osterac
New Member
Hi,
I found this site when looking for places to get help with reef-pi. I'm actually using reef-pi for my outdoor pond, so I may be blaspheming by being a member here. Is that a thing? A pond is certainly not a reef, but it is a mini-ecosystem of its own. Plus, it keeps the mosquitos at bay! The pond came with the house, but was in poor shape when my family and I purchased the house. I knew nothing about pond maintenance, so my journey began. I drained it and cleaned it with a vacuum, and found signs of life amongst the muck. Dragonfly larvae, minnows, and some sad pond lillies. I refilled the pond and reintroduced the fish and larvae. The pond did not have a filter so I bought a waterfall filter and some bioballs. I eventually added UV and activated charcoal.
I stocked the pond with comet goldfish and some fancy minnows - white cloud and ruby red. I hoped the fancy minnows would breed but no, the boring black minnows that came with the pond were the ones to breed. A lot. I was still happy to see that conditions were good enough for that, and the fry were pretty cute. The dragonfly larvae hatched too, and the dragonflies made the pond their home. Two frogs moved in, but they were promptly eaten by my dog. Birds were happy to bathe in the shallower parts of the pond, and the constant trickling of water was soothing to hear whenever outside. The pond lillies did almost too well, and I had to weed some of them out from time to time to keep them from completely covering the pond and obscuring the fish. I tried feeding the fish various types of food, but they didn't go for any of it. They were perfectly happy with the algae in the pond and the unfortunate insects looking for a drink of water. Besides the occasional treat, they don't need to be fed. Not yet anyway.
You know what they say though, all good things... I didn't know it, but the auto refill valve had stuck open. It was raining at the time so I didn't think it unusual the the pond was a little overfull. By the time I caught the failure, it had been going for at least a day and the chlorine from the tap water had killed all the fish.
I hadn't realized how attached I had become to those fish. I couldn't bring myself to clear them out of the pond - I had to have a friend do it. I thought I was done with my hobby. The pond could rot for all I cared. Weeks went by. I would look out at the pond and scowl - I felt betrayed. I couldn't stay angry forever though. Someone had to tend to the pond, and if I didn't do it, who would? I drained the pond once again, and once again, signs of life. Same as before - dragonfly larvae, minnows (they burrow under the mud) and sad pond lillies. The minnows were the same wild black minnows as before, and I decided I didn't want them in the pond this time. I set them free in a nearby creek (don't worry, they are native to that creek). I refilled the pond and added some "good bacteria." I also replaced the refill valve. I let the good bacteria grow for a month and by that time the water was just warm enough to restock. Same as last time except this time I'm adding a few koi. I just added them on Sunday and they haven't acclimated yet so they're hiding amongst the rocks, but I hope to see them happily poking around soon enough.
That's my story. I'll add a few pictures of the pond from last summer when the pond lillies were out. Hope you like.
I found this site when looking for places to get help with reef-pi. I'm actually using reef-pi for my outdoor pond, so I may be blaspheming by being a member here. Is that a thing? A pond is certainly not a reef, but it is a mini-ecosystem of its own. Plus, it keeps the mosquitos at bay! The pond came with the house, but was in poor shape when my family and I purchased the house. I knew nothing about pond maintenance, so my journey began. I drained it and cleaned it with a vacuum, and found signs of life amongst the muck. Dragonfly larvae, minnows, and some sad pond lillies. I refilled the pond and reintroduced the fish and larvae. The pond did not have a filter so I bought a waterfall filter and some bioballs. I eventually added UV and activated charcoal.
I stocked the pond with comet goldfish and some fancy minnows - white cloud and ruby red. I hoped the fancy minnows would breed but no, the boring black minnows that came with the pond were the ones to breed. A lot. I was still happy to see that conditions were good enough for that, and the fry were pretty cute. The dragonfly larvae hatched too, and the dragonflies made the pond their home. Two frogs moved in, but they were promptly eaten by my dog. Birds were happy to bathe in the shallower parts of the pond, and the constant trickling of water was soothing to hear whenever outside. The pond lillies did almost too well, and I had to weed some of them out from time to time to keep them from completely covering the pond and obscuring the fish. I tried feeding the fish various types of food, but they didn't go for any of it. They were perfectly happy with the algae in the pond and the unfortunate insects looking for a drink of water. Besides the occasional treat, they don't need to be fed. Not yet anyway.
You know what they say though, all good things... I didn't know it, but the auto refill valve had stuck open. It was raining at the time so I didn't think it unusual the the pond was a little overfull. By the time I caught the failure, it had been going for at least a day and the chlorine from the tap water had killed all the fish.
I hadn't realized how attached I had become to those fish. I couldn't bring myself to clear them out of the pond - I had to have a friend do it. I thought I was done with my hobby. The pond could rot for all I cared. Weeks went by. I would look out at the pond and scowl - I felt betrayed. I couldn't stay angry forever though. Someone had to tend to the pond, and if I didn't do it, who would? I drained the pond once again, and once again, signs of life. Same as before - dragonfly larvae, minnows (they burrow under the mud) and sad pond lillies. The minnows were the same wild black minnows as before, and I decided I didn't want them in the pond this time. I set them free in a nearby creek (don't worry, they are native to that creek). I refilled the pond and added some "good bacteria." I also replaced the refill valve. I let the good bacteria grow for a month and by that time the water was just warm enough to restock. Same as last time except this time I'm adding a few koi. I just added them on Sunday and they haven't acclimated yet so they're hiding amongst the rocks, but I hope to see them happily poking around soon enough.
That's my story. I'll add a few pictures of the pond from last summer when the pond lillies were out. Hope you like.
