| Security
These days you needs some kind of security. I personally use cameras, with instant playback, recording 24hrs. a day, plus of course you obviously require flood lighting with Pir so your cameras can see what's going on at night.
Update
10/05/2005
Well the new pond has been up & running now for a year & a half, but last summer I had a bad problem with algea bloom, (pea soupy), not "blanket weed" which you can twine on a cane like candyflooss & pull out. I had woolly jumpers in the filter & treated it with clear pond, which worked for a while, that clumps the cloudy green particles together, then you can either skim it off or catch it in the filter, but nothing would shift it permanently. But now I,ve put a smaller filter on preceded by a uv clarifier, & it's as clear as a bell so far. I've never bothered with one before because I've never needed one. So I'm hoping it will stay clear when the weather gets hot. Watch this space.
NB- As I said at the beginning , these are my experiences , I'm not perfect, so I hope this may help anyone who, is maybe having the same problem I had.
20/6/05 Now the hot weather has arrived, the pond has gone green once again, but some advice I've had is to fill a bottle with pond water, & if it stays cloudy, the uv isn't doing it's job correctly. But if the pond water settles to the bottom & goes clear, the uv is working ok, but the mechanical side of filter is not trapping the particles clumped together by the uv, but is letting them back into the pond. Now I have solved the problem at last. I put a spare pump up to my old larger filter ,with 3 layers of new foam in & the water is like "nectar", clear as a bell once again. So I think I may have the right set up at last.
17/10/2005
Now the weather is cooling down it's time to winterise the pond. I will leave the small filter on all winter, but take the large one off, the small one getting an 80% clean , in order to retain some bacteria. Not forgetting to take the uv off stream, because of frost damage. Whilst messing around the filter i came across a brick with a clump of snails stuck on it, as per photo. The plants need cutting back & the oxygenaters need to be a few inches below the surface so as not to be trapped in the ice , when it arrives.
08/05/2006 have just rearranged site & lost updates through the winter so now it's summer 2006, the weather is hot & humid, the marsh marigolds, water mint, rushes,etc & not forgetting the water lillies, are all growing well, the fish are feeding, the frog spawn has been & gone, some to a school the rest the fish have had
The uv has been added to the small filter which runs all year, (it had a semi clean after the winter), & the big filter is back in business,creating, i hope, a nice clear as nectar pond.
24/05/2006 Good news folks, the orfe have been thrashing about spawning, & we have eggs on the liner, so a few have been removed to see how they go, watch this space! The pond is still clear, but it hasn't been exactly warm yet has it?
12/03/2007 At last site is up & running, the old site couldn't be updated for some reason. The one surviving baby golden Orfe is alive & well , the frogs are up, with loads of frogspawn, & it's only the 12th of March
10/04/2007 The small filter which was running all year has been partially cleaned, & the uv added to the system. The big box filter has also been put on stream with a seperate pump to sift out the clumps formed by the uv. It's only been on 3 days & the water has cleared beautifully.
The one baby orfe from last year is flying around the pond with the big fully grown ones (in the video)
05/05/2007 Been feeding the fish now for about a month, the pond is clear as a bell, the tadpoles are growing, that is what the fish have spared so far, & the baby orfe is still growing, approx 1& a 1/2 inches long now. The marsh marigolds are still in flower & the water mint smells wonderful. I'll say more about the plants in the next update. If anyone has any queries about anything, or if you have some tips for me, either email me or drop a line in the guestbook, thanks, Dave.
25/07/2007 Well it's been raining a bit, luckily not as much as down south, hope it eases soon, everyone having problems with the floods, but getting back to the pond, it is brim full, & still clear as a bell.
20/11/2007 Now half way through November & i could have fed the fish up to a week or so ago, as the weather has been really mild. In fact the geraniums in the garden have been beautiful up to a couple of weeks ago, & had all new flowers appearing, but had to bring them in as we may get some frost & i take cuttings off them in the spring. But getting back to the pond i have taken the uv & the large filter off stream so there's just the small filter running through the winter.
26/04/2008 At last Spring has sprung, the frogs had fun very early this year, hence all the frogspawn froze & was lost, & now the orfe are being chased around the pond by the fruity gold fish. Incidentally the fish haven't had any food yet, not since last September in fact, but the pond has it's own eco system so the have plenty of nutrients to keep them going.
We have a large garden & in a far corner i have been dumping my grass cuttings for composting. We have always had foxes around, but a large hole appeared last July & the foxes have obviously taken up residence under my "compost" & another entrance has opened up & both holes are clear so are being used. This morning a wooden square tub on our patio has been practically emptied by we think the foxes, our cat could not do so much. I'll post a photo of the den shortly. We think there are mother, father & 2 young ones.
Anyone else got foxes or anything to note please use the guestbook or email us.
27/08/2008 we've had rain & more rain, what a lousy summer, & Autumn is upon us. The pond is as clear as a bell as usual & all is well. Nearly time to winterise the pond. The foxes i haven't seen for a while, but the hole where they have their den is clear, a sign that there is activity of some sort.
17/10/2008 Just commenced thinning pond plants which have gone besserk with the mild weather. I now have 2 of my golden orfe missing, not as i thought a cat which my video had picked up, as i have 24/7 instant replay running. No, i looked further into the tape & low & behold, the fox had jumped over into the garden & hooked it out. everyone said they were too heavy for a cat , which prooved correct. It was a young fox & it left the fish on the patio for some reason, practically unmarked. The pond is netted but was torn at one end, hence the fox saw its chance, but has since been repaired. Apart from that the pond is still clear as a bell & in good "eco" or whatever condition.
21/03/2009 It's a beautiful spring day, bright sunshine but still a nip in the air, so i dare not commence feeding the fish yet, although they seem to be begging for it. It's the frogs which are acting strange this year. A friend of mine has had frogspawn weeks ago. We saw a couple of our frogs last week & i heard them croaking as the pond is right under our bedroom window, but just no activity. there are usually about 20 frogs at it.
10/04/2009: Yes the frogs have appeared, not as many as previous years for some reason, but 2 lots of frogspawn which the fish have devoured quicker than usual, so i couldn't rescue any this year. The golden orfe seem to be very active also. But at least spring seems to have sprung at last. |
