I seen that empty pool and wished for a day with it alone, just me and my skateboard. Very nice setup you will have there.
Considering a Tropical Pond
- Thread starter Duncan6618
- Start date
to hell with a pond... tell me this is a joke and when you go to show us it stocked, we will see women everywhere with a big fire-pit and a pig cooking... PARTY!!!!
Thanks for the comments.
I have the 2 three hundred gallon rubbermaid stock tanks set in place and the tubing/plumbing parts should arrive tomorrow. So if I get enough time this weekend I hope to get them setup. I do have some questions on the bog filters though since I really don't know anything about plants.
So on one of the stock tanks I'll be putting a grid made of pvc with holes in it then covering that with larger rocks followed by pea gravel. The stock tanks are 25" high. How deep should the layer of gravel be for the plants to grow well in and how deep should I leave the water level in this bog filter? Also what are some good cold hardy bog plants that do a good job with nutrient uptake?
I've decided for the time being to not make the other stock tank a bog filter and instead just put in some potted plants and use it as a growout tank. The albino channel cats I'm planning on getting will be pretty small so I'll need to grow them out before putting them into the pool. Otherwise I'm sure they'll end up in the filter. So what are some good submerged cold hardy plants that I could use in this stock tank? Also what kind of planting media do people use for potted pond plants? I've seen pond planting media online but it is really expensive. Will rocks & gravel be good enough?
Basically, I need any and all tips for keeping pond plants. I've never had a green thumb when it comes to plants.
I have the 2 three hundred gallon rubbermaid stock tanks set in place and the tubing/plumbing parts should arrive tomorrow. So if I get enough time this weekend I hope to get them setup. I do have some questions on the bog filters though since I really don't know anything about plants.
So on one of the stock tanks I'll be putting a grid made of pvc with holes in it then covering that with larger rocks followed by pea gravel. The stock tanks are 25" high. How deep should the layer of gravel be for the plants to grow well in and how deep should I leave the water level in this bog filter? Also what are some good cold hardy bog plants that do a good job with nutrient uptake?
I've decided for the time being to not make the other stock tank a bog filter and instead just put in some potted plants and use it as a growout tank. The albino channel cats I'm planning on getting will be pretty small so I'll need to grow them out before putting them into the pool. Otherwise I'm sure they'll end up in the filter. So what are some good submerged cold hardy plants that I could use in this stock tank? Also what kind of planting media do people use for potted pond plants? I've seen pond planting media online but it is really expensive. Will rocks & gravel be good enough?
Basically, I need any and all tips for keeping pond plants. I've never had a green thumb when it comes to plants.
I would let the bog hold as much water as possible, thus making it a form of settling tank as well.
Use the drain for a clean out and plumb another bulkhead near the bottom for inlet. Another bulkhead near the top for gravity return.
Make a void in the bottom with milk crates inverted and pvc frame ontop of that. Place egg crate or geotextile (heavy landscape fabric) on top of the frame to hold it down and retain gravel and rocks. Starting with softball-ish sized rocks place them on the grate with good spacing to allow waterflow. Place another layer of those sized stones or slightly smaller covering the gaps still looking for flow. Probalbly at about 6-8" deep with small boulders now trying to make fewer gaps so the gravel bed will not fall through. The gravel above can be started with a golf ball sized washed stone (#8 washed in these parts) for a couple of inches. Follwed by a smaller dia. stone (#6 washed) for a few more inches. That can be covered with pea gravel, but I just use the #6 stone because it small but not to small.
For plants there are many....
I am a fan of natives because of hardiness & some are easy to obtain
. Huge list avail. go check out different varities at garden centers. Many online growers. I have never purchased any, so I couldn't recomend a certain site.
I don't use any of the commercial potting mixes. Gravel and some garden clay is fine for just about any aquatic. If using slotted planter pots, line it with a little landscape fabric to keep soil in place if you decide to use any soil. All of my marginals are directly planted in gravel. The lillies pockets have a little clay but mostly gravel. All bogs Ive built have plants planted into only gravel. A little soil might come in from nursery plants, but I don't add any.
Use the drain for a clean out and plumb another bulkhead near the bottom for inlet. Another bulkhead near the top for gravity return.
Make a void in the bottom with milk crates inverted and pvc frame ontop of that. Place egg crate or geotextile (heavy landscape fabric) on top of the frame to hold it down and retain gravel and rocks. Starting with softball-ish sized rocks place them on the grate with good spacing to allow waterflow. Place another layer of those sized stones or slightly smaller covering the gaps still looking for flow. Probalbly at about 6-8" deep with small boulders now trying to make fewer gaps so the gravel bed will not fall through. The gravel above can be started with a golf ball sized washed stone (#8 washed in these parts) for a couple of inches. Follwed by a smaller dia. stone (#6 washed) for a few more inches. That can be covered with pea gravel, but I just use the #6 stone because it small but not to small.
For plants there are many....
I am a fan of natives because of hardiness & some are easy to obtain
. Huge list avail. go check out different varities at garden centers. Many online growers. I have never purchased any, so I couldn't recomend a certain site.I don't use any of the commercial potting mixes. Gravel and some garden clay is fine for just about any aquatic. If using slotted planter pots, line it with a little landscape fabric to keep soil in place if you decide to use any soil. All of my marginals are directly planted in gravel. The lillies pockets have a little clay but mostly gravel. All bogs Ive built have plants planted into only gravel. A little soil might come in from nursery plants, but I don't add any.
Thanks Muske, the settling tank idea sounds good but I already plumbed it up just with the pvc pipes covered with rocks. I'm hoping that since the water goes through the sand filter first that I won't have an issue with building up too much gunk at the bottom. I guess what I was really asking was how deep should the water be for the bog plants (marginals I guess). Should I add gravel until it is say 6" under the water level or is 6" of water too deep for marginals. Or can I add gravel until there is no standing water at all? I don't want the bog filter to become a mosquito breeding ground so I think I either need enough water depth to keep minnows or mosquito fish in it or add enough gravel so there is no exposed water at all.
Mate this is excellent, what plans for fish have you come up with now, you have given me some good idea's to start building a pond...one day soon, hehe
Well for fish, I put the comets back in that used to be in it when it was a mess. And I got a dozen small koi in there now also. I also picked up 6 tiny (2") albino channel catfish from the store but I'm growing them out in my aquarium before they can go in. I'm also planning on getting a few Chinese HiFin Banded sharks and growing them out indoors over the winter, they're supposed to be pretty cold hardy once they get a little size on them and great algae eaters. A friend of mine has large mouth bass in his pond that take pellets just fine so I might try some eventually but I need to wait for the other fish to get some size on them before I add any large mouth bass.
large mouth bass would be an excellent choice. Along with most of the other fish you would find surfing the cold water/ native fish sub forum
Duncan6618;4571471; said:
It will depend on the plant species. Some will tolerate the crown (base) of the plant completely submerged in 0-24" of water. Others just like there feet(roots) wet in a few inches of water. I would find plants that have good growth rates and ones you like. The gravel level can then be fitted to the plants needs. Don't get to caught up on planting depth suggestions on the plant tags. Most Aquatic plants will grow at just all different depths....
