goatnad
Aquarium Advice FINatic
so i started this pond probably 3 years ago and never finished it because of financial issues. well now im back on my feet and ready to finish it. a few weeks ago i moved my inside turtle out to this pond but soon noticed that the water seemed to drop or drain pretty quickly. around a foot every week. i knew something was up and figured it was a leak/leaks since i never finished sealing the pond. inside the turtle goes again...
im back at it and ready to get this thing done and have a beautiful space out back to go sit and relax. i found all the places that water was draining out so yesterday i got out with some hydraulic concrete and fixed all the holes. today i got out and sealed what i could of the pond while i wait for the spots i fixed to dry. tomorrow i should be able to paint over the fixes and do a second coat of sealant. i also went to a local rock garden store and grabbed a piece of slate i plan on using for the border of the pond and i have to say i like it. tomorrow i will probably go and grab a few rocks to use for the waterfall area and see how well they match up to the slate. after that i will be tinting my sealant and do my second coat.
i am going to be doing a section behind the pond as a aquaponics test area to possibly grow tomatoes, bell peppers and whatever else comes to mind if it works out. if not i will just put some semi-aquatic plants in to use up the space.
now on to the questions....
first question is what would you guys stock this pond with?
options:
koi
goldfish
native fish from a local fish hatchery(sunfish, 1 bass, mosquito minnows, black stripe top minnows, my turtle and possible 1 or 2 other turtles)
im open to other options for stocking but all i ever see is people using koi and goldfish. also i do have an overflow drain and all though i do have it setup so more than likely no fish fry could get out i dont want to possibly be releasing nonnative fish as i do live only 1/2-3/4 of a mile from a large river and alot of your runoff drains do lead to said river. this pond is 1300 gallons and once i get everything done on it it will probably end up around 1400 gallons.
question 2:
this is again about stocking but about plant stocking. i do have a few local plant species i could use and will be but i would like some other recommendations that might work. im looking for plants that would do well at a depth of 2'-2 1/2 that get full sunlight for about 6-8 hours a day.
i will post more pics and info over the next few days.
im back at it and ready to get this thing done and have a beautiful space out back to go sit and relax. i found all the places that water was draining out so yesterday i got out with some hydraulic concrete and fixed all the holes. today i got out and sealed what i could of the pond while i wait for the spots i fixed to dry. tomorrow i should be able to paint over the fixes and do a second coat of sealant. i also went to a local rock garden store and grabbed a piece of slate i plan on using for the border of the pond and i have to say i like it. tomorrow i will probably go and grab a few rocks to use for the waterfall area and see how well they match up to the slate. after that i will be tinting my sealant and do my second coat.
i am going to be doing a section behind the pond as a aquaponics test area to possibly grow tomatoes, bell peppers and whatever else comes to mind if it works out. if not i will just put some semi-aquatic plants in to use up the space.
now on to the questions....
first question is what would you guys stock this pond with?
options:
koi
goldfish
native fish from a local fish hatchery(sunfish, 1 bass, mosquito minnows, black stripe top minnows, my turtle and possible 1 or 2 other turtles)
im open to other options for stocking but all i ever see is people using koi and goldfish. also i do have an overflow drain and all though i do have it setup so more than likely no fish fry could get out i dont want to possibly be releasing nonnative fish as i do live only 1/2-3/4 of a mile from a large river and alot of your runoff drains do lead to said river. this pond is 1300 gallons and once i get everything done on it it will probably end up around 1400 gallons.
question 2:
this is again about stocking but about plant stocking. i do have a few local plant species i could use and will be but i would like some other recommendations that might work. im looking for plants that would do well at a depth of 2'-2 1/2 that get full sunlight for about 6-8 hours a day.
i will post more pics and info over the next few days.