Author Topic: I'm a new ponder in KS (Read 2625 times)

tweetybaby2005 · « **on:** May 21, 2008, 06:50:16 PM »

Hi, I'm a new ponder in Wichita, KS. I have a tiny 150 gallon stock tank (inground), a skippy filter, and a small waterfall. I am working on adding some fish and plants in the near future since the temperature is finally warmer. I started it too late last year around Sept so by the time it was all said and done, Fall was closing in. For mother's day my hubby asked me what I wanted and I told him a bigger pond. He promised me I'll have it in June. I can't wait for a bigger one. I just bought some lotus from Frank (this site) so hopefully I will have them in time for my new pond. Currently my little pond has a couple of lilies going and today is the first day I saw a pad on the surface so I am very excited.

I hope to learn from all of you ponders and also share some experience in the future.

Kuan

SueSTx · « **Reply #1 on:** May 21, 2008, 07:07:04 PM »

Welcome to a wonderful hobby.

My Name is Sue...I'm a stocktank addict.

I started with a 35 gallon preform...added a 160 gallon stocktank...then a 90 gal...and then a 750 gallon...then a 550 gallon...and all that is just six short years. Each year I usually have a couple of 20 gallon tubs nursing along a lily that just can't seem to get started.

My original 8 goldfish have multiplies for the last couple of years...now the babies are having babies.

I started with 2 water lilies from WalMart and now I'm throwing plants on the compost pile.

I have 6 more I have bought off the forums.

I have a couple of tubs of lotus in the 90 gallon oval tank this summer. I hope they make it.

and YEP...I'd get another tank tomorrow if I had extra $$$'s and try some tropical lilies.

EagleEye · « **Reply #2 on:** May 21, 2008, 07:09:41 PM »

Hi Kuan,
I remember very well when I had my first pad-------very exciting
It'll get a lot better from here.
Have fun with your new pond,
Steve

Ky Kim · « **Reply #3 on:** May 21, 2008, 07:13:23 PM »

Welcome. You'll like it here. Just a bunch of ponders with good advice.

Do you have any pics, we'd love to see them.

Kim

water_sprite · « **Reply #4 on:** May 21, 2008, 07:36:15 PM »

Beware, ponding is very addicting! You'll want another pond, then a bigger pond, then an even bigger pond. And wait til you get to the water lilies! There are so many beautiful ones.

You can NEVER have enough.

Welcome!

Brenda

Double S · « **Reply #5 on:** May 21, 2008, 07:45:50 PM »

Welcome!! I'm just north of you in Osawatomie, KS. I have 4 ponds here. Make sure you share pix with us of your exsisting pond, the dig of the new..then the finished product. We love pix of everything!

karen J · « **Reply #6 on:** May 21, 2008, 08:06:16 PM »

Hi Kuan, Welcome to Stock Tank Heaven! If you take a look around, the members here have built amazing pond thingies out of stock tanks. Ponds, filters, fountains... very creative.

I notice you say you're a new ponder, yet you used a stock tank (smart decision). That's kind of unusual in that most people go for a kit, preform, or liner for their first pond. What made you choose a stock tank?
Do you have any pics?

Mikey · « **Reply #7 on:** May 21, 2008, 08:18:10 PM »

Welcome to the family of ponders!

landey1230 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 21, 2008, 08:18:53 PM »

Quote from: water_sprite on May 21, 2008, 07:36:15 PM

Beware, ponding is very addicting! You'll want another pond, then a bigger pond, then an even bigger pond. And wait til you get to the water lilies! There are so many beautiful ones. You can NEVER have enough.

Welcome!

Brenda

She's right. It's a great habit.

Welcome. There are great people here and are very helful.

tweetybaby2005 · « **Reply #9 on:** May 22, 2008, 05:59:24 AM »

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I just took some pictures of my exsiting pond but need to upload them to a photo site. It is really bare bones since I started so late last year. Hubby is so busy now (he has his own landscape business) I hope he can start digging the new pond in June. I have a 'paper design' that I draw to give him an idea of what I want in this new pond.

Karen - I started with a stock tank instead of a preform kit because I was thinking of overwintering the fish in the pond. I was also reading up on different pond sites to get some ideas before I went into ponding. That's also why I have a whiskey barrel skippy filter as well. Actually the skippy filter is some what of a hybrid. I have scrubbies, bioballs, quilt batting, and watercress in it. I clean the quilt batting a couple of times a week (just dunk it in a bucket of water) and my plants love the water.

So far so good and I can see the bottom of the pond.

A friend of mine is closing on her house tomorrow and the house has a pond but she doesn't want it. I'll be going over there to get the fish and lilies this weekend. She said there are 'a lot' of fish so I have lined up a couple of my friends to share the fish so my pond is not overloaded. I am getting quite excited about it.

Kuan

Julles · « **Reply #10 on:** May 22, 2008, 06:39:17 AM »

"For mother's day my hubby asked me what I wanted and I told him a bigger pond.

Hee hee hee. Welcome to ponding!!

What a stroke of luck with the gift-fish. Good way to spend the holiday weekend.

"

tinkster · « **Reply #11 on:** May 22, 2008, 07:34:14 PM »

welcome! Glad your getting the lilies and fish but would have been nice if your friend had shared your love for ponding. Its nice to have someone to enjoy that with.

tinkster

Sandye · « **Reply #12 on:** May 22, 2008, 08:35:21 PM »

Welcome, Kuan!!!

It's good to see some more Kansas ponders on here. I live in southeast KS...Parsons, to be exact. I spent two weeks in your lovely city in Aug. of 2006, while my DH was in the Galichia Heart Hospital. I'm afraid I didn't get to see much of the town, tho. $:-\$

You'll love this forum. There are lots of helpful people here who know about fish, ponds, and plants. It's a great place to hang out!

tracey_shafer · « **Reply #13 on:** May 22, 2008, 10:16:15 PM »

Welcome!! Always nice to see a another person from Kansas here. I also have many stock tanks but in ground ponds too!! We started off with a water feature and are now in therapy

. The people across the street have 2 ponds also and no longer speak to us, it was all are fault! It is the strange case of keeping up the jones, soon the neighborhood should have ponds everwhere

tweetybaby2005 · « **Reply #14 on:** May 23, 2008, 09:32:01 AM »

Wow, I am glad to see quite a few Kansas ponders here. Heaven knows I need help in ponding since I'm so new to it. I might need to travel around KS to see some of your ponds and stocktanks.

My plan of getting the fish and lilies this weekend is busted. My friend is unable to close her house because the inspection paperwork was turned in late. So now we wait. She has a new baby and the pond takes up almost the whole backyard so she and her hubby decided to fill it.

For now, I'll just have to drool over you guys' pond and fish pics until I get mine. Plus my pond water has gone down quite a bit so I wonder if there is a leak some where in the waterfall. I love to troubleshoot but moving the big rocks will be difficult.

I bought 1 water hyacinth last weekend for $5.00 (soooo expensive) $:-\$ so I'm hoping someone will respond to my "Need water hyacinth" post on the exchange forum. My pond water is turning greener by the day so I know I need some surface coverage until my lilies send up more pads.

Since I just got done running this morning and off today (hooray for 4 day weekend

), I need to find the leak in my waterfall (or may be the skippy filter??).

Happy Ponding everyone!!! Have a great weekend.

Kuan

tweetybaby2005 · « **Reply #15 on:** May 23, 2008, 09:49:49 AM »

Quote from: Sandye on May 22, 2008, 08:35:21 PM

Welcome, Kuan!!!

It's good to see some more Kansas ponders on here. I live in southeast KS...Parsons, to be exact. I spent two weeks in your lovely city in Aug. of 2006, while my DH was in the Galichia Heart Hospital. I'm afraid I didn't get to see much of the town, tho. $:-\$

Sandy, I hope your hubby is OK now. I live about 4 blocks North of Galichia Heart Hospital. Next time when you come to Wichita (not hospital stay I hope

), let me know, I would like to meet up with you.

Kuan

Brian · « **Reply #16 on:** May 23, 2008, 12:09:40 PM »

Kuan,
Trust me, that one water hyacinth will be plenty! They will spread fast once the water temp warms up.

jclements · « **Reply #17 on:** May 23, 2008, 12:24:11 PM »

Welcome!

I am originally from Pittsburg, KS, but have more recently lived in Florida and now Texas. I was born in Wichita and I still have relatives there with ponds. I send them extra divisions of waterlilies each spring. Glad to see more KS ponders!

Desertponder · « **Reply #18 on:** May 23, 2008, 12:30:55 PM »

Hi Kuan and welcome to the group. There are a number of us who have stock tank ponds.
I have several 100 & 150 tanks and a couple of kiddie pools. I use them because I rent. Hopefully one of these days soon we will
get a place bought so I can have an inground pond.

Julles · « **Reply #19 on:** May 23, 2008, 02:05:53 PM »

Kuan, if you like pictures, we do have a photo forum here, too, with lots of nice shots of lilies and ponds and etc.

Also, you should soon - very soon - have tons of hyacinth. Especially if your water quality is a bit off... my hyacinth do best in tubs that I never change the water, and not so well in my filtered pond.

tweetybaby2005 · « **Reply #20 on:** May 23, 2008, 02:49:03 PM »

Julles, the water hyacinth I bought was really sad looking. It was one of the last ones in the store so I figured it must have been there for a while and no one wanted it. It has brown leaves all around and the whole plant really was sorry looking

. When I got it home, I took out the brown leaves and left the good ones alone and put it in a small bucket of water under a tree for a day then I put it directly into the pond. The pond water's parameters are great so I wonder if I should put it in a bucket with some dirt?? I'm trying desprately to save it so it will produce many more for me. LOL!

Kuan

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #21 on:** May 23, 2008, 09:04:29 PM »

Welcome to the addiction Kuan!

Sandye · « **Reply #22 on:** May 24, 2008, 08:43:54 PM »

Quote from: tweetybaby2005 on May 23, 2008, 09:49:49 AM

Sandy, I hope your hubby is OK now. I live about 4 blocks North of Galichia Heart Hospital. Next time when you come to Wichita (not hospital stay I hope ), let me know, I would like to meet up with you.

Kuan

Thanks, Kuan, I think hubby's heart should be OK now. He had a quadruple bypass and a carotid endarterectomy, so he should be fixed up for a while. Let me know if you're coming this way, although it may be a while before my pond is cleaned up this year. I didn't get the pump and Skippy going until about a week ago. My DH also has dementia, so a lot of things around here don't get done on schedule. Taking care of him keeps me pretty busy. $:-\$