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#1
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Pond Newbie
Hi the
I'm new here and thought I should introduce myself. My husband and I are getting ready to overhaul our backyard, and he really wants a pond. That's okay with me, so I'd like to hear from any of you that would like to offer advice to a beginner in Zone 3. We're pretty handy and avid gardeners. Any sites that have info you recommend reading? Any things I mustn't forget? We'd like to have fish eventually (we breed cichlids indoors) and we'd like to have some water movement or a small waterfall. Thanks, Cynthia |
#2
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Pond Newbie
Hello Cynthia,
Welcome to rec.ponds. Here are some good sites to start with: http://www.pondrushes.net/ and http://www.geocities.com/bickal2000/pond.htm and http://www.fishpondinfo.com My most important tip is do not overstock. k30a |
#3
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Pond Newbie
Jacquard_The_Ripper wrote:
I'm new here and thought I should introduce myself. My husband and I are getting ready to overhaul our backyard, and he really wants a pond. That's okay with me, so I'd like to hear from any of you that would like to offer advice to a beginner in Zone 3. Dig deep. Winters are going to be your problem, says john here in zone 5, who has struggled for a couple of years, keeping the pond going over the winter. |
#4
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Pond Newbie
Jacquard_The_Ripper wrote:
Hi the I'm new here and thought I should introduce myself. My husband and I are getting ready to overhaul our backyard, and he really wants a pond. That's okay with me, so I'd like to hear from any of you that would like to offer advice to a beginner in Zone 3. We're pretty handy and avid gardeners. Any sites that have info you recommend reading? Any things I mustn't forget? We'd like to have fish eventually (we breed cichlids indoors) and we'd like to have some water movement or a small waterfall. Thanks, Cynthia Put in the largest pond you can afford. If you don't you'll be adding another one next year. Also, read all the books you can put your hands on, Helen Nash's Low-Maintence Water Garden and The Complete Pond Builder are two good books -there are many others. K30a will have a list of sites to visit. -- Bonnie NJ http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/ |
#5
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Pond Newbie
Zone 3?? Plan on bringing your fishies inside! Your
winters are fierce and long. I don't think you'd be happy knowing your fishies were freezing their tushes off out in a pond.... no matter how deep you dig. BTW, I do believe that a 5 foot depth would be as shallow as I'd go! Nedra in Missouri http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836 http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118 "Jacquard_The_Ripper" wrote in message ... Hi the I'm new here and thought I should introduce myself. My husband and I are getting ready to overhaul our backyard, and he really wants a pond. That's okay with me, so I'd like to hear from any of you that would like to offer advice to a beginner in Zone 3. We're pretty handy and avid gardeners. Any sites that have info you recommend reading? Any things I mustn't forget? We'd like to have fish eventually (we breed cichlids indoors) and we'd like to have some water movement or a small waterfall. Thanks, Cynthia |
#6
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Pond Newbie
Put in the largest pond you can afford. If you don't you'll
be adding another one next year. Also, read all the books you can put your hands on, Helen Nash's Low-Maintence Water Garden and The Complete Pond Builder are two good books -there are many others. K30a will have a list of sites to visit. -- Bonnie NJ I have to agree with Bonnie. We started out with two preformed ponds of a few hundred gallons and within two years we built a 3500 gallon one. One thing to make sure you do is to plan ahead for your plantings. We ended up improvising after finishing the pond by using bricks and milk crates to prop up the plants to a level that's happy for them and to accomodate layers of plantings. |
#7
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Pond Newbie
On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 01:51:51 GMT, "Nedra"
wrote: Zone 3?? Plan on bringing your fishies inside! Your winters are fierce and long. I don't think you'd be happy knowing your fishies were freezing their tushes off out in a pond.... no matter how deep you dig. BTW, I do believe that a 5 foot depth would be as shallow as I'd go! LOL yes, we figured that. We think we can leave the fish out from May until October, and then they can come inside. And yes, we know it has to be deep. We were thinking roughly 8' by 12' and about 5' deep at the deepest. Cynthia |
#8
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Pond Newbie
Hi Cynthia,
As so many have suggested, find out how deep it has to be to avoid freezing solid. Enjoy the books and the addictive hobby. We love our addiction/ponds. J -- ____________________________________________ Check out Jog-A-Thon fundraiser (clears $140+ per jogger) at: www.jogathon.net See our pond at: http://www.home.bellsouth.net/p/pwp-jameshurley "Jacquard_The_Ripper" wrote in message ... Hi the I'm new here and thought I should introduce myself. My husband and I are getting ready to overhaul our backyard, and he really wants a pond. That's okay with me, so I'd like to hear from any of you that would like to offer advice to a beginner in Zone 3. We're pretty handy and avid gardeners. Any sites that have info you recommend reading? Any things I mustn't forget? We'd like to have fish eventually (we breed cichlids indoors) and we'd like to have some water movement or a small waterfall. Thanks, Cynthia |
#9
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Pond Newbie
John Hines wrote: Jacquard_The_Ripper wrote: I'm new here and thought I should introduce myself. My husband and I are getting ready to overhaul our backyard, and he really wants a pond. That's okay with me, so I'd like to hear from any of you that would like to offer advice to a beginner in Zone 3. Dig deep. Winters are going to be your problem, says john here in zone 5, who has struggled for a couple of years, keeping the pond going over the winter. in z 3 i would go 5 - 6 ft deep in at least one quarter of the pond if not more to keep an area ice free and warmer for the fish -- John Rutz Z5 New Mexico never miss a good oportunity to shut up see my pond at: http://www.fuerjefe.com |
#10
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Pond Newbie
seriously, seriously consider designing a greenhouse over the pond right from the get
go. You will want to bring the fish inside before the water temp drops below 55oF as that is when their immune system stops functioning effectively. And once they are warm inside you cannot take them out and dump them into a cold pond either. So the water is going to have to be somewhere around 60-65oF even if you keep the koi in the basement. I have a greenhouse arrangement over my koi pond in zone 5. The pond is 4 feet deep, but 1.5 feet above ground level (not good for keeping the warmth in). I started feeding around April 15 when the water is above 55oF. I quit feeding around Oct 8th when the temp drops below 55oF. A greenhouse is going to get you more time to sit by the pond and enjoy, and going to warm that water up faster. Ingrid (Jacquard_The_Ripper) wrote: LOL yes, we figured that. We think we can leave the fish out from May until October, and then they can come inside. And yes, we know it has to be deep. We were thinking roughly 8' by 12' and about 5' deep at the deepest. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List http://puregold.aquaria.net/ www.drsolo.com Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make. |
#11
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Pond Newbie
Do you have a picture of this set up?
-- LN in NH (new gardener in zone 5) photos.yahoo.com/lns_obsessed wrote in message ... seriously, seriously consider designing a greenhouse over the pond right from the get go. You will want to bring the fish inside before the water temp drops below 55oF as that is when their immune system stops functioning effectively. And once they are warm inside you cannot take them out and dump them into a cold pond either. So the water is going to have to be somewhere around 60-65oF even if you keep the koi in the basement. I have a greenhouse arrangement over my koi pond in zone 5. The pond is 4 feet deep, but 1.5 feet above ground level (not good for keeping the warmth in). I started feeding around April 15 when the water is above 55oF. I quit feeding around Oct 8th when the temp drops below 55oF. A greenhouse is going to get you more time to sit by the pond and enjoy, and going to warm that water up faster. Ingrid |
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