pond!

[kerrid]

i didn't realize how expensive ponds can be!
but most of my summer time/money were spent on my pond and i'm proud to say that i did everything by myself (with the exception of the electrical stuff of course! and some of the digging, which let us realize that our "yard" is basically a rock garden underneath some grass)
its approx. a 5.5' square, about 3.5' deep.
i was trying to get 6'x6' but apparently i can't use a tape measurer :headshake2:
i've checked several websites and the calculations say its ABOUT 800 gallons.
i started digging it before i went on vacation, and when i got back the rain had filled the bottom and some frogs decided to make it their home. i gently scooped them out, along with the little garter snake who fell in, and took them to the other side of my property, and placed the snake back in his wood pile. well of course the frogs came back, and now i guess it's theire permanent residence. started with 2, but i've seen up to 5 in there.
so a few questions:
1. there is absolutely nothing in my pond except the frogs, some algae, and a penny. the filter is still running and the days have been as low as 37, and i dont even want to know what the nights have been. when's a good time to shut off the filter/pump and take it inside for the winter?

2. i'm not too sure what frogs do in the winter but i'd like to make my guests as comfortable as possible. should i keep the de-icer on for them, or will they leave before the water freezes over?

3. is that penny going to cause any problems? i just noticed it the other day and i'm not sure how to get it out since the pond skimmer is missing. i wanted to have some snails in there.

4. stocking! i want beautiful goldfish and mosquito fish and whatever else anyone thinks would be nice. i really have no idea what to stock, so treat this like your pond and tell me what you would do!

5. when to start stocking. obviously this is a ways away, but id like to know what to do when the days start warming up in the spring.

6. any ideas for hiding/plants/anything you can think of that i'm missing, which i'm sure is a lot.


thanks in advance!


how it started

what is thisss?!

the frogs on a warmer day

and this was today

 

[Sploke]

I leave my filter running all winter, but I have fish and turtles in there year round. If there's nothing living in there aside form the frogs, you could probably just break down the filter now if you're shutting it down for the summer.

I believe frogs brumate out of the water, digging a hole in the ground or leaf littler to winter over, but I'm not positive. Notopthalmus could probably clear that up a lot better than I could.

I would take the penny out.

for stocking in my pond, I started with about a dozen feeder comets and three koi. the comets breed every year, so I have probably 20-30 now. I'd look at stocking the pond maybe next april or may, when the water is at least consistently in the 60s.

There are plenty of options for plants - you can even collect locally. Hornwort or cabomba would work, water lilies, hyacinth and water lettuce are all options.

 

[Notophthalmus]

Your green frogs will overwinter in the pond. Sploke's right, the filter is unnecessary for them. If it were me I'd unplug it now; it's just wasting electricity. I'd leave the de-icer on for them, though; I've seen die-offs during long freezes here in TN, presumably due to oxygen deprivation. I'm sure you have longer freezes up there.

One penny won't hurt anything. Don't worry about it.

Mosquitofish can be problematic- they are notorious fin-nippers. If you want some peaceable small fish to eat your mosquitos and also help control algae, Pimephales minnows are a better bet. These include bullhead, bluntnose, slim, and fathead minnows, and the rosy red (derived from fatheads). All are hardy and do well in ponds. If you provide some large rocks or a few clay flowerpots they will appily breed in the pond; the goldfish will also appreciate the hiding spots.

Otherwise I think Sploke has it covered.

Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[hankn]

I keep rosy barbs in my pond with my koi to control mosquitos. They made it through the last winter and I measured water temps as low a 36F in my pond. They do not nip fins and live very nicely with the koi.

 

[finsNfur]

Congrats on your new pond! I dug my own pond without anyone's help, too. Mine is about 5' x 7'. I have goldfish in mine, Sarassas and Comets. (I used to have a koi, but a heron got him) I also have a lot of frogs that overwinter in the pond. Originally I didn't know where they were overwintering, but eventually I noticed little webbed feet occasionally sticking out of the folds in my liner. I agree with everyone so far, if you have no fish in the pond you might as well shut off the pump. I'd leave the de-icer on, though.

 

[kerrid]

thanks guys!

i'm going to stop the pump today and take it out for the winter. should i take the filter inside or just empty it and leave it where it is?
this is the filter i have, model 2500 http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=5163+5186+12244&pcatid=12244

i was planning on getting some kind of gravel and putting it between the edge of the water and the stones to make it look not so silly. i was thinking i could keep them in place with waterfall foam. any other suggestions for that?

also, the waterfall itself. i couldn't figure out what to do so i'm giving myself the winter to get it together! any help with that would also be great!

 

[Virtuoso2K12]

looks very good !!!

 

[H3D]

Cool pond.

 

[Darkness9876]

Nice.

 

[finsNfur]

i was planning on getting some kind of gravel and putting it between the edge of the water and the stones to make it look not so silly. i was thinking i could keep them in place with waterfall foam. any other suggestions for that?

Hiding the liner was a problem I faced, too. I ended up going the natural route and lining it with rocks all around. That was an easy fix for me though, since I am surrounded by several acres of woods just full of rocks. One thing I will warn you about though, the smaller rocks will often get knocked into the pond. Maybe the waterfall foam you mentioned would be a good idea, I've never seen it myself and would be curious how it worked. I also added a little soil and some sedum (low-growing, spreading perrenial) in between the rocks in some spots. I hope you'll keep us updated on your progress!!

Here's what I did to hide my liner. The shallow end in the lower right corner also has some rocks under the water, which helps the frogs climb out. They will often sun themselves on the rocks sticking out of the water: