Messages

91

Pond Chat / Re: I'm looking for some feedback..

« on: April 08, 2008, 08:29:51 AM »

Just looking at your site today; I see you have been making many of the changes suggested here.

    I agree the look of the navigation buttons doesn't really seem to work. Buttons reek homegrown site. Yahoo site builder has limitations, but try just smoothing things a little, even plain text links might work better than those buttons.
    The "About Me button" --no, it isn't about you it's about your business
    Softer colors wouldn't overwhelm the viewer or your content. 
    I would decrease your font size. Avoid italic text, much harder to read. I have my resolution very high and the text was huge. Someone with their monitor set for large fonts would get blasted. Doesn't need to be more than 10pt. Don't worry about filling the page with text. White space is good.
    Different layout on the links page. It's scattered and confusing.

Don't mean to sound so harsh; I just have a critical eye, sorry.

92

Pond Chat / Re: Pond thawed Saturday, all koi dead

« on: April 08, 2008, 07:40:40 AM »

I am so sorry to hear of your lost fishies. Our pond too was covered in ice and snow from early Dec to mid March.

This was my first year with the pond so I was very concerned. I would have been so sad if I came home to a pond without fish. I had only a small hole created by the stock tank heater. We found 2 comets that died, but one plain goldie and 2 koi just disappeared. Four fantail goldies lived, and they are supposed to be more fragile than the comets or koi. My remaining 10 koi seem fine, but they too are smaller.

I wonder, if when my fish grow if it will be harder for them to live with all those contained gases and stuff. Makes me afraid to buy any more.

93

Pond Chat / Re: Underwater plants in or out of pots

« on: November 14, 2007, 12:50:00 PM »

As I mentioned in another post to you, I only follow the advise of my pond guy. He says plant everything in the the pond not pots for best filtration. My pond is for fish, more than for a water garden. The lilies are pretty and I love them, but I don't think they do as well in the pond as they might in pots. I'm also not sure how I'll fertilize them since they have no dirt. I planted all my grasses and small plants right in the rocks. I won't know till spring if they make it through their first winter.

I would just be very careful about invasive reeds and such; they could become a real nightmare. I was given a list of plants to avoid because they can overtake a pond. Your climate zone could make a difference too.

94

Pond Chat / Re: In-pond pump location

« on: November 14, 2007, 12:38:28 PM »

I have a 2500 to 3000 gal pond with 2 4500g/hr underwater pumps. They are in my skimmer box and sit probably 2/3 of the depth of the pond. They pump the water up about 4 feet and out over 20' to my bog. From there into a stream that splits into each end of the pond. The skimmer is on the opposite the side of the pond from the streams.

I am a novice at this pond business and have no idea what is right. But the guy who put mine in is very experienced and everything works. I have no filtration other than the rock bog and add no chemicals, only bacteria. All I know is I have very clear water and my fish seem happy. Guess I'm not much help.

95

Pond Chat / Re: How Big Is Your Pond?

« on: November 14, 2007, 12:22:25 PM »

Joanne,
My pond is only six months old and my Koi are babies, if they can grow up to be that gorgeous I will be so happy. I think my pond is about that size, so hopefully. I'm leaving the kids in the pond for the winter, but I worry because we go to Texas for 2 months, just have to hope the bubbler will keep the ice open.
My kids come around anytime we get near the pond so maybe someday I can train them too.

96

Pond Chat / Re: How Big Is Your Pond?

« on: November 13, 2007, 11:12:43 AM »

Your "pups" are amazing! Wow! I'm green. How big is the pond and how many "pups"? I tried to count them, but there were so many.

97

Chit Chat / Re: Fimo for Christmas (handmade mini ornaments)

« on: November 10, 2007, 07:04:01 PM »

My daughter and I make jewelry with polymer clay (http://lesser-things.com) but have never made anything that small. Those are adorable. We watch Michaels ads and usually get it for $.99 a package. We use a dedicated convection oven. There are lots of warnings about never using anything for food that has been used for polymer. But, I really can't imagine that baking it in your oven now and then would hurt anything. Our jewelry cooks at 285 for 13 minutes. I have heard that toaster ovens will burn it. Over cooking in a regular oven can sometimes just make it brittle. We have baked pieces 2 or 3 times adding different layers without a problem.

98

Chit Chat / Re: Happy Birthday Dianne aka crazyfishlady

« on: October 28, 2007, 01:54:55 PM »

Why thank you so much for your kind wish. It was a pleasant surprise when I logged on.

99

Pond Chat / Re: Do you name your fish?

« on: September 12, 2007, 06:30:08 PM »

I definitely name mine:
Huge one-eyed Black Moor-Bitsy
Huge Calico Fantail-Oscar
3 Fantails-Hot Lips, Rosie, Baby
Comets-Michael, Janet, Latoya
My volunteer Goldie-Squirt
Koi-Ghost, Joe, Harley, Davidson, Goldie, Pony Boy, Angel, Mason, Moon, Crystal, Patches, Joy, Pumpkin Head and Carrot

Otherwise it would be hard to talk with them.

100

Pond Chat / Re: Hail from Hell (can I say that???)

« on: August 21, 2007, 06:41:33 AM »

Wonderful pictures and videos. Your pond is lovely. It made a beautiful recovery.

101

Pond Chat / Re: I beat myself up today!

« on: August 14, 2007, 02:54:40 PM »

Your pond and the pictures are lovely.  Being from Omaha, I'm curious where in this city did you find a rock to pick up? I thought we had to truck them all in from Colorado.

102

Pond Chat / Re: My Very First Lotus!

« on: August 12, 2007, 02:02:55 PM »

That is gorgeous! Your pond is lovely.

103

Pond Water Quality / Re: Algae

« on: August 11, 2007, 07:32:43 AM »

You can use the barley in any form; the liquid works immediately, but doesn't last as long. They say the straw takes a month to work, but my experience is less than 2 weeks. Don't expect instant improvement. About two weeks after my pond went in it turned totally grren and you couldn't see past the first 3 inches. I just kept buying plants, practically every day. After eight days of yuk you could see halfway down the next day it was clear to the bottom and has stayed that way.

If you don't have anymore shelves; try submerged pants like: Anacharis or Hornwort. They don't need soil. Actually none of my plant's are in pots. I just cover their roots with rocks. I had Hyacinths in my pre-pond pot garden under a covered patio it thrived, didn't flower but was happy and multiplied 'till I had to thin it. I also had good luck in the shade with Umbrella Papyrus, I built my own ledges by turning over glass or stoneware bowls. 

I'm not familar with Unicorn grass, sorry.

I am a newbie too, I only know what my pond man told me, "You can't have too many plants." The pond has to be in balance, radical interventions like UV, water changes and algaecides just delay the process. By the way his best picks for root filtration were Dwarf Cattail and Impatience. The Impatience was a problem with my sun, but I got it going in the semi-shade gravel bog at the top of the falls where the Barley is.

104

Pond Water Quality / Re: Algae

« on: August 10, 2007, 02:41:26 PM »

Barley, Barley, Barley. Can't say enough for it. I have a pond that sits in full sun 12 to 14 hrs a day. My hyancinths fried. I have no filtration system and the only thing we add is beneficial bacteria and dechlorinator. My Koi and Goldies are fed only every couple of days and are growing. I have lots of plants; a few lilies in their infancy, underwater, and marginals. I would say there is less than 20% surface coverage. I have floated barley at the top of my falls since day one.

All of a sudden we had this thick stringy algea all through the falls. We noticed the barley had all but disentegrated. I bought more and magic the algae is gone. If your pond is small and you don't want to look at bags of straw floating about; they make these barley straw planters. You can put any plant in the planter and not even see the straw. Or they have pellets or liquid. You can have clear water without a lot of hassle; if you don't overfeed and have plants that eat your fishes nutrients before the algae can grow.

105

Koi Corner / Re: Surprise Visitor-any ideas?

« on: August 07, 2007, 06:47:16 AM »

Thanks for the input, but I'm still confused. I have Goldies, but they are Sarassa Comets, Fantails, Orundas, and a one really big Shubunkin from my Grandson's aquarium. Here's a picture of him below. He is swimming next to a 6" Koi. I also have his aquarium mate a Black Moor that lost one eye and is even bigger than he is.

Any ideas how old this baby is? I do have some lilies and Dwarf Cattails from the company that built my pond; they were put in the end of May. Does that timeline fit?

106

Koi Corner / Re: Surprise Visitor-any ideas?

« on: August 06, 2007, 06:23:27 PM »

That isn't funny. But if I only had one and not a multiple birth it's not so bad. I know this is a dumb question, but if it's a Goldie why is it brown? I do have Goldies and baby Koi.

107

Koi Corner / Surprise Visitor-any ideas?

« on: August 06, 2007, 03:57:32 PM »

Found this little guy in the pond today. I know the pictures aren't good but he isn't 2" long and moves very fast. I haven't bought a new plant in over a month and never from a stocked pond. Does anyone have an idea?

108

Pond Chat / Re: Summer Pond Pictures

« on: August 04, 2007, 04:17:13 PM »

What a beautiful pond! What is the bright yellow green plant that is growing along the edge? I love the look.

109

Wakin, Shubunkins and Goldfish... / Re: Any good ideas?

« on: August 04, 2007, 07:21:00 AM »

I thank you for the assistance, just wish I had known you all before I bought them.

110

Pond Chat / Re: Pictures say more then thousand words - July 2007

« on: August 03, 2007, 05:15:44 PM »

Well Kristin I have some sad news. Max can unfortunately only be a companion to Heba as he is devoid of the proper equipment.  But I do of course have pictures. This is what he does best:

111

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: What are these?

« on: August 03, 2007, 02:31:03 PM »

I think the purple flowers are Balsam or Lady's Slipper.

112

Pond Chat / Re: Pictures say more then thousand words - July 2007

« on: August 02, 2007, 08:42:42 PM »

The pictures were beautiful. The pond gorgeous. The fish fantastic. The Bulldog the best. I have a friend for her. His name is Max.

113

Photo Album / Re: I was asked to share a photo.

« on: August 02, 2007, 08:01:39 PM »

That is really cool. I burned out a pump once with bleach. I had a large fountain before my pond and I used "Pond Block" It kept it algea free all season.

114

Photo Album / Re: Newbie says Hi

« on: August 02, 2007, 07:58:22 PM »

Emm,
My rock bog is at the top of the stream. It is about 7' long, 3' wide and 2.5' deep. The 2 (4,500gal/hr each)  pump hose outlets are buried in it. It overflows to creat the streams. I have plants in the rock around the perimeter and barley straw floating. We add Clarity Max weekly. The water is really clear, it's magic. We have no other filtration other than the skimmer. People talk about sludge in the bottom of their ponds, but so far I don't have anything but rock. Maybe a different story when the fish grow, though. 

115

Wakin, Shubunkins and Goldfish... / Re: Any good ideas?

« on: July 31, 2007, 05:18:03 PM »

The other nice fish in my pond do get excited when I swing the net around. The pond is a little more than 20ft long and 10ft wide, with multiple levels all lined with boulders (lots of hiding places). Not really sure how deep, but I do know it's deeper than my legs are long. Got very wet the first time I stepped to the bottom level.

I have 12 assorted Goldfish and 14 smaller Koi, all of which are very fond of schooling. I really don't know where I would coral them.

My next morning off I'll try the feeding idea; they are usually sleepy in the morning.

116

Pond Chat / Re: Baby Koi

« on: July 31, 2007, 11:14:57 AM »

That is amazing! And more than a little scarry, what do you do with all of them? I don't know what I would do if I suddenly had so many babies.

117

Wakin, Shubunkins and Goldfish... / Any good ideas?

« on: July 31, 2007, 11:10:27 AM »

On my 1st fish buying trip I bought several Sarasa Comets. Big mistake they are so mean. They pick on the little fantails so bad; eating their tails and even putting little Sara's eye out. They killed an Orunda.

I spoke to Pet Smart and they will let me bring them back, but how do you catch them? My daughter and I spent the morning in the pond with nets. But they are way too fast and quick to hide. The little fantails and Koi came all around us to see what was going on, but those comets literally disappeared.

Any input would be appreciated.

118

Photo Album / Re: Newbie says Hi

« on: July 31, 2007, 11:01:24 AM »

Thank you all for the welcome. I look forward to learning from each of you. I do love the "kids".

119

Photo Album / Newbie says Hi

« on: July 30, 2007, 09:31:39 PM »

Hi,
Just wanted to introduce myself. My real name is Dianne, but since we put in a pond a couple of months ago, my son-in-law has dubbed me, crazy fish lady. I suddenly have trouble getting anything done. I just stare at my fish. These are some of my new children.

These are some pics of the pond. Next year hope to finish the landscaping and add some larger boulders at the bends in the stream. Filtration is only a river rock bog at top. Seems to work pretty well.


I hope to learn a lot from all of you, as I am a true newbie.