Messages

1

Photo Album / Re: Look who's hiding ...

« on: July 25, 2007, 10:54:26 AM »

Day two pics ... Ain't nature wunnerful?

Keep Smilin'
John 

2

Photo Album / Look who's hiding ... Day Two pics added, scroll down to Reply 4.

« on: July 24, 2007, 08:33:33 AM »

My first lotus bloom

N. 'Rosea Plena'

I've been watching the bud for about a week now and today ... ta dah!

Cool!

Keep Smilin'
John 

3

Technology Talk / Re: Ipod MP3 Question

« on: July 15, 2007, 03:00:10 PM »

Not alot of choices out there Mike. Don't see any "digital" mp3 players, only mp3 to disk plus am/fm ...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-SL-CT579V-Personal-CD-MP3-AM-FM-Player-NEW_W0QQitemZ330145639703QQihZ014QQcategoryZ15054QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Sony-DNF430-ATRAC-Portable-AM-FM-TV-CD-MP3-Player_W0QQitemZ170129420660QQihZ007QQcategoryZ15054QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Black-Naxa-MP3-CD-Player-with-AM-FM-Stereo-Radio-NEW_W0QQitemZ260137376262QQihZ016QQcategoryZ15054QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-SL-SV550-CD-MP3-With-AM-FM-LCD-Display-Mint_W0QQitemZ190130501924QQihZ009QQcategoryZ15054QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Keep Smilin'
John 

4

Pond Chat / Pond has cleared ... finally!

« on: June 17, 2007, 03:25:54 PM »

Things have been sorta challenging here lately ... all was fine, pondwise, till the water temp hit the 70+ degree mark and then it was pea soup time ... We lived with the pea soup for all of May and the first half of June and then ... BOOM ... over the course of about 36 hours everything cleared! It was like someone did a water change while I wasn't looking    In reality, the change was quite dramatic!

Now that things are clear, I can see the trials and tribulations that await me. The bioload is significantly higher than I thought ...  ... In addition to the 4 turtles (2 cooters 6" & 3", 2 softshells both about 4-5") and 3 frogs ... there are 11 koi (from about 13" down to 6"), about 30-35 goldies/shubunkins (ranging from 8" down to 3"). Also, I can now see literally HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of smaller (1.5" down to teeney-weeney) rosy red & fathead minnows, goldfish, etc. as well as THOUSANDS of toadpoles! 

I'm not sure that there is anything to be done beyond letting nature take it's course but the clearing of the pea soup sure showed that there's lots more going on under the surface than first meets the eye.

5

Pond Chat / Re: can you put small bass or brim in with your goldfish ???

« on: June 13, 2007, 02:16:28 PM »

IMO, bream - yes and all your new gf fry will be history
IMO, bass - no because ALL your GOLDFISH will be history!

and so, I am right now looking for 2 bream to put in the pond ... I'm being overrun by literally thousands of rosyredminnow and gf fry ... hopefully the bream/bluegill/sunfish will solve my problem without disturbing the grown gf/koi...

Keep Smilin'
John 

6

Pond Chat / Re: Needed: Floating Plants ...

« on: June 13, 2007, 10:58:27 AM »

Thanks to all who replied/pm'd ... I've got a package on the way from "luvmyasagis" and hopefully the added coverage will be the straw that breaks the algae's back 

Keep Smilin'
John 

7

Pond Chat / Needed: Floating Plants ... GOT SOME ... THANKS!

« on: June 12, 2007, 04:06:20 PM »

I've just got way too much uncovered surface area as the 16 lilies only cover about 15 or 20% of the surface and as such I've been battling green water, big time, for the last 4 or 5 weeks. It's clearing now but I still need more surface cover. Who has extra floating plants? Help!!!   PM me please if you have floaters available with the details ... What kind? How much?
Thanks in advance!

Keep Smilin'
John 

8

Wakin, Shubunkins and Goldfish... / Re: Hi-Fin Banded Sharks in ponds?

« on: June 11, 2007, 08:46:02 AM »

He'd probably do quite well in a large pond in south Florida/Texas ... In Michigan? strictly an annual, IMO  re: where would one keep him in the winter?

http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&ID=0543&view_records=1

Keep Smilin'
John 

9

Pond Chat / Re: "A sudden Influx of NEW Members!"

« on: June 11, 2007, 08:34:50 AM »

Jerry,

I've been spending lots of time at The Planted Tank Forum  http://www.plantedtank.net  and from time to time a pond type question gets asked there. Whenever that happens, I always refer the poster to this site. Who knows if it helps, but I like to think it does.

Keep Smilin'
John 

10

Chit Chat / An Amazing Tale! ... Enjoy

« on: June 07, 2007, 02:59:44 PM »

-------------------------------------------------
MountainWings       A MountainWings Moment
#7157          Wings Over The Mountains of Life
-------------------------------------------------

For Sale: Slightly Used Tazer
==============================

I bought something really cool for my wife.  The occasion is my
retirement, and I was looking for a little something extra for my
lovely bride.  What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket
purse-sized Tazer gun with a clip.

For those of you who are not familiar with this product, it is a
less-than-lethal stun gun with two metal prongs designed to
incapacitate an assailant with a shock of high-voltage, low
amperage electricity while you flee to safety.  The effects are
supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on
your assailant but allowing you adequate time to retreat to
safety.  You simply jab the prongs into your 250 lb. tattooed
assailant, push the button, and it will render him a slobbering,
goggle-eyed, muscle-twitching, whimpering, pencil-neck geek.

If you've never seen one of these things in action then you're
truly missing out; it's way too cool!  I've seen several
demonstrations for cops, but I found this handheld one for
civilians.

Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home.  I
loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the
button.  Nothing!  I was so disappointed.  Upon reading the
directions (we don't need no stinkin' directions), I found much
to my chagrin that this particular model would not create an arc
between the prongs.  How disappointing! I do love fire for
effect.

I learned that if I pushed the button, and pressed it
against a metal surface that I'd get the blue arc of electricity
darting back and forth between the prongs that I was so looking
forward to.  I did it.  Awesome!!!  Sparks, a blue arc of
electricity, and a loud pop!! Yipeeeeee... I'm easily amused,
just for your information, but I have yet to explain to her what
that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself
that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A
batteries, etc., etc.  There I sat in my recliner, her cat
looking on intently (trusting little soul), reading the
directions (that would be me, not the cat) and thinking that I
really needed to try this thing out on a flesh and blood target.

I must admit I thought about zapping the cat for a fraction of a
second and thought better of it.  She is such a sweet kitty
after all.  But if I was going to give this thing to my wife to
protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that
it would work as advertised.  Am I wrong?  Was I wrong to think
that?  It seemed reasonable to me at the time.

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts with my reading glasses
perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one
hand, Tazer in the other.  The directions said that a one-second
burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second
burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a loss of bodily
control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your
assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water.

All the while I'm looking at this little device (measuring about
5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference, pretty cute
really, and loaded with two itsy, bitsy AAA batteries) thinking
to myself, "no way!" Trust me, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my
best.

Those of you who know me well have got a pretty good idea of
what followed.  I'm sitting there alone, the cat looking on with
her head cocked to one side as to say, "don't do it buddy,"
reasoning that a one-second burst from such a tiny lil' ole
thing couldn't hurt all that bad (sound, rational thinking under
the circumstances, wouldn't you agree?).  I decided to give
myself a one-second burst just for the heck of it.  (Note: You
know, a bad decision is like hindsight-- always twenty-twenty.

It is so obvious that it was a bad decision after the fact, even
though it seemed so right at the time.  Don't ya hate that?)
I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and
*&%$$#$@##@!!!!!

I'm pretty sure that Jessie Ventura ran in through the front
door, picked me up out of that recliner then body slammed me on
the carpet over and over again.  I vaguely recall waking up on
my side in the fetal position, nipples on fire, testicles
nowhere to be found, soaking wet, with my left arm tucked under
my body in the oddest position.

The cat was standing over me making sounds I had never heard
before, licking my face, undoubtedly thinking to herself, "do it
again, do it again!"

Note: If you ever feel compelled to mug yourself with a Tazer,
one note of caution.  There is no such thing as a one-second
burst when you zap yourself.  You're not going to let go of that
thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent
thrashing about on the floor.  Then, if you're lucky, you won't
lodge one of the prongs 1/4" deep in your thigh like yours
truly.  That hurt!

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative
thing at this point), I collected my wits (what little I had
left), sat up and surveyed the landscape.  My reading glasses
were on the mantel of the fireplace.  How did they get there?
My triceps, right thigh and both titties were still twitching.
My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, as my
bottom lip weighed 88 lbs., give or take an ounce or two, I'm
pretty sure.

By the way, has anyone seen my testicles?  I think they ran
away. I'm offering a reward.  They're round.  Miss 'em...!
Sure would like to get'em back.

I wonder what retirement day two will bring?


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Keep Smilin'
John 

11

Chit Chat / Re: Look what my daughter found laying on my sewing table

« on: June 04, 2007, 10:43:16 PM »

Kim, that's cool. It's a real rarity to find ANY collectible coin in change anymore.

here's an excerpt and the article it came from for some basic info.


Coin values for Liberty Head V-Nickels can be found in the table below. All Liberty V-Nickels (also called Liberty Head Nickels) that have a readable date are worth at least fifteen times their face value (seventy-five cents) unless they are badly damaged or almost totally worn out.  Some Liberty V-Nickels, called key dates, are worth hundreds, even thousands of times their face value! Find out how much your Liberty V-Nickels are worth in this value table. Keep in mind that these are guidelines to help you determine if you have rare coins. To get today's current market prices, you should contact a coin dealer.

more info  http://coins.about.com/od/coinvalues/l/bl-liberty-head-v-nickel-values.htm

Keep Smilin'
John 

12

Chit Chat / Memorial Day

« on: May 28, 2007, 08:47:26 AM »

Friends,

Dawn and I would like to wish all of you a Happy Memorial Day.

A Special “Thank you” to those of you that have served, or are now serving, our great country!

Remember to say a prayer thanking our Lord for all He has done for us!

Keep Smilin'
John 

13

Chit Chat / Re: Smile for the day

« on: May 24, 2007, 04:48:24 AM »

Hmmm, there seems to be a particular theme in this humor ... Maybe it's just my imagination ... I dunno, guess I'd better read them again ...
...
...
Oh, my ... 


Keep Smilin'
John 

14

Pond Chat / Re: SHAWN!!!! you just gotta go here........

« on: May 18, 2007, 06:25:50 AM »

Tink,

The address of the hatchery seems to be

7229 HATCHERY RD ASHLAND, KY 41102

http://oaspub.epa.gov/enviro/lrt_viewer.map_page?sys_id=110015606138

While the other address

1223 W DORCLIFF HGTS ASHLAND, KY 41102

seems to be the address (new address?) of the owner/manager

Keep Smilin'
John 

15

Chit Chat / Re: laptop

« on: May 09, 2007, 04:13:02 PM »

My laptop is an older Dell Latitude C610
My wife's laptop is using a Dell Inspiron 6000

both are just purring along and have been good for us.

Yikes, Dell's current sale ends tonite!

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_dotw_inspn?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

There's always another one coming along, but this one is pretty substantial.


Good Luck

Keep Smilin'
John 

16

Pond Chat / Re: planting taros soiless ???

« on: May 03, 2007, 06:20:11 PM »

Go for it Tink, mine are planted in the gravel of the bog, no soil and they're doing fine.\

Keep Smilin'
John 

17

Pond Chat / Re: Do you know what kind of fish, and snail these are?

« on: May 01, 2007, 07:26:41 AM »

I like Teresa's suggestion - dace

check this out ...

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/cyprinidae.html

Keep Smilin'
John 

18

Chit Chat / Re: What do/did you do for a living?

« on: April 30, 2007, 07:45:08 AM »

Hmmm, what do I do for a living ...

For almost a year now, I've been retired from the Florida Department of Corrections, and let me say, not having to walk into that prison everyday is the biggest positive change in my life since my Christian rebirth and my marriage to my wife Dawn. 
Just to put a point on it ... I give thanks every day that I will never set foot in that place again. (Gee, maybe a LITTLE too emphatic?  Oh well ...   

My passion these days (besides throwing money into a hole that used to be a swimming pool but is now our pond ... ) is for planted aquaria. I've had fish tanks and kept tropical fish on and off for years but was never able to keep aquarium plants alive and robust. I love to tinker (my middle name should have been Rube) and all the gadgets that seem to be needed to do aquarium plants correctly have piqued my interest and excited my tinkering genes. Therefore, lately I've been up to my elbows in researching the aquarium forums and various substrate choices and lighting choices and designing/building DIY tank stands/hoods and CO2 injection systems and fertilizer dosing formulae and etc, etc, etc ...     The normal day to day household activities and the pond and the passion sure do make the day fly by !!! 

Keep Smilin'
John 

19

Pond Chat / Re: Hello Everybody

« on: April 30, 2007, 07:13:43 AM »

Bullfrog,

Let me offer a belated welcome ... WELCOME!       

I love your avatar/signature ... that picture belongs in the opening credits of a Stephen Spielberg movie ...

Again, welcome and I hope you enjoy this place as much as I do.

Keep Smilin'
John 

20

Chit Chat / Re: What is a good anniversary present?

« on: April 27, 2007, 03:20:00 PM »

Barb,
You make it hard when you don't describe any of his interests or what the two of you enjoy together ...


1. SW Connecticut = near NYC? ... Broadway play?

2. Yankees or Mets?

3. Hot air balloon ride?

4. Zip, Bop and Whir: Toys of the 20th Century Exhibition - Bruce Museum of Arts and Science -- Greenwich
Now through July 8, 2007  Information: 203-869-0376.

5.  http://www.irishfestival.org/  June 15, 16 & 17

6. Ballet? “Sleeping Beauty” -- Stamford  - June 8, 2007 - Information: (203) 358-8853

Decisions, decisions ... what to do ... good luck in finding just the "right" thing for your special day ... 20 years is quite a milestone.

Keep Smilin'
John 

21

Aquatic and Terrestrial Plant Exchange / Re: I will not

« on: April 21, 2007, 07:43:08 PM »

Esther ...

"I feel your pain ... join the club"   

Keep Smilin'
John 

22

Chit Chat / Re: Happy Birthday JohnInFlorida

« on: April 20, 2007, 06:11:39 PM »

Speaking of missing something by not checking in ... 

Thank you to all ... yes, it was a wonderful day ... only problem is that they are coming faster and faster each year ...

Thanks again.

Keep Smilin'
John 

23

Pond Chat / Re: I'll give you three guesses ...

« on: April 13, 2007, 10:38:48 AM »

Tink,
I don't think it'll ever be done ... always tinkering around and fine tuning and rethinking the how I'm doing something and how it might be done better. That's the fun part for me. Some people seem to thing that "THEIR" way is the only way ... I've always thought "Gee, I wonder what'll happen if I try it this way" or "that way". And to me, that's what makes the world go round ... everybody is different ... some are even tempered, some are odd, and some of us are odder    than the rest of you ... It sure would be boring if that weren't true...

        

Keep Smilin'
John 

24

Bog Gardens / Re: Two Colorful Plants Worth Considering

« on: April 09, 2007, 10:56:12 AM »

Mikey,
Your Rumex sanguineus was marketed in this years selection of Lowes pond plants as a marginal with the name of "Bloody Dock" . I've planted it in the gravel of the bog filter and had the same experience you described ... wilted for the first two days and now doing fine.

Keep Smilin'
John 

25

Pond Chat / Re: I'll give you three guesses ...

« on: April 08, 2007, 12:59:58 PM »

Barb - yes, former pool that we never got into ... just threw money at to keep clean.  Now we still throw lots of money at it but its a whole lot more satisfying and fun!

Kathy - 38' long by 23' wide at its widest spot ... more like an average of 16' wide. 6.5' deep at the center. Back when it was being used as a pool it was said to be 27,000 gallons, but i raised the floor somewhat on both ends and my guesstimate is that it's now 18 - 20,000 gals.
The former spa/hottub is now the fountain/falls and that weighs in at 750 gals. The filter system/settlement tanks/piping/etc. adds another 400 gals or so.

All of this is moved around by a Sequence 7200PRM23 pump rated at 7200 gph (actually it's probably pushing around 3500-4000 GPH). The system is set up for two of them but the flow rate is just too high with both running so I alternate them weekly. This makes me feel very comfortable that I have one as a spare if the other should break down.

As I said, it's a hole in the ground that we throw money into, but it keeps me off the streets and out of the bars ... so all in all, a good thing. 

Keep Smilin'
John 

26

Pond Chat / Re: filter install question

« on: April 08, 2007, 12:17:50 PM »

Yes Roc, it probably would have been easier to use something smaller/lighter if the only objective was filtration. In addition to providing biofiltration, I wanted a bog area to plant in and what I wound up with were 2 bogs, the left one about 20'x8'x8" and the one to the right of the fountain/falls is about 26'x8'x8" (see pic 1)

Pic 1 


Pic 2 shows the left bog empty. You can see the valve/pipe across the back wall of the bog which has 1/4 " holes drilled along its length so the bog fills evenly along it's length. Pic 3 shows it filled with gravel. This is one of the outlets of the mech filter/pump along with another one just like it across the back of the right bog and another outlet in the bottom of the fountain/falls (see Pics 4-7)

Pic 2 


Pic 3 

pic 4-7






The right bog is similar to the left, just about 6' longer. The water is pumped into the back of the bogs, filters thru the gravel and root system of all the good green things that are/will be planted in the bogs and then spills over the front edges into the pond to begin the cycle again.

All very low tech and clunky, but it sure does produce crystal clear water. 

Keep Smilin'
John 

And BTW Roc, 6.5 cubic yards of gravel provides a WHOLE LOT of surface area ... 

27

Pond Chat / Re: filter install question

« on: April 07, 2007, 10:38:55 PM »

I swear by my DIY gravel filter ... All sorts of nice fuzzy green stuff growing on the walls and floor of the pond but the water is clear, clear, clear.

Take a look at my "I'll give you three guesses" topic ( http://www.americanponders.com/forum/index.php?topic=2143.0 ) for a peek at the clarity and the gravel filters ... 6.5 cubic yards of 1/2" river rock surely provides "tons of bio" (literally ) and completely filters out the "fines". Upstream of the gravel the water goes thru mechanical filtration that consists of a 1" layer of poly filter mat and then a 1" layer of poly quilt batting before it's pumped into the rear of the bogs. The water then  has to filter thru 8 to 11' of 1/2" river rock before spilling back into the pond.

Only time will prove whether it works as well as I expect it to but 25+ years of aquarium reverse flow undergravel filters lead me to believe it will.

Cleaning the gravel may be a pain but that's what God invented winter and 20somethingyearold stepsons for! Remove/rinse 1/4 of the gravel each winter and I predict it will stay just as clear as it is now.

Keep Smilin'
John 

28

Pond Chat / I'll give you three guesses ...

« on: April 07, 2007, 10:13:00 PM »

as to what they're doing and the vid title and song selection don't count ...

I hope you enjoy watching this as much as I enjoyed making it, my first video effort.   

http://home.comcast.net/~jmoliva/MakinWhoopee.wmv

Keep Smilin'
John 

29

Chit Chat / Re: Time to Make A Move!

« on: April 03, 2007, 08:02:23 PM »

not far enuf!!!
Can't even work up a good buzz in 5 miles ... rethink your proposal and resubmit!

Keep Smilin'
John

30

Pond Chat / Re: You can definitely tell it's spring in my pond

« on: March 26, 2007, 06:46:43 PM »

Lol, ever hear the expression "24/7" ? I think this is where it comes from.

Chasing 24 hrs a day for 7 days (or more) days ... I'm surprised the girls don't turn around and belt the guys after awhile cause they sure are persistent ... and I'm surprised the guys don't have coronaries ... but I guess it's different when you're young (and a fish) ..

Come to think of it, it WAS different when I was young ... Yep, youth is wasted on the young ...

Keep Smilin'
John