My pond

Ok, for the rest of this post to make sense, you need to know My Hump. For it to make more sense, you need to watch Bush's slump by Mad TV. What're you gonna do with all that land
All that land outside your house?I'm gonna get get get get get you fish
All the fish that you can want
Right outside your big backyard
In my pond..., my pond my pond my pond
My pond my pond my pond,
My lovely little pond, check it out.The grass was really razy
The dirt was really dirty
The clay was really hardy
And-the-rocks were really annoying.They said that I was crazy
That I was digging something
That hole was getting too big
And it was really deep.It took me 3 whole days
The sun was burning hot
I almost went insane
But I dug deep and wide.I put in plastic lining
I filled it up with water
I put in sand and gravel
And red bricks all the way. It's really something.One side was too low
I had to build a dam. The dam was something.The pond holds a-thousand gallons
Of water from the tap. That's lots of water.I put in plants and goldfish
I put in big and small snails
I put in crabs and grayfish
And other arthropods. What're you gonna do with all that dirt
All that dirt in that big pile?I'm gonna take take take take take them to
Take them to the forest behind. What're you gonna do with all that grass
All that grass next to your dirt.I'm gonna fill fill fill fill fill the holes
Fill the holes around my lawn. What're you gonna do with that big hole
That big hole you made into a pond?I'm gonna leave leave leave leave leave it there
Leave it there cuz it's my pond.
My pond, my pond my pond my pond,
My pond my pond, my lovely little pond.
My fishy little pond.
My crabby little pond.
...
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...Anyway, the pond is 14' by 14' on the surface and 5' deep at the deepest part. It's dark outside right now, but I'll get some pictures later next week.I want to get an ecosystem going in there. What else do I need to put in?Oh, and if we want this to have something to do with EvC, I guess we could discuss the likelyhood of this pond being naturally created or designed and dug up by an intelligent designer. Furthermore, we could also talk about how likely the creatures inside could "evolve" like the movie "Evolution".

they will have someone who can come over and give you suggestions on which plants and critters you should work around as well as the possible ones to watch out for.It sounds great. Can't wait for your pics.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Peh! Took an afternoon to dig out my Dad's 14'X20'X6'pond.Mind you that was only because he just so happens to own a mini-digger (1.5Tonn)... Made the job FUN BTW if you discover you suffer with alge. get a Hay bail (not straw) and put it in a fine mesh sack (to stop the hay dispersing) float this hay in the pond as this will solve the problem in about 2-4 weeks.Edited by ohnhai, : added picEdited by ohnhai, : No reason given.

ohnhai writes

quote:

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BTW if you discover you suffer with alge. get a Hay bail (not straw) and put it in a fine mesh sack (to stop the hay dispersing) float this hay in the pond as this will solve the problem in about 2-4 weeks.

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Well, my 2 or so thousand gallon of water just turned completely green. Please explain more what you said above. I'm having a hard time understanding it.By the way, I'm building a water fall for it.

THis greenness is alge. They are thriving due to the sunlight and nutrients in the water in such quntities that cause them to explode in numbers.A hessian sack or two filled with hay (needs to be hay not straw)floated in the pond for a few weeks will reduce the saturation of the nutrients that these critters need and thus will reduce the nubers of the alge. (worked for my dad) And no more green .PS. This doesnt starvr the pond ( just incase you were worrying, just pulls the overall ballance back from the atificially high levels at it's creation.Edited by ohnhai, : added the PS

And where the heaven do I get these hessian sacks with hay? Moreover, what the heaven is the difference between hay and straw?

Just needs to be any sack that is an open weave material to let the water circulate. for the hay you need to find you local agracultural/equestrian feed supplyiers and buy a bail. then you put the hay into the sacks and tie them off.Just sent an email of to my dad on the hay straw question as I'm not sure as to the differences. I just remember that it was important for some reason. (also a request for pictures of his pond...) Probably best to hold off till he gets back to me...

I believe that hay generally refers to dried grasses or alfalfa that are used for livestock feed. Straw is the dried stalks left over from harvesting grain and is generally used for livestalk bedding.Your bag would be called a gunny or burlap sack around here.

Many thanx..

Ok I knew it was important to get the right stuff (but remembered it wrong.... DOH! (probably best to check if it's safe to use with Local pond life)

Hi rgb,I have a Koi pond myself and Barley Bales are a great way to get rid of/prevent algae. They do work best if you put them in at the beginning of the season (before you get algae) but they also help after you have algae.Here are some examples:http://www.plantabbsproducts.com/barley.htmhttp://www.absoluteponds.com/barleystraw.htmThere is also a powered enzyme you can buy that really helps get rid of algae. I'll ask my fiancee what it is and get back to you.

You can also add about a half-pound of copper sulfate, predissolved in a bucket of water, for a quicker kill on the algae. (If you agree that you have about 4000 gallons of water.) If you have no fish in it yet, this would be ideal: sometimes killing all the algae at once can kill fish. That level of copper won't bother fish, but the dying algae can use up all the oxygen in the water. I understanbd that barley is good maintainance, but not always effective at initial cleanup - particularly here in summer.

Barley is good because you can use it if you have plants in your pond (like I do). I don't believe you can use copper sulfate if you have plants.You are correct that it takes awhile to do an initial cleanup with barley. I put barley bales in around march when I put my waterfall pump back in after the winter.There is also "pond-zyme" that you can buy that helps.http://www.pondliner.com/PondZyme.htmI would put barley in ASAP. Algae can very quickly get out of control.If your pond is empty at this point then coragyps suggestion might be a good one... although I'm not sure how long you have to wait before putting in plants/fish.Edited by SuperNintendo Chalmers, : No reason given.

Just a few days, as I understand it. Copper falls out of solution fairly quickly at normal pondwater pH.

Barley is effective for the initial clean up as this is the route my dad used