Does any Grex member have special knowledge about garden pools?  Last year
we built one and it is a nice addition to our yard.  The pool is small (about
3x5 ft, has 3 depths, and has attracted frogs, snakes to eat the frogs, and
we have put in fish.  At first we put in pond fish, small bass, bluegills,
etc. but they were invisible in the pond.  We switched to goldfish and
they are highly visible.  (You can buy feeder fish for about $0.10/ea). 

I've had problems.  If anyone has  solutions, please let me know:       

1.  The water gets lime jello green in the spring, from organisms which 
    are throughout the entire depth.  The only solution I know is to 
    drain the pond and try again.               

2.  Lots of small fish have died (only the feeder fish) and had the water
    analyzed (free) at Univ. Aquariums.  Too high pH.  Seems ok, I have been
    adjusting the pH with vinegar.

3.  We really enjoyed the frogs which came to live there.  There were 3
    varieties:  Leopard frogs, green frogs, and bullfrogs.  They survived
    winter (I had a tiny air bubbler) but they all died soon after they
    woke up in the spring.  
=====================================================   
By the way, we lined the pond with a rubber sheet roofing material we   
bought from Gundrum Roofing Co. on Jackson Rd.  With our small pond,    
5'long x 3'deepest, plus 18" overhang at the top, you need 14' of rubber
sheet.  We put lilly pads in plastic plant pots with dirt and rocks to  
anchor them and they came back the 2nd year. 

34 responses total.

My husband says that in the class he took, they told him the pond has to
go through its "green" stage each spring in order for the proper bacterias
to form.  So maybe this is nothing to worry about.

Suzi - Thanks I hope you are right - It is too much work to drain the pond.
Also, the large fish seem to be healthy.  I bought 50 "feeder fish" and 
a lot of them are going to the great pond in the sky, but no larger ones.

There are a lot of great books available on ponds and water gardening.
I am seriously considering putting in a small pond this summer.
I'm curious to know if mcpoz is still succeeding with his pond.

The pond is doing fine.  I let it freeze over last year and a few fish
survived.  This year, I added more fish and put in a pond heater (the kind
for animal drinking water) and they all lived.  Every year I get large amounts
of frogs and occasional snakes.  My pond is too much in the shade, though and
I have a hard time growing most water plants.  I may move it to a sunnier area
this spring.  That may make it a deli for herons, though.  

I think even a small pond like ours is a great addition to a landscaping plan.

So, do we have herons in Ann Arbor?  I don't really like the
idea of stocking lovely fish only to have them all eaten by
predators.

Yep, there's a heron rookery just north of Bird Hills Park along the Huron
River.

It really shouldn't be a problem unless you have herons in the area anyway.
They are pretty shy, normally, but they have a PhD in eating stuff that grow
in shallow water.  We have a natural pond and wetlands and they fly over all
the time.  I have not seen any close to the house, though.

I want a pond, too.  Mark, where did you learn how to build the thing?  Is
there a book you recommend?  How did the frogs get there?  How far are they
willing to relocate?  What about raccoons?  I have a feeling they would eat
anything in a pond around my place.

Initially I got a book from the Ann Arbor library.  My wife picked up one of
those paperback 8-1/2 x 11 garden type books th{at dealt with water gardens.
I picked up a sheet of rubber seamless roofing material from Gundrum Roofing
Co. on Jackson Ave. I think it was 15 x 20".  I dug a small hole with 4
depths.  It went approx 8", 15" 24" and the deepest was 34".  The total size
of the finished hole was perhaps 6' across.  After folding in the rubber sheet
and triming it about 1" around the edge, I put thick slabs of Michigan
Sandstone all around the edge.  In the 8" depth, I put a few field rocks. 
Nancy planted some kind of unstoppable sedum all around the rocks on the
edges, and she put other low bushy plants randomly around the edge.  On one
side of the pond is a huge wooded area with dense periwinkle and wild flowers.
On the other side of the pond is a planted shade area with lots of varieties
of Hostas.  Near that is a brick walk.  The snakes and the frogs come in from
the periwinkle.  Usually after a heavy rain, there are frogs all over my yard.
Some of these take up permanent residence in the pond.  They get pretty used
to us.

The tame frogs then will let me get very close to take pictures or even feed
them.  If I turn over rocks and find bugs or especially worms, the frogs will
gladly eat them if I drop them off right next to them.  I have even had them
go after a worm dangling from my hand.  

Back to the pond.  I have put a few wild plants in the water and they do ok
but do not flourish.  I put marsh grass in the water at the edge and that
grows.  Mosses grow on the rocks.  Water lilies live for the summer. 
Duckweed gets eaten by the fish.  

I aerate it with the cheapest aquarium pump found.  ($4.95 variety).  It puts
up a stream of fine bubbles and seems to be ok.  This year, we had a surface
heater in it and the fish were active all winter.  They were eager to eat the
fish food anytime I offered it.  By the way, when I feed them, I tap the can
of food on a rock, and they all come to the surface and wait for food.  

I have had a problem with the water going too high in pH.  I added vinegar
and dropped it back down, but I do not know what chemical method is
recommended.

By the way, I started out with wild panfish.  They stayed on the bottom and
you could never see them.  They are dark on top and even if you did see them,
you did not know for sure it was a fish.  When I decided to get rid of them,
I could not get them all out.  Then adding goldfish resulted in a smorgasbord
for the remaining bass and warmouth bass.  I had to drain the pond to get the
predators out.  They were too fast and too hard to see to net.  

Lots of fun.  

I'm doing it this summer, Mark--that sounds like so much fun!

I really want to put in a pond, but I'm not sure I'll be able to
do it this year.  I'm definitely buying a fountain soon, though.
No reason not to have two water features in my yard.

Me too on the pond envy.  I've got a great spot for one, just no time to do
it with all the other things that still need to be done.  :(

 :-)
 The first frog of spring showed up in my tiny yard pond.

re 4: One thing to consider, if you move your pond to a sunnier
      location:  you'll get more algae.  Pick a spot with partial
      shade.

btw, how is your pH holding up?>  
there are reasonably accurate pH kits available, so that you can test
more regularly.  Pet Supply Plus carries them.  Part of the problem
with pH is due to the hardness of Ann Arbor water.  Try putting in
softened water.  With really hard water, your pH can bounce around
even after you add stuff to fix it.

my pH is way too basic.  Does anyone know what to add to bring it back toward
neutral?  

would plain old white vinegar worK?  PS I can't imagine an outdoor pond in
Ann Arbor being too basic.  Our rain is very acid.  Maybe just wait for it
to rain.

Hmmm  - white vinegar - Maybe ? ? ? 
My well is 200 ft deep and very basic.  Ann Arbor city water is surface water.

This response has been erased.

I was talking about rain water, not processed city water.  There were several
articles a year or so ago about how extremely acid rain had become in the Ann
Arbor area.  They listed pH readings for a while, but I just looked and the
weather section of the A2 News doesn't seem to have that data now.  

I ordered the "Pond in a Kettle" kit from White Flower Farm a couple
of weeks ago.  Yesterday the kettle arrived, along with pots for
the waterlilies and other plants, plus special potting soil and
gravel to keep the soil from floating away.  My bareroot water
plants will arrive on June 14, and I'm supposed to fill the kettl3
several days in advance so the water can dechlorinate and warm up
a bit.  I'm supposed to plant the bareroot plants within 24 hours
of arrival.  Big responsibility!

I have a question about koi.  Will they stay relatively small if
kept in a smallish container, or do they grow and grow despite
feeling crowded?  I'm not sure if my 36 inch diameter kettle can
support a pair of koi or not, so I'm also considering other types
of decorative, but smaller, fish.

Well today, I bought some stuff for my decorative pond.  I now have a 0.8 amp
(300 gal/hr) submersible pump with a removable, washable, cartrige filter on
it.  I am hoping it will clear up the water.  I bought some "Ph Down" to lower
my pH.  (This stuff is Citric Acid).  

I also bought some floating water plants for shady areas.  They look real nice
and the frogs went right to them.  

I have been feeding my fish "Special K" breakfast cereal.  I tap a rock before
I feed them and they all come to the surface.  I break up the cereal and toss
it in.  It floats for a long time and the fish go after it like piranhas. 
They make all kinds of slurping sounds and get every spec.  I have 11 gold
fish and a few black or multi-colored "goldfish."  Current frog inventory is
around 8 or 9.  

The entire edge is planted in sedum and it is real thick, now, with some
hostas a little further back.  

Even though this is a very small pond, it is great fun.

How small a pond is it?  Approximate dimensions, etc.

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It is about 6 ft across, but with overlaping sandstone edges, it appears more
like 5 ft.  It has 4 depths sort of arranged like a staircase.  about 1 ft,
1-1/2 ft, 2 ft, and 3 ft.  It is in a shady area, probably not the best chosen
site, but the herons have not found it yet. 

Absolutely you can visit.  I may be gone this weekend, (won't know til Thurs)
but most Saturday or Sunday mornings are fine.  Late evenings on weekdays are
possible, too. (after 7 or so).  If the frogs are in the right mood, you can
feed them worms directly from your hand.  sorta neat!   

Let me know and I'll send directions via e-mail.

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Wow!  That sounds wonderful. Almost good enough to tempt me to try it.

Go for it!

better in sun or shade?  I've got a more-or-less running wild shady spot, and
a *way* too sunny for my comfort spot.

Mine is in the shade and is ok, but I think I would have better luck with
water plants like lillies if it were in direct sun.  If you live away from
the city, the sunny spot would probably result in herons or other birds
stopping by for brunch.

We're on the west side of town, and have both sun and shade, but the shady
spots get underutilized, I think.

Yesterday I bought 2 small Koi for my pond.  I plan to let them winter in the
pond.  Next spring I'll let you know how it went.  

My friend up in Toronto has papyrus growing in her pond.  Wow!  Hardy.  The
frogs are really big, now.  It was fun watching them grow up.

Tonight we saw a very bold Red Fox come to our pond.  It walked around the
pond a few times apparantly trying to get one of the many frogs.  It drank
several times and may have been trying to grab the fish.  Finally it sauntered
away (through the unattached garage, no less) and disappeared.  

A few minutes later I went out for a fish count, and our dog (about 2/3 the
size of a fox, and actually a toy Fox terrier, what else) went absolutely nuts
with the scent.  He flushed the fox out of a pile of brush and the fox ran
across the road and we finally caught the dog.  

We have been wondering what would tip over the cypress knee we have at the
edge of the pond.  Quite often we find it laying on its side and have never
figured out what tips it over.  Perhaps the fox?  

Quite a beautiful animal.  The house is close to the pond and we could see
it quite plainly.  

All my goldfish and koi were accounted for, but my Jumbo bullfrog has
been missing for 4 days now.  

Updates, anyone?  

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