.

 

[chipmaker]

TNT
You just need to be aware you are liable for any damages if those kooi bit off a toe or finger or worse yet drag one of those kiddies into thre pond and cover them up with hickies.....;-)
Mine love water melon, as well as oranges. I have two natural ponds that used to be stocked withbass and bream etc, but we cleaned them out and now thjey have nothng but koi and goldfish in them.....None of us fish or eat fresh water fish anyhow and game fish are not easy to watch, so now we have a 2.5 and 1.5 acre pond with koi and goldfish and some channel cats........We also have 11 other preformed ponds and water features around the house and yard. We use them to put all the fresh water tropicals in during the warmer months and get them out side of the house, which around this part is usually from the end of MArch up till end of October or early NOvember. Its unreal how big the tropicals can get in a large preform eating bugs etc. We feed very little, preforms are all planted and aerated, and they continually spawn......We sell fry to the local mom and pop shop or trade for other items.......
Our koi are up to 30" or so and weigh about 20# or more last we weighed any. I just read they said a koi is a record if its 20 to 25 pounds, but I find that hard to belive sa its not hard toget a koi that weights 20# or more if its fed good.......Mine look like chunks of telephone poles.......

 

[tnt]

That is awesome! I wish I lived close enough to come see them! Post some pics if you have some, please! We just opened our swimming pool for the summer, and I just kept thinking, this would make a great koi pond!