Looks like the group survived the trashing last year.

Refesher: 12x13x2.5 pond in Waynesville, NC, and I was relocating water
snakes last year.

Goldfish bred like crazy last year.. we went from 5 to over 20 in just one
year!

Frog have already been breeding like crazy here as well.. we counted over 18
in the pond a few weeks ago.

Winter has been VERY mild here this year.. the pond was iced over only 2-3
days tops over the whole of winter. early warm spring temps have already
broken the fish out of hibernation. it was so mild, that the water lillies
still have green leaves!

Greenwater has been bad already this year, but water temps have still been
to low overnight to even think of adding pond vegitation. I caved this
year,and just ordered a Laguna 25 Watt UV Clarifier, and a Little Giant
WGP-65 pump for a new waterfall. Both should arrive today, and I'll install
the uv clarifier in line with our pond spitter.

I've already begun basic building of the waterfall.. it'll have a 3 ft drop,
and we are planning an "upper" pondlet, with a 6-8 ft stream going to the
new waterfall, and then into the main pond.

I've got a book on pond and waterfall construction, and am trying to decide
best construction methods... I already have a larger rock at one end of th
pond where the waterfall will be, and need to work around that, without
creating a place where dirt will run off into the pond from the higher
elevation.

Filler under the waterfall will have a number of logs from downed trees here
that are too hard to split from the fireplace (they are large fork branches)

Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 10:16:35 -0500, "Gareee©" wrote:

Looks like the group survived the trashing last year.

Glad to see you back Gareee. )

Frog have already been breeding like crazy here as well.. we counted over 18
in the pond a few weeks ago.

Speaking of frogs. Last spring I removed a bull frog from the lily pond and
hauled it off to the D.pond. Last weekend I found another in the koi ponds.
I hope I can catch it, so it can join the other at the D.pond. I don't like
them here, because I don't want them eating the treefrogs or goldfish fry,
etc.

Sounds like you have a lot planned for this spring. I'm just waiting for
spring to really "break" here. ) ~ jan

--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

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

"~ janj" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 10:16:35 -0500, "Gareee©"
wrote:

Looks like the group survived the trashing last year.

Glad to see you back Gareee. )

Good to be back.. I couldn;t find any other good online pond community, and
kept hoping things would finally cool down here.

Frog have already been breeding like crazy here as well.. we counted over
18
in the pond a few weeks ago.

Speaking of frogs. Last spring I removed a bull frog from the lily pond
and
hauled it off to the D.pond. Last weekend I found another in the koi
ponds.
I hope I can catch it, so it can join the other at the D.pond. I don't
like
them here, because I don't want them eating the treefrogs or goldfish fry,
etc.

Well, I already have as many goldfish as I want, so they are kinda welcome
to the fry if they want them!

Sounds like you have a lot planned for this spring. I'm just waiting for
spring to really "break" here. ) ~ jan

We still get occasional cold snaps, but today it was 60 or so out there mid
day.

I had to double check the uv filter today... it didn't appear to be working,
but trying to see the glow is almost impossible, even at night. Taking it
apart, I found the bulb had come unplugged during shipping.

We picked up the line for the waterfall pump today, and HAD planned to drain
the pond, replace the filter material on the outside of the "plastic milk
crate filter" I cobbled last year from plans acquired here.

I think we'll put the waterfall pump in the filter this year, to increase
it's effectiveness.

The UVs only been on for a day, so of course, we won;t see any real results
for another few days.

(BTW, will running it during the day only extend it's life?)

Today we planted 2 new dogwood trees, and a small Christmas tree acquired at
Christmas time.

With luck, tomorrow we'll clean out the pond, replace the outer material
(or just clean it) off the milk crate filter, and replace old green water
with fresh water, which should help the uv process.

If time permits, we'll also start work on the waterfall. I'm thinking for
liner for it, we'll just use doubled heavy duty black tarp from Walmart.

(Local stores haven't gotten liner in stock yet.)

There will be a pondlet, with a stream coming downhill from it, and a
"stairstep" waterfall, rather then one with a big drop. Drop into the pond
itself will probably be a foot or so.

I may reuse the kid's pond we painted black with Krylon fusion as the
pondlet.. haven't decided that yet. (And the wife really likes the little
pond).

I'll post links to pics when the work is complete.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

The UVs only been on for a day, so of course, we won;t see any real results
for another few days.

(BTW, will running it during the day only extend it's life?)

I always thought on & off were harder on bulbs, I suspect this is very
possibly so with UV lights, aren't they more like fluorescent?

I'll post links to pics when the work is complete.

Looking forward to them.

I've got the day off, no wind, and the temps are heading for the 50+ range
as I type. So I think I'll get the cover off the lily pond and start the
filter on it. This will mean getting filter boy out there, where we can
also discuss the "real" filter going in this spring/ASAP.

There are also peas to be planted and perhaps lotus dividing. ~ jan


~ jan/WA
Zone 7a

In article ,
~ janj wrote:
The UVs only been on for a day, so of course, we won;t see any real results
for another few days.

(BTW, will running it during the day only extend it's life?)

I always thought on & off were harder on bulbs, I suspect this is very
possibly so with UV lights, aren't they more like fluorescent?

Two things shoren the life of flourescents. heat and turning them
on and off. LEave it on and keep it cool as you can. Cheap fans help
a lot, they're a buck from a big old nasty box in places that
sell computer parts. You can use a cheap computer power supply
from any computer ever made to run them. Goodwill usually has
$5 computers that ae good for partsa lke this.

--
Need Mercedes parts? http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home pages: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net

Oh, MAN! Cleaned out the pond today, and the filter. (milk crate in the pond
type)

It was literally almost SOLID green gunk, and the algea and debris in the
pond were staggering. The pond was actually clear in Novermber, so all this
accumulated in the last few months. (Winter was MUCH more mild then the
norm.)

The water coming out of the new pump was almost solid green, and it was
almost the consistancy of pea soup.. I'm glad I started cleaning early.

The water now is about 9/10ths fresh water, and all the fish, salamanders,
and taddies seem just fine. the water is still VERY green with gunk, so
after a day or so, I'll drain it down again, and add more fresh water.

We divided the iris (never had for 2 years), and from like 4 plants we'll
now have about a dozen!

I'm starting to wonder if the little giant pump will be strong enough for a
small waterfall though.. I hate to buy another new one since I just bought
this last week.

I had planned on starting construction on th ewaterfall/stream today, bu
tthat will have to wait a few days to get this pond nice, clean and clear.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

Gareee,
Around here, logs will rot and settle. If they are under your waterfall and
rot, that could be a significant problem. RR ties work better...or treated
wood. We have both in our berm as structural elements. They are doing fine
after 8 years.

Jim

--
See our pond at: home.bellsouth.net/personalpages/pwp-jameshurley
Ask me about Jog A Thon fundraiser (clears $120+ per child) at: jogathon.net
"Gareee©" wrote in message
...
Looks like the group survived the trashing last year.

Refesher: 12x13x2.5 pond in Waynesville, NC, and I was relocating water
snakes last year.

Goldfish bred like crazy last year.. we went from 5 to over 20 in just one
year!

Frog have already been breeding like crazy here as well.. we counted over
18
in the pond a few weeks ago.

Winter has been VERY mild here this year.. the pond was iced over only 2-3
days tops over the whole of winter. early warm spring temps have already
broken the fish out of hibernation. it was so mild, that the water lillies
still have green leaves!

Greenwater has been bad already this year, but water temps have still been
to low overnight to even think of adding pond vegitation. I caved this
year,and just ordered a Laguna 25 Watt UV Clarifier, and a Little Giant
WGP-65 pump for a new waterfall. Both should arrive today, and I'll
install
the uv clarifier in line with our pond spitter.

I've already begun basic building of the waterfall.. it'll have a 3 ft
drop,
and we are planning an "upper" pondlet, with a 6-8 ft stream going to the
new waterfall, and then into the main pond.

I've got a book on pond and waterfall construction, and am trying to
decide
best construction methods... I already have a larger rock at one end of th
pond where the waterfall will be, and need to work around that, without
creating a place where dirt will run off into the pond from the higher
elevation.

Filler under the waterfall will have a number of logs from downed trees
here
that are too hard to split from the fireplace (they are large fork
branches)

Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

"Phyllis and Jim Hurley" wrote in message
...
Gareee,
Around here, logs will rot and settle. If they are under your waterfall
and
rot, that could be a significant problem. RR ties work better...or
treated
wood. We have both in our berm as structural elements. They are doing
fine
after 8 years.

These are BIG.. like I can hardly move them big. I'm 6 foot tall, and I can
barely circle them with my arms!

I was planning on using them, and also large rocks, (maybe riprap), n such.
I'll consider the advise though, and see what else I can dig up.

I'm cycling th ewater again today.. a simple system seems to be to run a
pump from one end, and from the other end, just drop the garden hose in.

The pump pumps out faster then the garden hose, so after an hour or so, I
need to let it catch up by stopping the pump.

I also then use the hose to wash settled matter towards the pump, so it can
pump it out.

The fish seem fine with this, and it give them time to adapt to the new
water. (We pretty much get fresh mountain water here, and they probably add
some gov regulated chemicals, but doesn't seme to taste like that.

BTW, anyone here have a little giant WGP-65?? I just bought it to run a
small stream/waterfall, and am wondering if it's powerful enough for that?

The lift will probably be about 4-5 feet tops, and the line from th epond to
the upper pondlet will probably be about 20 feet tops.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

in spring the biobugs are not up and booting at all. the green stuff acts as the
filter removing nutrients and fish wastes. replacing all the water may or may not
add more nutrients to the water. best is to remove the green stuff with daily filter
cleaning until the water temp is high enough to support the biobugs, OR, if you got a
veggie filter that the plants are removing most of it.
at this time of the year in my heated pond where I am feeding the fish I am happy
there is green algae to soak up the nutrients (my seachem ammonia alert says no
ammonia) ... when I begin running my veggie filter before putting in the plants the
string algae does a good job. only when the plants are in and I see good root growth
do I turn on the UV to get rid of the suspended algae. and I watch carefully for any
ammonia or nitrates. Ingrid

"Gareee©" wrote:
Oh, MAN! Cleaned out the pond today, and the filter. (milk crate in the pond
type)

It was literally almost SOLID green gunk, and the algea and debris in the
pond were staggering. The pond was actually clear in Novermber, so all this
accumulated in the last few months. (Winter was MUCH more mild then the
norm.)

The water coming out of the new pump was almost solid green, and it was
almost the consistancy of pea soup.. I'm glad I started cleaning early.

The water now is about 9/10ths fresh water, and all the fish, salamanders,
and taddies seem just fine. the water is still VERY green with gunk, so
after a day or so, I'll drain it down again, and add more fresh water.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.

wrote in message
...
in spring the biobugs are not up and booting at all. the green stuff acts
as the
filter removing nutrients and fish wastes. replacing all the water may or
may not
add more nutrients to the water. best is to remove the green stuff with
daily filter
cleaning until the water temp is high enough to support the biobugs, OR,
if you got a
veggie filter that the plants are removing most of it.
at this time of the year in my heated pond where I am feeding the fish I
am happy
there is green algae to soak up the nutrients (my seachem ammonia alert
says no
ammonia) ... when I begin running my veggie filter before putting in the
plants the
string algae does a good job. only when the plants are in and I see good
root growth
do I turn on the UV to get rid of the suspended algae. and I watch
carefully for any
ammonia or nitrates. Ingrid

Hmmm maybe I don't need the uv on yet then? We are seeing quite a bit of
plant growth outside the pond already though.. the dogwoods are all in
bloom, or already turning green, the daffodils are in bloom, or loosing
their flowers already, and creeping flox is already in full bloom.

I think my filter was just so clogged with the gunk that it couldn't pull
any more crap out of the water.

(I'm also thinking it's pump has seen better days.. it's flowrate is much
less then before, and I think it's time to just use it for a decorative
pump, and replace it with something stronger.)

You mentioned string algae.. I have quite a bit on the liner and rock in the
pond.. I've been removing some of it.. should I let it be?

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

Hmmm maybe I don't need the uv on yet then?

You mentioned string algae.. I have quite a bit on the liner and rock in the
pond.. I've been removing some of it.. should I let it be?

If you've got string algae, using UV should be fine. What is your water
temp? Sounds like your bio-bugs should be waking up with all the
out-of-the-pond plant action going on. ~ jan


~ jan/WA
Zone 7a

Can you post a picture of the project on alt.binaries.aquaria? It would be
fun to see.

Thinking on the big logs: You might check around to see if logs are rotting
in your neck of the woods. I am thinking that big logs leave big empty
spaces if they rot out.

Jim

--
See our pond at: home.bellsouth.net/personalpages/pwp-jameshurley
Ask me about Jog A Thon fundraiser (clears $120+ per child) at: jogathon.net
"Gareee©" wrote in message
...
"Phyllis and Jim Hurley" wrote in message
...
Gareee,
Around here, logs will rot and settle. If they are under your waterfall
and
rot, that could be a significant problem. RR ties work better...or
treated
wood. We have both in our berm as structural elements. They are doing
fine
after 8 years.

These are BIG.. like I can hardly move them big. I'm 6 foot tall, and I
can
barely circle them with my arms!

I was planning on using them, and also large rocks, (maybe riprap), n
such.
I'll consider the advise though, and see what else I can dig up.

I'm cycling th ewater again today.. a simple system seems to be to run a
pump from one end, and from the other end, just drop the garden hose in.

The pump pumps out faster then the garden hose, so after an hour or so, I
need to let it catch up by stopping the pump.

I also then use the hose to wash settled matter towards the pump, so it
can
pump it out.

The fish seem fine with this, and it give them time to adapt to the new
water. (We pretty much get fresh mountain water here, and they probably
add
some gov regulated chemicals, but doesn't seme to taste like that.

BTW, anyone here have a little giant WGP-65?? I just bought it to run a
small stream/waterfall, and am wondering if it's powerful enough for that?

The lift will probably be about 4-5 feet tops, and the line from th epond
to
the upper pondlet will probably be about 20 feet tops.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

"~ janj" wrote in message
...
Hmmm maybe I don't need the uv on yet then?

You mentioned string algae.. I have quite a bit on the liner and rock in
the
pond.. I've been removing some of it.. should I let it be?

If you've got string algae, using UV should be fine. What is your water
temp? Sounds like your bio-bugs should be waking up with all the
out-of-the-pond plant action going on. ~ jan

I checked today, and the water temp is already 64! (The pond is in full sun
though, because there are no leaves on the trees yet.)

Did anyone ever confirm rid-x jump starts the biobugs? I have it here for my
septic system anyway...

The water is now glass clear, with the exception of a thin silt bottom layer
covering the bottom.

The pump/hose filling system worked just great!


--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

"Phyllis and Jim Hurley" wrote in message
...
Can you post a picture of the project on alt.binaries.aquaria? It would
be
fun to see.

Thinking on the big logs: You might check around to see if logs are
rotting
in your neck of the woods. I am thinking that big logs leave big empty
spaces if they rot out.

Actually, they aren't. when they downed the trees 2 years ago, the idiot
grader half buried some of the trees I was going to be chainsawing for fire
wood. Little by little I'm uncovering them, and they show no sign of decay
at all.

I'll take some pics tomorrow if possible.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

clean your filters!!!! clean your pump!!! sometimes all that is needed is opening
it up and cleaning the magnet and the hole it sits in.
leave the spring algae for now. later use a brush to wind the string algae up and
get rid of it. it is a WONDERFUL water cleaner and keeps the pond healthy until the
biofilter and plants are booking.
Ingrid

"Gareee©" wrote:
I think my filter was just so clogged with the gunk that it couldn't pull
any more crap out of the water.

(I'm also thinking it's pump has seen better days.. it's flowrate is much
less then before, and I think it's time to just use it for a decorative
pump, and replace it with something stronger.)

You mentioned string algae.. I have quite a bit on the liner and rock in the
pond.. I've been removing some of it.. should I let it be?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.