Muske;4666349; said:First, you are monster.
Second, houses, ponds, and property are AMAZING....
20x20x6' = Appox. 27,000 gals.
I would think a pair of Pimas would be fine in there plus a supply of feeders for extended stays elsewhere.
You are on the right track with re-hab of the pond closest to the deck first. That is where the parties areand best viewing spot for fish. Also, with added filtration in the form of a waterfall or similar, the sounds of the pond will be enjoyed fron the deck and house.
It looks like the Water lettuce is contained in a filtration/gravity type trough. Can that be made larger, or is that already in the plans?
Maybe a similar type system can be retro-fitted to the other ponds with poor clarity. The trough design will act as a settling chamber and have floating plants which will also collect silt and improve clarity. The chamber could be flushed when you visit. Then electricy isssues arise... would hate to see you invest in some fish that would only see flashes of them from time to time. I guess flooding issues would be a concern in the larger other ponds when exotic species are stocked?
Many options for filtration and housing and I'm glad you are taking your time you lucky SOB....
Thanks for the kind words. Which house is it that you like most? I'm glad you like them - makes all the work and effort seem worthwhile. I'd post pics of a couple more but since I won't be housing monsters there its too much hassle to find and scan (yes, terribly old fashioned) and upload.
Ok, back to the pond which I've mentioned is 22x15x3 can only be enlarged to 30x15x6 as the width is restricted by what I've recently discovered to a mixture of underground wiring and also the roots of trees too mature to chop down.
Basically, how the system works is that the little waterfall you see is fresh river water taken approx 500m upstream and flows 24/7 into the pond. There is absolutely no filtration and everything works on pure gravity/natural flow. As part of the upgrade, I will leave the 500m piping in place as its been hidden underground but I will add a small pump to push the water through a filtration system of 3 compartments consisting of brushes, maybe corals and finally sponges as during the drier months the river's current also slows down and I don't want the filtration to become a bottleneck.
The the water exits the filtration system and splits into 'waterfalls' placed every 10' to ensure equal flow. Since the pond sits higher than the river, the overflows empty straight back into the river currently via two overflow pipes which I will retain at 15' apart and use a bottom drain which I don't think will be kept open all the time as its possible the pond would empty faster than the river replenishes it - can't tell for sure because never used purely gravity driven bottom drains. I guess will just open it once or twice a week to allow the pond to really cycle and allow nature to perform my water changes for me. I will jump in from time to time to clean the insides of tank so that it can flow out the bottom. Ok, I'm lying - the workers will probably be doing it but I do intend to get into the pond and bond with the fishes as your first statement is correct; I'm also a monster sized keeper but I prefer the term prosperous
If this pond is adequate for two Arapaimas and maybe an RTC then I won't build another one under the deck because the deck faces the river anyways and the sound of the river is loud as it is with numerous partitions along its 200m length. Standing on the deck, this is the view if you look from left to right. Last picture is from my bedroom balcony.
The troughs you see aren't permanent, they can be removed to and adjusted to create partitions as we had 2000 catfish segregated according to various size/age from young to edible. This was the pond prior to putting in the lettuce/water lillies if thats what its called. There's not electricity involved, that water fountain is purely natural and is open and closed using valves
Note how the trough at the end was larger initially since the partitions are removable. I will have a PVC tank for catfish as everyone in family loves eating them and might add another one for feeder fish. I know there are many opposing views regarding feeder fishes but in order to keep it as close to its natural habitat I have to provide the Arapaimas with access to live fishes plus having to swim around after the feeder fishes would do them good rather than relying on being fed by hand.
I'll keep a few feeder fishes in the pond at all times maybe 3-5 fishes which is light snacking really for two Arapaimas and hopefully an RTC. I'm hoping the size is adequate as they'd occupy different levels of the pond.
The other ponds will wait; perhaps I'll have a truly aggressive pond with Snakeheads or something as the new pond although can potentially be joined to the empty land beside it could also be split into 4-6 smaller ponds. We'll see how it goes with this pond first as I can't afford to build two ponds at the same time; theres also the upkeep and feeding still to consider. I'm not Warren Buffett LOL
As for the other ponds, which are 3 hrs drive away, despite 40,000 people being evacuated due to extreme flooding my house was not affected as the land itself is on higher ground and although the ponds water levels were higher they did not overflow at all. Basically, the entire compound is surrounded by paddy fields and during the floods the paddy fields were filled to the brim yet the water did not even flow over the driveway. So its not something I'm worried about for now.
Lastly, I've purposely taken it slow as there's only so much I can afford to spend when it comes to hobbies. I also wanted to learn as much as I could first before buying anything at all. I also didn't want to be one of those guys who is forced to give away a fish because I didn't factor in the size needed to properly house them.
Any more questions/opinions fire away!
Awesome property!
