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13-01-2006, 11:27 PM posted to rec.ponds

On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 21:24:38 GMT, (Roy) wrote:

Like I stated before there is NOTHING that yu can actually plant in a
mud bottom pond especially in your local and not expect it to become
envasive, be it lotus, lillies and certainly cat tails.......Its
virtually impossible to keep any plant constrained within the limits
of a pot or container when its in a natural pond...

Maybe you did not say anything about algae blooms, but its inevitable
yur gonna get them its the nature of the beast so aeration and
baraclear and keeping run off minimixed is the solution to future
problems, once spring/ summer kicks in. A lot of the stuff thats
floating will settle and sink, and become biological filter material,
so don;t get concerned with it. Make the floating fountain and set
back and watch.......There is not much yu can do to stop natural
occuring things from happening nor is there much yu can do to solve
your questions without spending a heap of money for equipment and also
exhorant operating expenses...which I gather from your prevous posts
your barely able to run or afford some items which were
suggested.......

I didn't mean to give that impression. I spent over a grand getting the
"pond" cleaned up and a little over 300 for the pump and hose I got. I
realize a heap of money may vary from place to place, but I'm willing to
sink at least that much into things now, which seems to be about what one
of those deluxe waterfall/pump/uv/filter/faux lava rock kits runs. I sure
don't need all that.

Just take a look at a pond in that area where lilys
are growing wild and its just solid surface cover, no water at all and
within a year ro two it will be one masive heavily infested
pond....with whatever you planted...

I'd have to disagree with that, at least in my (short) experience here.
Along my drive into town I pass a pond that looks like it has been there
for years. It has a pretty good crop of water lilies in it. I've driven
by it for over a year now. It hasn't become overrun with lilies yet.
There is a rowboat there, so maybe they row out and get rid of some of the
lilies, though I've never seen the people who live there do that. Anyway,
I have a kayak, and I'm not afraid to use it.

Koi-lo has about as much experieince with a natural poknd and what to
plant in it as I do performing brain surgery as a profession......

Perhaps a few lilys ina large wash tub near the edge that you can tend
to properly and keep an eye on and aeration in the form of a floating
fountain.........is about it....The rest thats gonna happen is gonna
happen with or without your intervention as to algae, critters, debri,
runoff etc etc...
Baraclear P80 is a aluminum sulfate mix in a sodium bentonite pellet,
that locks up phosphates which are key to algae growth.......There is
no reason not to expect good water visibility if aeration and
nutrients are taken care of......I can readily see 4 to 6 feet deep in
relatively clean clear water in my natural ponds here without a
problem any time of the year, and my zone is what your zone is in
regards to temperatures and environmental issues........I would even
dose the pond with a strong dose of potassium permangante to oxidize
or basically sterilize any crap that may still be in there and
eliminate anay nutrients you already have....

Is that stuff you can throw in all at once or do you need to kind of
dispense it in, perhaps in the waterfall water?

It certainly does not
take much runoff to gain a heap of nutrients, and I am sure you have
some runoff around that pond coming from sonewhere expeicially with
the gulley washers this area receives, and the crap hurricanes and
winds all carry in as well, as winds are just about as bad as lots of
water runoff when it comes to adding nutrients to a pond.....YOur
against the odds without filtration, so you have to make do with whats
been proven. YOur water is not all that deep so its gonna get warmed
up quicker, yet another reason for aeration.......

As far as hurricanes go I was surprised to find that I actually lived in a
*less* hurricane prone area in Dunnellon (SW of Ocala, where I lived before
coming here) than up in North Carolina, where my brother lives. Right here
seems to be one of the least likely to be hit by a hurricane along the
whole Gulf or Florida coasts. I have noticed some pretty hefty rains,
though.

So do you recommend the type of water jet type fountain, kind of like a
lawn sprinkler, or is it preferable to have a waterfall type?

Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA
We are the CroMagnon of the future