A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Water Gardens my pond

This is my pond. 140 gallons. I have iris's in the back like stair steps, pansy's, daffadils (sp), creeping flox, and some flower i dont know the name of.

For those with ponds! How do you keep algae out and have fish in your pond? I have little things to do to make it look better but for now that is it. that is what i have been working on the last month. I am going to get a shepherds hook or two and put humming bird feeders on one and another bird feeder on the other somewhere in there. and get a park bench for the rock area. I am going to put solar lights there somewhere. as well as some kind of light for night enjoyment.


I am hoping to get a better pic tonight as I did not realize the area for my bench was not included and the tubs behind the building are now not there.

very nice Lisa--- I cannot wait until your plants have a chance to grow and bloom you will show us an updated photo then, right??? I bet it will be beautiful!!!

i WILL SHOW UPDATES. Does anyone deal with fish in ponds? If so how do you keep algae out and what do you feed them in there?

I wish I could help you, Lisa, but our 3000 gallon pond was up and running for the fist time last summer and we could NOT control the algae at all and it was quite frustrating.

I also lost about 4 batches of baby koi that I had bought at PetSmart - each batch had about 4-6 fish that were about 3-4 inches long. My husband started up the pump and filters for the season last week when the weather got so warm, and it still hasn't cleared up even though he put in the pond clarifier that we've been told to use. The biggest problem that we have is that the pond is in full sun all day long, and that encourages algae to grow.

I had about 5 threads about my pond going the last 2 years from dirt to fully running if you are interested in looking.

Here is a link to the last thread, with links to all the others in the first post.

//www.agardenersforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/214386#Post214386

Thanks I am going to look now. I am still learning to venture on this forum, so finding stuff is like woa! LOL I could not imagine taking care of a 3000 gallon pond at this time! Too many little kids running around my house.

Yes - please be careful with little ones around water - that scares me a lot!
My kids are grown - I have a 26 year old son who moved back home with his 2 cats last July and is still here, and a daughter who is a freshman in college who will be back home in 3 weeks for the summer.

I have enjoyed "decorating" and planting around the pond though. I need to get some plants back outside there that I overwintered indoors - they are sprouting in pots now.

My 16 month old already fell in and about gave gave me a heart attack. I was facing the building moving the rocks around and I kept telling him to come help me and he was starting to and next thing I knew like 10 seconds later he was out and drenched. He did not go under because his head was not wet at all, but man that scared me and him too. He has not been that close since.

My 22 month old took a plung the other day. His head DID go under. That was enough to scare him from going anywhere near any of the ponds again. He hates to get his head wet. He stays over in "his" area now unless Nana is right with him.

I now how that feeling is. He (my son Zachary)hates to get water on his head too. He gets so mad in the tub, but oh well has to be done! I am glad your son is ok. I would like to do another pond lower in the yard, just not sure when. As I know Zachary will no longer mess with it unless I am there.

I have 3 pond ranging in size from 400 to 1600 gals. I will tell you the three basic things you need to keep it healthy!!! aeration,filtration, and circulation. No matter how small or how large these are the necessaries to make it work. To keep the water clear of green algae you need to install a UV light between you filter and pump. To keep fish, you need to "NOT" overstock just add a few, get lots of plants growing in the water. Do not get koi unless your pond is 1,000 gals. or more. I have 25 grandkids and not one has ever fallen into a pond yet. They learn from day one the dangers of the water. Cover the pond in the fall to keep out leaves and blowing dirt. Hope this helps you better understand what it takes to have a happy health pond.

We have a UV filter also. That made all the difference in the world!

We put .12 cent goldfish in the pond and they are now 6" long and very colorful.

Sharon