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#1
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Is this pond alright?
Hi,
Pretty new to all this so i've been looking at quite a lot of books and sites before and after making my pond, and they all seem to give different answers to the questions i've been asking. For example, some say you need 20 bunches of oxygenators, others say just 2 or 3 with a couple of plants. Some say you need this much water for this much fish...other's give half of that...or you need a filter...etc etc. Anyway, to cut things short, i've just decided to ask if you think that this pond would survive =P. It's not too big, 1.5m by 1m and an average depth of ~40cm (50cm at deepest with 25cm marginal shelf). In it, there a 4 marginals, 3 oxygenators and one waterlily. There's also 4 comet goldfish (around 8cm) and a small fountain pump that's just pumping water upwards. I live in melbourne, australia. I guess you would call it temperate. The summers average in the low to mid 30's with the occasional low 40 (in °C). The winter is pretty mild, you get frost and i've known pools to ice over, but by late morning it would've all melted. Lowest i can remember is 2°C, never below zero. Pond gets about 5 to 7 hrs sun depending on the part of the pond. Unfortunately the lily is the 5 hr side due to an unforseen problem in digging (the builder's dumping pit is not fun to dig through T_T). I'll be really glad for any help you guys can give me. Thanks! |
#2
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Is this pond alright?
On Wed, 23 Jan 2008 09:42:29 CST, chun
wrote: It's not too big, 1.5m by 1m and an average depth of ~40cm (50cm at deepest with 25cm marginal shelf). In it, there a 4 marginals, 3 oxygenators and one waterlily. There's also 4 comet goldfish (around 8cm) and a small fountain pump that's just pumping water upwards. Sounds like 3'x5' and a bit over a foot deep and sounds workable to me. There are always lots of ideas as to how something should be done, especially concerning ponds. Smaller ponds can be considered more difficult to maintain, so you may have to monitor it regularly to keep things working smoothly. Most of us have gone to UV clarifiers and filters so we can have clear water and see the fish better, If you can see your fish and are happy, you are fortunate and don't need to make changes. -- Hal Middle Georgia, Zone 8 http://tinyurl.com/2fxzcb |
#3
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Is this pond alright?
Hal is on target. Your pond is small enough that a hot summer can
heat it up a great deal. That would not be great for the fish. Loads of us have ended up increasing pond size. Keep us posted! Jim |
#4
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Small bodies of water can be very volatile, temperature wise. In a hot climate with temps over the mid 90's plants and fish are going to struggle through the midday heat.
Shade through midday will make a lot of difference... Perhaps some tallish pondside plants, tallish marginal plant in the pond and a heat tolerant waterlily will keep the water in the eighties, rather than the high 90's Regards, andy http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l42/adavisus/
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/ |
#5
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Is this pond alright?
Phyllis and Jim wrote: Hal is on target. Your pond is small enough that a hot summer can heat it up a great deal. That would not be great for the fish. Loads of us have ended up increasing pond size. Keep us posted! Jim Ditto from me. The ideal solution if you can't increase the foot print, is to simply make it deeper. San Diego Joe 4,000 - 5,000 Gallons. Koi, Goldfish, and RES named Colombo. |
#6
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Ah k. Hmm, seems like i'll have to have a think about this...seeing that making the pond was hard work haha but if it's necessary. Though, 50 cm is 1.6 ft (1'7''?? dunno how things work over there haha). Would that make a difference? Or is deeper/more area still better?
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#7
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Is this pond alright?
chun wrote: Ah k. Hmm, seems like i'll have to have a think about this...seeing that making the pond was hard work haha but if it's necessary. Though, 50 cm is 1.6 ft (1'7''?? dunno how things work over there haha). Would that make a difference? Or is deeper/more area still better? Where ponds are concerned, I would say bigger is always better (until you need a boat to deadhead lilies!) Large ponds are much less prone to large swings in temperature, and balances like ammonia and ph. That's not to say you shouldn't build a small pond, just that a large pond requires less monitoring. I only check my water parameters monthly, and even less so in winter. If you plan on koi, you absolutely need a larger pond with IMHO at least 3 ft of depth and a minimum of 1000 gal. San Diego Joe 4,000 - 5,000 Gallons. Koi, Goldfish, and RES named Colombo. |
#8
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Is this pond alright?
On Sat, 26 Jan 2008 12:58:38 CST, chun
wrote: Ah k. Hmm, seems like i'll have to have a think about this...seeing that making the pond was hard work haha but if it's necessary. Though, 50 cm is 1.6 ft (1'7''?? dunno how things work over there haha). Would that make a difference? Or is deeper/more area still better? Deeper is better in places that get hot (or cold, though a heater can negate that). A patio umbrella may be necessary on those really hot days. As far as filter, that is all dependent on # of fish. Personally I'd take the comets back and get fantails. They produce fewer offspring.... and they're really easy to catch if there becomes too many. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds: www.jjspond.us |
#9
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Is this pond alright?
~ jan wrote:
Deeper is better in places that get hot (or cold, though a heater can negate that). A patio umbrella may be necessary on those really hot days. In Arizona, when it gets too hot(over 115F), people have been known to put 300lb blocks of ice in their pool for comfortable swimming. Do Koi like ice? I plan a 12' dia deck island over my pond for both shade and heron protection. Chip |
#10
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Is this pond alright?
On Sat, 26 Jan 2008 20:24:41 CST, Chip wrote:
In Arizona, when it gets too hot(over 115F), people have been known to put 300lb blocks of ice in their pool for comfortable swimming. Do Koi like ice? Chip Probably better in a koi pond would be frozen water filled milk jugs, so you don't have to worry about chlorine. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds: www.jjspond.us |
#11
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Is this pond alright?
Joe wrote:
Where ponds are concerned, I would say bigger is always better (until you need a boat to deadhead lilies!) To quote Ratty from /The Wind in the Willows/, "There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats". I don't see the problem :-) -- derek |
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