Fresh2o's "Pond"

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Fresh2o

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jun 9, 2012
Messages
12,862
Location
Northern Virginia
Underneath this foliage is a pond.
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Here it is after clearing out foliage. "Pond" is a generous term. More like a water feature. 50 gallons plus a 10 gallon spillway. 500 gph pump and external down flow filter:
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In the summer water lettuce would grow and suffocate the pond. Here is about a weeks worth of growth:
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I had goldfish in here once but a raccoon had big meal one night. The last few years I kept some rosy red minnows and mosquito fish. They did fine the first winter. However, this last one was brutal:
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I have a surface heater (not pictured) but it would barely keep up.

Fast forward to now: I see one female mosquito fish in there. Will be adding more. Since the weather has warmed up I have been placing extra plants in there: AR, AR mini, broadleaf chain sword, dwarf sag, Bacopa caroliniana, and Staurogynes repens. It will be interesting to see how they do. The ones near the surface are showing signs of bleaching from direct sunlight. Some plants have been weighted down.
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Last year I put some dwarf sag in a clay pot with soil and gravel. It grew and multiplied into a carpet:
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It even sent up a flower:
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Thanks for reading! Will post updates.
 
Update on the pond. The spider wort surrounding the pond is taking over. I plan to trim in back when the blooms cease.
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The AR and AR mini aren't really growing but aren't dying either; maybe I will give it more time. Same goes for the star repens. The broadleaf chain sword is taking on a new form: shorter, wider leaves. Probably a response to the intense direct sun it gets. The lily and lotus leaves will take over in the next month or so. Will be interesting to see how the plants adjust to that.
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Still thinking about putting guppies in there. But there is one large female mosquito fish from previous seasons. Not sure how the guppies will fare with her in there. Might just go get more mosquito fish from the local nursery.
 
Dwarf sag sending up more flowers and a pair of different shaped leaves. Instead of the typical strap like leaves, these have a narrow stem terminating in an elongated oval or lancet shape leaf. Perhaps this is the emerged form
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The Lilly and lotus leaves are starting to fill in. Stopped by the nursery this past weekend looking for mosquito fish and they said to check back in a few days.
 
Thanks. I enjoy both!
Funny thing about gardening...indoors I fretted over an $80 regulator or light fixture for months but seem to have no problem dropping that much or a lot more at a nursery buying plants, soil, etc in a weekend. Not so much with keeping up with the Jones' but I want to have a nice looking yard. Lots of colors and varieties. It's where I spend my time when not working. Plus, people see it. No one sees my tanks/pond except you guys.
I am excited to see what happens with the dwarf sag. As for the other plants, I need to keep in mind that they were in cushy 80 degree tank with ferts. Now they have much stronger lighting with fluctuating temps, questionable ferts and no injected CO2.
 
No need to get more mosquito fish! I took a peek at the pond this afternoon and saw a batch of babies at the surface. I might pick up more just to infuse the gene pool. Now I can try out the variety of foods I got from mudraker; I am certain they will love it.
No pics yet (I always get nervous about dropping my phone in the pond).
 
You need a new Samsung s5! 16 mp cam and it's waterproof ha ha

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You need a new Samsung s5! 16 mp cam and it's waterproof ha ha

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app


That certainly would be nice.
Less than an hour after my last post I have filled two carts with plants from the nursery. I will be doing some digging tomorrow.
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I don't have MTS but I make up for it in other ways.
 
Yes. Diversion from MTS. lol

Oh yeah! Now we're talking! Our beds are at their spring peak right now. In fact Donna is shopping for some more perennials as we speak. Here's our latest project. Shrubs in, now putting in bed plants. Helps satisfy my multiple tank syndrome also. Back on topic. Do you have any of the little Ammania bonsai in the pond? Would be interesting to see how it grows & shapes outside. OS.
 

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Man, I wish I had a pond. Looks super cool and a great place to store extra plants. Lol.


It's not really that big (50-60 g main tank, 10-15 g upper tank). But it does allow an extra space for plants. The fish are in there mostly for mosquito control. When the lilies and lotus bloom it is quite a sight. It attracts birds, dragonflies, bees, and butterflies.

In the 90s I built a 10'x12' pond at my folks house. Guessing it was 10-15k gallons. Had a 100g up flow DIY bio filter and goldfish and koi in there. I think the people who bought their house filled up the pond :(
 
I built a "cage" around the pot of dwarf sag to keep the water lily and lotus pads from smothering it:
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Here is a close up of the dwarf sag. A few leaves are going through the transition upon which the length of the strap like leaf becomes narrower and the tip become broad. The direct sun has given them a reddish hue (can't tell from the pics though). I wonder if these leaves will be held out above the water's surface like larger Sagittaria species or simply just float. Flowers are still being produced. The cage also allows some light to get to the other plants I added (AR, AR mini, broadleaf chain sword, star repens).
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Looking good man!! Get some quality ground time in this long weekend?? I neglected my tanks as I was galavanting around cape cod.. they forgave me though...

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Looking good man!! Get some quality ground time in this long weekend?? I neglected my tanks as I was galavanting around cape cod.. they forgave me though...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app


You bet! Wife wanted some color to the side of the yard so we picked out some plants and I spent time digging holes, mixing in some new garden soil and compost, planting and watering. Also power washed the sheds, cleaned the gutters, and went to the landfill. So sore. Spent about 20 min on the fish tanks total. They are pretty much on auto pilot anyhow.
Did not get away this weekend. Traffic around the nation's capital and the I-95 corridor is a pita on weekends, especially around holidays.
Cape Cod sounds nice. Will be entertaining the outer banks of NC this summer. Can't wait!
 
Sounds like yiu guys got a good thing going over there.. i need the yard abd i know i could sell my gf on a nice small 20k gallon pond with water fall.. Outer banks huh? Fishing trip?

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A pond that size with the right features would make a great landscape addition.
Just a lot of labor/$ to get that going.
Been renting a house in OBX for the last 20+ years. Family vacation. Opportunity to fish, kayak, bike, drink, relax, drink, kite flying, collect shells, paddle board, eat fresh seafood, do nothing, drink.
 
Haha awesome.. sounds like you got your priorities down;) I seriously though. I'd be very happy with 300-400 gallons and all the plants like yours.. it'd be tough in new England though I'm guessing.. the winters are usually brutal. .

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Just an update on the dwarf sag:
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Seeing more transformed leaves, some of which are held vertically out of the water. Numerous bud and flowers. I planted this last August in heavy soils and pea gravel with no ferts. Figure it was time to add some so I added 4 Aqua Fertz Phosphate root pellets and 2 AF Iron root pellets. Hope this helps with overall growth with this plant.
Also pictured is AR or AR mini with bright green leaves and dark red new growth. Not sure how this is going to do. Fluctuating temperatures, ample light but limited (as far as I can tell) ferts and CO2. Te will tell.
 
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