Topics

1

Pond Chat / ponds for the'' birds''

« on: November 06, 2016, 11:45:59 AM »

we had a hawk sitting on edge of pond yesterday . not to unusual to have hawk in back yard but that was first one at pond . still have a water canna blooming . i usually have to add about an inch+ of water every week which i thought was evaporation . found a small leak by waterfall where liner was to low . been that way since new but they still charged us $50 to move some BIG stones to pull it up a little [ 10 minutes labor] . hope you are all well . . . peace

2

Chit Chat / fountain of youth

« on: September 30, 2016, 11:13:55 AM »

don't know what it is but think i've found the fountain of youth . i'm digressing toward early , EARLY childhood . my mind is becoming ''blanker'' , my muscles weaker , i'm eating more soft food and drinking more milk . people that i'm supposed to know i'm meeting for the ''first time'' . i'm hoping the ''fountain'' turns out to be ice cream , more info later after further research . . peace

3

Pond Chat / water loss

« on: September 20, 2016, 08:19:25 AM »

hello to all , hope you have been well and happy since i last posted . we are losing about 3/8 of an inch of water per day but 0 inches when pump for waterfall is turned off . it's frustrating but compared to what most of my fellow earthlings go through daily i guess it's pretty trivial . big things have usually gone well for me but the little unimportant things DRIVE ME CRAZY . okay , i'm through . . peace to all.....p s . our comets produced zero babies this year after having quite a few in past years , any thoughts .

4

Pond Chat / heron in the dark

« on: May 17, 2016, 04:57:18 AM »

turned out the light at 10:30 last night to go to bed and for some reason tuned to look out the window . the only light in back is lights on fountain in big pond and silhouetted against that light was the head and neck of the heron standing in shallow end of our little pond . i didn't realize they fed at night and wondered if it was unusual .  it must have known i was there because in a few seconds it headed south . . . peace

5

Pond Chat / feeding the comets

« on: December 11, 2015, 04:19:50 AM »

hello , hope you all had a pleasant summer . temps last couple weeks have been in 30 to 40 range and no ice on pond . next couple days expected to be 55 to 65 can i feed the fish or is that bad . they have been trying to feed from surface . thanks . . . peace and merry christmas to all .

6

Pond Chat / water quality

« on: August 27, 2015, 06:28:16 AM »

temperature has been in the 60's and without a hint of sunshine here for last two days . when i feed fish last evening i was stunned by the clarity of the water . our water is always clear but it is now like crystal and just could not be any clearer . it's supposed to be warmer and sunny next few days and i'm curious to see what i think of water then . now as to global warming , our average july temperature here was record low by about three degrees . i think the rest of globe was three degrees warmer than normal in july . . . peace

7

Pond Chat / water lily

« on: August 21, 2015, 04:01:37 PM »

we have a water lily that has bloomed while still 4 or 5 inches under water . never saw this before and wondered if this is common occurrence . . . peace

8

Pond Chat / lilies

« on: July 15, 2015, 02:01:56 PM »

we have 5 plants . zero lilies from 3 plants , 2 yellow from one , and three pink from the last . weather here has been abnormal , temp this month is averaging 6.6 degrees colder than normal and rain is greater but don't know how much . think it has been well over 300 days since last 90 degree day and normal summer we've had 15 days by now . . . peace

9

Pond Chat / turtle

« on: September 17, 2014, 05:54:13 AM »

wife was out back yesterday and found a turtle about 6 inches across in size as it was walking in grass . it later was walking on net we have over small pond to deter herons . later i found it in grass again and set it on a stone by big pond and in about 15 seconds it put its head out and jumped in pond and swam away . we've lived here over 11 years and i've only seen two turtles in the big pond in that time so was surprised to have one walking in grass . . hope everyone has had a nice summer and all are well .. .. ..peace

10

Pond Chat / barley straw extract

« on: August 24, 2014, 05:17:30 AM »

last summer we bought ''microbe-lift barley straw extract plus peat liquid --2 liters '' it cost $42 . we used about 1 1/2 inches which is less than 10% and would like to be rid of the rest . i'd sell it for $25 shipped , it's heavy and shipping is probably $6 [ my guess] . if you are within 20 miles i'd meet you half way and sell it for $22 . we are using an algaecide instead of this product . . .peace...........hope this wasn't put in an improper area .

11

Pond Chat / water hyacinth

« on: July 28, 2014, 01:20:24 PM »

hyacinth kept getting in savio filter so i corraled them with a bicycle inner tube . they filled in area within inner tube and have done nothing since . they have gained no height and have not flowered and i was wondering if i erred or if they would have reacted the same had they been loose and able to go and to as they ''wished'' . . .peace......hope everyone is happy and healthy this summer .....peace again

12

Pond Chat / we have a leak

« on: October 10, 2013, 04:13:18 PM »

OR do we . took off heron deterrent net couple days ago and put on whole pond leaf catching net . yesterday i was out by pond and found the pump for waterfall was sucking some air . i added water and last night left pump off to see what would happen . this morning water may have been down slightly but to little to be sure . i plugged pump back in expecting water to go down due to leak in line from pump to waterfall , again if it dropped at all it was not enough to be sure [ this about one o'clock in afternoon ] . i went out about 5:30 and water was down about 3/8 of an inch . i have a clear container in pond with the water level set at same depth that water was when i put it in pond yesterday and difference in water levels is about 1/2 inch with container being higher . could the circulating water evaporate at a much faster rate than water in container thus accounting for difference in levels ?? either last year or prior year we experienced this same thing , thinking we had a leak day after putting leaf net on . it has been SUNNY and high 60's with very low humidity . all thoughts welcomed and appreciated . . .peace . . .ps . i post questions on archerytalk and get ZERO comments . i will hope for better results from you kind folks .

13

Pond Chat / algafix part II

« on: June 16, 2013, 08:57:08 AM »

i've put the algafix in pond three times now and it looks really good . algae is not growing like it had been but it's a little soon to contribute that to the chemical . each time i've put it in ,  the pond has gotten a strange clear scum on it which is pretty much gone after about a day [ no i don't know where it has gone to ] . we have some very light colored gravel in the shallow , plant containing area and it has looked bad enough that i've thought of replacing it with something darker . it looked better after one application and now looks really nice , the best it has looked in a couple years . i would recommend this product if asked about it . fish are fine , plants seem to be fine but again a little soon to judge affect on plants . again i need to point out i've been using roughly half recommended dosage . hope mentioning a product isn't breaking forum rules , i just thought someone might find this helpful . . . peace..........ps . ''twovetts'' just left for alaska  , i'm lonesome already .

14

Pond Chat / algaefix

« on: May 28, 2013, 10:34:13 AM »

we have lots of algae again and i'm wearying of fighting it . has anyone tried '' pondcare algae fix'' it is sold by webbs water gardens . it can be used with no harm to fish or plants , theoretically . other suggestions welcomed , i had just stumbled across this product by accident and hoped for your comments . i'm about to turn 74 and between dishes , housework , yardwork , washing and ''waxing'' cars , and taking care of pond i'm getting discouraged . yes , i am aware that all of you are going through same thing , i also suspect that some of you are younger than i . . .peace

15

Pond Chat / tis the season

« on: March 25, 2013, 09:38:31 AM »

yep , blue heron season has started . first one was here yesterday and temp was 30 degrees with 20+ mph wind , kind of unpleasant out . i guess we will have to be more vigilant . . .hope you are all well . . .peace

16

Pond Chat / covered pond yesterday

« on: October 02, 2012, 08:23:44 AM »

we put the net over pond to try to keep leaves out . this morning i went out and caught 5 frogs [1# and 5# may have been same frog ] and put them in the big pond . they come out from under the net at night to feed and can't get back under it [ no i don't know why ] . in the morning the are 'trampolining'' all over the net which is fun to watch . when they stay in the little pond i end up netting the dead frogs in the spring so by putting them in the big pond they may have a better chance of surviving .....assuming they can swim faster that a largemouth bass . haven't seen much activity here lately , hope all are well . . .peace

17

Pond Chat / salt level

« on: July 31, 2012, 01:02:02 PM »

i check various parameters of our pond water once a month and find that salt level drops every month and other figures don't change . i know salt does not evaporate with the pond water . i'm quite sure we haven't a leak . i can't think of an explanation but tend to over look the obvious [the obvious is not always readily apparent] . thoughts are welcomed . . .peace

18

Chit Chat / fake heron

« on: July 10, 2012, 05:34:02 AM »

this is an update on our efforts combating fish eating heron . we bought a dummy heron and put it out maybe 6 weeks ago . the first week the heron would still appear but spent more time getting chipmunks than it did getting fish , in fact got only one that i'm aware of and that was an amazingly quick event . i haven't seen the heron in about 3 weeks and don't know if it's because of fake heron but like the results . in any case we have managed to keep our fishies and that was our goal . secondly , anybody  know why these black boxes of reverse type keep running down right side of screen when i arrive at this site . . .peace

19

Pond Chat / dividing water lilies

« on: April 18, 2012, 08:51:44 AM »

i was just puting fertilizer pellets in water lilies and at least one pot is really full . how do i know if they should be divided . how do i divide them . what size pots . i have them in clay now what is the proper planting medium . out of fertilizer , is there a 'best ' fertilizer for pond plants . . thanks you folks are great when i need help....and when i don't . . .peace......ps. i know two t's and use ? next time .

20

Pond Chat / heron and it's only april

« on: April 02, 2012, 02:50:04 PM »

chased the heron off at least 6 times in less than an hour this morning . i was 'working' on pond this afternoon and our 20 fish are down to 9 or maybe 10 . all the biggest , prettiest are gone and the others are very uncomfortable . guess it won't cost as much to feed them this year......maybe zero at the rate that bird is eating . . .peace

21

Pond Chat / spring

« on: March 15, 2012, 07:51:48 AM »

temps. have been in 60's last few days and are supposed to be that or more for next half dozen or more days . i put pump back in to use filter and waterfall because water , which was nice for a while, had become cloudy and we are getting algae growth . water is looking better by the hour and it's nice to have waterfall running again . hope you are all well . . .peace

22

Chit Chat / oops , p.s.

« on: January 08, 2012, 07:27:33 AM »

forgot to tell you our daughter [38?] had to have a hip replaced monday before christmas so christmas here was a little tense . she is progressing nicely now , i think christmas was a little soon to see progress in recovery . she had a knee cap removed about a year ago . she is sole income for herself , husband, and five bows [triplets , remember] . she works at a local grocery [krogers] and on some days she works 12 hour shift and is standing all the time and ,she says , NO breaks . . .peace . . .p.s. tried to edit previous post but could not make it work . 

23

Chit Chat / weather

« on: January 08, 2012, 07:15:36 AM »

good morning , long time no see . i really don't remember a winter quite like this at least in the respect of snow fall . i doubt we've had 2 inches total and none totaling one inch in a day . i haven't shoveled other than a half inch off a small shaded area so i was sure it would melt . temps have often been ten degrees higher than normal . occasional ice on both ponds but it has certainly never reached an inch in thickness and probably never a half inch . hope you're all as fortunate and are having a pleasant and uneventful 'winter' . . . .peace 

24

Pond Chat / unnetted

« on: November 15, 2011, 11:11:47 AM »

took the cover [net] off yesterday figuring better to hand net whatever falls in pond than to take off the net when it is 35-40 degrees out . been an easy autumn temp wise so far . can't believe how few posts i find when i ''visit'' . hope you are all well . . .peace ..........forgot , we bought a small air pump to try to keep a hole in ice . while reading directions i find ''do not use at temps below freezing'' . the heater last year blew circuit breaker so we ended up with no hole in ice ...and all live fishies in spring .

25

Pond Chat / hole in ice

« on: October 18, 2011, 01:09:30 PM »

i know one is supposed to keep a hole open in ice . last year we put a heater in pond but what we didn't know is that it tripped circuit breaker . therefore , we went through the winter with no hole and no ill effects to fish . since electric source is same i would expect same thing to happen this year . i've wondered about installing a small aquarium air pump that would draw less electricity to keep a hole open but don't know if it would work . any thoughts appreciated as i don't want to buy a pump if it isn't going to keep a hole open in ice . . . .peace

26

Chit Chat / zoo

« on: October 11, 2011, 01:05:48 PM »

no!! not my home . 2vetts and i went to the zoo yesterday for first time in [for me ] ten years . it has changed quite a bit and is quite nice for toledo . they have a baby giraffe about a month old and a baby elephant that is 4 months old . the giraffe was cute and the little elephant was very entertaining . there was a squirrel in the elephants enclosure and the little elephant decided it would run it out which was very funny . great weather and not much of a crowd ,if i live another ten years i'll probably go again .. . .peace

27

Pond Chat / autumn chores

« on: October 09, 2011, 01:48:43 PM »

had to put net on pond today . guess i need to find the rake and keep an eye open for the snow shovel . peace

28

Pond Chat / pump output

« on: September 10, 2011, 08:39:23 AM »

cleaned out the filter again this morning including pulling pump out and cleaning intake area on pump [ i do this at least once a week] . looking out the window at waterfall i told my wife that i wished pump was bigger . we decided it put out more water when it was new . i went back out and pulled pump again and realized how to take off the bottom [ only took 3 years ,duh!] . there was another grid which was at least half clogged so cleaned it and reassembled pump . i put it back in and plugged it in and the water flow was probably almost doubled . water fall looks MUCH better and i am pleased with the result [a rare occurrence for me] . just posted this hoping some one else with reduced water flow may benefit . . .peace

29

Chit Chat / need a ''de-duck-tion''

« on: September 06, 2011, 10:00:22 AM »

last few days the ducks have been coming up from the big pond into our little one . sometimes just one but sometimes a half dozen , i must have run them out about 15 times today . at least the blue heron just did a 'fly by' today . we had patio resealed so had moved bird feeder rack over by pond to get it off patio . when i went out to feed fish yesterday there was a kingfisher sitting on it , i assume it was deciding which fish best filled the bill . . .peace

30

Chit Chat / ''anniversary'' loosely speaking

« on: September 05, 2011, 08:50:10 AM »

just came back from jogging . first time i jogged was labor day in 1980 , i was 41 years old . i'd been in hospital and saw a man in a wheel chair who knew what he wanted to say but the words were just nonsense syllabels[spelling ] when he spoke . i think he'd had a stroke . i made up my mind that would never be me and i've jogged or biked at least 6 days a week since then . . .peace.........this does not require a reply .............sylabells ..syllobals  ..sylabolls..syllabols..sylabolls .......i give up....syloballs...syl????????ls...close enough