On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 20:04:45 GMT, Guy Bowerman wrote:

Hi, I'm getting an 8'x8'x20-24" pond and am trying to decide if a
pump/filter is a must have.
I'd like the pond to have some amphibians (we see plenty of Pacific Tree
frogs in the garden) and possibly some small fish if I can find
compatible and preferrably native.

Hi Guy, and welcome to RP. )

Check out my website listed at the end and click on My Lilypond. Made
exactly along the line of your thinking. It is 15X5.5 and 2 feet deep. Put
in because I wanted the most sunny area in the yard to grow tropical lilies
and for the Pacific Tree Frogs to mate in (they are SO cool). The first
year I only used a solar pump, when the taddy started growing legs I put in
3 goldfish, they bred, had lots of fry and I didn't have one day of pea
soup. So much for the fact you need a filter & pump going 24/7. Lots of
water & plants, plus low fish load, you don't.

The next year though I wanted more water sound/movement and the solar pump
just wasn't reliable, so I put in power and the last 2 summers I've
filtered with a 500 gph pump and a fake flowerpot filter (can be seen at
the bottom page of My Filter) because I started putting in more than 3
goldfish. I do remove all the big goldfish before winter and all the fry in
spring before the frogs come, because they will eat the eggs and taddies.
HTHs, ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website