Hi everyone,

I finally finished my pond on Sunday (my first one ever) its stats are as
follows :-

1000 litres (approx 220 UK gals) preformed pond
Aquamax 3500 pump
Hozelock Bioforce 1100 filter
Waterfall

I am off to buy plants this coming Sunday and unfortunately I am the sort of
person that will buy whatever the salesman tells me to buy. I've been
reading some of your posts over the last few weeks and wondered if you would
please give me some tips on the plants I need to buy also there are a few
posts about snails but although there was mention of people having bad
experiences with them they didn't go into detail -should I get some or steer
clear?

I only intend to keep small goldfish (is 5 about right) because I'm hoping
that frogs and newts will come to my pond in their own time.

Also please could you clarify if my filter is a bio-filter like the ones you
guys talk about or if the fact that mine has the word bio in the name is
just misleading.

Any hints and tips about how to look after my pond and what else I need to
buy for it would be very very appreciated.

Many thanks,
Jay

You are probably going to need a UK person to give you
the best answers on plants in your part of the world but a few marginal plants,
that grow with their feet in water and stems, leaves, reeds above water, an
aquatic lily and a couple underwater plants (all of it is underwater) would do
nicely.

Filters - if you look inside of it you should see some padding, a sheet of it,
or some coarse brushes. This would be the mechanical part of the filter. It
serves to remove large particles of gunk (fish waste, mud, plant debris) from
the water. It needs to be cleaned off once in a while.
The 'bio' part of it will be some kind of smaller media, strips of material,
funny looking balls, maybe sheets of stuff with larger holes in it, finer
looking stuff with rough edges. This is stuff that allows the bacteria to
colonize on it. The bacteria that takes the fish waste from ammonia and through
the nitrogen cycle. If it is working fine your pond will test zero for ammonia.

I would put in your new plants. Then wait two weeks. Then I would add three
fish. That way your filter will still be able to handle any frogs and newts who
show up later.


kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

Hi Jay,
Look up hardy water lilies, marginals, floating plants, aquatic plants
in general... Something to bear in mind is how easy are the plants to
cope with, take care to choose stuff that isnt likely to smother
everything and become a mess

Clue yourself up before you go, visit websites like Bennets waterlily
farm, Stapeley Water gardens to look over some plant descriptions and
advice on planting just so you have some idea of what you are letting
yourself in for. A trip to the library should provide some browsing
material, too

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html


I am off to buy plants this coming Sunday and unfortunately I am the sort of
person that will buy whatever the salesman tells me to buy. I've been
reading some of your posts over the last few weeks and wondered if you would
please give me some tips on the plants I need to buy also there are a few
posts about snails but although there was mention of people having bad
experiences with them they didn't go into detail -should I get some or steer
clear?

Hi Jay,
Look up hardy water lilies, marginals, floating plants, aquatic plants
in general... Something to bear in mind is how easy are the plants to
cope with, take care to choose stuff that isnt likely to smother
everything and become a mess

Clue yourself up before you go, visit websites like Bennets waterlily
farm, Stapeley Water gardens to look over some plant descriptions and
advice on planting just so you have some idea of what you are letting
yourself in for. A trip to the library should provide some browsing
material, too

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html


I am off to buy plants this coming Sunday and unfortunately I am the sort of
person that will buy whatever the salesman tells me to buy. I've been
reading some of your posts over the last few weeks and wondered if you would
please give me some tips on the plants I need to buy also there are a few
posts about snails but although there was mention of people having bad
experiences with them they didn't go into detail -should I get some or steer
clear?

Thanks for your tips Kathy and Andy,
Jay

"Jason Garner" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone,

I finally finished my pond on Sunday (my first one ever) its stats are as
follows :-

1000 litres (approx 220 UK gals) preformed pond
Aquamax 3500 pump
Hozelock Bioforce 1100 filter
Waterfall

I am off to buy plants this coming Sunday and unfortunately I am the sort
of
person that will buy whatever the salesman tells me to buy. I've been
reading some of your posts over the last few weeks and wondered if you
would
please give me some tips on the plants I need to buy also there are a few
posts about snails but although there was mention of people having bad
experiences with them they didn't go into detail -should I get some or
steer
clear?

I only intend to keep small goldfish (is 5 about right) because I'm hoping
that frogs and newts will come to my pond in their own time.

Also please could you clarify if my filter is a bio-filter like the ones
you
guys talk about or if the fact that mine has the word bio in the name is
just misleading.

Any hints and tips about how to look after my pond and what else I need to
buy for it would be very very appreciated.

Many thanks,
Jay

Hi Jay,
Look up hardy water lilies, marginals, floating plants, aquatic plants
in general... Something to bear in mind is how easy are the plants to
cope with, take care to choose stuff that isnt likely to smother
everything and become a mess

Clue yourself up before you go, visit websites like Bennets waterlily
farm, Stapeley Water gardens to look over some plant descriptions and
advice on planting just so you have some idea of what you are letting
yourself in for. A trip to the library should provide some browsing
material, too

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html


I am off to buy plants this coming Sunday and unfortunately I am the sort of
person that will buy whatever the salesman tells me to buy. I've been
reading some of your posts over the last few weeks and wondered if you would
please give me some tips on the plants I need to buy also there are a few
posts about snails but although there was mention of people having bad
experiences with them they didn't go into detail -should I get some or steer
clear?

Hi Jay,
Look up hardy water lilies, marginals, floating plants, aquatic plants
in general... Something to bear in mind is how easy are the plants to
cope with, take care to choose stuff that isnt likely to smother
everything and become a mess

Clue yourself up before you go, visit websites like Bennets waterlily
farm, Stapeley Water gardens to look over some plant descriptions and
advice on planting just so you have some idea of what you are letting
yourself in for. A trip to the library should provide some browsing
material, too

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html


I am off to buy plants this coming Sunday and unfortunately I am the sort of
person that will buy whatever the salesman tells me to buy. I've been
reading some of your posts over the last few weeks and wondered if you would
please give me some tips on the plants I need to buy also there are a few
posts about snails but although there was mention of people having bad
experiences with them they didn't go into detail -should I get some or steer
clear?

Thanks for your tips Kathy and Andy,
Jay

"Jason Garner" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone,

I finally finished my pond on Sunday (my first one ever) its stats are as
follows :-

1000 litres (approx 220 UK gals) preformed pond
Aquamax 3500 pump
Hozelock Bioforce 1100 filter
Waterfall

I am off to buy plants this coming Sunday and unfortunately I am the sort
of
person that will buy whatever the salesman tells me to buy. I've been
reading some of your posts over the last few weeks and wondered if you
would
please give me some tips on the plants I need to buy also there are a few
posts about snails but although there was mention of people having bad
experiences with them they didn't go into detail -should I get some or
steer
clear?

I only intend to keep small goldfish (is 5 about right) because I'm hoping
that frogs and newts will come to my pond in their own time.

Also please could you clarify if my filter is a bio-filter like the ones
you
guys talk about or if the fact that mine has the word bio in the name is
just misleading.

Any hints and tips about how to look after my pond and what else I need to
buy for it would be very very appreciated.

Many thanks,
Jay