by (I previously sent this, ((twice in fact, addressed to both groups.
It sure looked like it went fine, but never arrived on either group,
so sorry if you get it twice, or thrice!)
and the moderated newsgroup (that I have "cross posted" to)
are currently usable. There are plenty of caring and
kind people that will give advice and ideas.
evaluate & take steps for the children's safety.
There are frequent very sad cases of children
falling into ponds & drowning (even in 2 feet).
No need for paranoia, but consider that first.
> pond. It is about 6 ft by 3 feet, but a paisly like shape. I do know
> that at one end it is about 2.5-3 feet deep (the fish survive the few
> days of freezing that we have). The other end is shallower, but I
> couldn't tell you how deep.
> The previous owner, who built the pond, rather proudly said he never did
> anything to it and never planted anything, just let nature take its
> course. Considering some of the plants are in pots, I know the latter
> point isn't true. There is no filtration, no fountain or flow,
> The plants around the pond and in it are a bit of a mess, few natives
> and lots of alien invasives, BUT near as I can tell, no algae problems.
> And the fish, all goldfish, are happy, and I'm pretty sure breeding.
rejoice!!
> drains a bit, and the pond refills with each new rain
> (or the hose in the summer).
put water into 5 gallon buckets to sit 24 hours
(to lose chemicals and 'moderate' temperature)
before adding to pond.
> November, and for kicks and giggles tested the depth at the deepest end.
> There is a LOT of debris down there, fallen tree leaves, dead water
> lily leaves I'm sure some dead fish, and probably other plant material.
> The current depth is not what the previous owner said- it's closer to 2
> feet. It actually seems to be doing pretty well. But I'm tempted to
> drain it and clean it out. Should I, or is that inviting problems?
But personally, all I would do is reach in and
pull out a bit of the debris each day.
(perhaps use a net on a stick to get a liter
quanity of gunk & debris each time out).
Total emptiying, cleaning, & in effect transplanting
fish just seems to me to be a big risk, for a
situation that's doing well.
> an algae bloom, but is that bad? I have never had a pond, and have no
> idea really how to care for it. I know what my goals are for it, but I
> think I'll save that for another thread to avoid confusion.
> Can anyone advise me? And hopefully point me into a good direction as
> far as learning materials ? I'd like to stick with natural and organic
> methods.
might be nice.
> Amphitecna
I'm in USA, Pacific NW.
About Tuesday & Wed. we had white shit falling
from the sky. Then we had 2 days with sun out.
Yes, Spring must be coming!
A couple cases of a male duck chasing a female,
and a male goose chasing a female, but they did
get a bit distracted when a bald eagle flew over
and nested in a tree to watch.
Now we got 7 days of rain predicted with almost
all temps staying 31 to 41 degrees F
(so for you in C, 0 to 7).
But, I have faith, Spring will come.