"Rob" wrote in message
om...
No pix yet. Digi camera died recently. Soon though.
Just put in first plants. Hyacinth (makes me think of Jim Morrison)
and something called Thalia geniculata. Thalia tall & elegant. My
wife wants watercress but I cant find it here in San Francisco. Maybe
at the health food store.
Q's:

What is reasonable evaporation, or do I have a leak? Pond is about
400 gallons, 2.5' deep, and lost about an inch of water this week.

An inch in a week is actually less than I would expect considering the dry
climate that you are in.

Can I build a plant stand out of copper plumbing pipe, or will the
metal cause weird brain waves (or other ailments) in the fish?

The copper will corrode, and although copper is good for keeping nasty parasites
out of your pond, toxic levels of copper can occur in your pond over time from
corroding pipes. The high copper concentrations can harm any invertebrates and
some plants you may have (placing copper tubing in the water is also not a
controlled way to dose the pond), and can harm the fish in the long run if the
concentration in the water gets too high. There is a well-known copper mining
district in the mountains of eastern Tennessee where copper-laden water has been
running out of the mines for many years. The streams into which this water runs
are almost completely devoid of aquatic life for miles downstream. If you are
like me, and like to make things that last, and are nearly maintenance-free, try
making a plant stand out of pvc tubing and angled pvc couplings. Once the algae
takes hold on the pipes, you'll likely not even notice them.

If I put sluggo, or diatomaceous earth, in the garden, and it rains,
and the runoff makes it's way into the pond, will it kill the fish?

Diatomaceous earth shouldn't hurt the fish (at least I've never heard of it
doing so), but could alter the water chemistry. At any rate, you should try to
minimize run off going into your pond to avoid sudden water chemistry changes
(and you wouldn't want your prize fish to end up in swimming in a puddle at
Haight-Ashbury when the pond overflows). Considering that you live in SF, you
shouldn't have that much run off anyway, unless you are watering your garden
very often.

Where's the best source of plants on the web? Is autumn an ok time to
introduce them (Zone 8-9 here, very rare freeze over winter)?

Thanks again.

There are many places on the web where you can buy plants for your garden pond,
but personally I like to see them before I buy. Since you live in SF, there
should be several excellent sources locally.

I hope this helps.