Wood frame raised pond project

[Aaron]

Nicely done Sam. I'm curious about the pump / heater situation as well.

Any plans for breeding some fish?

[sns26]

I think I may be stuck with corners as is. I may switch to wider wood for the top frame to add some internal overhang and hide the liner that way.

I bought a small pond filter - one of those Pondmaster things--rated at 190gph. I mostly did it because I was at the pond store and it was right there in front of me. But I'm wondering if I can just stick a little powerhead in there to get circulation and leave it at that. As for fish, I tossed ten white clouds in there for mosquito control. Will they breed? If not, I may have to add some guppies to keep the kids happy. They love to see tons of fish.

I'm wondering how the depth (28" of water) will affect things. I did that so that I could try overwintering some fish, and to combat the merciless summer heat. The lilies can go straight on the bottom, but I had to prop up the irises on an old milk crate. I have to find a better way than that...

[Aaron]

The white clouds should breed.

[sns26]

Nice surprise for me this morning. This iris is apparently happy to have a new home; it bloomed for the first time. I know Kris is cringing at the picture, but it was a quick phone snap on the way out the door.

iris.jpg (43.49 KiB) Viewed 9103 times

[tug]

"Finished" product. We know nothing is ever finished.
Happy Memorial Day.

Thank you, it was a wonderful day of decoration and thank you for the pictures. Very cool, your raised pond.
What about plumbing a Herbie overflow, if you widen the top?

[sns26]

I looked up a Herbie overflow and can't see how I'd use it. I really don't want to make a hole in that liner for an external filter system. And I'm hoping I won't have much need: my 20-gallon whiskey barrel pond never needed much help to stay clean. Every fall I'd have about 100 mosquito fish living in there.

If the white clouds breed, that will make me very happy. I'd rather not be guilted (by the kids) into getting guppies.

One thing I'm now wondering about is insulation. There is space between my "studs" to put in some pink fiberglass insulation. I worry that it may help in the cooler months, but that will only make the hot days hotter. I'm not sure why I think that, though.

[sns26]

Well, I finally got one. I've been fighting my water lilies all summer long. One died, one exploded and had to be divided six ways and repotted but never flowered. Until now.

Overall, the pond has worked well. There must be 200 white cloud minnows in there. Yours for the asking, by the way. But my irises are not really working out. Next year I'm going to try something else for the edges of the pond.

[krisw]

Looks really nice, even if the Iris aren't too thick. I likely need to split up my Crinum americana as it's pretty root bound now. I'm not sure if it was be smarter to overwinter and split in spring or do it now, but whenever I do, you're welcome to some to try if you'd like to try it. Congrats on the whiteclouds. Looks like you already have a nice school of fish for the new scape inside!

[Cristy Keister]

I think you should give the irises another year to grow in. At least for mine, it has taken that long.

Kris, I'd like some Crinum, whenever you split it up!