Re: Barrel pond plans / questions

On Fri, 31 Mar 2006 00:33:17 GMT, Altum <pt.altum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Flash Wilson wrote:
I had my work cut out to persuade my partner to allow one, but I
suspect like aquariums they will mysteriously reproduce once in place :)

*grin* All you need is a couple more barrels and a solar pump...

Tra-la-la.... :)

I don't know about fish & toadspawn. It's dry where I live, so there's
not much chance of frogs. Use a mosquito dunk if you don't have
anything eating mosquito larvae.

*googles on Mosquito dunks* - never heard of them but they look very
useful!

Whatever you do, don't add gambusia. You can't
see them, they'll breed like crazy, and they'll eat the fry of anything
pretty that you might want to breed in the future. Did I mention how
much I ADORE my gold white cloud minnows? :-)

I did wonder if there's a small fish I could get that would stay
small and not eat all my spawn... Obviously Im in this group because
I love fish, but I'm not too fond of goldfish and I'd love amphibians
in the garden.

Do you think I'd be better off just buying the plants individually?
I was tempted to go for the selection because I was expecting half
of them to establish and half not to thrive (based on my experience
with tropicals), and I don't really know what needs to be in a basket
and what doesn't, or how to do it, so I was kind of trusting them.

I know what you mean about tropicals not establishing. A pond is a bit
more like a garden, though. I've had only two plants fail. One was an
iris that I bought at a garden center, and it didn't look good to start
with. The other was cambomba. OMG, was that a mess!

Oh dear, cabomba does rather fall to bits and block filters, doesnt it!

I looked at that site, and I think you'll come out about the same price
and get exactly what you want ordering individually. Plus, I doubt
they'll send one of the really nice dwarf lilies. All you need for
submerged plants is a couple bunches of elodea. It will grow like a
weed. You won't even be able to see the submerged plants anyway once
the lily gets going. An aponogeton is silly.

Ok, I'll just order a few things, if I can find them locally I will,
else I'll order online. The only input my partner has had into the
pond is that the lily must be red. I am TRYING to get him interested!

BTW, garden centers have a lot of plants that can grow as pond
marginals. Ours have lilies too. Just look a the pond website and
write down what might grow ahead of time. Rinse the soil out of the
roots as best you can and repot in clay or aquatic soil.

Ok... We have clay soil in the ground, will that do or should I
buy something? I guess aquatic soil comes from fish shops?

Thanks for replying, this is completely new territory for me, but
I'm looking forward to it!

Ponds are wonderful fun!

I'm learning that! Thanks very much, it's appreciated. I feel like
a complete newbie but in a few years I'll be able to answer people's
barrel pond questions with confidence I'm sure! :)
--
Flash Wilson - Web Design & Mastery - 0870 401 4061 / 07939 579090
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Work: www.wdam.co.uk Personal: www.gorge.org
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Barrel pond plans / questions
    ... I guess aquatic soil comes from fish shops? ... Clay soil from the ground should work You need something that doesn't ... so some of my pond plants are in that. ... Has any tried raising tr*lls in barrel ponds? ...
    (rec.aquaria.freshwater.misc)
  • Re: Barrel pond plans / questions
    ... Clay soil from the ground should work You need something that doesn't have too much loam (loam rots) and enough clay to adsorb fertilizers. ... Overpriced aquatic soil comes from fish shops and moderately priced stuff from garden stores. ... I had extra Flourite and gravel sitting around, so some of my pond plants are in that. ...
    (rec.aquaria.freshwater.misc)
  • Re: DO NOT FEED THE REC.POND TROLLS.
    ... Too many flamebiters. ... This is the earliest my small pond has started to turn green. ... Two of the barrels are fine but one turned black and smelly so was cleaned and refilled recently. ... Aquariums since 1952 ...
    (rec.ponds)