# [Wet Thumb Forum]-spring project



## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

Well he is one of the reasons I haven't set up my new 75gal tank yet. With spring and summer weather so nice this year I have set up a small pond and have been redoing all the flower beds around the house. This pond is just a test to see if I would really like to invest in a large pond. I mist say its been fun.

Hawk


























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## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

Well he is one of the reasons I haven't set up my new 75gal tank yet. With spring and summer weather so nice this year I have set up a small pond and have been redoing all the flower beds around the house. This pond is just a test to see if I would really like to invest in a large pond. I mist say its been fun.

Hawk


























Trust But Verify «*»®


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

You lucky Duck! That's really cute!!!

I've spent most of the summer learning about pond plants and systems for work. Being the Plant Guy at the store I kind of inherited the whole pond department by default.

I must say, ponds are really cool!!! I've got two growing ponds out back of the store: one 10x4x2.5 and the other 12x3x graduated 1-2. They've turned me into an addict.

What plants do you have in there? Acorus, Cyperus, and Eichornia? (I can't believe I remembered those.









Have you had your Hyacinth bloom yet? I didn't until I added Miracle Gro Bloom Booster. It's 10-52-10 and did wonderful things for the plants' growth and foliage.


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2003)

Hawk,

You said that this is your first pond ?????

Wow. I'm very impressed. I just love that bush/tree behind the pond. Those Rocks and small plants are really adding to the overall composition.

Great job.


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## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

This is not much of a pond the top is 20gal that feeds into a 70gal. There preform ponds. The plant at the end is a Cyperus haspens. It has grown so big its top heavy now. I have to keep rocks on it to keep it from falling over.
The plant in the middle is called arrow head or leaf that's what the guy at the LFS said. I haven't see in any of my books so I am not sure of its real name. Its not growing as fast but its doubled in size. As far as the Hyacinth I have had blooms in a water garden I set up last year but not here. I don't think I am getting enough sun where this pond is at. At best I might get 4 hours of full sun. I use 13x4x5 plant spikes in the pots just like I use in my aquariums. The biggest problem I have had is dogs thinking this is a doggie beach. IF you look close you can see I have installed an electric wire around my whole garden. HEHEHEH Dogs are not a problem now.

I was worried about GW because I didn't install a UV light but its not been a problem. I think because I don't have allot of full sun might be the reason. I had a really hard time finding Hyacinth this year. What I did find was real sick looking. Now I have been giving 5gal buckets of it away and I need to tram out some more. From what I;ve been told from the LSF, Hyacinth can't be shipped across Georgia, Alabama, or Mississippi so it has to come by air. I paid over $4 for some of the small sick looking plants I have ever seen. I got them in April . Its taken this long to get them growing strong.

Jay, 
the big bush in the back is a 20 year old holly bush. That's all I know about it. Its a beautiful bunch. Late fall it get large groups of red berries. There are mocking birds that nest in it every year. You can't see it in these pics but on the other side is a bush that gets purple flowers in June and July. That bush is over 50 years old. The garden in 12'x40' . the pond end is like a edge of the woods with lots of shade but the other end is full sun with lots of different lilies that bloom early to mid summer. I have order a bunch of bulbs to mix in for spring flowers an along with some perennials we have flowers all three seasons. Its been really fun planning this project out. I am looking forward to doing the larger pond with a garden around it too. This time I will have more full sun for growing pond lilies. 

Hawk

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## qbal18 (Jul 19, 2004)

dose that buse get blure berrys on it because it really looks like an origon grape?

tank specs are in my profile


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## Rumpled (Jun 23, 2003)

The arrow head plant is in fact called a Taro, great for soaking up Nitrate and phosphates in ponds. 

Just thought I would let you know.

Paul

90 gallon, Dupla CO2 injection, Dupla undergravel heater, 240 watts of light and 2 x Eheim pro2 canisters


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## eruji (Feb 1, 2003)

Hawk,

that is absolutely beautiful, ive been thinking about setting up a small pond in my backyard.

how did you lay this out? they are 2 separate containers?

is the 20 gal sitting in the 70 or to the side of it?

what are you using for filtration? and how did you plumb the 2 together?


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## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

Qbal, you are right its a Oregon Grape. I checked with my better half and stand corrected. 

Thanks Rumpled, I wanted to know the name. I need to do some research on it. I think I can keep it through the winter but I am not sure. I gets down to -0 F here. Sometimes a bit colder but not for long periods
.
eruji, It wasn't that expensive to set up . It took me about 4 hour to dig out and set it up with water and filter/pump. The spot I use to set up the pond is on a small incline. At the top is a small fishmate filter sitting on a concrete block that dump on a flat stepping stone covered with TN field stone. All of this lays on 2'x2' pond liner so there's no leaks. This dumps into a 20gal preform spillway that dumps into the 70gal kidney shape preform. The two preforms cost about $80. I picked them up at Lowe's. The Small Fishmate filter and a 500gal/hour Oase pump cost less then $75 on the net. My LFS more then doubled the price so that's why I bought it off the net. I Do try to support my LFS but I saved more then $70 buying the same thing on line. I used landscape stones to create a three tear step. I spent more on plants to do all the landscaping around the pond. It was really fun to build. I had a water garden last year that was nice too but bigger is better. I really enjoy sitting by the pond with my favorite adult beverage and a great cigar feeding the gold fish.

Hawk

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## Rumpled (Jun 23, 2003)

Hawkeye, that Taro will go into dormancy during winter, so it will look like it is dead. Simply remove it from the water, place it somewhere, where it will get a bit of rain, and in spring it will re shoot. The Taro has a corm so it will have energy saved for winter.

You could try to leave it in the water, my girlfriend does this at her house with her Taro's and it gets pretty cold, and they come back every year. The water may act as an insulator against the freezing temperatures.

Anyway good luck.

Paul

90 gallon, Dupla CO2 injection, Dupla undergravel heater, 240 watts of light and 2 x Eheim pro2 canisters


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