Tropical Fish Forum

Tropical Fish Keeping => Gallery Showcase => Topic started by: Matt on June 23, 2018, 07:11:12 PM

Title: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on June 23, 2018, 07:11:12 PM
Progress photos of building my pond and cascade/waterfall.

It's a 500 litre, massively overfiltered. The Oase filter is burried in the ground and has an easy maintenance feature so you can squeeze the sponges without opening the filter at all. I can divert the dirty water to the veg patch  :))

What isn't in the photos is all the wiring which took an afternoon too!

I need to finish the back section, finish hiding the plumbing, check for any leaks on the cascade, siphon the bottom of the pond to get rid of any soil etc that's fallen in as I've got along. Then it's ready for the fish!

Not sure what else I should tell you about...  I'm shattered!
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Helen on June 23, 2018, 10:10:49 PM
Another beautiful aquatic project @Matt .

The planting and rock settings are really nice too.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: TopCookie on June 23, 2018, 10:48:40 PM
Looking good already there Matt...!!!  What are your plans fish & plant wise etc...?
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on June 23, 2018, 11:27:56 PM
Afraid I'm not yet well versed on pond plants though I have hornwort as an oxygenator in there from my tropical tanks. I have a dwarf Lilly... and some other plants!    :-[

The yellow plant creeping over the rocks is sold as a pond plant so that sort of counts too though that was there pre pond. Actually I've just realised I could pot some of this up in the spare pot I have.
 I have some  Lysimachia nummularia in the shrimp tank which once it's grown enough I can pot some up for the pond too.  I also wouldnt mind putting some chives in as well... these are sold as a pont plant often as well... hhmmm there's a little plan forming here!

I am planning to stock comet goldfish (mini koi pond look) and gudgeons (bottom feeder).  :fishy1:
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: daveyng on June 23, 2018, 11:50:16 PM
Well done Matt, that’s a good looking pond. What sort of turnover are you getting from your pump ? I am assuming the output from the filter is running back through the cascade ? I like the pressurised bio filters they can certainly handle a large bio load and their quite compact.  Mine has the sponge squeezing feature. They should do mini ones for aquariums. Fish choice sounds good as does the planting. You’ll be seeing dragonflies soon and probably frogs as the pond will be easily accessible for them.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Littlefish on June 24, 2018, 09:33:55 AM
Holy Pants Batman! There's no stopping you at the moment.
That pond looks like to took a massive amount of hard work, and looks chuffing awesome.  :afro
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: TopCookie on June 24, 2018, 11:34:18 AM
Beautiful little fish Gudgeons...  Great choices Matt...  :)
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: fcmf on June 24, 2018, 12:12:33 PM
This is beyond exciting...  :cheers:  :fishy1:   8)
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: TopCookie on June 24, 2018, 12:16:16 PM
These guys are making me want a pond now...  that's definitely one up from MTS...   :D
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: daveyng on June 24, 2018, 01:06:24 PM
It’s MPG (maximum ponds per garden) !!!!
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on June 24, 2018, 08:34:50 PM
 :rotfl:

I have fish in there and the background finished.  :))

Problem is I have a leaky waterfall... one for me to dress in the week/at the weekend once the silicone I've ordered has arrived. :vcross:

Work took over this afternoon... but ill post a photo later tonight / tomorrow.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on June 24, 2018, 10:23:52 PM
Voila.  :fishy1:
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Littlefish on June 24, 2018, 10:35:49 PM
That looks fantastic.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: TopCookie on June 24, 2018, 10:39:15 PM
I can only echo Donna's statement...  Pond's looking superb already Matt, and will look even better still once the plants become a bit more established...  :)
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: daveyng on June 24, 2018, 10:42:46 PM
Pond will look really good with planting around it . The cobble / rockwork is really effective. Be good to have a few more pics when the cascade is up and going.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Rustle on June 25, 2018, 05:29:29 AM
Looks great matt  :cheers:  I been thinking about a pond too lately but nothing as elaborate as your's mind. I have been looking at the free standing rattan ones.

I wonder if i can be cheeky and ask what outside power supply are you using for your pump. I been looking at a blagdon powersafe unit.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on June 25, 2018, 06:10:43 AM
A blagdon powersafe! Despite my home electrics being on RCDs I have installed an additional RCD on the feed to be extra safe. Then armoured cabling from an orange DIY store which for once worked out cheapest  ;)
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Rustle on June 25, 2018, 07:20:50 AM
Thanks matt  :) i was planning on doing the same because if it trips it won't then knockout all the downstairs ring main.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Helen on June 25, 2018, 09:54:22 AM
An additional RCD will only stop your house circuit from tripping out if it has a shorter / lower setting so that it trips first.

I don't know how easy it is to by plug in RCDs that have variable settings.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: daveyng on July 09, 2018, 10:40:42 PM
Just wondering what the temperature of your Pond is during this hot weather. I’m struggling to keep mine below 25 C.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Rustle on July 10, 2018, 05:10:09 AM
@ Matt & Daveyng have you ever seen these before i think they are amazing & hopefully when i get my pond set up next year i think i may invest in one.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ri3yIEqif8" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ri3yIEqif8</a>
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Littlefish on July 10, 2018, 11:26:55 AM
I love those things, I enjoy being able to see the fish like that.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on July 10, 2018, 09:10:26 PM
I will need my fish to get less shy before i consider one of those. They are slowly getting more condifence... but i think thats due to surface cover... I love the idea of them I'm just not convinced they would use it... (he says talking like its a new bike for a toddler)  ???
 
Pond temperature tonight (after having the evening sun) is between 21.5 and 22 degrees.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: daveyng on July 10, 2018, 10:51:55 PM
I haven’t seen this particular item, but I have seen variations of it. They were mainly cuboid in shape and were placed on a frame in the pond. They looked rather cool as the Koi one does.
Title: Re: Matt's pondn
Post by: Matt on January 06, 2019, 09:14:25 PM
Unfortunately I have had news following the autumn leaf drop... the pond collected a huge amount of leaves this autumn and over time as these rotted in the pond the oxygen levels must have got lower and lower. I returned from a trip to see a cat staring into the pond... I chased it away immediately (as I always do when they are in my garden) and noticed a comet lying sideways at the surface barely moving. It had suffered with a fungal infection soon after purchase and I assume this was affecting it somehow, then I noticed another fish gasping near the surface. This is when I new something was wrong. Panic set in and I filled a plastic tub and rescued the fish into it... drained the pond, cleared out all the leaves (after realising the problem) and refilled all the while watching the fish recover quickly in the oxygen rich water from the tap (dechlotinator of course). Photo of some probably slightly dazed but much healthier fish in their temporary home below.

Both gudgeons unfortunately passed. As bottom dwellers they must have been the first to go.  :'( I had not seem them since they were introduced (and so they will not be replaced in summer) and so their passing went unnoticed as well unfortunately.

Needless to say the next weekend I went and bought a big pond net and have had a couple of sessions fishing out leaves since to keep on top of things.

What's good is the water clarity is also vastly improved and so I'm seeing more of the fish so I'm using this as an easy motivation to keep on top of things going forwards. I could of course use a net which I may still try next year, I just think they look so ugly though... so manual removal may be my preferred option.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: fcmf on January 07, 2019, 03:02:57 PM
Sorry about the sad news but well done for identifying and acting on the source of the problem as soon as you realised something was up and for working out a plan for the future. Thanks for allowing us to see your lovely goldfish - I have a very soft spot for goldfish as you know.  :D
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on March 09, 2019, 09:12:18 PM
Amorous froggies...
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: fcmf on March 09, 2019, 09:51:15 PM
Indeed! Keep us posted of any developments.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Littlefish on March 09, 2019, 10:18:34 PM
Gosh, those frogs have been quite busy.  :o

Who doesn't love a pond full of tadpoles though, and I hope to see lots of pictures of them as they develop.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Kwhite on March 15, 2019, 10:57:02 PM
Hi Matt

Your pond is amazing :)
Our pond is full of frog spawn.... it's lovely when it's full of tadpoles  :)
our decking overlooks the pond and i love sitting out watching the fish and frogs with a cold one in the summer ;D
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on June 26, 2019, 12:05:19 PM
Pond froggies!
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: fcmf on June 26, 2019, 08:36:27 PM
 8)
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Littlefish on June 27, 2019, 01:03:04 PM
So cute.  ;D
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on February 15, 2023, 08:27:22 PM
@fcmf I thought you might be interested to see this thread after discussions elsewhere so thought I would post this here…

A quick update copied from the other thread…I now only have 3 Comet Goldfish after one passed over winter (without much else to explain its loss other than it was cold)

I’ve added a (very poor quality) photo of my remaining inhabitants - a very pleasing mix of different colours. What I understand to be a canary yellow, standard goldfish, and a Shubunkin (a male with beautiful king fins). I might get a Waikin (which are double tailed) just to to continue the theme and add to the group.

I’ve had a problem with my filter recently - the flow rate had dropped over time (last 12+months) and suddenly it stopped alltogether just recently. Knowing that this isn’t a panic mode thing in winter for a pond I chose to trust the establish nature of the pond and calmly order a replacement impeller to see if that would fix the issue. It was a few days before it arrived, broken and a new one had to be sent. I’ve just fitted that replacement today and things are back up and running. I made sure to flush out any water in the filter which I had opened to let some oxygen in to keep the bacteria alive… regardless it didn’t smell great. I’ve added some bottled bacteria, some water conditioner, done a bit of a water change and given the filter a clean and everything seems to be just fine.

I still need to fix my leaky cascade / waterfall and am feeling particularly motivated to do this at the moment so hopefully I can claim some time (between looking after 2 kids) this summer to do this then is can be turned on more regularly.

I’m also planning to try a dwarf Lilly again (first one I got died after first year… I think I put it too deep in the pond) and a few more pond plants. My big marginal plant (sorry not sure on species) really suffered int he cold this year and I don’t know if it is going to grow back… time will tell.
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: fcmf on February 15, 2023, 08:37:27 PM
Gorgeous fish!

Glad you've managed to fix the filter.

Looking forward to seeing further photos in the summer after fixing the leaky cascade/waterfall and the addition/resurrection of plants.

 :fishy1:
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Hampalong on February 15, 2023, 09:05:59 PM


A quick update copied from the other thread…I now only have 3 Comet Goldfish after one passed over winter (without much else to explain its loss other than it was cold)

I’ve added a (very poor quality) photo of my remaining inhabitants - a very pleasing mix of different colours. What I understand to be a canary yellow, standard goldfish, and a Shubunkin (a male with beautiful king fins).

I’m confused. I see two standard goldies and a shub, but there’s also three comets?
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on February 16, 2023, 02:32:00 AM
He he you are quite right if I’m honest I’d no idea what I had till today and have mistakenly called them comets since the day dot (I’ll blame the fish store just cos that’s an easy cop out!) your prompt got me Googling and I think I’ve finally got it!

So I think have two goldfish - one is the yellow colour morph (I can see they have the same scientific name in the site I was using) - and a shubunkin

No comets I guess … looks like they have much longer fins than mine.

Updated: Shubunkin have the same scientific name too so now I’m confused again…
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Hampalong on February 16, 2023, 11:06:28 AM
Goldfish come in different colours… red, orange, yellow, white, green, black(ish). And combinations. Fins can be clear, red, black, etc. (Most revert to plain red or orange with age).

Also as Shubs, multicoloured with a blue or whitish base colour.

Also as fancies, with their various distorted shapes, fins, eyes, hoods, and colours.

They’re all the same species, Carassius auratus.

A Comet is a “standard” goldfish (standard shape) with a long tail (hence “Comet”).

:)
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on February 16, 2023, 06:58:32 PM
That’s useful thanks @Hampalong
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: Matt on July 14, 2023, 04:00:02 PM
Bit of an update - I went away for 7 weeks on holiday - everything fish wise was fine, all my feeders worked, we’re regularly checked by family etc etc EXCEPT the pond. I literally have no idea what happened… though I have theories I’m not sure they are worth dwelling on to be honest, the simple fact is when I came back everything in there was dead and very smelly.  :'(

I removed the things that had perished, drained the pond making sure to save the few tadpoles that were still doing ok, cleaned out the bottom (which I’ve seen a whole lot worse to be clear) and refilled. I actually did this twice to be on the safe side. I also cleaned out the filter. Then left it three weeks and (once I’d decided I did still want to be a pond keeper lol) given there’s been no signs of anything wrong, the water is crystal clear, and I’ve seen baby frogs and lots of mosquito larvae it was time to get fish. So x5 tiny goldfish have just entered the pond - very similar stocking to before with a variety of colour forms.  I also picked up a few additional plants. I’ll follow up with a photo when the rain stops!!
Title: Re: Matt's pond
Post by: fcmf on July 19, 2023, 12:14:44 PM
Goodness.

Glad all went well with the fish feeders/tanks but very sorry to read about the pond.  :'(  [I recall previously reading elsewhere about a neighbour using something to treat trees and affecting a garden pond below - could that be a factor in your case?]

Lovely to read that you still want to be a pondkeeper and about the new life in the pond - frogs and goldfish.  :fishy1:

Very much looking forward to the photos in due course.