any pond keepers on here (1 Viewer)

[chrisgreen]

having recently built a pond,(1000 gallon)was just wondering if there any other pond or fish keepers on here
just stocked my pond with comets, and a couple of koi.
fitted a bio filter and a uv clarifier about three weeks ago.
water seem fine been checking about every three day's while the bio filter got going,so all good:thumb:

 

[jonandshell]

Hi Chris

We have an 8000 litre koi pond.
We have had mixed success with ours. Last year was bad for the fish. The changing temperatures past spring wreaked havoc with the filter and the fish's immune systems.
This year has been good with only a bit of blanket weed to contend with.

Overall though, it's a nice hobby and fun to watch the fish grow over the years. It's nice unwind after work by sitting by the pond with a glass of wine while giving them somedinner!

 

[chrisgreen]

Hi Chris

We have an 8000 litre koi pond.
We have had mixed success with ours. Last year was bad for the fish. The changing temperatures past spring wreaked havoc with the filter and the fish's immune systems.
This year has been good with only a bit of blanket weed to contend with.

Overall though, it's a nice hobby and fun to watch the fish grow over the years. It's nice unwind after work by sitting by the pond with a glass of wine while giving them somedinner!

i always wanted a pond,but with kids,and dogs that loved water it was never possible but the 2 mutts(dogs not kids) i have now hate water so i decided to build one,as you say its a good hobby watching the fish feeding.
i was never going to bother with koi as they do need a bit more looking after,but i was in the shop and the two i got was on end of season offer,so i thought why not
i went for a pressurised bio filter with its own built in pump at 4500 lt hour so it does a full cycle every hour,seems to work well.
i find 90% of fish keeping is looking after the water,looking after the fish is the easy bit

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[dylan]

We have a small lake on site which we dug in 2002 which filled in 3 weeks due to the welsh rain ! In 2003 we put in common carp, in 3 different sizes, and 11 golden rudd. The otters had a lovely take away meal and ate most of the big ones but others have grown and bred every year. We now have so many golden rudd we couldn't count them from those original 11. The carp have bred and are now filling the lake. We have blue and yellow carp from those originals too. The kingfishers take so smaller fish but the heron stabs some with his large beak which leads to a dying fish. The otters have been back and had another meal but not so bad as last time.
On a sunny day its a wonderful time waster to sit beside the water and watch the birds diving over the surface, the dragon flies buzzing about and throwing the fish pellets and bread which they hungrily gobble up in a splashing frenzy. At dusk the bats take to skimming the water surface either for a drink or eating the insects. Always something happening as badgers and foxes drink from the water too.
I hope you enjoy your pond as much as we do

 

[chrisgreen]

We have a small lake on site which we dug in 2002 which filled in 3 weeks due to the welsh rain ! In 2003 we put in common carp, in 3 different sizes, and 11 golden rudd. The otters had a lovely take away meal and ate most of the big ones but others have grown and bred every year. We now have so many golden rudd we couldn't count them from those original 11. The carp have bred and are now filling the lake. We have blue and yellow carp from those originals too. The kingfishers take so smaller fish but the heron stabs some with his large beak which leads to a dying fish. The otters have been back and had another meal but not so bad as last time.
On a sunny day its a wonderful time waster to sit beside the water and watch the birds diving over the surface, the dragon flies buzzing about and throwing the fish pellets and bread which they hungrily gobble up in a splashing frenzy. At dusk the bats take to skimming the water surface either for a drink or eating the insects. Always something happening as badgers and foxes drink from the water too.
I hope you enjoy your pond as much as we do

sounds fantastic:thumb:

 

[JOHNSTEY]

We had 13 fish of mixed pedigree until one fine day along came a Heron with an appetite and that was that!:Angry: Are you going to net to protect your fish?

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[dylan]

Well we like it and campers seem to enjoy it too. As you say not for kids. Love the water lilys too which have been beautiful this year and they still have some huge flowers on now

 

[chrisgreen]

We had 13 fish of mixed pedigree until one fine day along came a Heron with an appetite and that was that!:Angry: Are you going to net to protect your fish?

oh yes:thumb:
my sister had a pond full of golden orfe,a cat took the lot,at BIL lost heart and filled the pond in:Sad:

 

[novawight]

We have a small lake on site which we dug in 2002 which filled in 3 weeks due to the welsh rain ! In 2003 we put in common carp, in 3 different sizes, and 11 golden rudd. The otters had a lovely take away meal and ate most of the big ones but others have grown and bred every year. We now have so many golden rudd we couldn't count them from those original 11. The carp have bred and are now filling the lake. We have blue and yellow carp from those originals too. The kingfishers take so smaller fish but the heron stabs some with his large beak which leads to a dying fish. The otters have been back and had another meal but not so bad as last time.
On a sunny day its a wonderful time waster to sit beside the water and watch the birds diving over the surface, the dragon flies buzzing about and throwing the fish pellets and bread which they hungrily gobble up in a splashing frenzy. At dusk the bats take to skimming the water surface either for a drink or eating the insects. Always something happening as badgers and foxes drink from the water too.
I hope you enjoy your pond as much as we do

Don,nt get that much activity around our goldfish bowl

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[B-well]

I have small garden pond Nr Hythe Kent moved fish from previous house as they belonged to the children, Golden carp and a nice tench from canal. children all grown up left the nest fish all breeding very well however Heron has managed a few this year. Net out but he is still walking around. I understand Herons do return once they have a food source. Also been told they DO NOT like seeing there own reflection so would a mirror or silver foil or even dvd discs distract them ?

 

[sedge]

You know the Heron garden ornaments? well providing you get a proper life size one, and the passing heron can see it, he won't land.

The only thing is, they are a bit like gnomes aren't they? ie do you really want to decorate your pond with a plastic/ fibregalss figure?

Depend whether you want to keep your fish or not!

And also, cats. Not yours you don't have one. But you will probably find they're attracted to your garden.

Then there are frogs which suffocate fish and all sorts of other things .... and who will feed em, oxygenate them etc when you b.. off in your motorhome?

Beautiful, don't get me wrong, but they can be hard work!

 

[jonandshell]

Your design of pond can help deter Herons.
Ours is 8 feet square and 5 feet staight down!

A heron can't reach that deep and the fish can stay deep down out of harm's way.:thumb:

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[chrisgreen]

You know the Heron garden ornaments? well providing you get a proper life size one, and the passing heron can see it, he won't land.

The only thing is, they are a bit like gnomes aren't they? ie do you really want to decorate your pond with a plastic/ fibregalss figure?

Depend whether you want to keep your fish or not!

And also, cats. Not yours you don't have one. But you will probably find they're attracted to your garden.

Then there are frogs which suffocate fish and all sorts of other things .... and who will feed em, oxygenate them etc when you b.. off in your motorhome?

Beautiful, don't get me wrong, but they can be hard work!

lots of good points:thumb:
the pond i have is a raised pond within a patio area and herons like to have somewere to land and be able to walk into the water without jumping up even though they can jump up, i an reliable informed the the plastic heron's dont work so wont be going down that road,there are no cats in my village at all,as for feeding them when away i have family that will feed them the same as they feed the dogs when we are away,frogs??? i will cross that bridge if they become a problem, as i said its a raised pond 3ft deep 2ft high and will be slightly heated in the colder weather:thumb:

 

[jonandshell]

Ours is also raised by 2 feet, it probably helps with heron prevention as you suggest.

 

[schojac]

Constructed our pond some 22 years ago, approx 1200 gallons. I have two deterents for our friendly heron: 5 feet straight down, baskets are wired and hung from the paved edge and a very inobstrusive fence made from metal garden poles and fine fishing line. Never had any issues with preditors for many years. I hate netted ponds as I feel it takes away the pleasure. Many of the fish were born in the pond. How do you know the pond is working? - clear water, fine green matt of algae growing on the liner, three year cleaning programme to remove excess detritus and absolute joy for all. We too have a four year old who is fully aware of the rules and never allowed access without attendant adult.

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[pappajohn]

I have a 4mtr x 1mtr x 1.6mtr deep inspection pit in the garage which fills with water.....does that count ?

 

[chrisgreen]

just been out and cleaned out my pond filter,the flow rate was starting to slow down so needed to wash the filter media out with clean pond water but i must say the water is crystal clear,so the filter and uv filter are doing thier job and checked water PH,nh2,nh3, all spot on, all chemical tests,fish look healthy, a little slow but thats the water temp dropping.:thumb:
just trying to warm my hands back up, that is cold out there

 

[old-mo]

Had a very large Koi pond at one of the places we lived in...

Too much trouble especially when we went away.... sold all the fish and gear for about 2K, £`s...

There were about 20 fish and the biggest was about 18", and the smallest about a foot long...

Learnt after, I could have got a few hundred quid for each fish and as much for all the gear...

We have inherited two ponds where we are going to live.... But I am going to have a large pond dug in the paddock....

Cos I want to get some "Ducks".... oh:

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[Stephen & Jeannie]

I'm hooked !!

We have a small lake on site which we dug in 2002 which filled in 3 weeks due to the welsh rain ! In 2003 we put in common carp, in 3 different sizes, and 11 golden rudd. The otters had a lovely take away meal and ate most of the big ones but others have grown and bred every year. We now have so many golden rudd we couldn't count them from those original 11. The carp have bred and are now filling the lake. We have blue and yellow carp from those originals too. The kingfishers take so smaller fish but the heron stabs some with his large beak which leads to a dying fish. The otters have been back and had another meal but not so bad as last time.
On a sunny day its a wonderful time waster to sit beside the water and watch the birds diving over the surface, the dragon flies buzzing about and throwing the fish pellets and bread which they hungrily gobble up in a splashing frenzy. At dusk the bats take to skimming the water surface either for a drink or eating the insects. Always something happening as badgers and foxes drink from the water too.
I hope you enjoy your pond as much as we do

Great piece of subliminal advertising !:thumb:..You are now on my list of places to visit next year !

 

[Popeye]

Had a very large Koi pond at one of the places we lived in...
Too much trouble especially when we went away.... sold all the fish and gear for about 2K, £`s...
We have inherited two ponds where we are going to live.... [HI]But I am going to have a large pond dug in the paddock....

Cos I want to get some "Ducks"[/HI].... oh:

Do I get an invite to the shoot then Mo, Duck.............tasty..........very very tasty :thumb:

 

[old-mo]

Do I get an invite to the shoot then Mo, Duck.............tasty..........very very tasty :thumb:

You wouldn`t shoot my ickle ducksy`s...

Would you ... ? :Sad::Angry:

Only ever eaten duck once...................... and thought it was to fatty.."Yuk"... :Blush:

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[dylan]

Funny my ducks don't like going on the big pond much, we think they don't like the fish round their feet. Strange !

 

[Terry]

You wouldn`t shoot my ickle ducksy`s...

Would you ... ? :Sad::Angry:

Only ever eaten duck once...................... and thought it was to fatty.."Yuk"... :Blush:

I quite like Crispy duck from Iceland or Morry's :thumb:TOO tight to pay Chinese prices though
terry

 

[rangi]

Careful Mooh: I swapped a black Ram for 6 Muscovies I ended up with 69 of the flamin' things.
"Lenin" the Drake, never stopped having his wicked way, and generally in front of guests etcoh:

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[malheg]

Fish Pond

We have pond around 700g stocked with Goldfish,Comets and Shubunkins.
Never bothered with Koi as they grow to large.
We have Herons in neigbourhood but not been a problem or cats.
Nice to sit out and relax and feeg the fish.
Malc

 

[smudger]

having recently built a pond,(1000 gallon)was just wondering if there any other pond or fish keepers on here
just stocked my pond with comets, and a couple of koi.
fitted a bio filter and a uv clarifier about three weeks ago.
water seem fine been checking about every three day's while the bio filter got going,so all good:thumb:

ask jj , chris,... he has one but calls it a swimming pool.

 

[gpz]

koi pond

we have a koi only pond which is 3500 gallons 6ft straight down never had any trouble with herons they do not like to step down but we put up a pergola and never seen any herons must admit koi are hard work we have lost 3 of our best koi this year with the changeable weather which is heartbreaking biggest one was in excess off 2 foot and would come to the water surface and take pellets out off your hand what a wonderfull hobby but very time consuming

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[Minxy]

I have a 4mtr x 1mtr x 1.6mtr deep inspection pit in the garage which fills with water.....does that count ?

Well, we do! When we moved into our bungalow we had a 20ft square brick garage stuck right in the middle of the back garden, no idea why! Anyway, we instead put up a couple of single prefab concrete ones on the side drive (with a carport in between) so knocked the brick one down (hubby was nearly in tears!). The brick garage had a large inspection pit which so we filled the bottom half with rubble, earth, sand etc, then lined it and put a strong pond liner in it and it's been a nice pond ever since, we left the garage base too with a small wall round it and now have a nice secluded patio/bbq area.

We also have a pond which the previous owners built which we put a load of fish in and had watched them grow from little tiddlers to mature adults and start to breed. Then when we had a heat wave a good few years ago we lost all but 1 of them, we did re-stock but found it was too much hassle to look after them and having to have others come in to feed them every day when we were away wasn't ideal, so we gave them all away a few years ago (when we were trying to sell the bungalow) and haven't bothered getting any more. The benefit is, though, that the water lilies in the ponds are beautiful now and we actually have newts - absolutely lovely creatures! :thumb:

In the past when we had fish we used to have a heron on occasion and he got a few but not too many fortunately. We have always, though, had a bit of a problem with ducks!!! There's a very large lake nearby in the grounds of one of the University's halls of residence and for some reason this particular pair of ducks like our tiddling little pond (must be shy! :Blush. They make a heck of a mess and this year laid an egg!!!!! We had no choice though to chase them away so the dogs didn't get them so we're hoping they won't come back again.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Be carefully certain newts are endangered species,and by handelling them you can get a substantiall fine.if some of them have a dinosaur type frill down there back they are great crested newts and as such you should contact the environment agency. They are a protected species and much more valuable for your pond than a few fish!

 

[Minxy]

Be carefully certain newts are endangered species,and by handelling them you can get a substantiall fine.if some of them have a dinosaur type frill down there back they are great crested newts and as such you should contact the environment agency. They are a protected species and much more valuable for your pond than a few fish!

Yup, know all about that, we used to have greater crested newts in a pond many, many years ago - lovely things - we had our own 'football team' of them!!!

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