I don't know, but I miss it all winter long!!
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Any "garden pond" specialist on here?
- Thread starter lftd&pwrstrok'n
- Start date
I don't know, but I miss it all winter long!!
I have had a 300 gal horse trough fish pond for 7 years. I'm still a complete amateur. My water is pea soup green right now. I get an algae bloom every year.
- For a 2 trough system, I recommend keeping them at the same level and using a syphon tube to connect them. Pumps and fittings fail. They usually fail while you're out of town. Remove the possibility of a total drain.
- Chlorine will dissipate but many places also use Chloramines. They do not dissipate. You have to use an additive from a pond store (or Amazon) to remove them.
Other notes:
- If you overload with fish, you need a beefy filtration system. I've been trying the natural plant based filtration with just 5 fish and it ain't easy.
- An area with full sun is best. Getting shade plants to grow enough to clear up the water is tough.
- Be wary of pond store experts. I use Randy's (http://randysnursery.com/) and even their advice is hit and miss.
- I recommend buying fish at Randy's or a place like it. Fish are much higher quality than what you get at Petco. Petco goldfish are meant to be feeders for other pets.
- I recommend goldfish. They're tough.
- Predators will be a problem. A couple fish disappear every spring/fall. Providing cover helps. Lilly pads and some milk crates with rocks over them work well. The fancy fat goldfish are too slow, they don't last.
Edit to Add - The clearest I ever kept my water was when it was under my deck. Zero direct sunlight. It also had zero plants so it was boring though.
- For a 2 trough system, I recommend keeping them at the same level and using a syphon tube to connect them. Pumps and fittings fail. They usually fail while you're out of town. Remove the possibility of a total drain.
- Chlorine will dissipate but many places also use Chloramines. They do not dissipate. You have to use an additive from a pond store (or Amazon) to remove them.
Other notes:
- If you overload with fish, you need a beefy filtration system. I've been trying the natural plant based filtration with just 5 fish and it ain't easy.
- An area with full sun is best. Getting shade plants to grow enough to clear up the water is tough.
- Be wary of pond store experts. I use Randy's (http://randysnursery.com/) and even their advice is hit and miss.
- I recommend buying fish at Randy's or a place like it. Fish are much higher quality than what you get at Petco. Petco goldfish are meant to be feeders for other pets.
- I recommend goldfish. They're tough.
- Predators will be a problem. A couple fish disappear every spring/fall. Providing cover helps. Lilly pads and some milk crates with rocks over them work well. The fancy fat goldfish are too slow, they don't last.
Edit to Add - The clearest I ever kept my water was when it was under my deck. Zero direct sunlight. It also had zero plants so it was boring though.
