Marble Gardens & Fish Ponds

[Stosh]

Really nifty and unique Mh

I think it was in a Kurt Vonnegut book, where god had created man and each day

when man woke up, God waited in anticipation to hear what man was going to say ,

and was always pleased by his own surprise.

Marble gardens ponds have that trait too.

Stosh

[zerostao]

nice thought stosh.

last nite

i had a dream i was wandering across some forgotten ridge

and i came upon an overgrown plot of land that had a very beckoning energy about it.

it was frosted that morning, the air clean and crisp

there were marble stones where the words inscribed had been worn away by the weather of

untold countless decades

i heard the calling of crows

saying, as you look across this landscape

and marvel in its fall splendor of natural rich colors

remember that the ancients placed a garden here

not for your enjoyment or rememberance

but just becoz they found peace and contentment in a garden of their own

 

when i woke i realized these ancients were like rank strangers to me

[Marblehead]

Thanks guys.

 

Rank Stranger - a very well covered song - by just about averyone in Bluegrass music.

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

....... ...? i dont see any marbles in your garden Looks pretty freaking awesome, i must say! NOT AT ALL what i ever imagined, it's beautifulerer... erer.

[Marblehead]

....... ...? i dont see any marbles in your garden Looks pretty freaking awesome, i must say! NOT AT ALL what i ever imagined, it's beautifulerer... erer.

The marbles are there, I just didn't point them out.

 

They are at the base of the round areas where the flowers are in pots sitting on top of 4x4's.

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

awesome. well never the less, i never immagined it looking so amazing, i admire your handiwork

[Marblehead]

awesome. well never the less, i never immagined it looking so amazing, i admire your handiwork

Thanks.

[Marblehead]

Couldn't find a Fish Pond thread. Maybe there really wasn't any. But this would be a good place to talk about them as the pond area does have two marble arrangements in them.

[Nungali]

Maybe it was in solar energy thread ... something about what you do with the ponds at day and night ?



I have recently discovered el-cheapo shop has 'industrial strength' storage tubs ( thick black plastic) under $20 so I got one to try using it for a fish pond. The previous one is made from a plastic wheelbarrow top as the base rusted ... that worked quiet well but this new tub is heaps deeper and bigger.

I have an area that is covered with shade cloth and has micro sprayers( where the path in to the cabin is) with ferms and tropical plants there. The ponds are being established in that area. I scored some old bridge timbers that are deeply eroded and weathered with cool patterns so I arrange them as tops on the ponds, put pots around that so the foliage is an outer border and hangs over the ponds.

I am also a bit of a geology nut and there is a wide range of river rocks here I collect (volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic), I use them too , around the edges and in the water, I also have a collection of tank rocks ( ? not sure what they are , they were here when I got here from past owner ) sorta like these ones:



That I arranged ... fish love em, they are full of little caves and tunnels that they swim through.

Some are covered in moss and sit around the edges. It appears (while I was away) that the original two had 2 lots of offspring (from the sizes) ... that was a surprise (they are just goldfish) - hence the extra pond / s . I get gravel from the river for the bottom of the ponds and river plants ... the water is staying very clean and clear .

Also i got native river snails and 'mystery snails' big ones , from the aquarium ... I like watching all the activity in there.
I am really enjoying this little microcosm activity. Already planning the next one.

Fish were very timid at first but now I can put mu hand in and they come and nibble the end of my fingers (I told a friend this and she said : "Sometimes I worry about you." .... ) - oh well, I am enjoying it.

 

Anyway (i missed all the pics), tell me about your ponds and fish ... set up, etc

[Marblehead]

The rock in the pix is a volcanic rock. Yes, that would be ideal especially for the baby fish while they are growing up and compete with the bigger ones.

 

Sounds like you have a nice setup. I am sure you are enjoying it.

 

Goldfish propogate like crazy. If your system stays healthy you will never have to buy any. You will likely have more than enough.

 

You might want to start thinking about a water filter for yoou pond. As the fish grow up there will be more waste in the water and that will invite algae. The algae will turn the water green or dark brown and it will also suck the oxygen out of the water and the fish will suffocate.

 

 

My pond area is basically two separate constructions but are linked with the water supply. The old one (and smallest) is a three stage pond with the bottom section being the largest and that is where I keep the goldfish. There is a submersible pump in the deepest part of the bottom section that pumps water up to the top where there is a two-stage filter using only aluminum screen with the output going over the top of the filter boxes causing a waterfall to oxygenate the water.

 

 

The newer one is much more complex. (I built the old one when I was still working then the newer one after I retired.) It has two sections for fish and these are Koi. Same water supply but they cannot move from one area to the other. And there is a stream that has oxygenating plants in it and a bog area with more oxygenating plants.

 

The only live plants I have out there are Christmas Cactus in hanging baskets and fern. I tried growing various things but it was too much work maintaining them. There are a couple circular areas where marbles are at the base with pedstals (4X4s) with artificial flowers in pots on them and a couple more areas with artificial flowers.

 

There are two filters in this area, one is the same as the one at the old pond and the other is a swimming pool filter, the sand removed, and fiberglas buffer pads cut in half for the filter material.

 

The old pond is about twenty years old and the new on close to fifteen.

 

When I need to add fish is will let the fish breed and save the eggs before the fish eat them all and move them to the top area of the old pond until they hatch and get big enough to join the general poopulation.

 

That's enough for now.

[Nungali]

Okay, thanks

 

My previous pond got algae ... these get MUCH less sun, have more plants in the water and heaps of snails , they get extra water from the spray system that oxygenates the water - I'm hoping to avoid pumps and filters ... see what happens .

 

Then again ... a little 'waterfall' could be cool ; I have a spare small solar panel, maybe I will get a little 12v pump ?

Edited February 20, 2014 by Nungali

[Marblehead]

Okay, thanks

 

My previous pond got algae ... these get MUCH less sun, have more plants in the water and heaps of snails , they get extra water from the spray system that oxygenates the water - I'm hoping to avoid pumps and filters ... see what happens .

 

Then again ... a little 'waterfall' could be cool ; I have a spare small solar panel, maybe I will get a little 12v pump ?

Yes, there are both air and water pumps available that are 12VDC manufactured mostly for the fishing industry/hobby. You could likely find a pump sized to operate directly from the solar panel and have the waterfall operating during the day when you have sun without investing in a battery. During the day would be the best time to have a waterfall operating anyhow.

 

I have both within my complex although right now the air pumps are off-line as they are not needed.

 

And yes, reduced sun will reduce that amount of algae growth. My entire pond area is covered so the water gets very little direct sun. (That's why I can't grow flowering plants back there.)

[Nungali]

How do you know how much to feed the fish ?

 

Also it sounds like you have a big water system going outside the fish ponds?

 

I had a friend into environmental science and one of his jobs was checking efficiency of water disposal systems. One system, (which a local council wasnt going to allow) served several houses on a community. He checked the river water at their tank pump intake and checked the water coming out into the river at the end of their system . He said the output was far cleaner and healthier than the input ... and that includes going through all the households as well as the ponds with and without fish.

 

He sent his report to council and they stopped hassling the community to 'upgrade' to their recommendations .

[Marblehead]

How do you know how much to feed the fish ?

A basic rule (based on feeding them once a day) is that if there is any food left over uneaten after two hours you have given them too much. (Uneaten food will add to aglae growth.) The same rule would apply if they are fed twice a day - any food left after one hour you have fed them too much.

 

Also it sounds like you have a big water system going outside the fish ponds?

I have 42 - 55 gallon plastic drums that I use to catch rain. I use the water for the fish ponds as well as watering the gardens. My pond complex has a very large surface area as well as the waterfalls so there in a lot of evaporation. I use between 200 & 250 gallons of water daily to maintain the water level in all bodies of water depending on the heat and humidity.

 

I had a friend into environmental science and one of his jobs was checking efficiency of water disposal systems. One system, (which a local council wasnt going to allow) served several houses on a community. He checked the river water at their tank pump intake and checked the water coming out into the river at the end of their system . He said the output was far cleaner and healthier than the input ... and that includes going through all the households as well as the ponds with and without fish.

 

He sent his report to council and they stopped hassling the community to 'upgrade' to their recommendations .

Yeah, governments will always try to make us dependant on them. It justifies their job.

 

My water and sewage is owned and operated by my county government and is very expensive. That is the main reason I decided to buy the (used food) barrels for catching rain. The only time I need the metered water from the county for watering my gardens or the ponds is if I have had an extended dry spell. (This winter has been very kind to me with plenty of rain.)

[Nungali]

So I went to look for a pump.

 

Pond pumps were 240v , No I want a 12v. pump ... these are 12v volt pumps ... just dont use the leads plug and transformer.

 

What and throw the rest away? Okay buy the kit ... no, I have the panels batteries, hoses, blah blah I just want a 12 v pump.

 

Dont have one.

 

Go to aquarium ... no dont make them.

 

Go to the 'Pumphouse' pump shop. No we dont have them .... just these little ones, you can cut the lead off and throw the transformer away ...

 

Dont you just have a small simple 12 v pump ..

 

Only a bilge pump ... but that wouldnt be suitable ... its tiny.

 

Thats what I want.

 

It wont work.

 

Why?

 

Because its designed to just trickle pump out a bilge and doesnt have any lift.

 

Huh? How can it pump out a bilge without a lift.

 

It doesnt need lift it just moves the water across.

 

Me; <confused> But a bilge must be below water level otherwise it would not be at the bottom of the boat below the waterline and if it wasnt the water wouldnt leak in there in the first place and if it did it could just flow out.

 

Pump guy ; "HUH ? ?

 

(professional pump guy mind you )

 

<draws him a little diagram on the pad on the counter> ; surely the small amount of lift I want would be similar to pumping the water up out of a bilge.?

 

Hmmm ... you might get away with it.

 

It was a small pump worth about $30 .

 

So I take it home and set it up ... do all the electrics, hoses etc... make a cascading rock water fall ... turn it on and its like a friggin fire hose ! water is squirting out everywhere ... way beyond the pond ... the fish are freakin out ... chaos !

 

'Impeller pump" ... they arent kidding there.

 

So I figure now I use the extra energy and run the pipe higher and make a high waterfall ... which means re-building the whole rockery and adding another pond and make a cascade from one pond to another .

 

Its all Marblehead's fault !

 

Should look good when its finished though.

Edited February 27, 2014 by Nungali

[Marblehead]

Hehehe. Yep, it's all my fault.

 

The last pumps I bought were from Harbor Freight. 12VDC, 8.5 Amp Bilge Pumps. I should have mentioned that you should go to a Marine Supplies store.

 

But it sounds like you are having fun with your venture and that is the most important thing.

 

I'm sure you will have it looking great when it is finished.

[Nungali]

I dont get what all the problem is lately trying to get 12v solar stuff. Isnt solar supposed to be getting more popular? 15 years ago when I would go to buy a small device like a cassette player or a TV or some gadget many had a socket to plug in a 12v lead ... then they became impossible to find. Same with lighting ... even light bulbs now ... I have to go to the solar shop and they dont even sell light fixtures anymore. I had to start going to the chandlery out at the harbour ..

 

It is better now if you want to buy a small dvd or TV or something as they make them for cars 12v nowadays,

 

Sure you can get them if you want a professional to install a whole house system ( " You will need one of these , one of these, this electronic box, this electronic box that regulates the first one and another one that links those two - with flashing lights" ) and many of them are troublesome and dont seem efficient - I have 2 panels and two deep cycle truck batteries and a fuse box, thats it and its been trouble free (except for an occasional loose wire} for over 15 years... and I get about 2 - 3 days power when the sky is overcast ... so solar componants are out there somewhere ... I will have to sneak around a bit and find out where they come from. Still, most systems seem to run a 240v. inverter.

 

Its not really encouraging people to go solar. ... but then again, 'they' might not want that. Here 'we' are still keen on coal ... 500 km down the coast from here is the worlds biggest coal loading port.

 

They have a big queue waiting ....

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2014 by Nungali

[Marblehead]

I know what you are talking about. I faced the same problems when I started out with solar. I had to do all my learning and buying off the internet.

 

Another place to look for 12VDC equipment would be an RV/travel center.

 

I know that America is not pushing solar. We are not even pushing lithium batteries. Apparently industry just doesn't want to tool up to keep up with technology.

 

Sounds like you have a good working system. Whenever one of my deep cycle batteries goes bad I replace it with an AGM battery. They are sealed so there is no maintenance and they are supposed to last about three times longer than the regular lead/acid batteries.

[zerostao]

[thelerner]

That black swan feeding koi is strange. But at the Chicago Botanical gardens the feeder is high and meant for just swans. When they go to feed at it in the winter, they're surrounded by ducks.. and seem to throw out extra food for them.

[Marblehead]

That is a beautiful relationship between the swans and the Koi.

[Nungali]

Now .... for the opposite

 

 

[Marblehead]

That is one smart bird.

 

(I don't want it at my fish ponds though.)

[Nungali]

Oh ... I just found out about these ... gotta get some for the pond .

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313.TR5.TRC1.A0.H0.Xmarimo&_nkw=marimo&_sacat=0&_from=R40

 

[Marblehead]

Oh ... I just found out about these ... gotta get some for the pond .

That's a new one for me. I know moss but never heard of submerged moss balls. The fish would have a lovely time nibbling on those.