Inherited a pond

Question:

I’ve just moved house and in my new garden there’s a pond. Up until the last owner moved out, it was filled with water and had fish in it. She took the fish with her and drained the pond. It’s about 8ft x 4ft and about 3ft deep at its deepest point. The liner should be intact, although it has some deposits on it, which I don’t know if it is dried algae or what. Does it need scraping off? And what about tapwater? Is it bad for the fish? Does it need to stand a while? We don’t know anything at all about ponds or fish, but we would like to maintain it. There’s power to run a pump. Where should we start, and what kinds of fish are good for absolute beginners? Any help would be appreciated. I posted this on alt.garden.pond.chat  and got one reply, which was very helpful. It was also suggested I post here because I guess you’re all experts and wonderful, kind helpful TIA Tracey — "Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax… and get used to the idea." – Robert A. Heinlein

Response:

Greetings Tracey! Fill the pond with water from your hose and let it sit. Call your water supplier and find out what is in the water. Chloramine is what we’re looking for. That requires a bit more treatment. Chlorine will evaporate out over time, chloramine takes some water treatment. You’ll find water conditioners at nurseries and pet stores. Don’t worry about the liner being spotless. Look into pumps. I like the Beckett brand. Also look into Supreme. You can enter pump and the brand name into Google.com and get all sorts of information. If you live in the east pay special attention to energy consumption. Make sure you are protected with a GFI when you hook the pump up to an electrical source. Next put in plants. There are underwater plants like water lilies and anacharis and hornwort. There are floating plants like water lettuce, water hyacinth and parrot’s feather. And there are marginal plants like cattails, sedges, rushes, pickerel weed and others. Plant your plants in black rigid mesh baskets. Just use good garden soil topped with pebbles or small rocks. If the pond has no ’shelves’ for the marginal plants you can turn a basket upside down and put the marginal basket on top. There are also all sorts of basket supports on the market. Fish!! This sounds like a nice pond for goldfish. There are some really beautiful ones out there and they can be found at pet stores. Don’t go for koi as a beginner, they need 100 gallons apiece, goldfish need 20 gallons – koi like to dig in plants and their water quality is important. If you go with very few fish (start with two) have a lot of plants and have moving water you will not have to have a filter right away. You can build a filter around your pump – which you should do anyway to keep from cleaning it all the time. We use a black basket and surround the pump with black lava rock – black vinyl screening does a fine job also and is a LOT easier to clean. Tirm you plants in the fall, cover the pond with screening and your cleanup job with the pond will be a lot easier. That’s a basic primer, others will fill in as needed k30a how to cure green water http://hometown.aol.com/k30a/myhomepage/writing.html herons eating your fish? fancy a turtle? need to bag a bullfrog? http://hometown.aol.com/k30a/myhomepage/garden.html

Response:

>>>You can build a filter around your pump – which you should do anyway

to keep from cleaning it all the time. We use a black basket and surround the pump with black lava rock – black vinyl screening does a fine job also and is a LOT easier to clean.<<< ______ Another newbie chiming in here. Could you elaborate on this?  I bought a cheapy pond kit- 90 gal., 2 spillways, spitting frog- at Walmart this morning.  I know the pump and filter system will be barely adequate.  It is a submersible pump and has a foam sleeve around it.  Is what you are describing something to put around that foam sleeve thing? Thanks a bunch! Leslie Acquiring a dog may be            ,-.~~~.-, the only opportunity a                V)’   ‘(V human ever has to                     (_o_) choose a relative.            Golden Retriever "A dog’s life is too short. It’s

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