Messages

1

Pond Chat / Re: From NY to New Mexico... Ponding adventures.

« on: April 30, 2012, 01:48:23 PM »

the preform is only sunk into the corner of the pond to act as a veggie filter once i have enough growth...  it was something my partner had lying around... so i used it...

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Pond Chat / Re: From NY to New Mexico... Ponding adventures.

« on: April 22, 2012, 11:06:28 AM »

thanks much... Really may major concern is the difference between ponding in NY and in the high desert of New Mexico.... as you can see i haven't gotten a chance to do much planting around the pond... hoping that i will find a cheap and easy way to amend that soil and maybe get some fast and hardy ground cover going .


 

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Pond Chat / From NY to New Mexico... Ponding adventures.

« on: April 22, 2012, 09:30:06 AM »

Hey everyone.

In a previous post i mentioned that i had recently moved to a new home in New Mexico, and had quite accidentally renewed my interest in ponding because of all things... a Garage sale.  My previous ponds were all very much made from reclaimed materials, and i when i found a 14'x14' pond liner at a garage sale, i quickly snapped it up and discussed plans with my new partner on how make it happen in her very dry and dusty back yard.

i took about a month digging the hole myself in shifts, as my back and gimpy hip would allow. Once i had the liner dropped, and pond filled i continued to work around the pond as i looked for plants.

being that i did not have a lot of funds other than my partners generosity, i looked extensively for plants on Craigslist, and fish as well... unfortunately nothing turned up until i got a call while out at a water garden nursery one day.

A gentleman who had advertised 8 pond fish on craigslist got in touch with me about me taking the fish off his hands, as he was going to be filling in his pond, due to his young child starting to crawl.  I went over to his place, and his pond was thickly overgrown with rushes and lilies..

Well now.. the fish he had were easily 6 or more years old.. and very large... sarrassas, a shubunkin and 2 comets... we could only fine 5 of the 8 before we left... but he also offered me whatever plants i could pull from the pond.  I quickly agreed, and began to pull 4 HUGE pots of lilies from the pond... completely rootbound and nearly bursting from the pond.  add to that a few pieces of those rushes, and about 40 mosquito fish and a trapdoor snail, and i went home very happy indeed.

so added to my Craigslist haul i managed to find 2 god places that had nice plants... and even though things seem so expensive here in NM... i have the beginnings of a good water garden...  wich i'd like to show you now...

click on pic for the slideshow



still a lot to do... surrounding area; needs plots of work... but the fish seem to be happy so far

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Pond Chat / Re: What do you use to repot your lilies on?

« on: April 22, 2012, 09:00:46 AM »

there was a table out in the back of the year that my partners ex built... i brought it closer to the house and covered it with scraps of pond liner. i got the pond liner idea from one of the local water garden stores. 

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Aquatic and Terrestrial Plant Exchange / Re: box full of bog plants

« on: April 06, 2012, 08:13:54 PM »

if you still have this deal left, please let me know... would be an excellent starter for my new pond.

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Pond Chat / Kennef returns, but from a very different Locale... :)

« on: March 31, 2012, 10:56:58 PM »

Jerry suggested that i post this here... so here i go...

hey all..

I used to frequent this forum way back when i was putting together above ground water gardens in Upstate NY.

well heck... thing have changed significantly...

I now live in Albuquerque New Mexico, a recent transplant in love with green chile... but not so mch in love with a lack of good NY style pizza and Buffalo wings... but i'm surviving...

I just recently began spring yard work here in hopes of getting a little bit of green in this very arid back yard... determined to do so despite my new Partners gentle warnings about poor soil and heat as well as arid climes...  SO is anyone here in the southwest that can suggest to a newly transplanted ponder how to best attack the challenges of ponding here?

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Pond Chat / Re: New Member Here.

« on: October 10, 2007, 10:19:12 AM »

that work is amazing! don't worry that its off topic, its so good who wouldnt want to check it out?!

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Pond Chat / Re: Wintering in the garage in a stock tank *questions*

« on: October 03, 2007, 12:56:29 PM »

thanks for the replies.  i cant keep them outside because my pond is an above ground box, and is on my deck, so i am quite positive it would freeze solid if i kept it up.

i am planning to over winter about 10 fish total, with some inside in a tank, but i don't have enough space for them all.  i was thinking that a stock tank would be enough, so long as it doesn't freeze over. the greenhouse isnt something Syracuse is really going to allow, we had something over 170 inches of snow last season. i can insulate and put in a pump to circulate. i just am working out the logistics and thought some ideas would inspire me...

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Pond Chat / Wintering in the garage in a stock tank *questions*

« on: October 02, 2007, 10:45:14 AM »

hey guys,

Fall is upon us, and i have to over winter the fish once again. i have planned for some time to overwinter in a stock tank in my garage, but i wanted to discuss the idea with anyone who might have done something similar.

my plan is to pick up a 150 gallon stock tank from the  local Tractor Supply store, and use it along with an aerator and possibly a heater of some sort.  my concern is overwintering the larger goldfish, since my above ground deck pond would freeze over.  and ideas on insulating and keeping the garage temp to a safe level would be much appreciated.

thanks

kenn

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Pond Chat / Re: Two dollar hardies, PetSmart!

« on: August 03, 2007, 11:39:44 AM »

i picked up a Sioux as well... only because they were $1.75.  i need to move some of my water lettuce on tho... its everywhere

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Pond Chat / Re: Some pics of my plants.

« on: July 25, 2007, 06:16:18 AM »

would that plant be March Betony possibly?

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Pond Chat / well... heres a bloom i didnt expect this morening, and other pics too!

« on: July 13, 2007, 04:15:53 PM »

heya all,

my daughter caught this bloom this morning, off a lily that i didn't expect to do much at all. it came from one of those walmart packages, the one i took back because they were rotten inside... well this one wasn't... i sorta didn't take that one back... 



and a general show of growth from the plants people sent me for postage. the filling in really well now, my wet little jungle 



a little bog bean



and the trickle tower with some umbrella plant in front...



apparently my Hen's and Chicks think they are Isengard in Lord of the Rings!



ok, thats the show for right now... thanks for looking and not scolding me for not weeding enough...

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Pond Chat / Re: Really ugly tropical waterlily :(

« on: July 12, 2007, 04:08:47 PM »

you know what Miss Piggy says:

"Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder. Of, course occasionally the Beholder may need a punch in the mouth..."

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Pond Chat / Re: Took a drive to The Pond Shop.

« on: July 04, 2007, 07:31:24 AM »

I've gotten the same kind of response about Wakins from people i the pond business for 30 years. Wakins, IMHO , while being very nice fish are mainly a fringe interest in the hobby and don't get seen much in the mainstream. Not a bad thing at all, because that means you have something rare and sort of special when you raise them.  It's really thanks to the internet that Wakins have made this resurgence in popularity recently, and many pond places haven't caught up with the trend.

As to the comments about oxygenators and such... sheesh... whatever i totally agree with your assessment there....heheh

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Pond Chat / Re: $ 12.00 Harbor Freight Pump is a gem

« on: July 01, 2007, 05:27:34 AM »

i have the harbor freight pumps that run about 196 GPH powering my trickles towers, when they were on sale i think i paid 7.99 for them or maybe 9.99. they work like a champ, but i find a prefilter is a good idea if you have snails... I also bring them in in the winter and use them on my aquariums

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Pond Chat / Re: Replying to Posts

« on: June 30, 2007, 04:03:53 PM »

i totally don't have time to reply to this post.....



oh wait... i do! AWESOME!!! 

i try not to serially reply to my own posts just because i don't want to make people think i am pumping up my own threads.... but sometimes you folks just say super nice things and i have to say something... heheh

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Pond Chat / Re: Amazon Swordplant goes in the pond... what could go wrong? :)

« on: June 26, 2007, 07:42:00 PM »

hehe... i just pulled 2 babies off it this afternoon, and planted them in my inside fish tanks.  imagine what i might get if i fertilized it!

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Pond Chat / Re: Amazon Swordplant goes in the pond... what could go wrong? :)

« on: June 20, 2007, 03:34:27 PM »

That looks really good! I've never been able to keep one alive in an aquarium. Maybe I'll try one in one of the ponds.

i have about 7 tanks in my house, and i specialize in heavily planted aquariums. the secret is getting the level of light the plants need, along with fertilizing the water column and sometimes adding co2 to the water column.  in most aquariums, a regular light strip isn't going to cut it, as most plants need about 2 watts per gallon to grow well. So in effect, you need about 40 watts of light @ 6700k for a 20 gallon tank, and it grows exponentially from there. the normal strip light runs about 15 watts for a 20 gallon tank.

the cheap way i have solved this issue, instead of buying expensive power compact fixtures or Metal halide setups, is to use simple screw in daylight bulbs at walmart. they are cheap and i simple build a fixture out of some wood, an old bathroom fixture, and an extension cord, and BOOM, i have 100 watts of CF light from 5 bulbs, and light enough to grow any plant on earth...

of course, i digress... i wish i could over winter all my plants under those lights, so i wouldn't have to but water lettuce again...

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Pond Chat / Amazon Swordplant goes in the pond... what could go wrong? :)

« on: June 19, 2007, 11:27:30 AM »

So this plant got way too big for my 30 gallon aquarium, so i potted it and placed it in the pond.  i have heard of other people growing amazon swords emersed in tubs outside before, so i just thought i'd give it a try...




and a few more

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Pond Chat / Re: Watermelon seeds & native fish. Update 6_18_07

« on: June 19, 2007, 11:09:56 AM »

wow!! i knew that wasn't a regular old green tree frog!! AWESOME!   

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Pond Chat / Re: Look at my new fishy statue

« on: June 19, 2007, 11:04:29 AM »

i actually turned a fish just like that one into a spitter a few years ago.  basically drilled the mouth and snaked a tube up through. if i was doing one today i might use one of those barb adapters and epoxy it in for strength but nonetheless very doable

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Pond Chat / Re: A few photos from the weekend

« on: June 12, 2007, 05:50:10 AM »

very nice pics

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Pond Chat / Re: anybody ever do chat anymore??????

« on: June 10, 2007, 05:33:28 AM »

Tink... maybe someone should suggest a chat session time weekly or something. i know some people on another forum who generally set theirs up for late Sunday afternoons or evenings.

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Pond Chat / Re: suggestions on the hardiest most weedlike hady lily you can imagine

« on: June 10, 2007, 05:28:56 AM »

excellent information from you all! now that i have a half dozen suggestions, i just need to find them around... and on the cheap since i kinda need to sneak them in there without spending a lot.

Sean,

is Mexicana fairly common with most retailers?

N. odorata sounds really good, i wonder if they sell it at my local ponding places... i need to check... Mayla is something i am sure i can find, seem to have seen it around

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Pond Chat / suggestions on the hardiest most weedlike hady lily you can imagine

« on: June 09, 2007, 11:16:00 AM »

ok so here the situation.

my mom has a good sized earth bottom pond thats been dug for at least 10 years, but she has some issues about planting in it. she lives on a farm, and there are a few geese that wander over from time to time, and she's sure they will destroy anything she tries to plant. Also she has an extensive duckweed problem, as the pond has little else in it to fight for the nutrients.

so my clever idea...    is to find the most OBNOXIOUS and INVASIVE water plants (other than duckweed of course) to try and combat her issues.  i don't really care of the damn things bloom or not, just so long as i can assume that they can grow fast enough in the pond to ward off the occasional goose and be hardy enough to come back after a NY state winter. the pond is a minimum of 5 feet in most areas, is earth bottomed and spring fed, and doesn't have any thing mechanical running for filtration.

i know i ask for the weird stuff... but you know me by now.... i'm weird... 

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Pond Chat / Re: progress on lily pond

« on: June 09, 2007, 04:35:49 AM »

that frog is a Pine Barrens Tree Frog,i believe. a phenomenal species of tree frog found native to North America, i think they max out at about 3 inches long or so, he has some growing left to do.  i think you are very lucky to have something so unusual at your pond!

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Aquatic and Terrestrial Plant Exchange / Re: Have some Hen & Chicks to trade for water plant starts

« on: June 08, 2007, 05:09:58 PM »

i have a feeling this is working out really well!! i have 3 of 4 packages received, and you all were really generous!! i hope that everyone else got their hens and chicks ok, and that they look good! this was one of my 1st trades on this forum, i am so glad you guys were so good to me!
 

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Pond Chat / Re: some plant ID's and some pics just to share...:) more pics updated

« on: June 06, 2007, 04:20:12 AM »

she told me to tell you that she doesn't mind variegated when its green and white, kim. most of what you sent are good that way, apparently its the green with yellow streaks that set her off...

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Aquatic and Terrestrial Plant Exchange / Re: Have some Hen & Chicks to trade for water plant starts

« on: June 05, 2007, 11:02:33 AM »

ok, i have sent out what i promised to each of those who have traded as of today!! i am very happy to have done so. i hope that they all get to you in good order, and that you'll be happy with them.

yachtLady, i do believe that the species i have are the same as LeeAnne describes, who i have some that seem to be a little more red than green heheh

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Pond Chat / Re: some plant ID's and some pics just to share...:)

« on: June 05, 2007, 10:46:17 AM »

Kim, i agree there... i know theres some small sprigs of water celery in there too, and of course the bog bean. 

ok... so more pics, for instance my highly prize Forget Me Not collection...



my wife likes hostas, but doesn't like Variegated... thats ok because Variegated likes HER!



WARNING!! INCOMING CLEMATIS!! EVERYONE STAY IN YOUR HOMES AND PLEASE DO NOT PROVOKE IT!!




Grackle in the pool cover... people hate grackles... i don't...  i mean even ugly birds gotta get some love, right?



ok
thanks